Tag: Gardening

3D Printing Succulent And Houseplant Pots
Gardening

3D Printing Succulent And Houseplant Pots

Sarah

Kirk does a lot of 3D printing for things we need around the house and homestead. It really is cool how many files are posted so that if you need something, chances are you can make it. He uses a Pruska MK4.

Of the pots Kirk has printed for me, these two swirl pots are my favorite. They are bigger than the rest he did.

Ample drainage hole.

One got this houseplant.

The other is this pretty house plant.

Find the file here.

This multi-faceted (geometric) pot is small but so pretty. It is perfect for small succulent plants in an office or bathroom. Find the file here.

This hexagon-shaped pot is tiny but perfect for a small succulent to be potted into.

It also has a tray for it to sit on.

How cute is that? The file is here.

And even a mason jar that rings fit onto, for a cute vase.

~Sarah

In The Garden: Rebuilding An In Ground Bed
Gardening · Homesteading

In The Garden: Rebuilding An In Ground Bed

Sarah

This bed has changed a lot in the past five years. Kirk tilled it for me with the tractor in our second year here, in 2019. He had removed the evergreen trees that were sprinkled on the land down low in 2018, leaving many craters behind.

I covered it with farm fabric and set to work.

Its first year was as a trial bed for strawberry plants. Fenced off from the deer. The orchard was to the left.

Eventually, the two areas would become one, and I’d install full fencing 6 feet high.

Then, in 2020:

With our Pandemic Chickens, we bought a coop and installed it where there was fencing. My strawberry bed lasted till mid-summer and the birds became adults. They would live there until the end of summer of 2023.

Eventually, I moved the chickens out, and it became a nothing zone. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it. I let it rest over fall and winter.

This spring, I decided that, with it being a chicken area, the soil would be very rich. So I weeded it and tilled it up, using a light tiller, to just open up the top inches of soil.

We laid out the fabric on the edges to suppress weeds and pinned it down amply.

I kept extending the fabric. We have a real issue with Stinging Nettle under the peach and pear trees. The chickens had pushed it down, but it returned once they were moved.

I added in 3 hog panels, with each one being held up with two T-posts. These will be used for growing cucumbers, beans, and such, which need about 3 feet of height to grow.

I still have plenty of rocks to move, to fill the walkways. In a month it will look so different.

~Sarah

Grow Zone 8b: 2 Weeks Till Last Frost
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Grow Zone 8b: 2 Weeks Till Last Frost

Sarah

It’s April 1st.

With the recent changes in the USDA Grow Zones, if one searches for the last frost date for grow zone 8b, one might get the results of April 1st. I’d say this, though, based on years of watching the weather: That’s a huge April Fool’s joke; you’re risk-taking.

Why so?

Weather can be fickle. While the days are warming up, the nights are still cool. And come mid-week, the weather is predicted to have a chillier day with rain. Rain is not your friend in early Spring. It can drown the seeds, move them and cause havoc if it is hard rain, and seedling have just sprouted.

It’s one thing to have plants outside hardening off (that is a good thing to do!), but the soil in the ground or a raised bed is still cold.

plant starts in pots

(And I have a lot of plant starts outside now, getting ready to go in the ground)

It needs the nighttime temperatures to be higher than 40°:

While yes, many seeds will germinate at 35°, if nighttime temperatures are higher, they will germinate and grow faster. You will be on less of a struggle bus. Waiting just two weeks will make it much better. As we enter mid-April, the rains get gentler and less often. If you can wait until nighttime temps are near 50°, without dips, your plants and seeds will love you so much more.

And by April 15th, we will be over 13 hours of daylight—every minute counts in activating plant growth.

Instead, take the next two weeks to work on your garden beds:

  • Weed
  • Till as needed (I use a very light hand tiller to break up clumps of grass and weeds that are then hand removed)
  • Shape the rows
  • Lay down weed fabric to suppress growth on the edges if needed
  • Do pruning that is needed for any plants that are taking over spaces
  • Start more seeds inside or in your greenhouse – do this often!

We spent the last two days working on this beast. It isn’t entirely done, but I am nearly there. The story on this bed is that it was once raw land. Kirk ran the tractor over it five years ago, breaking it open (it had evergreen trees on it) and removing stumps and a lot of big rocks. Then, it became a test bed for plants and a chicken coop for a couple of years. Then, it sat empty last year and got covered in weeds. After weeding, doing a light till on top, laying down fabric, and making lines….it will soon be ready to plant.

I am working on another large bed this week as well. The fence is fixed, and weed suppression is in place. The final is removing the weeds and shaping the rows.

And removing rocks. Constantly removing rocks as they float up.

All to keep me occupied so that I resist the urge to plant everything…..

PS: And remember this sage advice, don’t plant tomatoes and peppers outside till at least mid-May in the PNW. They need warmth!

~Sarah

The Value Of White Sage Plants
Gardening · Herbalism · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

The Value Of White Sage Plants

Sarah

White Sage (Salvia apiana) is a sacred plant native to Southern California and the northern part of Baja, Mexico. It craves an arid existence. Seeing it wild is pretty amazing, and well worth traveling to see it (no touching though, do not harvest wild).

I always try to grow at least one White Sage in our greenhouse. I picked up a new one as soon as the plants showed up at a local plant nursery this winter. I view it as an every-other-year purchase here in the chilly PNW. I get 2-3 years out of each plant before we get a deep freeze/or water-logging episode. It just happens. Thankfully I can replace them.

The local plant nursery got a lot in this year. At around $25 a plant, it’s a money maker for them.

My other White Sage, it is a few years old, and lives full time in the greenhouse.

A fresh cutting that I delivered to a friend who was in need of it. I never sell my White Sage; as an herbalist, I believe it must be given freely. To those who need it. Blessed with love.

When working in the greenhouse, I periodically take cuttings and let them dry inside. The pungent aroma clears the air, especially nice in winter on rare blue-sky days when it warms up inside.

Why You Should Grow It:

There is much angst over buying commercially dried White Sage, as much of it is taken illegally off public and private lands, leading to issues with the plants’ futures. By growing your own, you can know your supply is ethical. Provide for yourself.

Deer don’t like it. It is too intense with essential oils.

The large plants grow to between 4 and 5 feet tall and are covered in beautiful seasonal blooms; during bloom time, they put on arms that can grow 10 feet high. Bees cannot resist visiting, so it is a great plant that encourages more bees.

There are many medicinal uses for the leaves. It is consumed as a tea when needed.

It is used in sage smudging.

The seeds are edible. By both humans and birds (quail love them).

~Sarah

Seed Saving: Heirloom Bean Seeds We Grew in 2023 And Saved
Gardening · Homesteading · Preserving

Seed Saving: Heirloom Bean Seeds We Grew in 2023 And Saved

Sarah

One of the most important things you can do as a gardener and homesteader is to preserve open-pollinated/heirloom seeds that grew well for you. Keep growing them, but also share with others so they can keep these seeds going. One single bean seed can produce many, so even 6 to 8 shared seeds is huge. By the second year of growing, you will have enough to eat.

These are the shelling beans we grew in the summer of 2023. Shelling means you can let the bean pod dry up on the plant and seed the pods once the outside is crispy dry. They can be stored in mason jars for eating in the cold months. They work well as beans in soups and cassoulets. If rain is predicted, we will pull beans by late August and let them finish drying on the counter or greenhouse.

Tiger’s Eye Beans. Originated from South America: Chile, and Argentina. Bush bean.

Hidatsa Red Indian Bean. One seed can produce a plant that produces 100 pods. Each pod holds 6 to 8 beans. They are called” half-runners” because they grow about 3 feet tall. They are drought-resistant.

Painted Pony Bean. It is a prized bush bean, and the markings often survive the cooking process.

Scarlet Runner Bean. It is an incredible bean known for its pole-climbing ability. It’ll grow very tall, so start building a teepee even before you plant it. Massive pods. It’s very popular for children’s gardens, and pollinator friendly.

Yellow Indian Woman Beans, also called Buckeye Beans now, were brought to the US from Sweden and grown in the harsh climate of Montana by the Indigenous people. They are bush beans.

Jacob’s Cattle Beans. Bush plant.

Rockwell Bean. This bean is named after the late 1800s pioneer Elisha Rockwell, who came to Whidbey Island and farmed in the now-Ebey Preserve. It’s a smaller bean and doesn’t grow as tall as some, making it perfect for the PNW region. It is a bush bean, but needs to have something to trellis on.

Orca Bean. Also known as the Calypso bean. It is a bush bean, with 4 to 5 beans per pod.

~Sarah