Journal

Latest Posts

• Growing Kale: The Virtuous Vegetable
  Kale can be planted as early as March for harvest in summer (sooner for baby greens), but it does best grown for the winter garden. For frost-sweetened kale, plant sometime between May and July (varieties like Lacinato and Winterbor take longer to mature, so plant them in early May; Red Russian and Redbor can be planted as late as early July) for harvest all through fall, winter, and next spring. […]
• A Reformed Slacker’s Guide to Garden Planning
  Get the most out of your small-space garden with these tips and resources for planning your most productive vegetable garden ever. […]
• Garlic: good for garden and kitchen alike
  Learn how to plant garlic, how to grow garlic, how to harvest garlic, and how to store garlic. Also learn how to use garlic scapes and harvest green garlic. […]
• Zucchini: a love story
  Zucchini is, given the right conditions (sun, rich soil, space), dead easy to grow. No need to start it indoors, just poke a few seeds in the ground, water, and wait for the bounty. […]
• Hardy and Unusual Greens to Plant Now for Fall and Winter Harvest
  Plant these cold hardy and unusual greens in summer and harvest them all through fall and winter. Focus on seeding hardy greens that will establish quickly and stand up to the coming cool season. Lettuce? Of course. Spinach, chard, and arugula? Yes, yes, and yes. But also consider more unusual greens, both for the salad bowl and stir-fry. […]
• Rhubarb Jewel Cake: How to grow rhubarb and strive for balance through seasonal rituals
  Rhubarb is possibly the most popular and easy-to-grow perennial vegetable. I use mine to make Rhubarb Jewel Cake, a simple, but delicious spring dessert that's rich in flavour but not too sweet. […]
• Plant profile: Why Daphne odora is my favourite evergreen shrub (and should be on your to-plant list!)
  Winter Daphne, or Daphne odora, is: evergreen deliciously fragrant a slow grower with a tidy shape a good choice for small gardens shade tolerant winter hardy attractive to hummingbirds doesn't require pruning […]
• Garden therapy: finding optimism and the will to persevere in the dirt
  Gardening requires optimism. You have to look forward with hope and see past the weeds and the voracious insects to the season of your favourite rose or the first snap peas. You have to persevere. […]
• The myth of the no-maintenance garden
  The rise in popularity of low- or “no-maintenance” (ha!) landscapes is part of a simultaneous trend: the one where you’re supposed to do everything perfectly, yet have it all look effortless. […]
• Vegetable seeds to sow in early spring
  Wondering which seeds to start in Vancouver in February or March? These tips for getting your vegetable garden started apply across the Pacific Northwest and similarly mild climates. […]