Peas and bulbs and phlox, oh my!

Tomorrow April begins, and with it us Zone 5-ers can at least begin to expect warmer weather (I have just guaranteed, by making this statement, that we will get one more snow storm here in Colorado. Sorry!). Yesterday it hit 80 here for the first time and that warm weather following so closely on the [...]

Learning to Knit

This past fall, I started knitting. Oh sure, I knitted a scarf or a pot holder or something when I was 12, but this was the first time I’d given it a go as an adult. Armed with a copy of Patons Next Steps, a pair of size 10 bamboo needles, and a couple of [...]

Weed Now, Drink Beer Later

Everyone’s heard the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” But I prefer my own slight variant when it comes to spring gardening: “Weed a little in March, sit back and drink beer in July.” That’s right. When many folks are out in the blazing sun pulling deep-rooted perennial weeds [...]

Transplanting Seedlings

OK, you’ve identified how much garden space you need, chosen your veggies, planned some container gardens,  started seedlings, completed all of your March garden tasks, and chosen a seed company, now you’re probably ready to transplant some of those seedlings you started! Check your seedlings and if they’re not quite big enough to transplant, be [...]

March Phat Fiber “Fluff” – The Elements

My father used to tell this great story about sawing off the treadle of my grandmother’s spinning wheel as retribution for her not letting he and my uncle go out to hunt. In the end, they climbed out the window and went anyway, and I can only imagine my grandfather’s reaction when he learned what [...]

Choosing a Seed Company

In December last year, the first gorgeous, glossy seed magazine arrived in my mailbox. After fleeing to a private spot to drool review it in detail, I started thinking about how we choose where to buy our seeds. If the early bird truly does get the worm, Seeds of Change, sender of that first beautiful [...]

Get the jump on the spring garden

Energized by the first truly spring-like week we’ve had this season, I spent a lot of time in the garden these past few days. Yes, I know there’s still snow in the shady spots and the ground alternates between frozen and muddy muck, but there’s still a lot you can do in the early spring [...]

Garden Primer 4 – Starting Plants from Seed

With this post, my garden primer series transitions from the planning stage to the doing stage. I will be writing about what I’m actually doing in my garden as I do it, so if you’re in Zone 5-ish, you can probably follow along in your own garden! So, if you’ve been following along with this [...]