Category Archives: Garden Prep

Save The Bees, Please

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Ann Lovejoy
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Protecting Our Beloved Bees A reader recently asked me to write about bees. Most gardeners are aware that  if ripe flowers don’t get pollinated, no zucchini–or whatever–can happen. Fewer people realize that a large percentage of all fruits, flowers, vegetables … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Prep, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Recycled Manure Creates Power And Great Poo

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Ann Lovejoy
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

This summer, I received a load of crap that made me very, very happy. I’ve been using aged cow manure in the garden for years, especially appreciating its soil conditioning qualities. Cow manure is weed free, thanks to cow’s multi-chambered tummies and the tiny seed-eating aphids that live in manure piles. It’s also the best top dressing I’ve ever found, looking (if not smelling) like chocolate frosting, a most handsome effect. Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Prep, Nutrition, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | 1 Comment

We Need Safer Slug Baits

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Ann Lovejoy
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Commercial Brands Are Toxic After All Slugs are the Northwestern gardener’s worst pest, followed distantly by aphids. For years, I’ve promoted the use of Sluggo and other iron phosphate-based slug baits as a safe, nontoxic alternative to metaldehyde baits, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Prep, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged | 26 Comments

Splendid Simplicity

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Ann Lovejoy
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

In Praise Of Concentrated Flavors I’m gloating over the end of summer bounty in my kitchen, revealing in overflowing bowls of tomatoes, a peck (ok, more like half a peck) of peppers, a sack of handsome potatoes, some striped Delicate … Continue reading →

Posted in fall/winter crops, Garden Prep, Recipes, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , | 4 Comments