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Bindweed

Bindweed

Keith and I planted our first garden the year before we married. We saw it as a sort of compatibility test, an opportunity to prove that if we planned carefully  …
Eating the Rainbow

Eating the Rainbow

A lot of nutritionists these days are urging us to eat our way through the color wheel. The Seven Day Color Diet, for example, first popularized in 2003, suggests choosing  …
Bounty

Bounty

A hot, wet Spring yielded small, intensely sweet strawberries. We ate gallons of them—in homemade ice cream or over fresh warm shortcake, sure, but mostly right out of the bowl,  …
The Summer the Animals Came Close

The Summer the Animals Came Close

For 25 years, my husband and I have gardened, composted, and planted natives on a quarter acre in our small Oregon city. We shaped the yard into zones, raising veggies,  …
The Joy of NonGardening

The Joy of NonGardening

Some people are born gardeners, and some are not. When representatives from these two groups meet, they slam together like magnets, for some reason. There’s instant rapport: “What kind of  …
Fruit of the Womb

Fruit of the Womb

When I think of my father, I picture him tending to his plants. Or, at least, hands on his lower back, gazing down at them. One of my most cherished  …
Gardening Keeps Me Young

Gardening Keeps Me Young

As diehard football fans may re-member, a while back the Denver Broncos had a quarterback by the name of Tim Tebow. There was some controversy at the time over some  …
Dealing with Radish Diseases

Dealing with Radish Diseases

Like all food crops, radishes are susceptible to various fungal diseases, however they’re quite the tough crop. Because of their short growing period, they don’t have much time to develop  …