Birding on Snaggy Saturdays

I love the majestic shape of this snag, and so do the birds. Observed on February 4, 2020.

What's Happening at the Third Street Community Garden?

Arlington's community garden moved to a new location this year next to Presidents Elementary School on E Third St. I got involved with the garden in spring and decided to volunteer some time for the food bank patch. Here are some of the highlights from the first growing season:

Staking out an area at the north end of the garden. 

Removing grass and weeds. 4/21/19

Tilled with a layer of compost. 5/17/19

Added a fun rock pathway in the middle, using rocks we found while weeding and tilling the ground. 5/23/19

Seeds and starts planted. Corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, chives, and marigolds. 5/28/19

I also planted and cared for two food bank raised beds. This one had tomatoes, chard, cauliflower, marigolds, and pineapple sage. 5/28/19

Second food bank box. Tomatoes, chard, cauliflower, squash, and marigolds. 5/28/19

I experimented with woodchips to see if they would help retain moisture (or for that matter, negatively affect the plants). 6/2/19

6/2/19

The soil was pretty nitrogen deficient, so I watered with fish fertilizer. Made a big difference. 6/21/19

Makeshift bean trellis. This worked wonderfully in the beginning, but needed to be much bigger once the beans really took off. 6/21/19

6/21/19

Pollinators enjoyed the chive flowers. 5/28/19

First cauliflower. 6/21/19

7/25/19

7/25/19

7/25/19

The sunflowers were incredible! 8/3/19

So colorful! 8/25/19

I'm happy about well-pollinated ears of corn. 8/25/19

Tomatoes are here! 8/27/19

Harvests

Here are some of our food bank donations. Next year I'd like to keep a better log of how much we harvest. Not bad for a brand new location and a late start.

7/17/19

8/27/19

9/9/19

9/9/19

Snaggy Saturdays

I visited the Northwest Stream Center in Everett, WA this week. I loved the boardwalk nature trail, and guess what -- the folks here appreciate a good stump! Observed August 1, 2019.

Thank You, Blueberry

Happy Lughnasadh, everyone. I wish I had more to show for my gardening efforts, but it's been another challenging year with my physical and mental health, and I haven't been able to make as much progress as I would have liked. However, I was pleased to see that my neglected Peach Sorbet blueberry bush was loaded with fruit. I brought this bush home from the nursery five years ago, and it's unfortunately stayed in plant purgatory that whole time, despite my desire to get in the ground. I thanked it and said some kind words, which is not something I normally do. It's times like these when I remember why I fell in love with edible gardening.

First Harvest Meal

You know me, y'all. As soon as the first tomatoes ripen, it's Caprese salad time. I look forward to this so hard. Tomatoes are my favorite homegrown ingredients.

I just harvested a bunch of squash at the community garden, so I turned a few into a tasty...thing. :)

Donated to the food bank:

Appreciating the Heliotrope

I love the purple blooms and subtle vanilla-like scent of Heliotropium arborescens. This swallowtail seems to like it, too.

Snaggy Saturdays

Intentional snag at Portage Creek Wildlife Reserve in Arlington, WA. I love that they left so many perches, and hey, it's also a great post for a sign. Observed on April 28, 2019.