returning

I have been missing in action lately.  Buried under a mile long to-do list that included spreading my grandparents' ashes on the ground that used to be my grandmother's garden. 

Now I am hoping I am back, literally and figuratively -- my Grams' garden is in NJ, all the way across the country.  As I settle back in the weather is not cooperating.  We have little sun and no heat.  Today we are socked in with rain and clouds -- and not the variegated ones we are used to.  All in all, not a very inspiring day.

But I spent my morning at a Molbak's lecture on "How to Eat Your Front Yard," by Marianne Binetti (she has a new book, Edible Gardening For Washington and Oregon, that came out this spring.)  She was very engaging -- and apparently hosts European garden tours too.

I went because I was intrigued by the idea of integrating food with ornamentals -- plus I am always a sucker for a lecture that promises information specific to my climate.  She offered four steps: start with a plan, improve the soil with raised beds (or grow herbs instead), grow up, and create edible fences/borders.  The information that I took away that was particularly useful for me was:

• find garden hotspots for warm weather veggies.  Hotspots are located on the south and west sides of the house and are often near concrete (which will increase heat by holding it and releasing it overnight.)
• swiss chard will last for 2 years (while you slowly harvest the outer leaves) if planted in a raised bed that offers good drainage.  Which made me think: why am I reseeding it every 4 weeks??!
• harvest herbs between 10 am (when the leaves dry) and noon (when the essential oils start to burn off.)
• blueberries only need to be protected from birds when they are at their ripest.  She likes "tutu" tulle for the task.
• cover seeds with flat boards or tulle for three days when first planted to keep birds from eating your seeds as treats.
• red mulch has been shown to speed tomato growth (though only by 2-3 days).  You can buy red plastic mulch -- or use red plastic plates to get this effect.
• in the Pacific NW, you shouldn't pinch out the suckers that grow between branches on tomatoes.  The plants need every leaf they can get to absorb our limited sun.