Garden, Tools & Seed Shack

Growing Small Grains: Purple Prairie Barley in Western Washington

2011-09-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Copyright © 2011 Cherie Kuranko. All Rights Reserved.

A couple photographs of an test plot of barley at our Western Washington State farm. The barley we purchased was Purple Prairie Barley (Tibetan Purple Barley). What grew we believe is a cross between the 2-row Purple Prairie barley variety and an unknown 6-row barley variety.

We bought our seed stock from a local, private seller. Our first mistake as we are having difficulty now trying to get a refund on the cross-contaminated seed stock. However, it was our first test plot with any barley variety on our Western Washington farm and we learned that barley grows very well here--despite the later than normal planting date due to rainy, cold weather like we experienced this year.

The barley will soon be ready to harvest. While we won't be able to save the seed for future Purple Prairie barley crops due to the presence of the 6-row barley in the test plot, we should be able to add the grain to our homemade chicken and pig feeds. We could also save the barley for human consumption and grind to flour as needed to try making our own bread.

Upper Photograph: Test plot of barley growing well in wet, cold Western Washington. Photo taken in late August. Planting date was May 31, 2011.

Lower Photograph: Shows the cross well between Purple Prairie Barley and an unknown 6-row barley. Purple Prairie barley should only have 2-rows and is normally a much darker purple color.

Backyard & Home Wedding Landscape Projects

2011-05-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Learn how to create your dream outdoor wedding at home or in the backyard. Make a 3-tiered wedding cake with raised beds and flowers to match your wedding theme or colors. Or try the hanging bridal bouquet garden project. Great ideas for landscaping for outdoor weddings in parks, at home or in the backyard of the family home.

Backyard Wedding Garden Projects & Ideas

Rhubarb: Delicious & Easy to Grow

2011-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Learn how to plant, grow and harvest your own crop of rhubarb. Just a few rhubarb plants will supply the average family with 15 years of rhubarb for all those delicious rhubarb recipes.

All about Rhubarb: How to Grow and Harvest Rhubarb

Maintaining your Garden Tools

2011-04-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Most gardeners have a few broken garden tools in their tool sheds, but with proper maintenance you can make your shovels, rakes, hoes and other gardening tools last much longer.

At the end of every garden season take time to care for your garden tools and store them in a clean, dry shed out of the harsh winter weather. Follow these garden tool tips:

Use steel wool to clean up the metal surfaces of your shovels, rakes and hoes. Rub the steel wool over the metal until all debris and rust is removed.

Wipe down the metal surface with a small amount of mineral spirits to remove sap and give the tool a final cleaning.

Spray a small amount of WD-40 over the metal surface and use an old rag to rub it evenly over the entire metal surface.

Using a clean rag, add a small amount of linseed oil to the rag. Wipe down the wooden handles of your garden tools. This will help keep the wood from splitting or drying out during the cold winter months when not in use.

Store all your garden tools in a dry shed when not in use.

Some gardeners like to store their garden shovels in a bucket of sand in the shed on a regular basis. Just push the shovelhead into a bucket of sand and it will help keep it from rusting.

Build a Mason Bee House Project

2011-04-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Mason bees are wonderful pollinators to introduce into an organic flower or vegetable garden. Learn how to welcome them into your garden by building a mason bee house or nest using recycled items most people have lying around their homes.

How to Build a Mason Bee House

Orchard Mason Bees

2011-04-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

In a bee to bee competition orchard mason bees pollinate better than honeybees. With the decrease in honeybees the mason bee has perked the interests of organic vegetable gardeners.

Click here to learn more about these interesting bees.

Grow Your Own Food: How to Live a More Sustainable Lifestyle

2011-03-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Growing, harvesting and preserving your own food are skills that are learned over time. Discover the many ways you can begin living a more self-sustainable lifestyle. Growing food is just one. Learn more here.

How to Make Organic Compost Tea

2011-03-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

Using organic compost tea in your flower or vegetable garden can help provide essential nutrients and microbial organisms to your soil and plants. Learn a simple way to make organic compost tea in a bucket at home. A quick DIY project with huge benefits in the home flower garden or organic vegetable patch.

For Directions for Organic Compost Tea Click Here

Stop Stinging Nettle Burn & Itch

2011-02-25T13:36:00.001-08:00

QUICK GARDENING TIP: Gardeners often encounter stinging nettles while working outdoors. Some nettles pack quite a sting. For instant, quick relief from stinging nettles just split open the stalk of the stinging nettle plant and inside you will find a gel-like substance. Apply it to the area where the nettles stung you. The pain quickly subsides and you can go back to gardening without the burn and itch of stinging nettles.

Garden Tools: Choosing the Right Garden Shovel

2011-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Using the right tools for the task at hand when gardening is a time-saver, easier and it cuts down on the body stress. Nobody likes sore backs, blisters and aching muscles. Learn how to choose the right garden shovel for your next project by reading the article below:

Garden Tools: Choosing the Right Garden Shovel

Make a Gardening Calendar & Unique Gifts for Gardeners

2011-02-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

The tasks gardeners have to grow a successful garden are many and it can be difficult keeping up with them all. Follow the link to learn how to make a gardening calendar. Keep track of those daily, weekly, monthly or even annual gardening chores and enjoy personalized photographs each month of your favorite garden flowers, vegetables and outdoor scenery.

How to Make a Gardening Calendar

If you've been searching for the perfect gift for the gardener in your life--look no further. A fabulous link to unique and useful gardening gifts can be found here.

How to Grow, Harvest and Save Lettuce Seed

2011-01-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

A vegetable garden isn't complete without lettuce. A basic vegetable, lettuce tops a salad, tosses in a bowl for a perfect salad, crunches in a taco and adds color to a wide variety of dishes.

Learn how to grow lettuce and harvest your own seed for future crops. Seed saving has become a popular and important aspect of home gardening. Saving your own lettuce seed cuts expenses and using saved seed from the same location year after year helps produce a better plant.

Read: How to Grow, Harvest & Save Lettuce Seed

What Can You Do with Dandelions?

2011-01-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo to read about all the fascinating

things you can do with dandelions.

Mum's Old Fashion Beet Pickle Recipe

2011-01-14T12:46:00.001-08:00

When planting beets for canning or pickling I like the variety Detroit Dark Beets and for a new twist we tried Albino Beets last season. They were a great success, though grown side by side in the garden the Detroit beets outgrew the Albino beets by a bit.

Pictured are canned Albino Beets. For a great recipe, try Mum's Old Fashion Beet Pickles. You can use the recipe to pickle any beet variety.

From Cucumbers to Dill Pickles

2011-01-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

There are many varieties of cucumbers to choose from, but if you plan on making dill pickles be sure to choose a pickling cucumber. My favorite is called Double Yield. It is a hybrid, so it's no good for seed saving, but who can resist this fantastic cuke for making crisp, snappy dill pickles. Double Yield lives up to its name as well--producing pickle after pickle all season long.

For a superb, crispy dill pickle recipe, try this Old Fashion Dill Pickle Recipe. Pickling is an art. This recipe has been been taught from generation to generation in our family.

Save Pumpkin, Squash & Gourd Seeds: Learn How

2010-09-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

Howden pumpkins growing in the field.

I love growing pumpkins, squashes and gourds. They are one of the easiest and most forgiving type of vegetables to grow in the garden. Just poke a seed in, water and the vines will grow like crazy--producing a great array of fall color and tasty foods.

Learn how to save your seeds and grow your favorite varieties from year to year without ever buying pumpkin or squash seeds again. An easy, step by step guide for choosing seeds and varieties, growing tips and how to harvest, dry and properly store your pumpkin seeds. View article here.

Covers all Cucurbia species; maxima, moschata, mixta, pepo, ficifolia, foetidissima within the Cucurbitaceae family.

Pictured: 8-Ball zucchinis, spaghetti squash, yellow crooked-neck & straight-necked squashes, black beauty zucchinis, gold rush zucchini and much more. All squash in the Cucurbita genus.

Forest Gardening: Shade Tolerant Plants

2010-09-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Want a garden with vegetables, fruits, edible wild foods and a lush appearance? If you answered yes, then forest gardening may be the place to cast your seeds and get started.

Forest gardening, or growing vegetables in shady woodlands, is possible and a very intriguing type of gardening that is becoming more popular as gardeners seek ways to work with nature instead of against it. There are some links to beautiful forest gardens and lots of information about this style of gardening.

Get out of the hot sun and plant a forest garden in the shade.

Forest Gardening: Shade Tolerant Vegetables and Herbs

Farmers Market: Sell More with Niche Growing & Marketing Plan

2010-09-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Learn how to increase sales at your Farmers Market booth, how to develop a niche growing and marketing plan, booth/display tips and MUCH more. This is an article written by an experienced vegetable farmer and farmers market vendor. It offers professional, solid information on how to improve traffic and sales at your farmers market booth.

Farmers Market Tips: Sell More With Niche Growing & Marketing

Seed Saving: How to Store & Guide to Seed Life

2010-09-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

Seed saving has become a hot gardening topic and vegetable gardeners are learning the importance of saving their vegetable seeds for future crops. As the small seed companies offering heirloom and open-pollinated seeds dwindle each year at a fast rate, gardeners have begun learning how to grow, harvest and save their own seeds to preserve the varieties they love for future generations.

If you are a seed saver and have started your own seed bank, these are two articles you must read. Learn how to properly store your seeds to maximize seed life and be sure to print out the seed life guide as a handy reference tool. It lists the life of properly stored seeds for over 47 vegetables commonly grown by vegetable gardeners.

Seed Saving: Best Method for Storing Vegetable Seeds

Seed Saving: How Long will my Seed Last? A Seed Life Guide

Get Rid of Slugs: Slug Fencing & Slug Pubs

2010-09-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Organic gardeners seek ways and alternative methods to preventing slugs and other insects from destroying their crops. If you're tired of seeing slime trails and half-eaten lettuce in your garden, try slug fencing or slug pubs. Both are good ways to avoid using slug bait and other nasty chemicals in your organic vegetable garden.

Slug Pubs & Slug Fencing: Organic Slug Prevention Article

Harvesting Hubbard Squash & Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Recipe

2010-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hubbard squashes, known for their ability to grow into very large squashes, make a tasty fall dish. Hubbard squash should be harvested immediately after the first fall frost. Cut the hubbard from the vine, leaving a short stub as you would a pumpkin. They can then be stored in a cool, dark area and eaten well into spring. A garage or basement is an ideal location to store hubbard squashes.

Due to their large size, it is often hard to eat one before it goes bad. A fabulous way to serve hubbard squash is to use it for Thanksgiving supper when you have a lot of mouths to feed.

Learn how to make Hubbard Squash Mashed Potatoes and serve the entire dish in the shell of the hubbard. The potatoes have a gorgeous orange fall color, are healthier than potatoes and if served in the hubbard shell can also serve as a centerpiece on your Thanksgiving supper table.

THANKSGIVING HUBBARD SQUASH MASHED POTATO RECIPE

Too Many Pumpkins? Recyle Into Gifts & Treats

2010-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

If you find your garden pleasantly rewarding you with a bounty of pumpkins, it's time to turn them into unique gifts and treats. Make gift baskets for your friends using these clever ways to turn too many pumpkins into gift buying savings. The following are included in the article:

Pumpkin Pickles
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Seed Bird Treats
Pumpkin-Orange Jam
Pumpkin Butter
Grandma's Favorite Pumpkin Bread
How to recycle pumpkin candles into cool fire starters (Great for a gift basket)

CLICK HERE TO RECYCLE YOUR PUMPKINS

Propagation of Herbs:How to Start Herbs with Cuttings

2010-09-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Discover how to start an herb garden by learning how to propagate herbs with cuttings. It is an inexpensive way to expand the herb varities in your garden and it's very easy to learn and do. Click HERE to get started.

Cocoa Bean Mulches: Are they Toxic?

2010-09-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

As gardeners it is important to use products that are not only safe for the environment, but safe for our family and pets as well. Cocoa bean mulches can cause illness and death to pets and livestock if eaten in certain quantities. Learn more about cocoa bean mulches here. It addresses the recent emails about Sunshine of Africa cocoa shell mulch alerts.

Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, WA

2010-09-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Garden lovers and wild mushroom harvesters will enjoy a trip to the Hoh Rain Forest located in the Olympic National Park in Washington State. Follow this link to view photos and information about the Hoh Rain Forest--it is a truly mystical forest.