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Ellen Robinson
Ellen Robinson

16 Articles

Wallingford resident since 2002, Urban Farmer

We are talking about the Birds and the Bees…Support the pollinators!

Ellen Robinson July 15, 2020 2 Comments

Our home gardens in the neighborhood provide support and habitat for birds and insects.  Choosing certain plants that support these “friends” can help you keep the “foes” of your garden to a minimum.   After spending time and energy getting your kitchen garden a.k.a. “Victory Garden” installed, there is nothing more frustrating that seeing crops being stressed by pests and impacting the harvest you have worked so hard to achieve. 

Plant stress and insect damage can be minimized by building your soil, paying attention to the health of your crops,  and keeping a diverse mix of plants in the edible garden.  …

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Gardening in July is all about the water

Ellen Robinson June 30, 2020 1 Comment

June in Seattle started and ended the same way – with gray rainy skies!  We know where the term “June-uary” comes from I guess!  Here’s to summer kicking into gear in the Northwest like it usually does (on July 5th).   The good news is that the gardens are happy and the gardeners are not tired of watering yet!

Keeping your vegetable garden happy in the summer can be a chore.  The long stretches of hot dry weather are a challenge and it requires constant monitoring of the soil moisture if you want to ensure that all the hard work you …

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Beans for the future

Ellen Robinson June 2, 2020 1 Comment

As challenging times continue across the city and the country, getting outside and digging in the dirt can provide a welcome change.  While planting a few seeds is not going to fix the world’s problems, it can provide some solace and satisfaction on an individual level.   Remember the fairy tale about Jack and the Beanstalk?  Let’s all be like Jack and plant some magic beans!

Beans are a mainstay of the summer vegetable garden and they are great place to start an edible garden because they are easy-to-grow!

The seeds are large and easy to handle for direct planting (great …

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Beyond the Tomato

Ellen Robinson May 13, 2020 1 Comment

As I walk around the neighborhood these days I see more and more edible garden beds popping up in parking strips, side yards and containers.  With more time at home folks are taking their chances in the garden which is great to see! 

Almost everyone I know gets inspired to grow a few tomato plants at this time of the year – and why not?  Starter tomato plants are available in many stores around town and nothing beats a homegrown tomato! 

But what about moving beyond the basics this year?  Why not go out of your comfort zone and try …

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Victory Gardens are Trending!

Ellen Robinson April 22, 2020 Comments are off

By now, I am sure all of you have heard about the revival of the Victory Garden. During WWI and WWII Victory Gardens were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens that were planted at homes and public parks all over the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany during both wars. From coast to coast, even public land was utilized, with gardens installed in both the Boston Commons and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.  People plowed front yards, lawns, back yards, flower gardens and vacant lots to grow their own vegetables.

How much food were they able to grow? 

In 1943 these …

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Herb Gardens – Creative Ideas for Crazy Times

Ellen Robinson April 6, 2020 Comments are off

During these crazy times it is great for us to get outside and put our focus into productive projects that provide an opportunity to use our pent up physical and emotional energy.  Edible gardening projects provide a chance to use our bodies and our minds and will offer us some nutritional sustenance in the coming months. 

I was thinking about one of the first plants I successfully grew (given my long time history as a plant killer) and recalled that I had been able to once get a rosemary plant to thrive in a pot on our condo balcony many …

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Inspired for Spring?

Ellen Robinson March 19, 2020 Comments are off

I spent a recent evening at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and the theme of the week was “Spring Fever”.  They even had vegetables planted in a canoe! Does anyone else feel that spring is in the air? Are you excited to start digging in the dirt?

I was inspired by a talk by Brian Minter who is the Co-owner and president, Minter Country Garden Store, an innovative destination garden center and greenhouse growing operation in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. 

He discussed “The Fascinating Connection Between Plants, People and the Environment” which focused on the relationship and connection between …

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