Gardening

Read more about the article Permaculture in Wallingford: Creating an Edible Ecosystem

Permaculture in Wallingford: Creating an Edible Ecosystem

What is Permaculture? I first heard the term “permaculture” when I discovered Christoper Shen’s book on the topic, which begins with the question, “What vegetable gardener wouldn’t like to grow more food in less time for less money?” He encourages the home gardener to work with nature rather than against it to create a garden that thrives with minimal intervention. A few weeks ago, I noticed a sign in front of Gift of Grace church, located at 2102 N 40th Street,…

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Read more about the article The Tomatoes of Wallingford

The Tomatoes of Wallingford

Tomatoes are one of the best tastes of the summer. On my daily walks, I have been monitoring the many, many creative ways we are growing our tomato plants in the neighborhood. We use trellises, cages, raised beds, large planters, and many other home-grown solutions! Even with all of the heat we have been having, those stubborn tomatoes are still taking their sweet time ripening (Early Girls excluded, obviously)! If you are impatient or your plants are struggling, you can supercharge…

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Read more about the article How To RainWise Your Garden
Cisterns at the Good Shepherd P-Patch

How To RainWise Your Garden

A Wallyhood Waters series If you’re planning a yard renovation this summer, consider installing a rain garden, a cistern, or even both. Here’s why: We live above Lake Union, the most urbanized lake in King County. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has made major improvements to protect our waterways with the Ship Canal Water Quality Project by adding an underground storage tunnel starting on Stone Way N across from the Transfer Station. This huge project will help prevent overflow of sewer and…

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Read more about the article Freeway Estates Community Orchard Plant Sale This Saturday, April 11

Freeway Estates Community Orchard Plant Sale This Saturday, April 11

The Freeway Estates Community Orchard (FECO) plant sale returns for 2026 this Saturday afternoon, April 11th. FECO was started in 2010 by a group of determined area volunteers when the plot was just grass and invasive plants. Today, they offer several events throughout the year, and the annual plant sale is one of them. The plant sale arrives just in time to kick off the gardening season, featuring veggie starts, flowers, native and ornamental plants, dahlia tubers, ornamental bulbs, fruiting plants,…

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Read more about the article Seed Selection, Seed Starting, and Seed Swapping

Seed Selection, Seed Starting, and Seed Swapping

Seed Selection With the holidays behind us and the short (but lengthening) days of January in front of us, all thoughts turn to… seed starting? Well, maybe not ALL thoughts, but certainly some thoughts! The new year brings a slew of seed catalogs to my mailbox, which make for cozy reading on the couch. Who can resist Snow Crown (cauliflower), Purple Sun (carrots), Bright Lights (Swiss Chard), or my personal favorite, Cash Machine (zucchini)? Purchasing seeds from local growers provides a gardener with…

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Fall Garden Planning and Planting!

Fall Garden Planning and Planting!

Refresh your vegetable garden with plans for the Fall Harvest The flowers are blooming, the squash are coming in and the tomatoes are ripening, which means you can still start planning for the fall garden harvest! Over the next few weeks there are quite a few plants you can get in the ground for a October and November (and sometimes even December) harvest! Because it's a little later in the gardening season many stores will mark down seeds and other plants…

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Read more about the article Growing Good Apples 101

Growing Good Apples 101

The apple trees are budding in Wallingford, and if you want a good harvest you should start tending to them soon. I’m not a fruit tree expert, but I am an avid backyard gardener and a nerd who reads a lot. It took me several years of research and trial and error to finally yield a good harvest from my own apple tree. Hopefully what I’ve learned can help you, too.  In my mind, I like to separate apple tree problems…

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