Did you know there are 30 apple trees at Meridian Playground? Most of them are from the historic Good Shepherd Center orchard. Ever notice what a mess there is when those apples fall on the ground in the fall? Ever wonder why no one picked the apples? Do you want to help those trees grow apples you would actually want to bite into? Come to the Meridian Playground orchard this Sunday, June 1, starting at noon, and help bring those trees…
Do your fruit trees drop more fruit on the ground than into your hands? Do you seek the secret to growing apples organically - without worms? Would you like to help harvest surplus fruit in your neighborhood and get it to those who need it most? City Fruit, a Seattle non-profit that supports care and harvest of local tree fruit, will be expanding into the Wallingford, Fremont, and Ballard neighborhoods this summer to harvest fruit that would normally go to waste.…
So you live in Wallingford and, of course, you faithfully collect your food scraps and haul them out to the yard waste cart. But do you yearn for a container that's a bit more stylish than that old quart-size yogurt container? Now's your chance. The City of Seattle is offering compost buckets (pictured right) to give - for free - to residents who pledge to compost. The buckets retail for about $15 and are dishwasher-safe. Pick up your free compost collector…
The long, cold days of winter anesthetize my soul. Apparently they do the same to fruit trees, because we are entering prime pruning season: the time of year when it won't damage your tree's essence if you trim back its branches. Of course, with fruit trees you really want to prune correctly so that you encourage fruit production and reduce the chances of introducing disease. Which makes it lucky that the fine folks at FECO (the Freeway Estates Community Orchard) are…
Editor's note: For several years, generous neighbor Cyrus Appel has hosted the Wallingford Greenhouse in his backyard. You can read more about that here. Cyrus is unable to host the greenhouse this year, but the volunteers who run the greenhouse, the gardeners who grow the starts into food for the hungry, and the organizations that receive the food are all hoping that a new home can be located quickly so that this amazing program can continue. Your personal home, your work,…
Ruth from the Freeway Estates Community Orchard (FECO) let us know that fungi fun will be mushrooming at FECO this weekend when mushroom coaches help future backyard mycologists (that's you!) learn about the art of mushroom growing. Sound Transit recently removed two beautiful Scarlet Oak trees near Roosevelt High School in order to make way for light rail. Rather than let that wood go to waste (and since oak is perfect for growing several different varieties of edible mushrooms), FECO teamed up with Roosevelt…
Last month, the Freeway Estates Community Orchard solicited input from the neighborhood to help shape the design process for this new community space. While, sadly, zeppelin dock did not make the final cut, plenty of other great ideas did including: food, flowers, classes, butterfly garden, flea market, exercise/play station, P-Patch, solar panels, sound wall movie nights, berries, herbs, HDA walkways, goats, bees, food exchange, tool sharpening and meeting area. Orchard mistress Ruth wrote to invite the neighborhood to convene again for the…