Gardening

Dr. Doo’s Holidoo

Kisses might begin with the letter "k," but they don't begin with "Kay."  And I will not be adding the Lexus ringtone to my partner's phone Christmas Eve (sorry, honey!). I just spent a week at a hotel/mall that's been overtaken by holiday-themed consumerism.  They charge $30 to decorate gingerbread cookies with "Gingy" while waiting to have a photo taken with Santa. The 19-story atrium is decked out in twinkly Christmas lights.  Christmas trees line the hotel lobby. Parking valets wear…

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The Garden in Winter

Getting the garden ready for winter is often enlightening. As you are out cleaning up old stalks, raking leaves, or picking up wormy apples, you might also find some interesting ground beetles or other insects searching for food on a semi-dry or warm day. It’s often the first clue that there is more going on out there than it seems. This is a good time to think about how your garden serves the creatures who stay here for the winter –…

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Fruit Tree Tip: Pick Up Fallen Fruit and Leaves

Would you like to grow apples on your tree that you'd actually want to eat? Now is the time for some quick cleanup tasks that will give you better fruit next year. Pick up fallen fruit.  Regularly collect fruit that is on the ground and add it to your yard waste. This is the single most important thing you can do to prevent insect pests next year.  Pests in fallen fruit overwinter beneath the tree and are in the perfect place…

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Celebrate the Original Slow Food: Apples

Show your support for local folks who take the long-term view of food production. Thursday (11/3) from 5-8 pm, join City Fruit, Northwest Cider Association, and Northwest Sustainability Collaborative for a night of cider tasting from some of the best hard cider makers in the region. For $20 you get 5 tastes. Get your ticket on-line or at the door at 314 First Ave. S.  Every dollar goes toward helping feed hungry people in our community. To learn more and purchase…

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Fall Planting

It’s not too late to plant! The ground is still warm from what little summer we’ve had, and now that the rains are moving in, it’s a nice time for seeds to germinate and roots to develop. Even though it may not look like much is going on above ground, fall-planted perennials will put on a lot of root growth, from fall till late winter, while the demand from leaves and flowers is low. A big root system gives plants a…

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Get to know your traffic circle

Walking home Saturday I met my neighbor, Deborah Niedermeyer, who was tending our traffic circle. I realized I don't know anything about the traffic circle, other than that the kids squeal when we bike around it an extra time. I'm sure each traffic circle in Wallingford has a very interesting history, but here's the story of my favorite one at 2nd Ave NE & NE 43rd St: in 1992, Deborah took pictures to document fender benders (before the days of digital…

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City Grown Wallingford

Hyperlocal is the new local, and that goes for veggies as well as news. Want some produce that's even more local than you can get at the Farmers Market? Let us introduce you to Noelani Alexander, Scott Behmer and the City Grown crew. Tomorrow (Monday) from 4 - 7 pm, they're holding their first farm stand sale at their home in Wallingford (4108 Eastern Ave N). What's on sale? Carrots, beets, sweet onions, lettuce, chard, kale*, broccoli, fingerling potatoes, summer squash,…

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