by Catherine Haug
I continue to research gardening tips/advice for our Montana climate. Here are a few useful articles and sites. [See “References” at the end of the article for urls.] (more…)
Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
Growing Guides for Montana Gardens
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010Gardening: Sequential Planting through the Seasons
Monday, March 29th, 2010by Catherine Haug
Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, April 2010 issue included an interesting article titled “Planning and Planting.” The premiss of the article is to plant for the season: spring, summer and fall, to maximize the productivity of a small garden space (such as Square Foot Gardening). And, as described in The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman, and Paul Renner’s recent gathering on Peaceful Gardens Year-Round Food Production Facility, one can even plant through the winter if a greenhouse (or cold frame) is available.
The BH&G article illustrates the same bed, with plantings in each season. I expand upon this information, with what I’ve been learning over the last year or so. My sequence begins with Spring (NOW!) and goes through Winter.
Gathering Summary: Peaceful Gardens, March 24, 2010
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Dome in Snow
Summary by Catherine Haug
updated 3/31/10 to add Paul’s photos; 4/18 to add link to coverage by Daily Interlake
Peaceful Gardens, a Cooperative Year-Round Food Production System, presented by Paul Renner.
The following is a short outline of the event. For the complete gathering summary, including photos and links to websites offering online educational videos for many steps in the process, see our pdf file:
Gathering Summary: Peaceful Gardens
See also April 18, 2010 article in Daily InterLake: At Peaceful Gardens, it’s always Growing Season, by Candace Chase
Presentation Outline
Paul began with an introduction that included the following topics: (more…)
More on Bees & Other Pollinators
Sunday, March 21st, 2010by Catherine Haug
Last year we had a gathering on the topic of Pollinators and their Habitat, which included presentations by three guests:
- Tom Lawrence on Keeping Honey Bees
- John Holbrook on Native Orchard Mason Bees
- Tamus Gannon on Native Plants as Habitat for Pollinators
This topic continues to be of interest to ESP. See below for:
- Science Daily Articles on Pollinators
- Mason Bees and their Homes
- How to Construct a Bee Block
- Previous ESP Posts on Native Bees & Honeybees (more…)
Starting Seeds Early
Friday, January 22nd, 2010by Catherine Haug
Last year we hosted a gathering on Seed Starting Indoors, by Deb Schatz. And now it’s time to start thinking about this activity again. Some of us have greenhouses or have joined Paul Renner on his Peaceful Gardens project, which includes a large shared greenhouse. Paul will be giving a presentation on his project at our March Gathering (March 24, 7 PM, Clementines).
For the rest of us, we’ll soon be setting up our grow lights, readying our pots, and preparing or purchasing our planting medium. Better Homes and Gardens magazine featured an article on “Growth Fun: A Guide to Super-Simple Seed Starting” in it’s January 2010 issue. I thought I’d share the highlights with you, along with info I’ve gleaned from Deb’s presentation and other research.
New Community Garden Website
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010by Catherine Haug
St. Patrick’s Community Garden, now called the Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden at St. Patrick’s Church, has a new website:
www.bigforkferndalecommunitygarden.com
Cris Aguilar is the website editor, which includes:
- what you need to provide, and what the garden provides;
- posting of workshops;
- wish list of items needed for the garden;
- important links (to other websites);
- contributors to the garden; and
- a blog of articles relevant to the garden and gardening techniques.