At a certain point I might as well admit that we drink a rather obscene amount of coffee. It’s almost all frugal, brew-at-home type coffee, but still: that stuff ads up. Luckily, the grounds are almost as valuable as the liquid coffee, and we save them for use in the garden, thereby getting the most…
The Crappy Composter's Secret To Perfect Compost
Maybe you are a compost geek. Maybe you totally adore balancing greens and browns and maybe the challenge of maintaining a 155 degree pile for days on end really hits your g-spot (g for “gardener,” naturally). If that describes you, this post isn’t for you. This post is for those of us who basically suck…
Which Seed Starting Supplies Are Worth It? And Which Aren’t?
As a gardener, there is no end to what you could spend your money on. Take seed starting – what do you really need? Are those peat pellet kits really worth it? Can you start your seeds in yogurt tubs, or is that somehow not….correct? Here’s my opinionated opinion on what should get your money…
Giveaway: The Speedy Vegetable Garden
“I don’t have a short attention span, I just….hey, is that a broccoflower?” Gardeners generally take the looonnnnng view, at least by the standards of today’s soundbite culture. And while it’s probably true that, “a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit,” at a day-to-day…
Thrift Shop – An Anthem for New Frugality?
Homebrew Husband came home after his commute the other day and told me that local Seattle rapper and my fake internet boyfriend, Macklemore, is overwhelming the Seattle radio scene with his hilarious ode to frugality, Thrift Shop. Thrift Shop has been making rounds through the money-saver forums for months and months, so I’ve been loving…
Boom, That's A Garden Plan
So the past week my kids have taken turns with the sickies. First the girl spent a week coughing her lungs out, then just when she had recovered enough to return to school, the boy spent a night puking all over me. Good times, good times. So, what does this have to do with gardening?…
Grassfed vs. Organic Butter, And Which One Will Kill You Faster
Butter Basics Butter. Oh yum, butter. Butter on corn, butter on scones, green beans in brown butter, buttercream icing, herb butter… Oh, butter, no other fat is quite like you, and we love you for it. But let’s start at the beginning. Cow’s milk is separated into milk and cream. Butter is made from agitating (churning) this cream…
How To Make Succession Planting and Year-Round Gardening Really Work
The problem with year-round garden planning is that you are being asked to work in 4D, when most of us are accustomed to only planning things in 2D.
The Aspirational Life and New Year's Resolutions
January is the month for Aspirational Lives. New Year’s Resolutions, goals, big changes and all the jazz, commitments designed to inch us closer from how we are to how we want to be. I haven’t put up a “2013 Resolutions” post because, frankly, 2013 just pitched in of its own accord, and like most things…
Plant Sex: Open Pollinated, Hybrid and GMO Seeds
As a vegetable gardener, you care about seeds. You buy them, plant them, nurture them and curse when, 36 hours after hard-fought gemination, the goddamn slugs eat all the sprouts emerging from them. To understand the difference between Open Pollinated (OP) and Hybrid (F1) seeds, you have to understand that what distinguishes these types of seeds is the type of plant sex partners their parent plants were allowed to have.
How To Pick Your Vegetable Seeds Without Going Crazy
“Last year I just planted and prayed, stuff worked or didn’t. Now I have seed catalogs and am so overwhelmed I don’t know what to order. Should I be picking stuff based on the shortest growing rate and that’s all? This is crazy!” -Reader Question Feeling Seed Catalog Crazy? Right now, like most gardeners, you…
Is Growing Your Own Food Worth It?
“Is growing your own food worth it?” When I get asked that question, people are talking about cash-in-hand not harvest-in-hand. They aren’t saying, “Is it worth it to have the very freshest sugar snap peas?” or, “Is it worth it to see your child poke a bean seed in the ground?” because there is, clearly,…