GRIT Day! Circular Sock Machine

Good morning- I just uploaded today's post over on GRIT, and it should be live shortly. Keep an eye out for it later today. In the mean time, here's a short documentary that I found on YouTube about the history of the Circular Sock Machine that I thought was pretty interesting. Enjoy!

Here's "The Wonderful Knitting Machine, Part One":

...and here's Part Two:

Potato Bin Wrap Up

Happy Tuesday! Since I did the first potato bin post over on GRIT, I figured I should post the follow up piece over there as well. Check it out, by clicking here. 

Composting Links

Yesterday, over at Grit, I wrote about how building soil is the most important part of sustainable gardening and growing healthful food. If you missed that post, here's the handy link-  go check that out, first.

There are loads of resources online about building a compost pile, so I thought I'd curate a selection just for you, so you don't have to get mired down in research. I happen to enjoy doing that, but I also know that not everyone else does and/or has the time. Consider it a gift! :)

Articles About Composting

• Different types of compost bins, from the Whatcom County WSU Extension office.
• What can and can't go in a home compost pile, and why.
• What's better than a list within a list? Not much! Check out this collection of resources on small-scale composting, courtesy of our friends at Cornell University.

Videos and Other Resources

• If you aren't sure where your local Cooperative Extension Office is, this locator at the USDA webpage can get you there. Extension offices can help provide you with information specific to your region and unique growing situation.
• Supplies: It amazes me how many things you can buy for composting. Truth be told, you don't need to buy anything. But if building a bin isn't your thing, then click over to Gardener's Supply (there's also an ad in the right sidebar) and type "compost" into their search box in the upper right hand corner. They have everything from bins and tumblers, to little crocks to keep in your kitchen to make collecting scraps easy. (Disclaimer- I am an affiliate of theirs, so anything you purchase through that banner sends a small commission my way, and in turn supports the blog.)
• For us visual learners- here's a great video from Kitchen Gardners International about setting up a compost pile. 
• Here's an entertaining TED talk on composting from Mike McGrath called "Everything You Know About Composting is Wrong".  

Whew, that's quite a lot of info- I hope it helps get you started on the road to composting, if you're not already there. Next week, I'll do this same type of companion piece to the upcoming Grit post, so if you have any composting resources that you would like to share, let me know.

Still have questions about compost? Drop by Facebook and ask away! 

Grit Day!

It's been a busy morning! In today's post over at Grit, I talk about a few of my favorite ways to use lavender. It's such a versatile plant!

I also just got home from the new volunteer orientation over at the goat rescue. More on that tomorrow, but until then, ponder these three words: baby pygmy goats. 

Last, but not least: I will be signing up for the Craftsy photography class shortly! Thank you to everyone who responded. I'll probably end up taking the veggie one as well, as it's been hard to choose between the two. 

GRIT Day

The new post has been uploaded to GRIT and should be live later today!   Edit: It's live now. Click here to go read it.


In it, I talk about growing potatoes in bins- what's working this year, and what really didn't work last year. Always learning!


As usual, I'll post an update on FB later once it's available, so check back later for it!

Grit Post

I wish this was my fence. In Montana, 2011

The new post has been submitted to GRIT and should be live later today, so stay tuned!

Today's topic is the Toby Hemenway presentation from the fair. Specifically, how the concepts of Permaculture can be applied to daily food choices - and how it's not just a gardening plan, necessarily.

I'll bump it out via Facebook once I see that it's up. Until then- here's a bit of Montana, from one of our trips a few years ago, for you to enjoy.

Grit Post

Happy GRIT day, everyone!

I'm running a little behind schedule today, but the new post has been uploaded to their server and should be live a little bit later. I'm talking about my mild Pacific Northwest garden and what I do to boost the temperatures around my heat-loving plants.

Hope to see you there!

Grit Post

My latest post for Grit, called "Predators Abound", is live!

Also, I've found out that there are more issues with the comments... specifically, if you use the Safari browser on an iPhone, Blogger won't accept your comments. It works for all other browsers, apparently. The only solution I know of is to download another browser, like Chrome, and use that to view the site. If that's not an option, you can still leave your comments over on Facebook.

Thanks for being a part of my world!

Grit Post

Hi folks! There's a new post up over at Grit...in which I talk about the thoughts behind our decision to start raising meat rabbits, and how it's going so far.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

You can read the full post right here.

Grit Post

There's a new post over on Grit; click here to check it out!

While you're here, this is exciting news too: Grit has given me a pair of tickets to go to the Mother Earth News Fair down in Puyallup, WA at the end of this month! Click here for the Fair's official website. There's a fantastic lineup of speakers (I'm really jazzed about finally getting to see Joel Salatin!) and workshops of all sorts. You can bet I'll be taking lots of pictures and notes to share with you! If there are any particular topics that interest you- at the Fair or otherwise- please drop me a note in the comments or on Facebook so I know what you want to read more about.

More to come!