Greetings!
When we think of autumn, we usually think in colors of oranges and browns. But at the farm, we are seeing shades of purple everywhere. The Red Opal basil pictured above is buzzing with pollinators shopping their own local farmer's market for their winter's stores.
The eggplant has put on a fresh garland of blossoms for the bees, even though there will not be enough daylight or warm in the coming days to fruit. We are blessed with an overabundance of Islander peppers, the wonderful purple bell peppers we have enjoyed all summer.
 | | Islander Sweet Bell Pepper |
Even the Malabar Spinach blossoms have turned from delicious white additions to our salad to deep purple berries that will stain your fingers a beautiful lavender if you pick them.
 | | Malabar Spinach |
The Red Russian Kale, with it's lovely light purple stalk is showing off now that the weather has cooled and we've had a little rain.
 | | Red Russian Kale |
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Is caffeine a drug or a vitamin?
My favorite caffeine delivery system is tea, but I am in the minority among the large population of coffee drinkers out there. Both tea bags and coffee grounds are excellent additions to the compost pile and the red worms are as addicted to the stuff as we are! But did you know that coffee grounds and tea leaves are also excellent soil amendments as they are?
- Coffee grounds make a dark, attractive mulch around acid-loving plants, such as azaleas, hydrangeas, hollies and blueberries.
- Slugs don't like caffeine, so a mulch of coffee grounds will help keep them away. Limit your application to no more than one inch deep around plants.
- Grounds and tea leaves can be added to potting soil. They are lightweight, porous, and high in organic matter. Be sure to balance their acidity with a bit of limestone (available in Mary's Mineral Mix).
Whether you think caffeine is a drug or a vitamin, most of us partake daily. According the Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, "In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running." |
Learn & Grow Farm School goes online
 | | Echinacea Seed |
Last night we successfully launched our Seed Saving class online. The technical glitches we experienced last week have been resolved and we have learned a great deal from the experience. Over the next coming weeks and months, more classes and discussion sessions will be added to the calendar. If there is a particular topic you are interested in, please let me know. I am also available for personalized sessions - your time, your topic.
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| Bringing plants indoors? Here's some tips:
It's time to start thinking about bringing our tender plants indoors for the winter. Here's some ideas for making indoor winter gardening a bit easier.
- Make sure you check your plants for any insects before bringing them indoors. Bugs can hide under leaves and in the top inch of soil. A good spray with an insecticidal soap and refreshing the top inch of soil is a good preventative measure.
- Repotting plants that have outgrown their original pots this summer? Recycle those socks that are missing their mate by folding and placing them in the bottom of your plant container. The sock will prevent soil from washing out of the pot and if it's made from an absorbent material such as cotton, it will hold moisture at a deeper level and encourage our plants roots to reach down. Other excellent materials to use over the drainage hole are folded newspaper and coffee filters (you can leave the coffee in it - see above).
- Give your plants a good long soak. During the winter months, the indoor air is dry and we tend to not water as deeply for fear we will end up with water on the floor. Potting soil can dry to the point where it will no longer accept water. So set your plant in a bucket of water for an hour and to make sure all the soil is well hydrated before your bring the plant indoors.
- Old CD's and DVD's make excellent pot coasters.
- Know someone with an aquarium? Ask them to save the water next time they clean their tank and use this free fish emulsion fertilizer on your houseplants.
- Sometimes our indoor plants get tall and lanky reaching for light. Recycle chop sticks as stakes!
- You can also use chopsticks to discourage our feline friends from digging in our potted plants.
- Pets snacking on your indoor plants? Lightly apply a little chili oil to the leaves with a cotton ball (be sure to wear gloves).
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