if you live in Bellingham, now's the time to start those vegetable gardens. my personal goal is to cultivate more food every year until I'm growing/hunting/foraging enough to feed myself, and to do it as sustainably and easily as possible. so far, i've planted a lot of kale, mustard greens, and peas. the potatoes and sun chokes are coming back from last year, which is awesome. i have also been harvesting nettles, which are yummy and very nutritious (and i don't have to plant them!)
My gardening technique follows the guidelines of Permaculture, Natural Farming, and Biodynamics. i use no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified seeds. i use myceliated mulch, compost, and, occasionally, biodynamic preps and EM. I save seeds from the healthiest (tastiest) plants growing in the toughest conditions to reseed my garden. That way, the plants will become more resilient over time.
my garden's in the middle of the city on a northwest facing slope. Definitely not the best growing conditions. even still, you'd be amazed how much food we can grow here, and how easy it is. Before we started the garden, the backyard was filled with Himalayan blackberries, morning glories, and hundreds of broken beer bottles. After 2 years of weeding, the blackberries and the beer bottles are under control. Morning glories and creeping buttercup are still rampant, but as soil conditions improve they're getting easier to manage. I don't weed until I'm ready to plant, and the only one i throw out of the garden (instead of letting it decompose on spot) is morning glory. people who have dealt with this tenacious plant (which I have a great deal of respect for) would understand why. I like them, just not in my garden.
i'll post some pictures soon.
