Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

Make your own raised-bed flower (or veggie) garden

Monday, April 27th, 2015
Finished Bed topped with garden soil

Finished Bed topped with garden soil

Introduction by Catherine Haug, April 2015; original photo-essay by Francis Pawnee Buckley. See also Cat’s notes, following the photo-essay.

Thanks to Fran W. who shared this photo essay with me; it was written by her blacksmith friend in Idaho who had asked her to ‘share.’

See also related posting: Gathering Summary: Container and Strawbale Gardening, with Mary and James Laud (April 2013)

Raised bed materials needed:

  • 8 each cedar fence boards, 5 ½” wide by 6 feet long
  • 4 each standard 2x4s, 16″ long
  • screws
  • black plastic
  • about 2 bales straw
  • fertilizer (natural preferred)
  • 4 cu. ft. planting/garden soil

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Event Notice: Workshop on Gardening with Bob Ford, Feb 28, 2015

Friday, February 20th, 2015
Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, 2014

Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, 2014

By Cat, Feb 20, 2015 (Photo, right, by Sally Finneran of the Bigfork Eagle, used by permission)

  • What: Workshop on Gardening with Bob Ford, Uber Master Gardener; presented by Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden
  • When: February 28, 2015, 10 AM
  • Where: St Patrick’s Episcopal Church, corner of Hwy 209 and S. Ferndale (30631 MT Hwy 209), Bigfork MT; see LOCATION MAP. Please enter through the big red doors off the parking lot.
  • Who: Free and open to the public.
  • Contact:  Call Michelle at 871-3509 with any questions

Additional information:

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Event Notice: Workshop on Gardening, January 17, 2015

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

By Cat, Jan 14, 2015

  • What: Workshop on Gardening with Bob Ford, Uber Master Gardener; presented by Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden
  • When: January 17, 2015, 10 AM
  • Where: St Patrick’s Episcopal Church, corner of Hwy 209 and S. Ferndale (30631 MT Hwy 209), Bigfork MT; see LOCATION MAP. Please enter through the big red doors off the parking lot.
  • Who: Free and open to the public.
  • Contact:  Call Michelle at 871-3509 with any questions

Additional information:

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Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden 2014 Update

Monday, September 8th, 2014

by Catherine Haug, Sept 8, 2014 (photo, below, by Sally Finneran/ Bigfork Eagle, used with permission)

Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, 2014

Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, 2014

The garden is located next to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, near the corner of Hwy 209 and South Ferndale Road in Ferndale. ESP helped start the garden in 2007, and a member of our core team – Mona Rae Tuhy – is the Master Gardener. This project has come a long way since its humble beginnings, with seventy-two 4X4 Square Foot Gardening plots actively maintained (2).

Participating in the community has several benefits; you can:

  • Grow your own food or flowers;
  • Grow food for the Bigfork Food Pantry (see below for more);
  • Participate in the  gardening community that forms naturally between the members, making new friends;
  • Help less experienced gardeners or get help from more experienced gardeners.

If you are interested in buying a plot for next year, contact Garden Chairperson Michelle Patterson (406-837-0982) or Master Gardener MonaRae Tuhy (406-837-9979). Plots cost $15 for the season if purchased before June 1, 2015; after that date, the price is $20.

See also related article in the Bigfork Eagle, by Sally Finneran: Community garden thrives in Ferndale (1) (more…)

Biodynamic farming and a documentary film

Saturday, August 9th, 2014
D. Bates Squash Garden in August

D. Bates Squash Garden in August

by Catherine Haug, Aug 9, 2014

We are all aware of farming/gardening organically, and many of us practice this for the health of our families and of the planet. But did you know that there’s an even more earth-friendly method to farm than ‘Organic?’ I first became aware of this when I discovered the milk from Lifeline Dairy in Victor. At that time, the dairy was in the process of becoming truly biodynamic, a goal which they reached several years ago.

But just what is ‘biodynamic’ and how does it differ from organic? It originated in Germany by Dr. Rudolph Steiner, and basically means that everything needed to grow food – both plant and livestock – must originate on the farm, and every waste is reused, including animal urine and feces. In my opinion, it is a food production method to which we should all aspire.

The film: One Man, One Cow, One Planet follows two biodynamic farmers in India – Peter Proctor and Sarvdaman Patel – “who have taken up the biodynamic banner and over 15 years have helped spread this method across India.”(1) You can view this film for free through Aug 15, 2014 on Mercola’s website (1), or view a 9 minute trailer on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=6Y1xMauClzU (2). Learn more about the film on the onemanonecow.com (3).

However, this is not the only farming method in that country – GMOs also have a stranglehold on many farmers. (more…)

2014: International Year of Family Farming (& Gardening)

Monday, April 7th, 2014
Veggie Landscape Garden

Veggie Landscape Garden

by Catherine Haug, April 2014 (Photo, right, from Mercola: Who Knew Vegetable Gardens Could Be So Revolutionary?)

Did you know the UN has designated this year, 2014, and the International Year of Family Farming, to bring attention and recognition to the family farmers that are helping to nourish the world? This includes all of us who have gardens in our front or back yards.

Read on for:

  • You can garden ‘even if’;
  • Food for your garden

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