Food to Bank On Program
One of the many programs that help train new farmers in our community is Food to Bank On, part of Sustainable Connections’ Food and Farming Program. Food to Bank On is a 3-year business training program for aspiring farmers. Farmers learn business skills through a workshop series, mentorship from local farmers, and the market support […]
Rootstock, defined
“What the heck is a rootstock? ” It is not uncommon for us to hear this from our customers buying fruit trees. Deciding which rootstock to use is one of the complexities of planting fruit trees. In simple terms, fruit trees are produced by joining the wood of a variety of fruit, like Honeycrisp apple, […]
Winter Scouting Fruit Trees
Scouting, or looking for pest and disease problems on plants, is an important part of good orchard management. Winter is a good time to look at your fruit trees without their leafy clothing hiding problems. In our rainy climate, all manner of fungal and bacterial infections can damage fruit trees, mainly by forming galls or […]
Winter Garden Joy
We have been blessed in Whatcom County this fall and early winter with more sunshine and less rain than normal. But even in the dreariest November and Decembers, you can find hummingbirds warring over winter blooming plants. Plants that bloom in the fall and winter do more than make the overwintering Anna’s Hummingbirds happy, though. […]
Permaculture Plants
“Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems, which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems” -Bill Mollison The permaculture concept has gained quite a bit of popularity in recent years. From Seattle’s Beacon Hill Food Forest to The Bullock Brothers Homestead on Orcas Island, this movement has had a […]
Fruit Fly Maggots in Berries
It’s summer fruit time, with strawberries at their peak, cherries just starting to ripen, currants and gooseberries turning color and raspberries on the horizon. I’ve had a couple of calls lately about worms in various berries last summer and how to prevent them this summer. The worms are most likely the larvae of Spotted Wing […]