Plant of the Week- March 9
Pieris japonica – Pieris or Japanese Andromeda Pieris is a broadleaf evergreen shrub in the heather family, Ericacaea. This particular species is native to eastern China, Taiwan and Japan, where it grows as an understory in mountain forests. Like many plants in this family, pieris have bell or urn shaped flowers that are very attractive […]
Plant of the Week- March 3
A feature we hope to run through the year- Plant of the Week. We want to introduce you to some interesting plants that are excellent for our Northwest gardens and landscapes. This week: Azara microphylla Boxleaf azara is a broadleaf evergreen that is uncommon in local gardens, but an easy to grow one. It has […]
What a winter it has been!
It is now the last week of February, and throughout Whatcom County, we are seeing early plums in bloom, buds on cherries and peaches swelling, and even pears showing signs of waking up. Should we be worried? Here at Cloud Mountain Our greatest fear is that the skies clear during cold weather. All fruit trees […]
Peppers! By Celeste Monke
‘Tis the season. Temperatures are high and the hothouse fruits are fruiting. This furry fellow still has some days to go, but should turn into a spicy 2” beast with a heat level somewhere between Serranos and Cayenne. A furry pepper you ask? Yes. It’s a Rocoto pepper, from the Andean highlands species Capsicum pubescens […]
Participatory Pollinators by Eli
My initial idea for an intern project for the year was to keep mason bees in home-made nests and try to overwinter them on the farm. If it was successful the farm could possibly reduce or eliminate the honeybee hives we pay to bring in each spring, thereby internalizing some cost and becoming more self-reliant. […]
The Compost Post by Michael Deitering
Here at Cloud Mountain, many hours have been dedicated to discussing how to improve the soils, and what improvement even means. By organic standards, the goal is to “manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops…”. On way to […]