December 17, 2011 Rain Chains – A Beautiful Way to Collect Water We’ve had some lovely light rain this fall. Our large water storage tank (1600 gallons) collects rain from the rooftop of the garage and…
December 1, 2011 To Free Range or Not I don’t let my hens free range. Free range means to forage in an area that is free of fences. I don’t even know…
November 23, 2011 Fresh Pumpkin Soup With Sausage I had lots of beautiful pumpkins this year and we intend to eat every one of them! Cooked fresh pumpkin is a real treat;…
November 4, 2011 Planting and Care of Reblooming Irises Bearded Irises grow and bloom really well along the coast. I’m especially fond of the varieties that rebloom and provide color from spring to…
October 26, 2011 No Roosters Needed I’d love to have a rooster. I’m an early riser so the crowing wouldn’t bother me. But then again, there are my neighbors to…
October 15, 2011 Cambria’s Scarecrow and Harvest Festival For the past three years the creative residents of Cambria have put their talents to work to create over 200 stuffed and…
October 10, 2011 Egg Production Down, Hens Moulting I’ve been going a bit crazy lately. As you know I have two websites, this one, Backyard Hencam, and Central Coast Gardening. Keep in…
October 10, 2011 Fall Means Changes in the Garden For the last month or two I’ve been in maintenance mode in my garden. Lots of deadheading and watering. Inspiration for new planting has…
September 19, 2011 Growing a Giant Pumpkin? Maybe! Pumpkins are not supposed to do well in cool weather. But mine are going crazy this year. One of them is a variety that…
August 31, 2011 Growing Pumpkins in a Cool Climate What a strange coastal summer we’ve had. It has been exceptionally cool with overcast in the mornings and breezy sunshine in the afternoons. The…
August 14, 2011 Why “Chicks” Love Their Chickens Why is it that women love, and are dedicated to, their hens? I think I know the answer. The hens show the familiar attributes…
July 29, 2011 Kale – Easy to Grow and Eat You’d think I’d learn my lesson. Every spring I plant “mesclun” (pronounced mess-cloon). Mesclun is a mixture of lettuces and tender greens for use…
July 23, 2011 A Pocket Gopher Inside the Chicken Run Our chicken run has been invaded by a gopher! It has somehow found its way under 12 inches of hardware wire that we buried…
July 9, 2011 Growing Raspberries the Easy Way We’re having such fun with our raspberries this year. They loved all the winter rains and we’re getting a good crop. I’ve even gotten…
June 25, 2011 Growing Olallieberries Along the Coast I love surprises in the garden. One of them this year has been the appearance of ollalieberries hanging from our two vines. The olallieberry…
