At Tara Farm and Nursery
Our part in garden life is to bring together the conditions necessary to maintain or improve the living beings there – plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, microbes, and us. When the plants are big enough, they provide their own winter blanket…falling leaves. Mulch: maintains soil moisture; insulates the earth above the roots from weather extremes;
The raspberry patch is so packed full of plants that it is difficult to open the soil for restoration. And the grape vines have been producing so heavily the last few years it clearly is time to do something other than lay compost or mulch on top of the soil. Some research and some conversation
A humid, wet spring ends your hope for Red Currants, but a few warm, clear days gives you baskets of Black Currants. A monsoonal down pour destroys the Native Plum blossoms, but the tiny, hidden green flowers of the Valiant Grape give you pounds of grapes in August. Honoring diversity of plants and temporal and
Food Forest Floor: Groundcovers ~ Nitrogen Fixers & ‘Weeds’. What goes on the ground under a ‘food forest’? The truth is that the lowest tier of plants should be providing shade just inches above the surface. But when you are just starting a food forest the ground can be fairly bare. Here are some groundcover