The Refuge Permaculture Center
At Tara Farm and Nursery
Tag: sustainable
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The Heart of the Garden
If you could snack on blueberries all day long, would you? Maybe add some blueberry pie or blueberry selzer water? Most people would say “Of course!” Why? Because that deep, complex flavor is so satisfying, and besides they are a “super-fruit”, right? Every year I have clients call to ask “Please help me get these
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Que Tan Verde! Anaheim Peppers
Two tiny Anaheim pepper plants…. I planted them in an empty mineral lick tub with a mix of native soil and potting soil. The soil I kept just damp, not wet. The pollinators had no problem finding the small white flowers inside the potting shed. The shed allowed me to control how much rain, and
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The Flowers of Late Summer
Late summer is so important for the plants, for the pollinators, and for our harvest. These flowers provide food for pollinators that are getting prepared to hibernate; food packed as tiny pellets placed in pollinator nests with their eggs in hollow stems and underground to feed newly hatched babies after spring thaw… food to prepare
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Radical and Root Have the Same Origin
Most folks who follow me have no ‘edge’, no passion for the radical approach. Their gardening comes more from the institutionalized Master Gardener dogma perspective. I engage with them believing that there will be a moment when the light will go on and they will realize how strong they can be from seeing their place
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Spring Into Action 1
Spring Task Series:Welcome to Spring at the Refuge!! A lot of the things you see here will be things you might also be doing around your landscape and gardens. Activities for April 16, 2023Plant herb seeds in window pots – #basil and #cilantro (how I miss homemade #pesto!!) Hook up all rain barrels- NOAA has
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Observe Nature: Currant Patch and Bumble Bees
Observe Nature… that’s the class title for a class I’ll be offering later this year. But for now here is such a great example. That heavy spring snow bent the lower branches of the black currant down to the ground. With the thaw, and melt, the snow got heavier and pushed them into the mud…
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Special Order Plant 2023: Hardy Grape Vines
Homemade Wines, Cordials, Juice, Jam, Jellies. Canning is not necessary as long as you have a freezer. North American, native-based grape vines producing up to 20 pounds on a mature vine. Deep purple richness, full of immune support and home-grown flavor. Read on… I have stopped buying commercially made fruit juice. Every week I make
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Pressed Between the Pages: The Reading List
I’m one of those folks who just has to have a real book in my hands to get “in the flow”. I have always had a library, and still love used book stores. I miss them terribly. There’s nothing like sitting on the hard wood floor with a large mug of deep black coffee, shelves
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Oh the water…
I haven’t done a video in so long. Please LIKE it if you really do. Helps me keep my Channel. But this spring has been good to us. So I thought maybe my simple water management system might be a good subject. Thank you so much! Part One. https://youtu.be/OHSqE4VSOug
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Asparagus Omelette / Rhubarb Crumble
Early spring, pending snow, and the tips of the asparagus are just breaking through…
The Refuge Permaculture Center 