Hi there,
My name is Robyn. My husband and our 4 children live in Yarrow on 2/3rds of an acre with dreams of much more land one day!
For now we have a decent sized garden of mostly raised beds (personally wouldn't do that for most things in the future) that i've only been utilizing during the spring/summer and slightly into fall.
Though farming is in my blood with grandparents who were dairy farmers with an enormous garden, my own parents only gave it a try for a few years before kids sports got too busy. About 7 years ago I asked our then landlord if we could put in one small garden to grow a few veggies in and he said yes and even built it for me! A 4x8 foot raised bed. I planted carrots, cucumber, peas, tomatoes and lettuce. No flowers - I really had no clue what I was doing.
Fast forward and each year my garden has grown and added a bed or two. I've been so focused on simply growing though, that I've told myself I don't have time for compost. I've put that off, I've been afraid of it to be honest! I'm an all-natural type person, no chemicals so rarely did my plants get fed other than commercial composts that I would buy. I do however love to use pure high quality essential oils in my garden for pest control and such - that's been fun to learn, using nature on nature!
Anyway, I"m excited and nervous to dive into composting. I already have a large pile started since we have bunnies (yes I put their poop right in the garden), ducks and chickens so all their bedding is in the compost, along with all the plants I pull out of the garden each year. So I know I have some great resources - now it's time to learn how to use them and cultivate great compost of my own!
I'm really excited for this course, already watched a number of the videos, have dreams of what we'll do in the coming years and when eventually we buy more property.
Oh and side note - during the major floods this year, while we weren't flooded by the Nooksack river and Sumas lake flooding, the water coming off the mountain behind us did flood our creek that runs behind our property which flooded the back half of our property including my gardens - the whole thing was covered in silt. While we've mostly cleaned it up by now, any tips on detoxing it from who-knows-what from other flooded properties before ours, would be appreciated.
Hi from Yarrow!
Let's get to know each other a little better.
Jump to
- General
- ↳ Welcome
- ↳ News & New Release Announcements
- ↳ Introductions
- ↳ General Chit-Chat
- ↳ General Questions
- Course Module Discussion
- ↳ A. Building The Soil Food Web
- ↳ 1. Cover the ground with organic matter
- ↳ 2. Cover the ground with living plants
- ↳ 3. Create nutrient rich living compost
- ↳ B. Designing Beautiful Edible Landscapes
- ↳ 1. Designing for convenience
- ↳ 2. Designing for success
- ↳ 3. Designing for lifestyle
- ↳ 4. Designing for beauty
- ↳ C. Planning & Planting Your Vegetable Garden
- ↳ 1. Succession planting
- ↳ 2a. Planting schedules
- ↳ 2b. Record keeping
- ↳ 3. Saving seeds
- ↳ D. Permaculture
- Topics
- ↳ Composting
- ↳ Bokashi
- ↳ Thermophilic
- ↳ Vermicomposting
- ↳ Cover Crops
- ↳ Growing Cannabis
- ↳ Growing in Containers
- ↳ Growing Transplants
- ↳ Irrigation
- ↳ Market Gardening
- ↳ Mulching
- ↳ Pests
- ↳ Planting Schedule
- ↳ Record Keeping
- ↳ Season Extension
- ↳ Cold frames
- ↳ Greenhouses
- ↳ Row covers
- ↳ Wind breaks
- ↳ Seeds
- ↳ Storing & Preserving
- ↳ Succession Planting
- ↳ The Soil Food Web
- Crops, Herbs & Trees
- ↳ Alliums
- ↳ Garlic
- ↳ Leeks
- ↳ Onions & Shallots
- ↳ Overwintering Onions
- ↳ Big seed / warm season
- ↳ Beans
- ↳ Corn
- ↳ Dry beans
- ↳ Melons
- ↳ Peas
- ↳ Pickling cucumbers
- ↳ Pumpkins & squash
- ↳ Summer squash
- ↳ Sunflower
- ↳ Brassicas
- ↳ Broccoli
- ↳ Overwintering Broccoli
- ↳ Brussels Sprouts
- ↳ Cabbage
- ↳ Cauliflower
- ↳ Overwintering Cauliflower
- ↳ Collard Greens
- ↳ Kale
- ↳ Kohlrabi
- ↳ Bunching Greens
- ↳ Bok Choy
- ↳ Chard
- ↳ Celariac
- ↳ Celery
- ↳ Endive
- ↳ Fennel
- ↳ Lettuce
- ↳ Napa Cabbage
- ↳ Radicchio
- ↳ Scallions
- ↳ Edible Perennials
- ↳ Rhubarb
- ↳ Sorrel
- ↳ Sunchoke
- ↳ Edible Weeds
- ↳ Flowers
- ↳ Annuals
- ↳ Perennials
- ↳ Fruit Trees
- ↳ Apple
- ↳ Citrus
- ↳ Fig
- ↳ Peaches & Nectarines
- ↳ Pear
- ↳ Plum
- ↳ Quince
- ↳ Sour Cherries
- ↳ Sweet Cherries
- ↳ Greens
- ↳ Arugula
- ↳ Basil
- ↳ Cilantro
- ↳ Dill
- ↳ Hakurei Turnips
- ↳ Mesclun Mix
- ↳ Mustard Greens
- ↳ Radish
- ↳ Spinach
- ↳ Heat Loving Crops
- ↳ Cucumbers
- ↳ Eggplant
- ↳ Hot Peppers
- ↳ Sweet Peppers
- ↳ Tomatoes
- ↳ Beefsteak
- ↳ Cherry
- ↳ Grape
- ↳ Heirloom
- ↳ Roma
- ↳ Vine
- ↳ Nut Trees
- ↳ Chestnut
- ↳ Hazelnut
- ↳ Walnut
- ↳ Perennial Herbs
- ↳ Chives
- ↳ Lemon Balm
- ↳ Lemon Verbena
- ↳ Mint
- ↳ Oregano
- ↳ Parsley
- ↳ Rosemary
- ↳ Sage
- ↳ Savory
- ↳ Tarragon
- ↳ Thyme
- ↳ Potatoes
- ↳ Potatoes
- ↳ Sweet Potatoes
- ↳ Roots
- ↳ Beets
- ↳ Carrots
- ↳ Parsnips
- ↳ Rutabaga
- ↳ Turnips
- ↳ Winter Radish
- ↳ Shrubs & Vines
- ↳ Blackberry
- ↳ Blueberry
- ↳ Chokeberry
- ↳ Elderberry
- ↳ Grapes
- ↳ Haskap berry
- ↳ Jostaberry
- ↳ Raspberry
- ↳ Strawberry
- ↳ Specialties
- ↳ Amaranth
- ↳ Ginger
- ↳ Lemongrass
- ↳ Quinoa
- ↳ Turmeric
- ↳ Yacón