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Bee WatchingReady to do some bee watching this year?  One reason we love growing seed crops is that you get to see a plant through it's whole lifecycle- from seed through to flower and fruit and back to seed.  Having lots of plants flowering affords lots of opportunities for pollinator and bee watching.  One of our favorite insects to watch is bumble bees- and it's probably yours too!Did you know you can turn your bumble bee watching into data that can be used to help track and conserve bumble bee populations?  The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has an ongoing citizen science project called...

What a treat, in a season when a lot of what we are eating has been frozen or canned, to bite into a sweet, cold, crunchy carrot. I juice, roast, and make soup stocks with them. Garden fresh carrots all winter long can be achieved under conditions many people already have in an ordinary garage, basement, or cold room and do not require a root cellar. Planning for fresh carrot storage begins the previous summer. Though I could plant carrots all spring and summer long, I plant the bulk of my carrots in the spring during spring rains. I really...

Making Mason Bee BoxesSolitary native bees like mason bees and leafcutter bees are crucial, but often overlooked, pollinators. As opposed to the European Honeybee (also an important pollinator) native solitary bees do not live in colonies.  Instead, individual females find-tunnel like structures to lay their eggs in.  These might be hollowed woody stems, woodpecker holes in trees, or human-made nesting structures like the photo above.  Inside each tunnel the bee creates partitioned chambers out of leaves and petals (leafcutter bees) or out of mud (mason bees.)  In each chamber she lays one egg and deposits a pollen patty she has collected...

Two reasons you might have a short season1.  You live in a Northern climate.2.  You haven't planted yet. Don't worry- we've got you covered either way! Our season here in southern Idaho, defined as the number of frost free days we get, is only around 80 days- so we love crops that germinate in cold soils and mature quickly.  Here are 5 quick crops you could plant now and still harvest by fall- they are just at that quick!1.  Fast Lady Cowpea- This versatile variety is tasty green or dried.  The shortest season cowpea we have grown- likely the quickest variety out there. ...

Amaranth is a unique and ancient grain native to the Americas.  It was a staple food of the Aztecs, Inca, and Mayan and was first cultivated in 8,000 BC.  It is still of huge importance in Central America, where it thrives not only as a resilient, low impact staple food but as spiritual symbol of cultural thriving.We have followed the work of the non-profit Garden's Edge ever since being introduced to their work at the Santa Rosa Heirloom Festival in 2014.  Working in Guatemala, Garden's Edge "supports sustainable agriculture, micro-enterprise, and education in rural communities in order to revitalize cultural...