Happy June, Gardeners!
May had some cold showers, didn't it? But I have to say that some of my garden flowers seem to be very happy with all the moisture!
If you missed the backyard chickens presentation, I thought I would share an interesting takeaway I learned: chickens need protein to lay eggs so if you have a time where you are feeding your chickens a lot of veggies or greens from the kitchen, do not be surprised if there is a decrease in eggs afterwards. There is nothing wrong with them after having a hardy salad, it's just that chicken feed is balanced to promote egg production.
What I've Been Reading: Gardening with Less Water by David A Bainbridge
Water usage has become an increased concern for many of us. I was recently introduced to the irrigation system known as olla irrigation where you use untreated clay water reservoirs to water your plants. It is an ancient, low tech way to maximize the water to your plants while reducing the amount that you use. David gives a variety of examples on how to garden with less water and is also very informative on how to put those systems into place.
Epic Gardening has a great blog that not only gives you a brief history behind this technique, it also talks about plants that are best suited to this system and has their YouTube video linked as well. In the video, they do show you how to make your own version of an olla with standard terracotta pots. https://www.epicgardening.com/ollas/
What I've Been Reading x 2: Companion Planting for Beginners by Brian Lowell
Brian mentions the historic example of the Three Sister Method. I was excited to see it was referenced as I had just read on OSU's Food Hero page about it as well. Those of you that are from the PNW might already be familiar with this method, but for me it was the first time I learned about it. If any of you are like me, you might be excited to know that the Three Sisters Method is based on the three crops that Native Americans relied on most: corn, beans, and squash. Companion planting at its finest with the corn stalks offering support to the beans to climb, the large squash leaves provide shade to the ground in order to retain moisture and suppress weeds, and then the beans return nitrogen to the soil.
Brian talks about the practice of polycropping, which includes flowers and herbs, and the benefits that come with it. Herbs often make excellent companion plants! Whether it is attracting pollinators or putting out strong smells that are offensive to pests, herbs often make a great addition to the garden. And planting a broad variety of flowers can attract a broad variety of beneficial pollinators! It becomes beautiful and functional.
What I also appreciate about this book is that Brian provides visual examples of several different garden bed layouts with the companion planting method.
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