Suralle Straykat

The test pull and tasting in soup of the Spanish Roja was deemed a success! Ergo the Chief Gardener decided to pull and start the curing of the rest. Weed & Feed complete. Compost and soil amendments added. 22 Kenearly Yelloweye Bush Beans are now planted in the bed.

Good morning from the Cassiopeia Garden & Urban Orchard. We grow here in Maryland Zone 7 at the top of the Chesapeake Bay and bottom of the Susquehanna River. We typically pick the berries a bit under ripe to help us out compete the critters and birds. Strawberries & Nanking Cherries!

Yukon Gold test harvest. Planted 4 seed potatoes and got 18 for eating with another 4 going back into the bag. As an early spud, we can get a second harvest easy enough here in Maryland Zone 7. Added some soil amendments, fertilizer and capped with rice hulls to help with moisture retention.

The beet experiment mixed in with the shallots worked, not well enough to repeat though. Still any harvest in times of plenty or not is better than none. Eat what you grow and grow what you eat. Gold and Egyptian Bing Beets for pickling.

This galvanized raised bed isn't worth a hill of beans... Not! Cleaned her up quite a bit. Added some compost, rice hulls, perlite, and vermiculite with a sprinkling of Trifecta+. In it are some spare Slenderette and Tonya's Pink Pod bush beans. Grow what you eat & eat what you grow.

Our Elderberries are in bloom!

Brining some homegrown turnips and onions. Salt, cumin and paprika added. Will be pickling tomorrow after letting the brine mix set overnight.

We've had to out-compete the B1RDs for ages. Today was no exception. Despite the needed deluge and generally miserable conditions out we have gained 2 lbs. 13 oz. or so of pitted Rainier Cherries. Would have liked to wait another weekend personally. The birds know though.

Smells very shallot like out in the garden and in the back deck this morning. Bush beans going in the 40 square feet of area this weekend. Quite intoxicating actually! 😋🌿💚

Just a reminder, although good for what they are advertised for, they ain't the end game and you need to understand that virus are fracking really small. You may want to keep the necessary chemicals on hand in your water system too. lifestraw.com/blogs/news/h....

It's that time to begin harveting of the Grey Griselle Shallots. Allium Oschaninii is considered one of the more rare and most true shallots. There's more on the metal web wagon but it's getting dark. Time to wrap it up for the night at the Cassiopeia Garden & Urban Orchard, MD Zone 7.

Rainier Cherries are getting more ripe by the day at our little urban garden and orchard. 🌳

Many shallots are starting to crown here at the Cassiopeia Garden and Urban Orchard, Maryland (US) Zone 7. This one was ready, from one there are six.

Listen folks, if you ready this, remember that there comes a point in this ongoing conflict where countries that need gas and can't get it right now will start having power outages, brownouts, etc. When they start announcing that you need to volunteer to cut back power, stock up on water fast.

Pear Tree #1 got their mulch ring extended another 6". Weeded, fed a generous amount of compost and aged manure. Covered with a nice layer of hardwood mulch. Another pear to do later today after work. #Gardening in an urban setting works. Grow what you eat and eat what you grow.

Though of the day, voting must still matter as they are still gerrymandering everything everywhere to disenfranchise folks. Potatoes for authenticity. A half dozen of the types we are growing. See ALT for names. All in Maryland Zone 7 (US). We've cut the nitrogen feed as they're lush enough.

Drought 2 status here in Maryland Zone 7. Still testing down to about 2 inches (5 cm) before watering the grow bags and containers. Feeding with a higher Potassium and Phosphorus water soluable product every 2 weeks. The pea experiment this year seems to be working on the north side. 🥰

Sunday shenanigans with one of our cherry trees in our little urban orchard. Her first year producing cherries too. Herbs are all planted. Time to wash away that compost and aged manure smell. 😂

When you have an urban garden and orchard you have to do whatever is necessary for it to grow. Weeding, feeding, mulching and composting in progress. Labor of love, but the fruits are sweeter for sure

"It can't rain all the time." by Jane Siberry Solar helps, just not as much on cloudy days. We're saving to add a battery system.

Historical data implies that the last 50/50 frost date for Havre de Grace is today (25APR26). Local data from gardening here leads us to believe the soil temperature is good so they've been planted. Their roots were starting to wrap too, so it's time. Grow what you eat and eat what you grow.

Peas staked to the north side of a potato grow bag provide good usage for the entire bag. Garlic and leeks can be grown together, simply use the spacing between rows and columns. Parsnips are finicky when sprouting, add more seed in your rows and prepare to thin.

Grow what you eat and eat what you grow. Start small, plan and plant what you like to eat. No property, try to grow in grow bags or other containers with drainage.

We don't have ducks or squirrels in rows, but we have Alliums in rows! Favorite time of the year at our little urban garden and orchard. Maryland Zone 7, Harford County.

Del Monte Foods has closed their last operating fruit cannery, after a 2025 Chapter 11 bankruptcy and failed sale, resulting in 765 layoffs. This marks the end of a 140-year era for the company. Add to shopping list now for long term storage. Always better to be growing than owing.

I don't have a money maker to shake and as I would rather not be owing, we're growing.

Being a liberal prepper is like the worst, you want to be inclusive, to build a team. Everyone needs to do their part though. In a time such as this, today, remember not to rush out and buy everything on this list. Get extra if you can. Preserve it in mason jars and mylar.

Community resilience & sustainability can only be achieved with inclusion and respect for neighbors, neighborhoods, and other citizens. When all else fails, do not count on outside help, push your elected officials for items such as balcony solar and HOA / City Community Gardens. Hold them to task!

In a world of forest clearing and clear cutting, being a gnarly tree is life saving.

Sparrows and other birds nesting nearby will be happier when the beds are done, as they're for sunflowers this year.

Un popular opinion incoming. I would love to back this, but lately it seems that there is a large group of people who are armored and armed with allegiance to one person and not an oath to the Constitution. Sadly, it's going to get much worse before it gets better. 😔

Time to get busy on the orchard portion of our little urban garden. The first of the trees have blossomed, known as Nanking Cherries. Latin: Prunus Tomentosa Family: Rosaceae Tasty & juicy. For freezing, pit and add honey, cap and turn a few times for a few hours.

Ever get that song tick in your head? What you got playing in your noggin? Today it's Helvegen by Wardruna. www.youtube.com/watch?v=n90S...

Last and just in time for the dinner bell, we weeded and fed the Elephant Garlic bed. Added 32 Laurentian Leeks and cleaned up the German Red Garlic bed from winter losses 😬 but added 48 Laurentian Leeks in there as well. Time to fertilize the onions, shallots, and garlics for Spring.

Carrots galore! Well more of a rainbow of different varieties. From Lunar White to so dark purple they're almost black! Great for the eyes and the wallet! Tomorrow, weather permitting, we're going to get the parsnips into their whiskey half barrels.

Busy Saturday at the Cassiopeia Gardens. Beets, Rutabagas, Turnips and Cabbage transplants, plus much more done today. Always better to be growing instead of owing.

Pinto Gold, Magic Molly and more Makah Ozette planted. Various peas planted along the 48 inch ground stakes. Managed to get the carrot bed ready for planting just before the rain commenced.

Just some thoughts on recruiting others to be part of your tribe when you need a community to make it after the grid fails, like in Cuba right now. Having folks to fill the slots before it happens helps.

Spring is trying to be sprung here at the little urban Cassiopeia Gardens & Orchard. 3 blocks from city hall at the top of the Chesapeake Bay and anus of the Susquehanna River (looking at you PA Frackers). All Alliums doing well. Lots of bulbs popping. Trees are budding (slow down!)

If you build it, they will grow. 🥔 Its build a raised bed for potatoes Saturday. Nice day, bit breezy. 13 each of Pomerelle Russet and Baltic Rose Red spuds in for the 2026 season here at the little urban garden and orchard. Union break time, lunch is about ready! Maryland USA Zone 7

Western Cistern, a lot of work to not have to pay the city for watering the garden and BGE to power the system. Probably never going to be a commercial system, but we're good with it being done, working and off grid. Eastern Cistern working too. The downspouts and runoff we can capture we use.

I keep remembering Kharg Island on the charts. I have no knowledge of what is currently happening, but I do know the mission statemement of the US Marines. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize the economic importance and strategic value of it if the oil and water systems remain functional.

Children’s Allotment Gardens: Fun & Learning combined with the joy of gardening cultivate creativity and outdoor play. They can be set up in family plots, school gardens, local parks and offer benefits for both kids and adults. A community that grows together survives together.

Doing a great job too of doing it!

Cold weather crops, brassicas in their like. Root vegetables, turnips, potatoes, rutabaga in Zone 7. Lastly, if you've planted peas, make sure to get the right sized trellis system in place. Hold off on setting out members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) into the soil.

Carrie cleaned up the Boysenberry Canes, so I refreshed the bed and planted more... Makah Ozette Fingerling Potatoes 😂🌿💚 Yes, I may have over ordered a bit. They're tasty though if you're a fan of pine nuts or buttery chestnuts in a fingerling potato form!

There are a lot of stories, how to, tall tails and other lore, legend and myth about the Oca Tubers. Very late season harvest. It's easy to miss tubers when harvesting. They only start bulbing out when days get back to less than 9 hours of sunlight. Our Cassiopeia Garden experiment for 2026.

That time at gardening camp... 😂 Second set of Makah Ozette fingerling potatoes planted. Juliete Cherry Bush please meet Carmen and Romeo! Juliete will provide sweet cherries and grow to about 6' tall.

Work nights, can't get as much done at the Cassiopeia Garden and Urban Orchard. New raised bed, with one more to go there. Planted with Makah Ozette seed potatoes. They're a late season fingerling of exceptional taste. Seriously if I had the room and time to learn these would be vodka! 😂💚🌿

A busy weekend at the little urban Cassiopeia Garden & Orchard. Added a new potato bag row. Finished planting the remainder of the peas. More to come as Spring has sprung here in Maryland Zone 7! Top of the Chesapeake Bay and anus of the Susquehanna River. See ALT for descriptions.