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KP Gardens
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A KP garden refuge.
An Episode in Local Garden History from the Everlasting Age of Aquarius
Who said we have no sense of history around here? I mean, we love to retell the old stories of anarchists, contraception pioneers, free love, and —gasp — nude bathing in Home Colony … more
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“The webs of summer seem to know just where I’ll be.”
Weather: Boring Small Talk or a Unifying Language That Will Save Us All?
I recently overheard someone giving a small sermon about how they no longer wish to entertain “small talk.”   Initially, I understood the sentiment and even quietly cheered for … more
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Shelling peas waiting for something special. And waiting. Still waiting. Hello?
The Art of Eating from the Garden
I love my garden, but sometimes it makes me feel like I’m a contestant on one of those cooking shows where amateur chefs are given a basket of incompatible ingredients and have to make a … more
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A simple compost-by-worm bin for your kitchen counter. No, really.
Learning to Love Worms and Their Gardener’s Gold
This spring I fell in love with worms. Red wiggler worms to be exact.   Why do I love them? Let me count the ways. They have five hearts! They eat half their body weight each day! They … more
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Bob and Barb Green watched this bear lick seed out of their bird feeder at Driftwood Point.
Bears on the KP: Stories and Notes on the Local Bear Situation
Last October, for the first time in recent memory, a bear paid a visit to Herron Island. By the time word got out and folks went looking, it was nowhere to be found, swum back to the mainland. … more
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Key Peninsula resident Sharron Dean shared this photo of the composting bins her husband built for their home garden.
Embrace the Compost — Your Garden Will Thank You and So Will Your Food Waste
When we built our vegetable garden more than a decade ago, complete with raised beds and an 8-foot tall fence, it included three compost bins. We hailed from Seattle with a small yard. The only thing … more
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Jim Watts of Watts Solitary Bees places wooden blocks with predrilled holes inside totes for female mason bees to lay eggs.
Keeping the Bees
For Jim Watts, spring means time on the road with hundreds of thousands of bees in his truck. One by one he visits an ever-growing list of home orchards, hobby farms, clearcuts and gardens. At each, … more
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The lettuce bolts!
Getting Hazed and Being Humbled by Your Garden
The month of May is when the garden finally starts to look like a garden. The seeds I sowed two to four weeks before the last frost date have finally sprouted and the transplants of lettuce and kale … more
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A lawn laced with clover is low maintenance and good for the bugs.
Save Your Lawn By Removing Your Grass and Helping the Bugs
This time of year, the morning sun enters the house at the perfect angle to shine light on how much dust and cobwebs have accumulated in the living room, signaling that spring is almost … more
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My garden last year during the middle of winter prep.
Easy Winter Garden Prep Will Bring a Bountiful Spring
For residents of the PNW, the transition between hot and windbreaker weather is as welcome as the resurrection of pumpkin spice lattes. more
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“There’s so many factors that come into play. Maybe the native bees have been killed off by backyard folks spraying the previous summer for yellow jackets.”
Soggy Spring and Low Pollination Lead to Low Fall Fruit
The fruit harvest will be low in home orchards across the Key Peninsula this year. more
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Welcome to the garden.
KP Gardens: A Community That Grows Together, Blooms Together
Longbranch is ready to welcome a new community garden. What began as piece of land riddled with blackberry bushes, shrubs and trash has been developed into a budding garden for the community to … more
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Don’t have space for your own garden? The KP does.
Keep Calm and Garden On! Yes, You Can Do It!
Before I started my garden, I was constantly daydreaming about starting my garden. I don’t know what sparked this mild obsession, but I assume one Pinterest post led to another and after a … more
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The traffic island at SR-302 and KP Highway became a colorful oasis.
The Beautification of the Key Peninsula in Full Bloom
When driving along the Key Peninsula Highway through Key Center, pay attention to the litter-free roadside and notice the hanging baskets, large flower-filled pots and weeded beds along the road. The … more
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Flower Stand Woes and Rewards
Most people who drive the section of Key Peninsula Highway between Home and Whiteman Road get a lift from seeing the white picket fence, the blossom-filled yard and the little flower stand on the … more
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To Mulch or Not to Mulch
I was out working in the garden the other day (what else is new?), crawling under some rhododendrons, thankful it’s not yet spider web season, and gently scraping my hand rake along the top … more
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Little Jack Horner considers his thumb.
Mushroom Cabin Brings Never-Never Land to Lakebay
In the woods near Penrose Point State Park, Rod Collen and his fiancée Shannon Garrett have spent the last two years building a 900-square-foot mushroom-shaped cabin. They purchased a … more
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Seed Saver
Diane Grant, who lives in Lakebay, harvested a tomato this year that she had never seen before. She loved the flavor and was afraid she might never find it again. Could she save the seeds and rest … more
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Tales of Key Peninsula Orchards
People of the Key Peninsula love their orchards, as evidenced by the apple trees growing everywhere. Historically, most apples on the Key Peninsula were grown for private use. Tim Kezele grew up … more
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The Drought Garden
Drought is the natural summer state on the Key Peninsula. The Pacific Northwest has a Mediterranean climate, with most rain falling in the winter when plants don’t necessarily need it, and dry … more
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