Growing food in western Oregon
Follow along with me as I grow and cook several kinds of vegetables, plus a ton of different kinds of fruit. I cultivate a few mushrooms and forage when foraging is truly good eats.
I started writing because I believe everyone should have access to basic necessities, and good info about growing food isn’t always easy to find.
I feel that people should be able to grow food that suits them on their property, without wasting time and money on a whole bunch of things that don’t work. There’s a ton of pure nonsense out there, and I believe that is why much of the population on our planet believe that growing food is too difficult and better left to the professionals.
That’s a shame really. The way I see it, conflicts of many sizes - family disputes to regional wars - stem from lack of access to basic necessities. I hope I am contributing at least in some small way to make this world a more peaceful place.
I am not here to sell you anything. Nor do I earn a commission from any products mentioned on this site.
Most blogs and garden information websites are there to try and earn dollars from you, by earning a commission on products recommended. Often that will lead you astray, resulting in nothing but frustration. If I offer a suggestion, I feel that the person offering that product needs every dollar they can get. Seed producers, for example, aren’t bathing in wealth. They need all the financial incentive they can get to keep doing their work. I feel icky trying to earn a commission from them.
In the future, I’ll have a donation button if you’d like to encourage me to keep sharing my experiences.
Garden blasphemy?
I am not a conventional gardener. I am also not a strictly organic gardener. I am, however, a gardener who prefers methods that work. I’m a bit lazy, so I like to do things as easily as possible. Some of the things I suggest might make the strictly organic gardener cringe a little.
But I have also been called an “earth cookie”. Which I guess means that I give a damn about things like: climate change, plastic pollution, native habitat, etc.
Homegrown is much yummier.
It’s true what they say. Homegrown fruit and veg tastes better. There’s scientific reasoning behind why that is. Also, a lot of things aren’t available in grocery stores or even farmer’s markets.
My kids and I won’t touch sugar snap peas at the grocery store, but will stand in the garden for a half hour eating them straight from the vine.
Asian pears are unreliable to buy. Occasionally they are good. Often not. They rarely make it far from the tree here at home.
And have you ever even had a mulberry? I’m here to tell you they are super delicious. Like one of the best fruits you’ve ever had. And SO easy to grow.
Regional topics.
I’ll be talking at length at some point about the importance of finding advice that works well for your area in particular. This doesn’t mean what I say here won’t work for other areas, but they are particularly suited to what has worked for me in the Pacific Northwest, zone 8, 600 feet elevation, west of the cascade mountains, in partially shaded conditions.
I am by no means an expert.
I’ve been growing food over 20 years. I’m not a newbie. But I still don’t consider myself an expert either. Each year I have more and more successes and often quite a few failures to report. I’m here as much to learn from you as I am to share what works for me! Drop me a comment below to start a conversation.
