Comments for PorchSide Ecology

Comment on Redo by soupmaker

soupmaker — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:48:16 +0000

Hey, so sorry to see you have been having problems but bare bones is better than no bones. Good luck with the site building.

Comment on Plant Profile – Quinoa by article about growing quinoa « Quinoa Cookbook Project

article about growing quinoa « Quinoa Cookbook Project — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:14:46 +0000

[...] chap grew quinoa and he says it’s pretty easy: http://porchsideecology.com/abundance/2009/09/14/plant-profile-quinoa/ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)QuinoaIs my Quinoa Clean..wah?My New Health [...]

Comment on The Phoebe Family by Laura T

Laura T — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:43:14 +0000

I too have a phoebe who graces my yard. Every afternoon he/she is there and now after reading your post I realize it’s the diverse heights that have drawn it to us. A swingset, a 8 ft. wall, a few wrought iron lantern holders (about 3.5 ft. tall) and a set of Adirondack chairs. I’m forever cleaning his/her droppings off my furniture and swing set, but I suppose the pros outweigh the cons.

Comment on Creating Pockets of Fertility by Ottawa Gardener

Ottawa Gardener — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:18:50 +0000

I think I read something similar to this (or at least similar to the idea) in a Solomon’s big book whose name is escaping me at the moment. He was talking about quickly converting a lawn into a garden if the need was there by digging holes and ammending them with whatever organic material was available to create ‘pocket fertility.’ Then expand beyond these planting spots as resoures became available. Anyhow, clearly there are other minds out there thinking on the same lines!

Comment on Plant Profile – Quinoa by Anna

Anna — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:41:52 +0000

Great write up, thanks!
I’m just about to plant my very first experiment in quinoa.

Comment on Plant Profile – Quinoa by Chris Prudhomme

Chris Prudhomme — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:18:16 +0000

I was way too generous in my yield quantity. I have revised the yield to 1/4 lb – 1/2 lb per plant.

That said, my biggest plant (the one to the right in the first picture) had a massively large seed head along with side shoots that also were bearing seed, my dog (or the wind) knocked that plant over so I lost the main seed head, the seeds produced from the branches though were still the biggest harvest (around 1/2 lb) so I imagine that the yield from the one plant would have been at least 3/4 lb.

Comment on Plant Profile – Quinoa by Chris Prudhomme

Chris Prudhomme — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:11:53 +0000

I haven’t, though it would surprise me if someone is not currently trying it successfully. From the reading I have done, the important factor is that the temperature does not get too hot during the growing season. We had some brief periods of 95+ degree weather, and the plants were ok, but that was well after it had done the majority of it’s growth.

So I’m guessing that places which transition quickly from cold winter to hot summer will have trouble growing quinoa.

Here is some good info on growing it from a Canadian seed supply company. http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm

Comment on Plant Profile – Quinoa by mrbeckbeck

mrbeckbeck — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:08:05 +0000

Great quinoa profile! Curious if you’ve heard of people growing it in the northern OR/southern WA valleys? Working on plans for a productive forest garden farm up this way, and just thought I’d cast a line your way.

Keep up the good work.

Comment on Recommended Reading – Edible Forest Gardens, Vol I by Chris Prudhomme

Chris Prudhomme — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:34:32 +0000

Thanks! It definitely was something I had to stick with, but now I have a much deeper understanding of how ecosystems and forests function and it will have a pretty significant impact on how I approach landscape design. I wish you well on your forest garden journey!

Comment on Recommended Reading – Edible Forest Gardens, Vol I by Anna

Anna — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:47:39 +0000

Thanks for the review, and congratulations on making it through the volume. Daunted by the size of Edible Forest Gardens, I’m starting on Patrick Whitefield’s How to Make a Forest Garden. Then might be ready to step into this one.