The small, hand-lettered sign on Peacock Hill Avenue near Gig Harbor says, simply, “Butler’s Farm. Apples. Self serve.” It’s the first hint that at the end of the dirt driveway, there’s a 7.5-acre orchard where more than 1,200 apple trees — with upward of 500 varieties of apples — are growing and thriving. Steve and […]
fruit
Posted inAt Home
Wonderful Washington Cherries!
It’s cherry season in Washington, and this year’s crop is better than ever! Mother Nature provided a long, cool, wet spring with warm sunshine coming just at the right time to produce beautiful, shiny, plump and very juicy cherries. Bings and Rainiers are beginning to flood the market, and this may be the biggest crop […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Better Garden Bounty with the Help of Mason Bees
I am not a mason bee expert but I recognize and benefit from their hard work during rainy weather. A few years ago, my strawberries were seedy and not uniformly plump and succulent, so I contacted my local Master Gardener for ideas about what was going on in my fruit garden. The diagnosis was “a […]
Posted inAt Home
Cranberries!
Cranberries have been a staple on Thanksgiving tables in the United States since the Pilgrims first feasted with the Wampanoag in 1621. The native populations had been using the wild cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpos throughout their history. It is believed they used the fruit for medicinal as well as nutritional purposes. The early peoples made pemmican […]
Posted inAt Home
Apples
“As American as apple pie,” the saying goes. “An apple a day keep’s the doctor away” — maybe because an apple is full of fiber and vitamins and minerals? And then, stories abound about a guy name Johnny Appleseed who went across the country scattering apple seeds. It turns out that John Chapman (1774-1845), a […]
Posted inFood & Entertainment
Why Farmers Markets are So Popular
Isn’t it interesting that the most iconic symbol of one of the leading technology centers in the world is a farmers market? No one would argue that the Pike Place Market in Seattle is the most famous landmark and the biggest tourist attraction in Seattle — and possibly in the state of Washington. Who has […]
Posted inAt Home
Pears
Of all the delicious fruits grown in the Northwest, pears may be the most versatile, succulent and satisfying of all. Pears transcend summer into fall, ripening late summer to early autumn, depending on variety and weather conditions. This beautiful fruit lends itself to freezing and long-term storage, and is available nearly year-round. But it is […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Protecting Your Harvest from Wildlife in Your Backyard
Gardening for wildlife is a satisfying focus for a gardener, knowing that your efforts benefit not only the human caretakers of a landscape, but provide habitat and nourishment for many creatures. What is better than seeing a hummingbird pushing upward on every fuchsia flower while you are hidden beneath a shrub, weeding? Or noticing that […]
Posted inBlog, Gardeners Corner
Fall Fruit Show a Delicious Showcase of Local Harvest
Fall is harvest time and members of the Peninsula Fruit Club celebrate that in a big way. From Bainbridge Island to Gig Harbor, member growers bring and show the fruits of their orchard labor. The group has two events each that are open to the public at the West Side Improvement Club on E Street […]