Ongoing projects

Get Real and Give Thanks

Posted on by Jean Campbell

Notes to myself This summer, I jumped into rebuilding the art career I'd set out to achieve 45 years ago, so I felt like I had a lot of catching up to do. As you might have gathered if you've read any of my blog posts, I am totally in love with gardening and sustainability. I love writing and talking about gardening and sustainability. I've got multiple garden plots I tend and half a book written about sustainability. This is the life I've been dreaming of for years. I'd imagined that when I... Continue reading

A big year of little changes in 2025

Posted on by Jean Campbell

  If you have read any of my previous New Year's posts, you know that I don't make New Year's Resolutions anymore because, for me, THEY DON'T WORK. I rely on what I call my New Year's plan. In the past, I have tended to make big plans and commitments. But all too quickly, even these begin to seem difficult to keep up with. Nothing feels more like failing than trying something for 3 days in a row only to decide it's way too much. This year, I'm all about making lots of little... Continue reading

Shrimp peel dust – gift from the sea

Posted on by Jean Campbell

  Folks pay good money for fish emulsion fertilizers. Myself included and for good reason. Plants thrive on it. Yet here I stand at the kitchen sink, preparing to throw my stinky shrimp boil garbage away, and then buy someone else’s. As I am cheap, this kinda makes me go hmmmmm. Shrimp peels and heads contain calcium, Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus, all of which are a dream come true for your garden fare. I haven't tended to compost anything except what my mom used to call... Continue reading

The Herb Spiral – Tips and tricks from a new user!

Posted on by Jean Campbell

On the heels of completing the initial sheet mulching steps of The kitchen Garden (formerly known as The Secret Garden), we began our herb spiral. The process is similar in that materials are layered to magically build soil. We began by placing rocks, all resourced from our property, in a spiral formation, and stacked them upwards as we went round. We filled the bottom with sticks and topped them with good old wheat straw. Tip # 1 - Reuse garden waste! Melvin tops the... Continue reading