Pineapple Guava is technically Acca sellowiana but until recently it has been called Feijoa sellowiana. Most people still call it Feijoa (Fay-joe-ah), especially in places like New Zealand where it is very popular. Here in the US, it is hardly known at all, which is a real shame because the...
Water is life The most important thing for plants and all life is water. Every drop counts! A seed must absorb water before germinating. Roots can uptake nutrients only when water is available. This spaceship called planet Earth thankfully has an abundance of the wet stuff. Let’s jump right in...
Most of the “wasabi” provided to customers in restaurants is primarily Horseradish root with green-colored food dye. The wasabi powder or packaged paste found in grocery stores have varying amounts of Wasabi mixed with Horseradish, so a lot of people have never really tasted real Wasabi root. Wasabi has a unique flavor...
Spring is around the corner and all around the city we’re seeing parking strips full of endless potential. That often drab looking strip of soil between the sidewalk and the road goes by many different names; parking strips, sidewalk strips, hell strips, parkways, but one thing they all have in...
In the age of instant gratification, fruit ordered on your grocery delivery app might be delivered in a matter of hours. However in the natural world plants still abide by the “Laws of Nature”. So when we hear the frequently asked question of “How long will it be until my...
All about Mason Bees What are Mason Bees? Osmia lignaria propinqua, or Blue orchard Mason Bees, are non-aggressive bees that live in solitary nesting tubes. They are smaller than honeybees and do not live in hives. Mason bees are excellent pollinators, demonstrating 95% pollination success compared to honey bees, which...
What makes a Superfruit so “Super”? Scientists don’t actually agree on what actually makes a food “Super”, but we won’t focus on the nomenclature in this article. Instead, we are going to celebrate what we think makes these fruits so “Super” to have in your own backyard. Perhaps we should...
Growing an Edible Rain Garden in Portland, Oregon The idea of Growing an Edible Rain Garden might have been a foreign concept a decade or so ago but now nearly every new home in Portland seems to be giving some thought as to what to do with all that excess...
Green Tea Pluck the very youngest leaves and leaf buds. Blot the leaves dry and let them dry in the shade for a few hours. Steam the leaves (like you would vegetables) on your stove for about a minute. For a different flavor, try roasting them in a skillet for...
At OGW we wanted to share with you our “Fig Growing Guide!” The beloved fig tree! Ficus carica! It is likely humanity’s oldest cultivated crop and continues to fascinate, excite and feed us in the present day. Few plants are as shrouded in mysticism, folklore, and passion as the mighty...
