Urban Gnomestead

Urban Gnomestead A firm believer that everyone should be growing some of their food.

I am a local garden consultant in my spare time and a full time farmer at Roots Farm in Poulsbo, WA.

06/01/2026

Dry farming leek experiment this year.

Last year in October we inoculated some woodchips with Red Wine Cap Mushroom spawn.

This April we noticed all the mushrooms popping. Meaning the mycelium has colonized the woodchips well.

Had some extra leeks to get planted this year and figured this would be a great dry farming experiment.

Planted deep in woodchips that are completely colonized with mycelium and no water except for natural rain fall.

Come back in October to see how they do!

Experiment of the season...Growing potatoes with what I had around. FREE & EASY! Got a metal puppy cage laying around an...
05/20/2026

Experiment of the season...Growing potatoes with what I had around.

FREE & EASY!

Got a metal puppy cage laying around and some random materials. Figured it would be a great experiment to try out. Like those potato towers everyone sees only to see if they actually work.

1) Metal puppy cage but could use temporary fencing material even.
2) Old decomposing straw
3) Aged horse manure
4) Aged leaf mold, which was pretty much dirt now
5) Woodchips
6) Maple leaves
7) Extra potatoes

Place in a spot that will easily get water and protection for the heat of the day sunshine.

There are about 4 layers in this pen with about 4 pounds of potatoes.

Let's see if it will work!

Time for pests to start coming alive.Once identified it is great to search in the Pacific Northwest Handbook. This is a ...
05/13/2026

Time for pests to start coming alive.

Once identified it is great to search in the Pacific Northwest Handbook. This is a great resource for pests and diseases in our area.

Here is what they had to say about the Silverspotted Tiger Moth

Pest description and damage Adult moths have a 2-inch wingspan and are brownish or tan with distinct silver-white spots on the wings. The caterpillars can reach 1.5 inches in length and are mostly reddish-brown with some blue-black or yellowish hairs. The caterpillars of the silver-spotted tiger moth feed on the needles, often "tenting" branches with dirty-looking webs. While most of the feeding occurs through fall and winter, the webs are most noticeable in the spring. Minor infestations cause little harm to trees. Douglas-fir is the preferred host, but pine, arborvitae, spruce, and true firs are also attacked.

For biology, life history, monitoring and management

See:

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga)-Silver-spotted tiger moth

See "Caterpillar" in:

Common Landscape Pests

Management-chemical control

See Table 2 in:

Chemical Control of Landscape Pests

Here is the full link
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/hosts-pests-landscape-plants/spruce-picea-silver-spotted-tiger-moth

Birds are hungry but I have to fight off the squirrels and the raccoons. I got this Cole's chili sauce, which is so pote...
05/06/2026

Birds are hungry but I have to fight off the squirrels and the raccoons.

I got this Cole's chili sauce, which is so potent just mixing it was burning my eyes and killing my throat.

Fun fact: Birds cannot taste spicy so they can still eat the bird seed.

The spicy will hurt the squirrel and raccoon eyes. Hopefully keeping them out of the feeders.

Just 3 tsp of this stuff per 5 pound bag of seed. The chili liquid will last a long time and hopefully make the bird seed last longer too.

05/05/2026

Cinco de Mayo & Taco Tuesday??

How can it not be a good week!

May the 4th be with you all today during this heatwave. Get out and enjoy this sunshine while it is here and make sure t...
05/04/2026

May the 4th be with you all today during this heatwave.

Get out and enjoy this sunshine while it is here and make sure to water your plants. They should be getting lots of spring rains and are not.

Happy May everyone! It's a big month of seeding to be done in the PNW, especially with this warm dry weather we are havi...
05/03/2026

Happy May everyone!

It's a big month of seeding to be done in the PNW, especially with this warm dry weather we are having.

There are seeds to be starting inside to get ready for fall planting and there are seeds to be seeded directly outdoors.

Lots of seeding will keep you busy this month. Just remember with seeding comes the need for watering. You need to keep those seeds watered well while they are trying to germinate. With the lack of rainfall that is going to mean being outside watering each day.

Happy planting!

I know this might make most people cringle seeing lemon balm being planted in the ground BUT hear me out. I am so sick o...
05/02/2026

I know this might make most people cringle seeing lemon balm being planted in the ground BUT hear me out.

I am so sick of sugar ants coming into my house that I am desperate to try anything.

Super aromatic herbs like lemon balm, mint, thyme, etc are said to help by masking their pheromone trail.

Currently I have lemon balm everywhere that I am always digging out. Here it goes for now.

I will be starting some creeping thyme plants in July to be transplanted this fall. Lemon balm and creeping thyme should grow nicely together and hopefully work.

Address

Bremerton, WA

Telephone

(360) 550-5103

Website

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=580941&u=2052323&m=52284&urllink&afftrack, http://ww

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Urban Gnomestead posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Urban Gnomestead:

Shortcuts

Share

Category