After noticing some in the garden of my friend Nara last year, I decided to try growing strawberries. I'm not sure why--especially since the Internet claims they're quite easy to grow--but I'm somewhat intimidated. Maybe because the fruit seems more delicate than a pepper or tomato?

Despite my nervousness, I purchased three lovely strawberry seedlings at the Silverlake Farmers' Market last Saturday. They look exceptionally healthy and dark green, so that seems like a good start.



I've got them in some wide pots, so they can spread out, and I added organic fertilizer and bat guano pellets to the soil. The containers are now sitting in two different sunny spots in the backyard. If all goes well, I'll have some shots of baby berries before too long.

Let me know if you have any pointers on growing strawberries in containers. I'm thinking mulch might be a good idea, but I know they send out runners, so maybe not?

I spent some time in the yard today, mostly getting ready for my summer vegetable garden by planting seeds in starter pots and trying to decide what will go where. Next weekend, I may plant the main raised bed, because I want to get started with my corn and yellow squash as soon as possible.

But anyway, as I was filling pots with dirt, I went over to the compost bin to get some nice, fertile compost to add to the soil mix. I opened up the door at the bottom, reached in and grabbed a handful of compost which was, to my surprise, full wet, wiggly worms.



Speaking as a gardener who frequently deals with dry, compacted soil, a big handful of worms is an exciting find. I promptly took them over to my garden beds, buried them and then sprinkled them with water. I'm hoping these worms survive and multiply. Happily, I believe those worms are only the tip of the (compost) iceberg. The bottom of the pile seems to be teeming with them. Hurrah!

And speaking of nice surprises, check out this lovely volunteer sunflower that just started blooming.



It was planted by one of my hens, back when the chicken tractor was sitting on that spot. Wasn't that thoughtful? I noticed it growing a while back, and have been encouraging it ever since.

The volunteer sunflower inspired me to plant some more. After all, the chickens like the seeds, and they are (obviously) pretty easy to grow. While I'm not a huge sunflower fan, I think they'll make a nice addition the summer garden. And I like the idea of a flower that also provides a tasty snack.

There's been a lot of activity in the kitchen since my last post about the remodel. Dakota has been working very hard on the sink, cabinets, dishwasher and some very cool details.

Here's the sink corner in progress. We acquired this beautiful sink from Dakota's dad, who got it in some kind of flood sale in Iowa. It's big, deep and I love the apron front. Dakota put in all new copper plumbing and installed the garbage disposal in this special way he learned from his dad. It's working out wonderfully.



As a design element, Dakota made beadboard out of the old Douglas fir cabinet cases. He milled down the wood, cut it and added a tongue and groove. The beadboard covers the divider between the refrigerator and cabinets, and one side of the pantry on the other side of the kitchen. Eventually, it'll be painted green like the cabinets. I think it's a really smart reuse of wood from the old kitchen.



On the other side of the fridge is this awesome detail, a spice cabinet. It's a shallow cabinet built into the wall that will hold all our spice, vinegar and oil bottles. Dakota has big plans for this little nook, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.



Also installed is our Fisher & Paykel double drawer dishwasher. Dakota made the custom fronts and added simple chrome pulls, which will eventually go on all the drawers and cabinet doors. So, this is kind of a preview of what the rest of the cabinets will look like (minus the green paint). The dishwasher is working well so far, although we had some problems with the drawers closing initially. I think we've worked it out, though.



Just a couple of nights ago, Dakota brought home the shelves he made for the pantry and upper cabinets. The main part of the shelf is birch with a front edge of walnut. It's a small detail that will only be noticeable when the cabinet doors are open. It'll also match some other walnut details in the kitchen that are still to come.



Things are really coming along on the remodel. In a few weeks, the floor will probably be installed. That should make a big difference in how "done" it looks. I'll be sure to post about it.