I learned about native Washington State cacti shortly after becoming trained as a Master Gardener. At the time, the Bellevue Demonstration Garden (http://www.mgfkc.org/resources/demonstration-gardens/bellevue-demonstration-garden) was planning a cactus garden to educate us about Washington natives. During the planning phase, I had the privilege to visit retired WSU Extension Agent George Pinyuh’s Kent garden, which featured an impressive collection of native cacti. Who knew?

George Pinyuh will be giving a free workshop called Cactus in the Northwest at the Bellevue Demonstration Garden Saturday, August 20, 2011. 

Meanwhile, what can we find in Washington? Opuntia fragilis (Brittle Prickly Pear) is the only cactus species native to western Washington. It can be found in scattered populations east of Sequim (near Port Townsend), the San Juan Islands, one spot on Whidbey. East of the mountains you can find O. fragilis, O. Columbiana, O. polyacantha, Pediocactus nigrispinus (hedgehog cactus), and Escobaria vivipara. Unfortunately, many of these plants are disappearing and conservation is encouraged. For more details and photos, read “A Primer on Washington Native Cacti” http://www.angelfire.com/bc/eucalyptus/desertnorthwest/articles/native_cacti.html.

How can you grow cacti in W. Washington? "A Primer on Washington Native Cacti” states: In western Washington, all will require the exceptionally well drained soil found in a rock garden or cactus garden. You can mound up a soil mix composed mostly of grit, pumice or sand and you should have excellent results. They can also be planted between cracks in rocks. Any situation where moisture will drain away quickly, or where the roots are protected from rainfall will work for them. Opuntia fragilis prefers rather sandy soil, but the others will thrive on coarse, gravelly soil without too much fine material.

I'm afraid I don't know where you can locate these natives.  If you can attend George Pinyuh's workshop, he might be able to advise. And, don’t forget to visit the Bellevue Demonstration Garden to view their collection of cacti.  Master Gardeners work in the garden every Wednesday and Saturdays from 9am - 1 pm. For gardeners who are interested in cacti and succulents, consider joining or attending a meeting of the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Society of Washington State. Contact information can be found at www.cascadecss.org.  Happy cacti gardening!

Hello,

I've set up several drip irrigation systems, as well as teaching a drip irrigation at City people's Garden Store, where I work. There are way too many choices and I've narrowed it down to the essentials. I'd be happy to show you what I consider the best method. I work at City peeps (in Madison valley) Mon, Fri, and Sat. Ask for Jose, I'd be happy to help you!

Installing a drip irrigation system for your vegetable garden and mini home orchard is an excellent idea. I recommend reading the following information about installing and designing drip irrigation systems from WSU and Colorado State University. You will get tested and unbiased information from these sources--in other words, they aren't selling a system, but giving great information!

From WSU: Drip Irrigation for the Yard and Garden,
http://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Fact-Sheets/DripIrrForYardGarden.pdf

From Colorado State University Extension, Drip Irrigation for Home Gardens http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/04702.html

From WSU Extension Small Farms Team, http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/crops/irrigation/

I hope this info is helpful.
-Andrea

I have a system I've installed in my backyard that is spring-fed and gravity based.

I am no expert, but I can tell you this about drip irrigation: gravity is your friend.

If you can find a way to put your water source up high, then all you need is a valve - no pump. I'm fortunate that I have a spring on my property, but you could use rain barrels or a similar scheme. As long as you can elevate the water source, it will naturally drip down through your system when you open the valve.

Sorry if this answer seems like pointing out the obvious, but sometimes the obvious is important. Good luck, and happy irrigating!

If it's NOT a peony, I'm registering a vote for bleeding hearts. And agreed, leave it be and you will have lovely flowers.

The other nice thing about both of these plants is that since they sprout from the ground every spring, you can cut off any dead material in summertime without guilt...you're not hurting a thing.

I've heard from some mycophile friends of mine that Morels like burned-over areas. But that's all I've got. I don't pick wild stuff, I don't know enough to identify things. Except Amanitas. I know two places where Amanita's grow, but hell if I'll tell anyone... those things can KILL you!

I don't know about youtube, but there are numerous gardening blogs available with a host of information. Check out: www.debraprinzing.com, www.valeaston.com, www.karensgardenadventures.com for a few of the Seattle based writers.

Nita-Jo

Here's a contact for you. He comes in to sharpen shears, knives etc for our customers and will most likely have a contact for you if he cannot do the work himself on your old fashioned reel:

www.northwestsharpening.com

425-895-8408

There is a pretty good place on 15th NW in Ballard, at around 73rd. It's a small mower/sharpening place; it's been there for many years and is NOT any kind of chain-store.

Check for shops in your area that sell chainsaws. For a fee they will sharpen them for you. If you want to sharpen them yourself, here is a site with a straightforward way of doing it.

http://healthproductadvice.com/ultra-berry-slim-review

Aurora Lawnmower up on Aurora by Greenlake. They sharpen all types of mower blades but give priority to reel mowers b/c they are awesome.

You can try calling Bedrock Industries, a recycling place in Seattle: http://www.bedrockindustries.com/

They may have a good suggestion for you.

or:
Use them for mosaics.
Use for edges on your beds.

Here's what the county says, although they're probably thinking more of people with truckloads of gravel: http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/wdidw/material.asp

(you might have to browse again to get the rock page)

Apparently you can take them to transfer stations (although it doesn't say if they charge for rock). You might try calling them with a rough estimate of how much you have. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you tell them you just have a couple bucket loads of garden rocks, they'll laugh you off the phone.

It's not like they're toxic waste or even really arguably garbage. If you're just talking about a bucket load or two, I'd just dump 'em by the road next time you're up in the mountains. If they're pretty looking rocks, you might try listing them on craigslist-- maybe someone doing some light landscaping would want 'em.

In Washington were the ocean's sand reaches the soil is another good spot? ??

In the fall, you can find edible mushrooms all over the city. 

Birch Boletes live under birch trees. They are kissin' cousins to porcini mushrooms. The stems are what you want to eat- slice them somewhat thinly and cook in butter until they are brown and a little crisp. You can also dry them. 

I love Boletes because they are safe, abundant and very easy to identify. I don't mess with any other kind, frankly. 

But why are we talking about this? They don't come out until the fall. If it's morels you're after, go get 'em. But no one will tell you where they are...

JFGI -> go find some mulch.

This is somewhat like asking a fisherman to tell you their best fishing spot. You are highly unlikely to get an answer. Oh, they might tell you the name of a river or maybe a lake, but certainly not the location of the best holes or what rock to stand on.

I suggest you get involved with a local mycological group like the Puget Sound Mycological Society, go to the meetings, take a class, make some friends, and then maybe you will get invited to go along on a couple of trips and find some spots to return to yourself. 

Nitrogen is water soluble and so leaches quickly. I've posted if before, but here is my fertilizer recipe:
2 parts Blood Meal
3 parts bone meal
6 parts green sand.

By "part" I mean scoop.
This can be adjusted as needed. I often add some sort of seed meal like alfalfa for some longer term nitrogen. This basic recipe is pretty killer. I got it from the guy that started territorial seeds.

The primary reason for adding compost to a garden is not nutrients- especially in the Northwest. It's to add well rotted organic matter. The nutrients can be added seperately and should be added seperately. Most commerially available composts need augmentation of some kind (at least in my experience). so your stuff is almost certainly just fine.

Good luck.

the only problem might be what's going on with the microorganisms in there. if it's been sitting in the bag there a chance the air holes have been blocked and it's been cooked in the sun - you might have killed off most of the aerobic bacteria.

that's nothing that a little time and some mixing with in-the-ground dirt can't cure. if you're really worried, go buy some red wrigglers to help break things down. i've heard some folks will go the extra mile and make a diluted molasses mixture - 1/4 cup molasses to a gallon of water, spread over 30 square feet - to jump start bacteria.

it is good to know, though, that nitrogen leaches out of your soil the fastest of all nutrients. really, nitrogen is what makes the difference between an okay harvest and a bumper crop. while its ridiculous to assume there's no nitrogen at all in those bags, I'd add a little to your beds. blood meal (available fast!) and fish meal (av bit more slow-release) work wonders, though it's crucial not to overdo it and wait until you've got a bit drier weather. fertilizing garden = good, fertilizing in the rain = fertilizing groundwater = bad.

Dirt is dirt, use it.
The breakdown of compost takes time, air (oxygen), warmer temperatures and appropriate moisture levels. The nutrients that it contained are still there. Mold may be present from the over moist condition, but allowing it to dry out and mixing with drier soils will ameliorate that.

These fine folks used to have a mock up room (on Pine) that would answer this question (and for the same reason, too!) based on time of year, time of date, longitude/latitude, etc. They've since moved, and I don't know if their 4th ave location has the same sweetass way of seeing in it in 3D.

http://www.lightingdesignlab.com/ldl/labresources.html

might also ask these folks:
http://www.betterbricks.com/

We in Seattle are at about 47.5 degrees North, and the earth's axis is tilted with respect to the plane of its orbit by 23.5 degrees, giving

90 - (47.5 - 23.5) = 66 degrees midsummer

90 - (47.5 + 23.5) = 19 degrees midwinter

easy-peesy and doesn't require any iThings. Also, this may just be me, but in the effort to answer this question, rotating the tilted finger of one of my hands (earth) around my other hand (sun) helped me figure out what's going with celestial mechanics!

Do you have an iPhone/iPad? There are several apps that let see the sunlight angles for any location. More importantly, you can play with the controls to see how the light will hit throughout the day/month/year/etc.

I'm not entirely certain since I don't have my Device at the moment, but I think I've used LightTrac a few times and found it good (purchased back when it was 99 cents): http://appshopper.com/photography/lighttrac

The are other versions of the concept, like this pricier one: http://appshopper.com/photography/the-photographers-ephemeris . And I suppose there may be equivalent 'Droid versions of light tracking apps.

Angle of the what? We don't have that here.

Seriously, I'm not an expert at azimuths and stuff, but I found a tool online at http://solardat.uoregon.edu/SunChartProgram.php that calculates for you based on zip code. For mine (98103) I got a maximum solar angle of about 18 degrees for noon on Dec 21st, and 66 degrees for noon on June 21st.

Note that it's only noon for a second, and the rest of the ridiculously short day the sun will be lower than that, and most of the time in winter the entire north side of everything is going to be in shade almost all the time. So if you're growing a lawn, it's going to be mostly moss. We're considerably further north than Montreal.

I don't THINK you need to remove the pump (we don't), but definitely drain ALL the water...that includes blowing out the pipes down inside.

Also, what kind of material is your urn? I think some ceramics tend to crack if they have too much exposure to the ground (I need backup on this). Check with a place like Sky Nursery and they could tell you.