Help! Maggots in My Compost!

We’ve had a flurry of questions over the last couple weeks here at Gardenerd.com.  Here’s one that came in with urgency:

“We have had an issue with maggots in my compost tumbler. I am not
using any meats or fats of any kind – only green food wastes. How do
I correct this? Is my compost ruined?”

Not to worry.  Those maggots (most likely Black Soldier Fly larvae) are actually helping your compost break down.  While it’s true that they bring out the “ick” in most people, maggots, worms, and other garbage consumers are actually powerful creatures when it comes to ridding …
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From the Beginning…

A really big question came in to Ask Gardenerd recently:

How do I get started and where can I buy organic seeds?”

Oh – well – where to start?… Let’s start with my favorite seed companies:

Seeds of Change – This company offers certified organic seeds in many categories: heirloom, open pollinated, rare and Seeds of Change Originals.  I’ve been growing with their seeds for years and am completely in love with them.

Bountiful Gardens – This is the home of …
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Saving Money through Gardening

This morning an article appeared in my inbox from Kitchen Gardeners International that I thought I would share. It felt appropriate to post it because the main question that was asked of those of us who participated in the recent Nightline interview was, “Does this save you money?”  While I couldn’t really summarize the ways in which home growing saves me money, this article really nails down an concrete answer.  Enjoy!  


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Victory Gardenerd on ABC News: Nightline

If you missed the show last night, Gardenerd was featured on ABC News: Nightline in a segment on Victory Gardens.  Check it out here:   The television crew asked to follow me around for a day to visit several of … Continue reading

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Eco-Farm in Santa Cruz

Back in January, during our
California Adventure trip, we spent a day on campus at University of
California, Santa Cruz.  The campus is built within a forest, so you
could be walking along a pathway and suddenly find yourself in the
center of a cathedral of redwoods. 

One of our stops at UC Santa Cruz was the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). “The mission of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food
Systems (the Center) is to research, develop, and advance sustainable
food and agricultural systems that are environmentally sound,
economically viable, socially responsible, nonexploitative, and that
serve as a foundation …
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Television Shoot for Gardenerd

Today was an unusual day.  I got up and put on makeup.  That doesn’t happen much these days, since the broccoli doesn’t care how I look in the morning.  The reason for the makeup was because in an hour or so, four guys and a camera were going to be staring me in the face.  ABC News: Nightline was coming to shoot a segment on Victory Gardens. 

We started out visiting a garden that belongs to one of my clients.  Tommy Rosen (whose garden was recently featured on the Gardenerd Blog) was in full force.  He …
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Do or Die Daffodils

A question came in this week from a concerned gardener:

I bought a potted daffodil plant which originally had 3 beautiful
daffodils in bloom. They are not gone with no new potential blooms.
What should I do with the bulbs. Plant them outside now or ??  Thank you.”

Daffodils are the kind of bulb that come back year after year, but like most bulbs, they send up one flush of flowers and then they are done for the season.  Many people transplant bulbs into their garden after the foliage has died away.  Some bulbs that are sold for holidays …
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Kids’ Garden Article on Low Impact Living.com

It’s been busy around here at Gardenerd.com.  Today a new article I wrote for Low Impact Living.com appeared on their blog.  It features quick tips for starting a garden with your children.  Check it out here:

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2009/02/05/a-spring-garden-for-kids/


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Eco-Fabulous Garden

In December Gardenerd participated in the Eco-Gift Festival.  The founder of Eco-Gift, Tommy Rosen, and his lovely wife Kia asked me to build them the vegetable garden of their dreams.  After some discussion, we decided what that dream should look like and then we began. 


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Valentine’s Day Redeux

I know this one won’t sit well with those in the floral industry, but I had to share this video that came across my desk.  Ben at Windowbox.com sent it my way.  It offers an alternative to the traditional Valentine’s gift.  Please enjoy the True Story of Cut Flowers:

The True Story of Cut Flowers


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