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Category Archives: Blog
Gardenerd on Vital Juice.com
I participated in an interview with Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh of Vital Juice.com recently. She wanted to know what were my healthy favorite things to do and see. Here is the published article on Vitaljuice.com:
Sweet Carrots – how to get ’em
A great question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd:
“This year, I planted carrots and beets, but success was marginal. Some of the carrots turned out OK, but many were stunted or very small. Also, many were very bitter. Any suggestions for next time?
Can you do anything with the carrot tops…I hate to throw them away…I am putting them into the compost pile.
All the beets were very stunted and small. Any suggestions for next time? Also, some of my lettuce is bitter. Could my …
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Posted in Sage Advice
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Harvesting Sunflower Seeds
Sometime in late spring, I planted a handful of sunflower seeds along with some cosmos in hopes that they would fill in the blanks spots as the Dog Days of summer set in. True to form, the cosmos took over an entire raised bed and the sunflowers sent up two huge stalks with glorious flowers bigger than dinner plates. I wondered if we’d be able to harvest the seeds for snacking or if the birds would get them all. I’ve never harvested sunflower seeds successfully before, and I was determined to change my track record.
Posted in What's Growin' On
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Even Pumpkins
We got a fine question at Ask Gardenerd this week:
“I just harvested my pumpkins. They all are a very beautiful orange
color. However, after rolling them over, all are flat on the bottom side
that was next to the ground, and a white color is on that side. What can I do
next year to prevent this?”
Yea for pumpkins! It’s so satisfying to harvest them after all that time and space (they get so big and sprawl everywhere) over the summer. Here’s a very easy thing that you can do to solve both the white color …
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Growing Horseradish
Here’s one I hadn’t encountered before:
“We have a horseradish root that we bought at the store and on a whim
we put the top part of the root into some potting soil, we now
have growth. Our question is what type of soil does it require and how
much sun will it need to grow properly. Dave Garman & Karen Blessington”
Good for you for being adventurous! And lucky for you, you’ve chosen a really easy plant to grow. Horseradish has no particular soil requirements and basically likes to be ignored. It prefers full sun, but can handle …
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How to Grow Shallots
We received a question this week on Ask Gardenerd that we wanted to share:
“Hi Christy, I’m wondering when the best time to plant shallots is in
SoCal? Also, do you have a good source for sets or is the farmer’s
market a good place to start? Thanks!”
Your timing is perfect! Fall is the best time to plant shallots in Southern California. They, like garlic, will overwinter and be harvested in springtime. They require similar care to garlic, with some exceptions. Here is a blurb from Peaceful Valley Farms, where you can order shallots for growing:
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Posted in Sage Advice
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Gardenerd at Green Beacon Foundation – Fall Garden Workshop
Fall is just around the corner and Gardenerd has been invited to give a fall gardening workshop at the Green Beacon Foundation on Saturday, September 26th from 2-4 p.m. Read the details below:
As a
recognized educational, non-profit organization, The Green Beacon Foundation
was designed to show people the simplicity of sustainability. We
conduct tours the first Saturday of the each month and feature green
processes & products ranging from “old-fashioned” to the latest
in design & technologies.