Category Archives: Blog

Pickin’ and Plantin’

Posted on April 29, 2008 by Christy

I just got back from my plot at Ocean View Farms community garden.  It’s seems that the heat wave has drawn everyone out into the garden this
late afternoon.  As the cloud cover started to provide some relief from the 90 degree weather, the breeze actually did its job of cooling us off. 

Today I planted out some Jalapeño peppers and Anaheim chili peppers.  I also planted out the eggplants that, along with their peppery friends had been sitting under grow lights for the last
couple of months.  I’m hoping they will take off once they get established.  …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Feel-Good Moment in Gardening History

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Christy

Last Sunday, April 20th, the New York Times Magazine published a new article by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense Of Food, and a piece that
eloquently explains the flaws of our existing farm bill.  This new article basically validates our existence as organic gardeners, and it brings me great pleasure to pass it
on to you, my fellow Gardenerds.  

It’s a little lengthy, but completely worth the read.  You’ll feel good in the end.  Enjoy.

 
Why Bother?

…
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | Leave a comment

Happy Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Christy

Every year on Earth Day, I try to be out in my garden for at least part of the day.  Today, I’m behind a desk, and my garden is calling me from
afar.  What can you do from behind a desk on Earth Day?  Well, surf the net for Earth Day celebrations, environmental tips and other great information. 

Both Google and Yahoo have featured Earth Day pages today:

http://www.google.com/search?q=earth+day

http://green.yahoo.com/earth-day

There are also some other great environmental websites that draw attention to climate change all year round:

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/

If you are able to get out and plant something, here …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | Leave a comment

Spring Vegetable Article on Low Impact Living.com

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Christy

Just a quick note that a new article I wrote on veggies that grow in spring has been published on the www.lowimpactliving.com blog.  If you want to go directly there, you can click
here:

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/04/20/spring-garden-planting-guide/

Check out the rest of the website for great tips on lowering your carbon footprint in your daily lives. 

Happy Gardening!

  …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | Leave a comment

Having a Ball with Pillbugs – NOT!

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Christy

A really great question came in this week:

“Dear Gardenerd,
Help! The sow bugs seem to have taken over. If they’d leave some strawberries for ME, I might cut them some slack, but they eat them ALL!!  I saw some Praying Mantis eggs at Whole Foods… will
they really rid my garden of the ill “pill” sow bugs?”

Ah, yes, our friendly neighborhood sowbug.  Actually – I found an interesting piece of info to settle the discrepancy once and for all about the differences between sowbugs and
pillbugs.  It comes from Louise Kulzer in a feature called the Bug of the Month …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | 1 Comment

Xeriscape Project Brings Joy

Posted on April 17, 2008 by Christy

This weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman who recently decided to tear up her front lawn for a low-water Xeriscape solution.  Sherri and her husband wanted to embrace the idea of a lawn-less life, so they hired a landscape designer to help them get started.  Here’s what Sherri had to say about the project:


“Our most recent effort was tackling our lawns – and this has been the most satisfying project so far! The drought conditions in Southern California …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | Leave a comment

A Spring Garden Festivus

Posted on April 11, 2008 by Christy

I’m not at all a Seinfeld fan, but for some reason, Kramer’s Festivus holiday jumped out of my head and into the title of this entry.  I guess that his enthusiasm for celebration
was so similar to what I have been feeling when I’m out in the garden these days.  Something new has gone in the ground each day this week.  The promise of new life, new varieties and
(crossing our fingers) no gophers has taken over my head. 

Here is a quick list of what has been planted from seed this week:

Lettuces – 6 different heirloom varieties

Arugula

Mustard Greens

Golden Chard

Orach …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in What's Growin' On | 1 Comment

Tomato Recommendations

Posted on April 9, 2008 by Christy

Our adventurous tomato cage gardenerd writes in:

“Can you recommend particular tomatoes that you have had success with. I am building your cool tomato cage and am inundated with the choices available in tomatoes.”

I can recommend a slew of heirloom tomatoes that have worked for me, because honestly – that’s all I’ve grown before.  Depending on where you live, your hardiness zone or the topography
of your landscape, you can find tomatoes for all climates. 

As for my recommendations: We are very near the coast in Southern California where I garden.  We get a marine layer for a few months that …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Leave a comment

Tomato Cages – the Gardenerd Way

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Christy

Those who signed up on the Gardenerd website and downloaded the Top 5 Organic Gardening Tips will appreciate this one.  A gardener wrote in
today:

“What kind of store do you find the fencing for tomatoes? I don’t think they have it at Home Depot. Would it be more like a farm supply store or some
kind of fencing company?”

Admittedly, I found my fencing in the exact size I needed in the discard pile at the community garden where I have a garden plot.  However, there is another person nearby who uses
the same kind of fencing in …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | 1 Comment

Grass Growing for Beachside Folks

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Christy

We got a new question in this week:

“I live 1 mile from the beach and have very sandy soil and a very sunny yard. I can’t grow grass, keep grass or prevent grass from burning. Help!”

Is it safe to assume that you’ve tried out different watering schedules, primarily avoiding watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m?  If not, try that first.  You may
need to water more often for shorter periods of time, depending on the type of grass you have, so that the water stays near the root zones, instead of washing out past them.  You would
also …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , | Leave a comment