Category Archives: What’s Growin’ On

Save D. Landreth Seed Company

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Christy

D. Landreth is the oldest seed house in America, and it’s going out of business unless we help them. The bank has seized the company’s assets and in order to pay back its debt, D. Landreth is selling seed catalogs to raise funds. Here’s the scoop from their website:

“On August 30, 2011 the Landreth bank accounts were frozen by a court ordered garnishment because the company had failed to pay back some of the debt …

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Take Cover! It’s Cabbage Moth Season.

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Christy

Just a few moments in the garden reveal that it must be mating season for the cabbage moth. These deceptively cute white butterflies can be found twirling around one another and fluttering about the
garden, looking for a good place to lay their eggs. Be prepared.

We planted out our kale and cabbage crops early this year, but took the precaution of covering them with floating row cover to keep the critters from
settling in.

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A Fall Thinnings Salad

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Christy

If you grow from seed this fall, you’ll have a chance to enjoy the benefits of thinning your seedlings right into the salad bowl. Baby greens may be expensive in the market, but they’re free when you
pick from the excess of sprouts in your garden.

Even when using Square Foot Gardening, I like to have a little bit of insurance. I plant two or three seeds in each planting hole, then wait for survival of the fittest to make itself known. The
smaller seedlings are then snipped off (with scissors, rather …
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A Taste Of Italy in Mar Vista

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Christy

The latest post from Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter is live and ready for your perusal. Learn all about Rita’s Roman Recipes (website coming soon), and where to get them:

A Taste of Italy in Mar Vista
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Vote for Gardenerd

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Christy

And now a moment of shameless self-promotion…

I’ve entered the Gardenerd Test Garden in a competition for cash and fame, and I need your help. YourGardenShow.com has partnered with Mother Earth News to give two lucky gardeners $500 cash and a chance at being
featured in an upcoming issue of Mother Earth News Magazine.

We’re currently holding in the Top 25 Gardens, …
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Aquaponics: A Field Trip to EVO Farm

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Christy

Aquaponics is a combination of hydroponics and aqua-culture. It is a closed-loop system that uses aquariums (or aquaria if we’re going to use proper Latin) of fish to produce the nutrient fertilizer
for plants to feed upon. The plants then grow in the water that is infused with fish droppings (and filtered for solids). It uses no soil. The water recycles back through the system to the fish and
the whole process starts all over again.

I paid a visit to EVO Farm, a local experimental site that combines yardsharing with aquaponics. …
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Pistachio Heaven

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Christy

The latest edition of Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter is ready for your perusal. Find out where to get organically grown pistachios in Los Angeles, and try the mouth-watering sweet and savory recipes:

Go Nuts with Organic, Kosher Pistachios
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Experimenting with Biochar

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Christy

Ever heard of biochar?  Maybe the term “Terra preta” rings a bell?  Back in 2008 National Geographic published an article about a discovery of man-made nutrient-rich soil in the Amazon. Yes, man-made. It
appears that by layering soil, charcoal, pottery sherds (yes, that’s the correct spelling), and plant and animal wastes, the soil was transformed from nutrient-poor, desolate soil into the fertile
ground that grew sustenance for ancient jungle inhabitants. I remember reading about it and thinking, “Hey, this could save …
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Pesto Madness

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Christy

This is the time of year when the abundance of basil in the garden can often overshadow the need in the kitchen. What’s a gardener to do?  Make pesto, of course.

Whether you preserve pesto by canning or freezing, you can make the flavors of summer last a long time. To start off the pesto season, I took a field trip to Pesto Madness, the Learning Garden’s
annual fundraiser.  

David King, the illustrious leader of the Learning Garden, was giving a …
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Eggplant Enliven Fall Dinners

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Christy

The lastest post from Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter is up and ready to give you great ideas for using eggplant (which is in season right now) in your weekly meals:

Fall Dinners Come Alive with Versatile Eggplants
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