Tag Archives


Gardening at Night

Posted on May 10, 2008 by Christy

Warning: This blog entry is a pure, unadulterated display of Gardenerdiness. 

Tonight I satisfied a desire I’ve had for years – to garden in the dark, after the sun has completely set.  It’s a desire I’ve never been able to indulge in because my gardening space, the
community garden, closes at sunset.  Now that I am a homeowner, the world is my oyster, so to speak, as far as living out my nighttime gardening fantasies.  Now, I’m not talking
about gardening outside where it’s well-lit.  I’m talking about piercing the night’s dark shroud with good old fashioned geek gear – a head …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

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

Going Native

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Christy

An enthusiastic gardenerd writes in:

“Where can I get a variety of CA native plants are cheap or free?  I’ve got a 30 X 25 foot area that has been cleared of weeds, etc and is screaming to go native!”

Congratulations on the weeding, first of all, and secondly your decision to go native.  There are a  lot of ways to get native plants for your area, not
all of them are legal.  It really depends on how quickly you want to your garden to take shape.  Here are a few suggestions:

Let’s start with Free.  The most free way …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , | 3 Comments

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

Growing Tomatoes in Florida

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Christy

A Florida gardenerd wrote in recently:

“I live in Orlando, Florida and I know that every place has its season to grow vegetables. I am interested in growing tomatoes and green peppers to start. Don’t know anything about it, and want
to know how to grow them organically. Thank you for your help.”

You’re smack in the middle of the ever changing Zone 9 over there in Orlando.  According to several sources, that area has been shifting between zone 10, 9a, and 9b for the last 50
years.   Sandy soil, tropical heat and sudden frosts, right?

I did some research and …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Pruning, Tools and Tool Care Class Review

Posted on March 22, 2008 by Christy

On Saturday, we rounded out the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series with the final class on Pruning, Tools and Tool Care.  We talked tools. 
A lot of tools.  We talked about hand tools, larger tools, watering tools, and pruning tools, all with their special purposes.  Seven fellow gardenerds discussed everything from
pruning a geranium to sanding rust off an old set of hand pruners. 

…
Continue reading → Continue reading →

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

Tool Talk for Spring Gardening

Posted on March 22, 2008 by Christy

The newest Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast is available online.  We probably won’t be posting these on this blog for much longer, now that
iTunes is podcasting them.  For help with subscribing, visit the home page of Gardenerd.com.  Or you can search for Gardenerd
under Podcasts on iTunes.

Tool Talk for Spring Gardening
…
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Upside-Down Tomatoes

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Christy

Recently some students in the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series asked about growing tomatoes upside-down.  I can happily say that I’ve done that without any special equipment –
and it works! 

One year, on the patio of our apartment, my husband and I decided to take a regular hanging planter and plant a tomato in it.  Instead of staking it up, we let the vines hang
down.  It flowered, it set fruit, the fruit ripened and we ate well.  There are a couple of caveats, however, to be aware of when using a regular hanging planter:

1) The branches do bend or crease at the …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast

Posted on March 15, 2008 by Christy

This week’s Tip of the week is our first that is broadcasting on iTunes.  You can subscribe by going to iTunes (which is downloadable for free)
or you can visit our home page and click on
the Podcast icon under the Latest Gardenerd News.  For those with less inclination in the ways of the computer.  Just click below and listen. 
Enjoy!

…
Continue reading → Continue reading →

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