Adventures in organic gardening.
I've been in my house for most of the time that I've lived in California — 19 years. And in all that time I've missed having the big, productive vegetable garden that I had in Pennsylvania. There are a lot of reasons that I haven't been growing vegetables here; too little time, not enough sun,... Continue Reading →
Update: I'm pinning post this to the top of the page because this can be such a frustrating problem. The rose slugs (aka rose sawfly larvae) seem to be worse some years than others an it's still a little early and cool for the bugs to show up, but when they do come here's what... Continue Reading →
Such a great take on our drought in California! Please read. For the amount of water home gardeners use, we could completely turn off the taps and still be in dire straits. My thoughts are: We get rid of any lawn we are not using, be mindful and careful with our water usage, and then call it a day.
© Art by Lisa Crowther
Gardeners! Are you as confused as I was over whether we should just completely stop watering our gardens because of California’s “worst drought in history?” Even as I was seeing the greenest grass, the most wildflowers and more vernal pools filled to the brim than I had seen in at least 5 years on my morning hikes in the East Bay Hills, everyone was telling me how scary the drought was. Folks visiting our nursery would apologize for buying a few plants and for even watering their small urban gardens at all. I was away from the nursery one day when the final straw happened. I was taking a shower in the communal shower room after a swim at my local swimming pool. Picture me naked (lol, no don’t!), showering with 3 other ladies, when I bent over to pick up my shampoo bottle off…
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Well that's a long title! I started out with a question about storing dahlia tubers in our warm climate in SoCal and ended up with a whole mish-mash of advice. Here goes... It's time for fall garden care and clean up. If your garden is anything like mine, it has been totally fried by the... Continue Reading →
Durango, Colorado Irvine, California
Irvine, California Durango, Colorado
I mentioned the passing of our amazing Bea Grow a while ago. Her death last December was sad, but now comes the truly unbelievable news that her garden is to be dismantled bit by little bit. I was as shocked as I imagine most of my fellow gardeners were when I read the craigslist notice of the... Continue Reading →
Another in a series of posts to bring you interesting garden-related stories. This week we have links to a few articles we think you'll like and news about events in Southern California. A Plan to Turn Brooklyn's Unused Acres Green: This article is about a truly great idea that a group of Brooklyn gardeners called... Continue Reading →
Saturday: The bees are coming today! To get ready for their arrival, I'm preparing their sugar syrup and making a homemade version of Honey B Healthy, a nourishing supplement that is added to the syrup. I'll be teaching my co-workers how to be beekeepers and they'll be installing the bees on Sunday with my guidance. Ray built us... Continue Reading →
Here are a couple of things I read over the past week that you might want to take a look at. The Cost of a Green Lawn. There's a new law in New Jersey limiting the amount of fertilizer that homeowners and landscapers can use on lawns. The law was passed after environmental activists warned... Continue Reading →
