Gardenerd

Small Space Gardening - a Container of Fun

2008-05-10T19:47:35Z

This morning, six fellow gardenerds joined me for the Small Space and Container Gardening class. We had a range of gardening space situations, from a no-space garden to patio and rooftop gardens, and even someone with a back yard that has a little bit of soil for a vegetable garden. Most were beginning gardeners, but we had a couple intermediate level green thumbs as well.

We watched a little video about Square Foot Gardening, talked about terra cotta versus plastic pots. We discussed the recent article about a three year container garden test trial from Ed Smith where he found that ...

Hello Garden

2008-05-10T19:21:16Z

Gardenerdiness seems to be a theme this week. Why fight it? This is just too darn cute to pass up...

So I was at my brother's house visiting my niece, when my sister-in-law and I got to talking about gardening. She's been into gardening for awhile and says the "h" in "herbs" because she's Welsh. There's a long history of proper gardening in Great Britain, and you might imagine my sister-in-law to be pretty straight laced and formal because of that. The truth is, I don't know many straight-laced Welsh gardeners with fuchsia hair and chunky black leather Doc Martin's that lace up to the knee. She's a ...

Gardening at Night

2008-05-09T21:12:29Z

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 ...

Going Native

2008-05-03T12:29:13Z

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 ...

Starting Them Young

2008-05-06T15:04:23Z

On Easter, I spent some time with my brother and his wife and their 20 month year old daughter, Arianwen (that's a Welsh name, pronounced Ar-e-ahn-wen). Not only am I completely in love with this child, I am completely biased in believing that everything she does is magical and fabulous. This Easter proved to be no different, when Arianwen began to garden right before my eyes.

Since it fits into our theme, I felt compelled to share some home videos. I know, I know, it's ridiculous to think that anyone would be interested in watching my niece garden, but it's ...

Pickin' and Plantin'

2008-04-28T18:29:32Z

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. ...

A Feel-Good Moment in Gardening History

2008-04-25T08:58:26Z

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?

...

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T09:11:18Z

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 ...

Spring Vegetable Article on Low Impact Living.com

2008-04-21T13:27:05Z

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!

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Having a Ball with Pillbugs - NOT!

2008-04-18T23:19:38Z

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 ...

Xeriscape Project Brings Joy

2008-04-16T19:23:29Z

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 ...

A Spring Garden Festivus

2008-04-10T21:01:10Z

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 ...

Tomato Recommendations

2008-04-09T14:06:58Z

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 ...

Tomato Cages - the Gardenerd Way

2008-03-27T17:39:20Z

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 ...

Grass Growing for Beachside Folks

2008-03-26T09:32:12Z

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 ...

Growing Tomatoes in Florida

2008-03-26T08:42:34Z

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 ...

Pruning, Tools and Tool Care Class Review

2008-03-25T15:02:16Z

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.

...

Tool Talk for Spring Gardening

2008-03-21T22:13:33Z

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
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A Nursery Full of Babies

2008-03-21T19:32:49Z

Shhhhhh... there's sleeping. Actually, they're not sleeping, they're growing big and strong. I'm talking about my little baby seedlings that were started indoors about a month and a half ago. It almost brings tears to my eyes to see how big they're getting in such a short time. Really though, this is the most fun I've had in ages.

My husband must think I'm crazy because I keep barging into his office, kneeling down on the floor and looking eagerly over the trays of seedlings at least 3 times a day when I get home from work. If I could ...

Upside-Down Tomatoes

2008-03-18T20:30:39Z

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 ...