In this issue:
- February in the Garden
- Seed School
- Gardenerd Tip of the Month: Yearly Rose Pruning How-To
- Gardenerd Product of the Month: Gardening for Geeks
1. February in the Garden
Is your garden waking up yet? Or has it been going all winter? No matter what the state of your garden is, the same mood strikes the heart of every gardener this time of year. The longing, the love of gardening. Soon it will be here. Soon we will press seed into soil and hope again for nature’s miracle to launch us into another season of abundance.
If your garden is still asleep, this is the perfect time to start seeds. Here at Gardenerd HQ we just started tomato and eggplant seeds. Our corn seeds are sprouting in trays, right next to sleeping Black Coco beans. We’re harvesting beets, carrots, parsnips and potatoes. Peas are covered in powdery mildew by now, but they’re still pumping out sweet pods at the top (mildew-free up there). Soon we’ll rip those out to make room for cucumbers.
February is also time to learn new tricks. Our first classes of the year will give you new knowledge for the growing season. Check out our Spring Garden Planning Workshops (1st one is this weekend) and just added, our next Santa Monica College course. February is about love, so give yourself a little love with the gift of knowledge this month.
Happy Gardening,
Christy
-
-
-
-
-
Orach Mountain Spinach seeds
-
-
-
-
2. Seed School
We’re off to school this week. Seed School, that is. Native Seeds / Search came to Los Angeles to teach a group of 35 or so knowledge-thirsty garden nerds how to save seeds. It’s an exciting opportunity to learn all that there is to know about the majestic seed. This perfect source of life contains everything it needs to grow into a plant, but it also contains history and a legacy we can carry forward.
Did you know:
1) Much of the world’s agricultural genetic diversity took 10,000 years to create. We may lose most of it in one generation.
2) In the early 1900s, humans grew and ate 1,500 different plants for sustenance. “Today, over 90% of the world’s nutrition is provided by 30 different plants and only four (wheat, rice, corn and soybeans) provide 75% of the calories consumed by [humans].” —Basic Seed Saving by Bill McDorman
3) We can change this by growing and saving seeds, and by buying local produce grown with heirloom and open-pollinated seeds from our farmers. If everyone shifted just $5 toward a local food supply (instead of buying imported produce), that act alone would do more toward economic recovery than anything else.
And that’s just from Day 1. More on this to come…
To learn more about Native Seeds / Search and what you can do to save seeds, check out their website.
3. Gardenerd Tip of the Month – Yearly Rose Pruning How-To
-
Pruning now will bring rewards in spring
Pruning is scary, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. The good news is that roses are fairly forgiving and the steps to take each year are simple. Our latest YouTube video shows you how, step-by-step, to clean up and prune your roses for the year. May it give you the courage you need for the task.
How to Prune Roses in 4 Easy Steps
4. Gardenerd Product of the Month – Gardening for Geeks
Spring is coming, and to get off on the right foot, you need to make the right decisions in the garden. Need help figuring out how to build a new raised bed? Planning out your garden? Figuring out how to keep pests at bay? Gardening for Geeks can help guide you toward a successful season. What’s not to love? It’s a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the gardenerd in your life.
-
-
Gardening for Geeks by Christy Wilhelmi
Stay tuned for more tips and tidbits from Gardenerd.com. Happy winter gardening!
-
