Know Your Seeds – Seed Germination Test
Get off to a great start this spring by knowing the viability of your seed collection.
Sulfur in the Water – Friend or Foe?
A gardener recently wrote in a curious question:
"Hey gardenerd! My new place has an artesian well... Will the high sulfur content (assumption scientifically based solely on smell) of the well water affect plants? Yers
truly,from the turtle coast, Florida."
Right off the bad I have to admit that I had no idea how to answer this one, simply because I've never dealt with wells or sulfur or anything other than chlorine in the water. While I never
claim to know everything there is to know about gardening, I do know where to go to find the answer. In this case, ...
I’ve got the Tomato Blues
Here's the second part of our new gardenerd's question:
"I buy organic and local produce here [in Paso Robles], but my heart's desire is to grow most of my own veggies. I also want to do so organically, without using
pesticides. I have tried the last two years with truly disastrous results and I'm really discouraged. I'm thankful I found this site as I'm hoping it will assist me in trying again.
I especially crave homegrown heirloom tomatoes. I finally did 3 plants in pots last year and they had bugs galore and then this horrible rotten part at ...
A Rocky Start in Paso Robles
A new gardenerd wrote in recently with a couple of questions. We've broken it up into two blog entries so we can address both issues separately:
"My biggest challenge is being a novice gardener with terrible soil. We moved to Paso Robles, CA (45 minutes north of San Luis Obispo), about 3
years ago. We have this rock hard soil, which is almost impossible to dig around in, and it doesn't drain at all. To top it off, we live in an area with temperature extremes. It
gets over 100 degrees here in the summer and have frequent frost and temperatures routinely below freezing ...
First Organic Gardening Class a Success!
Last Saturday, February 23rd, a group of new and veteran gardeners gathered in Mar Vista to discuss one thing - soil. We talked
dirty. Um - I mean, we talked about dirt. I'm talking about the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series.
In the first class, The Basics 1, we covered all the glorious components of what makes up good soil. We played in the garden, got dirt under our nails, and learned a little about
composting to boot. Everyone took home a 1 gallon plastic bag full of spent coffee ground for their own gardens. Mary walked away with something else ...
Strawberry Crowns – the Podcast
The next Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast is online and available for your listening pleasure. Take a gander here:
Strawberry Crowns are King
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Strawberry Crowns are king
Spring is just a month away. Plant strawberry crowns for a bumper crop in spring.
Feeding Fruit and Flowers
A question recently came through Ask Gardenerd:
"Is this the time[February/March] to fertilize - Roses, fruit trees (apple & orange) bushes, etc? Last year our roses didn't produce much. Right now our flowering shrubs look yellow and the
overall look of things looks spindly and not healthy. Help!"
In many parts of the country, fruit trees haven't started to show buds yet. I don't know about you, but my fruit trees are all either in full bloom or already have buds fattening on
the branches. So if you live in zone 10, yes, fertilize your fruit trees now. (I worked some into ...
Gardenerd is Featured on Low Impact Living
Just a quick note to let you know that Gardenerd.com is featured in a guest blog entry on Low Impact Living.com. Special thanks to Jessica Jensen who gave us a place on the
homepage for today, February 20th, 2008.
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/02/20/organic-gardening-gardenerd/
Check out this great website, packed full of wonderful ideas for living the green life. Whether you rent or own, there are plenty of ideas to help you lessen your carbon footprint. Visit
www.lowimpactliving.com and have a great day!
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