Yearly Archives: 2008

Strawberry Harvest

Continue ReadingStrawberry Harvest

Returning from any vacation is always a little bittersweet.  While there is an excitement to be home again, with all the creature comforts, there is the sadness of leaving behind the romantic notion of foreign travel.  With gardeners, there is also a fear in the back of the head that makes us worry whether our plants will be alive when we come back.  Ironically, I have found that most of my plants do better when I'm not around.

Yes, it's true - with the help of automatic irrigation, my zucchini plant has done better in the two weeks I've been ...

CSA for Y-O-U

Continue ReadingCSA for Y-O-U

Community Supported Agriculture is beneficial for both you and your local farming community. Hear more about how you can participate and enjoy the fruits of the earth with CSA.

Coir is Better!

Continue ReadingCoir is Better!

You don't have to carry a sign saying, "Save the Peat Bogs" to be environmentally conscious. Just use Coir instead. This week's Tip of the Week features a sustainable substitute for one of your garden soil's staple ingredients.

Read more about the article Green Beetles – What’s the Buzz?

Green Beetles – What’s the Buzz?

Continue ReadingGreen Beetles – What’s the Buzz?

Another question came in today:

"Metallic green beetles keep invading my garden--about 1" long. Green wings with brown edges. Friend or foe?"

Well - I know my Permaculture friends would say that there's no such thing as a bad insect, but to answer your question in a word: foe.

I've watched these little buggers make lunch out of my neighbor's roses.  They sure love 'em.  They are known as Figeater Beetles with a Latin name of Cotinis Mutabilis.  Here is a blog entry I found about them:

http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2008/03/08/figeater-beetle/

The bugs themselves are harmless, meaning they ...

New Gardener’s Dilemma

Continue ReadingNew Gardener’s Dilemma

"I just started gardening recently, so my first garden is full of mistakes. I was watering my cherry tomatoes every day, until I was told that was way too often.  They didn't show any signs of being over watered, but I cut it down to twice a week.  Several of their lower branches have turned yellow or brown and died since I cut down on watering.  What should I do?

Also, my squash and cucumbers haven't shown much growth in a little while.  I made the mistake of planting them too close together.  I'm also worried that I haven't given them ...

What’s a Fig to Do?

Continue ReadingWhat’s a Fig to Do?

A savvy gardener writes in:

"My young mission fig tree has very few fruit forming, can I use an organic fertilizer now to encourage more fruit output?"

In general, the best time to fertilize fig trees is in spring and as needed until late summer (which is now for Californians) - so go ahead and fertilize your fig.  Many fig trees don't require fertilizing at all, but there may be some conditions that are contributing to your low fig yield:

Fig trees can take up to two years to produce fruit from their planting date. You mentioned that your fig is young, though I ...

Read more about the article Our Landscaping Project – Part 2

Our Landscaping Project – Part 2

Continue ReadingOur Landscaping Project – Part 2

We had a flurry of jackhammers and 3-foot deep trenches in recent weeks.  New plumbing (for proper drainage away from the house) and a sump pump were installed.  We also had irrigation to all the major watering areas installed. 

Here's something very nerdy and exciting: My raised bed garden now has drip irrigation in each of the raised beds, each with a separate zone and the capacity to set different watering times for each bed!  Fancy and possibly unnecessary, but we couldn't resist the chance to experiment with such a personalized watering system.  There is a spigot in each bed, with a ...

Read more about the article Monster Green Onions

Monster Green Onions

Continue ReadingMonster Green Onions

Today I spent a good few hours cleaning up the summer garden, in preparation for our upcoming fall growing season.  Sometimes it takes these dedicated hours in the garden to notice things that haven't quite caught your attention before.  Like the massive green onions growing in the middle of the pumpkin patch that seem to have gotten away from me. 

When I say massive, I might be exaggerating, but most people walk by my plot and say, "nice leeks" when they see them.  I guess there's something about our American mentality of bigger is better that made me leave ...

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