Read more about the article Planting Fall Gardens 2 – the Gardenerd Test Garden

Planting Fall Gardens 2 – the Gardenerd Test Garden

Continue ReadingPlanting Fall Gardens 2 – the Gardenerd Test Garden

In addition to helping others plant their fall gardens, I'm not ashamed to admit that I get the most joy out of planting my own.  The Gardenerd Test Garden is being planted slowly but surely, and as of this writing there are a few things to report:

We planted sugar snap peas a few weeks ago and they are about 6 inches tall and starting to reach for the trellis.  I used the Gardenerd-designed tomato cages from summer to support the peas - it might be a bit short, but we'll see how it goes.

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Read more about the article Gardenerd at Large – Planting Fall Gardens

Gardenerd at Large – Planting Fall Gardens

Continue ReadingGardenerd at Large – Planting Fall Gardens

It's been busy these last few months.  It seems that everyone wants a garden, and I'm happy to help. 

Today I helped a family in Corona Del Mar to plant a garden in a small space in their back yard.  The space was occupied with a couple of recently planted fruit trees that weren't yet established, and some shrubs.  After measuring the space and making some suggestions for plant removal, we were on our way....

Flowers for Fall

Continue ReadingFlowers for Fall

I used to think that there were flower gardeners and there were vegetable gardeners.  Now, I don't like to appear biased against flowers (even though veggies are my preferred garden variety), so I was happy to get this question in at Ask Gardenerd this week:

"Just got done reading your newsletter for recommended Fall veggies and
herbs. What kinds of annual flowers do you recommend for warmer
climates in the Fall (I am in zone 8/9, Rancho Cucamonga) that can be
companion planted with these crops? Thanks!"

My favorite flowers to recommend are also beneficial insectaries, meaning they attract beneficial ...

Read more about the article Sweet Carrots – how to get ’em
Purple, orange and yellow carrots await you

Sweet Carrots – how to get ’em

Continue ReadingSweet Carrots – how to get ’em

A great question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd: "This year, I planted carrots and beets, but success was marginal. Some of the carrots turned out OK, but many were stunted or very small. Also, many were very bitter. Any suggestions for next time? Can you do anything with the carrot tops...I hate to throw them away...I am putting them into the compost pile. All the beets were very stunted and small. Any suggestions for next time? Also, some of my lettuce is bitter. Could my soil need something?"

Harvesting Sunflower Seeds

Continue ReadingHarvesting Sunflower Seeds

Sometime in late spring, I planted a handful of sunflower seeds along with some cosmos in hopes that they would fill in the blanks spots as the Dog Days of summer set in.  True to form, the cosmos took over an entire raised bed and the sunflowers sent up two huge stalks with glorious flowers bigger than dinner plates.  I wondered if we'd be able to harvest the seeds for snacking or if the birds would get them all.  I've never harvested sunflower seeds successfully before, and I was determined to change my track record. I ...

Read more about the article Even Pumpkins

Even Pumpkins

Continue ReadingEven Pumpkins

We got a fine question at Ask Gardenerd this week:

"I just harvested my pumpkins. They all are a very beautiful orange
color.  However, after rolling them over, all are flat on the bottom side
that was next to the ground, and a white color is on that side.  What can I do
next year to prevent this?"

Yea for pumpkins!  It's so satisfying to harvest them after all that time and space (they get so big and sprawl everywhere) over the summer.  Here's a very easy thing that you can do to solve both the white color ...

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