Garlic Oil to the Rescue

Continue ReadingGarlic Oil to the Rescue

We have ants.  A lot of ants.  In fact, we're pretty sure that we built our raised beds atop an ant hill, because when we water, they are constantly running from bed to bed, carrying their pupa overhead (think: A Bug's Life - "Save the Children!").  Things were fine until we started using drip irrigation.  Maybe it's because we are no longer literally raining on their parade, but they have moved into to my strawberry beds. 

Enter garlic oil.  We found a recipe for garlic oil that is supposed to help eliminate both ants and aphids.  The theory is that if you ...

Gardenerd Featured in Palisadian Post

Continue ReadingGardenerd Featured in Palisadian Post

Just before heading off to Europe I got a call from Libby Motika at the Palisadian Post.  She wanted to interview me for the upcoming Fall Home and Garden special insert for the newspaper.  Here is the article that appeared on September 25, 2008:

http://www.palisadespost.com/content/index.cfm?Story_ID=4313

While I have to say that there are a few things I didn't quite say exactly the way it's printed, for the most part it's a pretty good article.  Enjoy. ...

Read more about the article Bounty in Budapest

Bounty in Budapest

Continue ReadingBounty in Budapest

Traveling as a vegetarian has never been too much of a challenge for me.  Mostly because I eat dairy, so where there is bread and cheese, I am fine.  Recently, however, during the planning of our upcoming trip to Hungary to visit my husband's father, I began to worry about whether or not I would be able to eat in Budapest.  Rumor has it, and my husband confirms, that there are little to no vegetables to be found (which would explain why a salad is called a "vitamin salad" in Hungary).  Meat is either boiled or fried - deep fried ...

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 ...

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