Read more about the article Asparagus Fern Rescue

Asparagus Fern Rescue

Continue ReadingAsparagus Fern Rescue

A concerned gardenerd writes in, "I found a dying asparagus fern abandoned in the street. It was still alive, but yellowing badly. I suspected either over or under-watering - obviously a challenge to determine which! When I looked more carefully I determined it was root-bound, so I trimmed the roots with a kitchen knife. Any more advice? More water or less? Misting? How about sun or shade? There's tons of sunlight here in Mexico, but maybe too much?

Also, the soil here is very bad and I can't find potting soil to purchase. Any advice on supplementing what ...

Read more about the article Planting Bulbs: a primer
Minnie and Moon hand-crafted dibber.

Planting Bulbs: a primer

Continue ReadingPlanting Bulbs: a primer

As a companion piece to the Thanksgiving Tip of the
Week, it seems appropriate to dedicate a little bit of time to the subject of
planting bulbs.  When I first started gardening with flowers, I didn't know
anything about inedible plants.  I loved color and fragrance, but was too
intimidated to try roses or climbing vines.  So I started with
bulbs.  

Growing bulbs really couldn't be easier, or less
of a commitment.  Basically you dig a hole, you drop in a bulb and you bury
it.  Then you wait for spring.  There are more ...

What to do with all that Butternut Squash

Continue ReadingWhat to do with all that Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is a winter squash, which means that unlike zucchini and yellow
crookneck squash, it will last in your cellar or pantry all winter long. Other
winter squashes include pumpkin, acorn, Hubbard (the squash that get so large,
it is supposed to cure world hunger), spaghetti and the
heirloom Delicata.   

Harvesting butternut squash in the
fall is one of most satisfying experiences in the garden.  You've waited
all summer long for the skin's color to change from pale green to creamy
beige.  You've watched as the leaves start to turn brown and whither ...

Enjoying a West Coast Fall

Continue ReadingEnjoying a West Coast Fall

Right about this time of year, I start to chuckle as I walk through my garden.  As I look down at the happy, perky, green leaves of my lettuce, arugula, mustard greens and cilantro, I think of how lucky we are to be able to enjoy vegetable gardening in cooler weather.  Just yesterday I was looking out over the clear blue sky towards the ocean and, as I often do, said to myself with a smile, "God, we're spoiled."Admittedly, this is…

Pruning Roses

Continue ReadingPruning Roses

A gardener recently wrote in:

"When is the best time to prune
roses?"

The answer I'm providing is geared towards west coast
gardeners in mild winter climates.  According to a workshop
I attended several years ago with Nina Rumely, Ocean View Farms'
resident rose expert, we should stop cutting our roses in October and cut
watering to once a week.  This encourages your roses into
dormancy. 
...

Read more about the article Raised Beds – Part 3 continued – If you build it…

Raised Beds – Part 3 continued – If you build it…

Continue ReadingRaised Beds – Part 3 continued – If you build it…

Do you ever have one of those moments when you realize that you probably should have done something in a different order than you've done it?  Well, such is the case with our raised bed project this weekend.  Our neighbor, a retired contractor, stopped by to see what all the sawing and hammering was about.  He took one look at our beautiful grouping of raised beds and said, "you're gonna need a border to level all that dirt."  As much as I wanted to ignore his words, I knew he was right.  The area where the old raised beds ...

Read more about the article Raised Beds – Part 3 – If you build it…

Raised Beds – Part 3 – If you build it…

Continue ReadingRaised Beds – Part 3 – If you build it…

Moving right along in our series on raised beds, we have now come to the part where sweat and elbow grease come in handy.

After a trip to the hardware store to pick up a non-rusted blade for our dusty Skilsaw (keeping in mind that Trex Decking can dull blades faster than wood), a box of 3 inch galvanized deck screws, a roll of 4 foot x 25 foot galvanized poultry fencing, tin snips, and two carloads of Trex Decking (19 12 foot boards were needed for our job), we were ready to build our raised beds.

On Day 1 - we opted to cut and assemble the beds before clearing the space of the old raised beds.

Read more about the article Raised Beds – Part 2 – Design

Raised Beds – Part 2 – Design

Continue ReadingRaised Beds – Part 2 – Design

You may have caught the last edition of Raised Beds Part 1, where we talked about materials for building raised beds.  Now we move on to Part 2 -  Design. 

There are an infinite assortment of ideas in the world for raised beds.  I happen to be, much to my husband's chagrin, severely influenced by formal English gardens with closely trimmed boxwood hedges and topiaries and espaliered fig trees on the wall.  We have a ranch house, so that kind of formality doesn't fly in our back yard.  However, I really really wanted something that made my heart ...

Doing the Hula Hoe

Continue ReadingDoing the Hula Hoe

About this time of year, an amazing thing happens at ground level.  It only took two days of rain, each about a week apart, to be the catalyst for this phenomenon.  I'm talking about weeds.  Hundreds of thousands of little tiny seeds of God-knows-what have found their way into my back yard to create a blanket of fuzzy green babies.  The pathways are covered with them, the "lawn" - which is actually a dead patch of dirt right now - is cropping up with them, and my old raised beds are beginning to look like I planted something on ...

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