Christy, Author at Gardenerd

This is probably the best photo I've ever taken. Little Miss Sebright graced me with a close up.

Year-End Round Up from Gardenerd!

This is our penultimate post of the year wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year. Our last post of the year will be a new podcast on Thursday, Dec. 27th, but we couldn't leave 2018 without thanking you for being such adventurous and enthusiastic gardenerds! Here are some highlights from 2018 to inspire you for the coming year: Year-End Round Up New varieties we tried: There's so much more that happened, including a…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 25, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Pamm Larry heads the Good Food Brigade.

Podcast: Good Food Brigade and GMOs with Pamm Larry

If you don't already know Pamm Larry, you'll want to. She's the fearless leader of Good Food Brigade, fighting for safe, just, healthy, and regenerative food for all. In our latest podcast, we chat with Pamm about her battle against GMO food production, and we discuss what we can all do to take back control of our food system--one garden at a time. Pamm spearheaded the citizen-backed campaign to label GMO ingredients in California through Prop 37 back in 2012.…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 13, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Fingerprint cookies are just one of the delicious recipes found in Heritage Baking.

Review: Heritage Baking by Ellen King

Winter is the time for baking, so it's only fitting that Chronicle Books released Heritage Baking by Ellen King just in time for holiday festivities. What's better than breads and pastries made with whole grains? This book, showing you how to do it yourself. Here at Gardenerd, we grow a small batch of heritage grains each year. So far we've grown Turkey Red, Kamut, White Sonora, quinoa, triticale, and this year, Red Fife. We usually harvest enough to make a…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 11, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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We've unveiled our kale bed from its protecting floating row cover. Time to start picking!

Wordless Wednesday – December

This is what December looks like in a warm-winter climate. We're watering from rain barrels and eating salads in December (since lettuce bolts to seed too quickly through the summer). The mood also shifts toward baking and cooking again. Such is the beauty of fall/winter gardening. Loquats have just set fruit on our potted tree. They'll be ripe in a couple months. Our spring radishes are nearly ready to pick. Varieties include Cherry Belle (spring), Easter Egg (spring), French Breakfast…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 5, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Tasty and easy to make in about 30 minutes.

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Sage Balls

'Tis the season for pumpkin everything, so these mini pumpkin sage balls are perfect for quick snacks or appetizers during the holidays. We've had this recipe sitting around since 2010 and finally got around to making them. You can make your own pumpkin puree to use in this recipe, or just grab a can (we did, since we're eating all our home-grown squash in solid form this year). The result is quick and easy, not to mention tasty. Mini Pumpkin…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 3, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Podcast: Off-Grid Living with Doug and Stacy

I've dreamed of moving off-grid for years. Tiny house, a few acres of open space, composting toilet, and most of all: peace and quiet. The whole deal thrills me, but not without reservation. Meet Doug and Stacy, two folks living what I call the real American Dream. Doug and Stacy host their YouTube Channel, Off-Grid with Doug and Stacy, where they share their daily adventures living on 11 acres in the mid-west without electricity or running water. Their lifestyle is inspiring to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 29, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Jessica Aldridge joins us at YouTube Space LA.

YouTube: Jessica Aldridge–Can You Compost or Recycle That?

For our very first YouTube Space LA video shoot, we invited Jessica Aldridge to bring her wealth of knowledge and her bag of tricks to enlighten us. She answers the questions: Can you compost that? Can you recycle that? When it comes to single-use garden stuff, the answers will surprise you. Our original podcast on the subject goes into more detail about municipal recycling and composting processes, but we thought visual aids would help deliver the message. Thus, the video…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 27, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Growing Squash with Anna Peach

Growing Squash with our podcast guest, Anna Peach

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 11, 2018
Post category:Blog
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Anna dons borrowed festival garb at the Heirloom Expo 2018. We chatted about powdery mildew, giant pumpkin techniques and more.

Podcast: Growing Squash with Anna Peach

I met Anna Peach years ago at the Heirloom Expo, so it's only fitting that we recorded a podcast at this year's Expo. Anna is a one-woman winter squash powerhouse, growing pumpkins and gourds for restaurants in Hawaii on her quarter-acre farm, Squash and Awe. Anna's research and persistence paid off, when she set out to grow pumpkins on an island plagued with pests and diseases (at the time Hawaii was importing 97% of their squash because they couldn't grow…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 7, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

The last of our Black Futsu pumpkins are ready for harvest. It's pie time!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Takes Over

Fall is here, cooler days are on the horizon and fall planting is well under way. (Full disclosure: I wrote this before election results came in so I'm assuming we'll all need a palette cleanser after all the stress.) Here are some highlights from the Gardenerd Test Garden this week.

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 7, 2018
Post category:Blog Where’s Gardenerd?
Post comments:1 Comment