Keeled Treehopper
Keeled treehoppers are sucking insects belonging to the same order as aphids. They use sharp mouthparts to pierce plant tissue and suck the life out of a plant over time.
Fertile soil meant abundant harvests for trade.
Gardens of Pompeii
I had the privilege of visiting the California Science Center to see the Pompeii exhibit over the holidays, where I saw ancient ruins preserved in ash from the massive eruption of the Vesuvius in AD 79. Having been to Pompeii in Italy a few years ago, and having been disappointed that most of the artifacts and figures has been removed to a museum, I was excited to see the actual artifacts found on site. The experience was not disappointing. Pompeii…
Nectarines, plums and other stone fruits await your creative touch this summer.
Chill Hours: Choosing the Right Fruit Tree
A question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week about fruit trees: "What peaches grow best and are most flavorful in Mar Vista? Also what types of plums/pluots? I live in west Mar Vista, CA. Thanks for your help and for the emails. - Reeba" Before you decide which fruit trees you want in your home orchard, you need to determine which trees you can actually grow. That is to say, which will produce fruit in your climate. Let's talk…
New Year, New Law
The State of California just passed a new law that protects apartment dwellers from having to remove edible gardens from their patios and balconies.
Fresh picked eggplant, dill and parsley form the base of this meal.
Recipe: Crisp Fried Eggplant with Parsley Sauce
If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll have noticed by now that Rose Elliot is one of my favorite cookbook authors. She excels at combining minimal ingredients for maximum flavor. With its promise of "30 minutes or less," her Vegetarian Fast Food cookbook has been my go-to reference for quick meals since the early 90s. Since we recently harvested Listada di Gandia eggplant from the winter garden, we wanted to showcase it, rather than blend it into a…
Soil builder cover crop
New Year’s Garden Resolutions 2015
Happy New Year, fellow Gardenerds! 2015 is here, the days are growing longer each day, and seed catalogs have arrived. We've been poring over them during breakfast, marking off new heirloom discoveries to try this year. This exploration leads to New Year's garden resolutions every time. Here's what we're thinking: 1) Give Tomatoes a Little More Room We've always planted our tomatoes very close together, and for many years it worked great. But lately, with what seems like an undefeatable…
Trash Can Root Cellar
Learn how to make a root cellar out of a trash can
A Compostable Christmas
Make your holidays as light on the planet as possible with these tricks: use last year’s seed catalogs to wrap presents.
Dr. Mercola's Sprout Doctor Sprouting Kit. Get 3 with our giveaway!
Giveaway: Sprouting Seeds for Greens All Winter
It's holiday time, which means thoughtful gifts and good cheer with loved ones. It also means, for many people, a winter without fresh greens in the garden. Thankfully, we can sprout seeds indoors for snipping into salads, soups and more all winter long. Our regular readers may recall that we attempted to sprout seeds in a Mason jar not too long ago. It was a lot of work for a few dollars-worth of sprouts. If only it were easier... Imagine…
Photo by Andrew Cheeseman
Scoring Big with the Rain Barrel Rebate
We try to write blog posts with a nationwide focus, but every once in a while, something with a local flare is in order. This is one of those times: Los Angeles is finally seeing some rain, and our rain barrels are full once again. We just wish we could get more rain barrels for a decent price. How about free? Yea, that would be great. Well, if you live in the Metropolitan Water District area of Los Angeles, you…