Read more about the article Ask Gardenerd: Using Rainwater
Food grade barrels are best for use in vegetable gardens.

Ask Gardenerd: Using Rainwater

Continue ReadingAsk Gardenerd: Using Rainwater

A great question came into Ask Gardenerd this week: "Is it safe to use rain barrel water on the organic vegetable garden? My first concern is that the plastic the rain barrels are made of. My second is that we have several of the barrels catching water from the composite roof. What are your thoughts on this? Thank you, Tia" Yes, you can use rainwater to irrigate your vegetable garden. We've been watering with rainwater exclusively since December. Veggie gardens…

Read more about the article Design: Balcony Garden Joy
She'll guide cucumbers and pole beans up the trellis this summer.

Design: Balcony Garden Joy

Continue ReadingDesign: Balcony Garden Joy

Small space gardening is our specialty here at Gardenerd. We like making the most of tiny gardens, and our latest project was no exception. Using pre-fab products, we turned a plain old balcony into a farm-for-one in Hermosa Beach, CA. You can do this too. Here's how: The Balcony The client's balcony was tiny, to say the least. 2 outdoor seats and some pots with succulents took up much of the space. The client was so excited about growing some…

Read more about the article Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

Continue ReadingGrowing Jerusalem Artichokes

Back in December, we planted a handful of Jerusalem artichokes (a.k.a. sunchokes) that had sprouted in the refrigerator. Having never grown them before, it was an experiment (as is much of what we do here at Gardenerd). We knew them to be invasive, so we opted to plant the tubers in a dilapidated container to keep them as contained as possible but still connected to the soil. The bottom was missing on the container, so there was still a chance…

Read more about the article Recipe: Caramel Blackberry Goat Milk Ice Cream
The finished product will be delicious and refreshing.

Recipe: Caramel Blackberry Goat Milk Ice Cream

Continue ReadingRecipe: Caramel Blackberry Goat Milk Ice Cream

Here's one for anyone who can't do cow. We recently discovered a raw goat milk vendor at our local farmers' market and decided that it was time to experiment with goat milk ice cream. Since blackberries are in season, it seemed like the perfect combination. Most recipes include a list of ingredients with eggs and cow's cream for a custard-style base. Since the whole point is to avoid cow's milk, we sought out a recipe using only goat milk...and found…

Read more about the article Harvesting Wheat
Grains and chaff waiting for winnowing.

Harvesting Wheat

Continue ReadingHarvesting Wheat

We grew White Sonora Wheat over winter, and now that it's May in Southern California, it is time to harvest. Our 4x4 foot raised bed was filled with tall, slender wheat sheaths that turned progressively more golden brown. The seed heads began to nod, and that's when we knew it was time. Here's how to harvest your own patch of heirloom wheat: Admittedly, 4x4 isn't very much room for growing wheat. Ideally we'd have 100 square feet for the task.…

Read more about the article Wordless Wednesday: Mid-Spring Garden Flourish
Tiny watermelons set fruit (shot through the crook of a watermelon leaf)

Wordless Wednesday: Mid-Spring Garden Flourish

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Mid-Spring Garden Flourish

It's too pretty out there, we had to share. Enjoy these photos from the Gardenerd Test Garden in mid-spring as the garden flourishes. That's our mid-spring garden flourish. What's growin' on in your garden this week? Share what's flowering, fruiting and sprouting here.

Read more about the article Starter Garden for Family
Thornless boysenberries climb a trellis behind strawberries.

Starter Garden for Family

Continue ReadingStarter Garden for Family

A family in Manhattan Beach called us saying they were "accidentally" growing pumpkins in a plastic storage container, and they wanted a real garden instead. In truth, they had great instincts and those pumpkins were growing like crazy on their back yard patio. It was also true that they needed more space to grow food. They had several fruit trees successfully growing in the ground, but they had blueberries, grapes, boysenberries, and tomatoes growing in pots; many of which were…

End of content

No more pages to load

Newer Posts
Older Posts