Read more about the article The New Drought Landscape

The New Drought Landscape

Continue ReadingThe New Drought Landscape

Water, water, everywhere...well, not so much anymore. States like California and Texas are suffering severe drought conditions and gardeners are rising to the occasion by swapping out thirsty lawns for drought tolerant plant material. A new phrase, "drought shaming" is making the rounds--ratting on neighbors who water between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., let their irrigation run down the sidewalk, or wash their cars in the street or driveway. I fully admit I'm one of those tattlers. I've got the…

Read more about the article Saving Carrot Seeds
One of many carrot seed heads

Saving Carrot Seeds

Continue ReadingSaving Carrot Seeds

Carrots are fun to grow at home and if you're lucky, some of them will bolt to seed at the end of the season. Then, if you grew an heirloom or open pollinated variety, you can save those carrot seeds. Saving carrot seeds is considered a job for more advanced gardeners, because the threat of cross pollination is high. Short growing seasons also complicate things (you may need to harvest roots in fall for replanting in spring in order to…

Read more about the article Ratatouille, RatItalian-Style
Ratatoulle, RatItalian-Style

Ratatouille, RatItalian-Style

Continue ReadingRatatouille, RatItalian-Style

When I saw that Smitten Kitchen recreated the ratatouille recipe from Pixar's animated film of the same name, I couldn't resist making it. But there's one caveat: I don't care for peppers, which traditionally show up in this dish. So I changed it up a bit, substituted tomatoes for peppers and Voila! (or rather, Eccola!) it's now an Italian recipe. Now, if you're a Francophile, don't hate me. I've actually eaten ratatouille in a restaurant that was made with tomatoes…

Read more about the article Homemade Fruit Fly Traps
Invasive fruit flies plotting their attack

Homemade Fruit Fly Traps

Continue ReadingHomemade Fruit Fly Traps

They're everywhere! Tiny, annoying fruit flies, that is. They're trying to get into our tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, and plums. They're even breeding in our compost bucket. What to do? Break out the big guns. The lowly fruit fly has a very short reproductive cycle. The female Drosophila melanogaster (common fruit or vinegar fly) lays eggs about 5 at a time, which hatch and become adults in 4-19 days depending on the ambient temperature. Adults can live for up to 3…

Read more about the article Recipe: Homemade Tomato Sauce
San Marzano tomatoes, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, and homegrown garlic and onions.

Recipe: Homemade Tomato Sauce

Continue ReadingRecipe: Homemade Tomato Sauce

Italians believe that San Marzano tomatoes are the only tomatoes for making sauce. I'm Italian, and I've made sauce with just about any tomato I can get my hands on, but this year we grew San Marzano tomatoes for the first time. So there will be sauce. I grew up watching my mother make my grandmother's recipe for tomato sauce. It took no less than 3-5 hours. She often used canned tomatoes, one of the few canned products we bought.…

Read more about the article Harvesting Onions
Nature gives us answers if you know where to look.

Harvesting Onions

Continue ReadingHarvesting Onions

Onions take a long time to grow, but when it comes time for harvesting onions, it's incredibly satisfying, and worth the wait. Here in Southern California we plant onions by seed in the fall, or by "sets" in spring.  By the middle of summer, those sets and seeds have turned into full-blown onions that actually resemble something you'd buy in the supermarket. It's amazing! In late March, someone gifted us with their leftover onion sets. These are not the tiny…

Read more about the article Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes
Kelloggs Breakfast

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

Continue ReadingTomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

It's harvest time for tomatoes, whether they be determinate or indeterminate. These orbs of delight are the quintessential summer fruit and we're picking them daily. We planted early this year (quite possibly a mistake since we now have blight...but then again, we get blight every year, so I give up). We grew 18 different varieties this year, all heirlooms, all gorgeous. Here's a little tomato parade for 2014: Our first time growing these successfully. Can't wait to make sauce. Jaune…

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