Seed Viability Test
Test questionable seeds for germination rates.
YouTube: Planting Potatoes in Pots
Our latest YouTube video is live, and it's all about planting potatoes in pots. Here in Southern California we can plant potatoes in fall or spring. For those in cooler climates, you may have to wait until spring, but here's something to keep you learning through the winter: https://youtu.be/AbsZYZAx46o We have plenty of blog posts on how to grow and harvest potatoes no matter where you live. Check out these links for details about planting potatoes, harvesting and growing in…
Harvesting Honey Like the Pros
Late summer/early fall was the perfect time for harvesting honey, and while we've done it in the past on a small scale, our latest harvest required the right equipment to handle a larger batch. We looked to our friends at HoneyLove.org to help. As members of HoneyLove, we can check out community equipment instead of buying and storing bulky buckets ourselves. Believe me, this is the way to go. The harvest was light, since it was the first year, but…
Tips to Freeze What You Grow
Today's guest post comes from Rachel Thomas, an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. Today she's sharing information with us about preserving what we grow. Take it away Rachel... With plenty of gardening comes plenty of produce, but what can you do with all of it? You certainly can’t eat it all at once, and canning everything is a pain in the neck.…
1 Year Since Sandy
Climate change is undeniable since Hurricane Sandy.
Radishes and kale planted in Square Foot Gardening fashion
Fall Gardening in Progress
While cooler climates are closing down the garden for winter, we're just getting started here in So-Cal. Fall gardening is commonly known as the "best" growing season here because we actually get rain, temperatures are cooler, and everything grows virtually bug-free. What's not to love? <moment of silence for places covered in snow right now> Fall gardening also features some of the "better" veggies (sorry tomatoes): lettuces, cabbages, broccoli, mustard greens, and kale. Here in the Gardenerd Test garden, we're…
YouTube: Harvesting Compost
We've been busy making instructional videos, and the latest one is all about harvesting compost. Here you'll learn simple tricks and tools to get your compost from the bin to the garden bed in an efficient way. We've event added a few tips on what to do with the grubs you find in there, and a bit about compostable cutlery. As you probably know, compost is the most important ingredient in a healthy garden. You'll enrich your soil and enhance…
Just Do Stuff
Small ideas are the things that make waves and push larger organizations to initiate change.
Evidence of life in our milkweed habitat
Milkweed and Monarchs – Update
For those following the path of the Monarch butterfly migration, and for those providing milkweed as habitat for them along the way, you'll be pleased to know that we have had a visitor over the past month in the Gardenerd Test Garden. When last we posted, we were starting to see eggs and tiny worms. In this post we'll share new "developments." At first we spied three caterpillars, but over time they became harder to find. We witnessed a spider…
Harvesting and Storing Leeks
We've posted a new YouTube video about harvesting and storing leeks for winter. You'll find a neat trick for keeping leeks on hand all winter long. Learn the best way to choose which leeks to pick and how to keep a continuous supply growing. Tune into YouTube each week for a new garden tip, and be sure to subscribe if you haven't already. To learn more about growing leeks and what to do with them, check out these other blog…