Zucchini 500
Annual zucchini-based racing event that gives kids permission to play with their food.
Tassels can appear to be many shades, from purple to white
The Birds and the Bees: Corn Sex
It happens every day. Plants send up flowers, bees pollinate them and vegetables are born. But corn has its own way to doing things, bees not included. So how exactly does corn come to be? Let's explore: It all starts with a seed...but we'll skip that part and get to the juicy stuff. Jump ahead to when corn stalks are several feet high. Tassels start poking out from the top of the plant. The tassel floret - the male part…
Poona Kheera cucumbers start out green and spiky.
Growing Poona Kheera Cucumbers
With Monsanto's renegade GMO wheat in the news, the importance of growing and preserving heirloom and open pollinated seed is even more evident. Every year we plant and heirloom we've never grown, and this year it was the Poona Kheera cucumber. The Poona Kheera is an heirloom cucumber from India, where the fruit's heritage finds its origins. It's a light colored cucumber with skin that darkens to resemble a russet potato when ripe. How could any gardenerd resist something that…
Puckered Pepper Leaves
Last week in the garden I noticed that some of the newer leaves on my tomatoes and peppers were puckering and misshapen. At first glance I thought maybe spider mites, but there were no signs of infestation. Maybe it could have been a mosaic virus, but no, the leaves weren't curled or discolored in any way – just puckered. Only one way to find out – research!
Finished product - shelf stable green onions
Preserving Green Onions
No matter how we try to use up green onions from the garden, we always end up either with too many in the fridge or overgrown, leek-sized onions taking up space in the garden. This week we did something about it. Now that the days are longer, we hauled out our trusty solar food dryer to put it to work for the season. In addition to making delicious flax chips again, we've christened the solar dryer this year with our…
Gardenerds Evan Kleiman and Christy Wilhelmi
Gardenerd on Good Food
And now for a moment of shameless self-promotion... For those who missed it, I was a guest on 89.9 KCRW's Good Food with Evan Kleiman on June 1, 2013. It was a dream come true to sit across from Evan and chat about gardening and soil testing. There was more to the interview than what aired, of course, including a moment where I revealed that I'd never baked a fruit pie because my mother is so good at it, there's…
Getty Central Garden
Gardens of the Getty
This week we have a guest post from Michael DeHart, the Getty Central Garden Supervisor, as an enticement to visit the Getty's new exhibit, Gardens of the Renaissance. Take it away Michael: The Getty Central Garden as an Ever Changing Eden With the opening of Gardens of the Renaissance in the North Pavilion of the Getty Center, visitors’ thoughts are directed to things horticultural and growing. In the exhibit many flowers are displayed in intricate detail with precise placement and…
Corn Timing
Sweet corn is climbing toward the sky this time of year and while it's easy to grow, it isn't always easy to know when to harvest. How can you tell when it's time to pick it?
Finished honey ready for eating
First Honey Harvest – Part 2
A few weeks ago, we harvested a frame of honeycomb from our bee hive. We've enjoyed eating thin slices of comb and chewing on it to extract the honey. What you're left with is like chewing gum, but in this case you can either spit it out or swallow it (it's technically a fat, not a wax, so it's safe to ingest). Regardless of whether that grosses you out or not, it's a fascinating experience. Still, we wanted honey to…
Finished Blackberry Sorbet
Using the Abundance: Blackberry Sorbet
Two years ago we dug up a blackberry runner that had wandered over from a neighboring plot at the community garden. We planted it in a pot and year later it took over the place, diving down through the drainage hole and sending up shoots a few feet away along the back wall. Now it's safe to say we are in full production. Eating seasonally is a particular joy when you get to harvest blackberries and make something that would…