Potato Pest Control
Colorado potato beetle can destroy all your hard work in no time by eating away the leaves, leaving just skeleton stems. There are several approaches you can take to mananage them.
Planting Forage Mix (or good techniques for growing wheat grass)
It's well-known that free-range chickens produce healthier eggs with darker yolks and higher nutrient values. Our hens forage around the yard, but their yolks are still somewhat pale. Could it be that they only have mulch for them to scratch through?
What, no greens? Don't get me wrong. We feed them kitchen and garden scraps, but they still need more greens in their diet. Enter Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply's Chicken ...
In Season: Blackberry Ice Cream
There they were, just sitting in the refrigerator, waiting for something to happen. Those freshly picked blackberries weren't going to last long, and since nothing captures the taste of summer fruits like freezing them into ice cream, we decided to make up a recipe on the spot.
Here begins the lazy-person's blackberry ice cream recipe. No cooking, no straining, just combine a few ready ingredients and you're done. To start, gather your supplies:
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Living the Green Life
Kathleen Jacecko, founder of TeachingGreen.org, has been educating children and adults about living lightly upon the earth through her presentation on sustainable living.
Edible Westside: Summer 2012 Sow, Plant, Eat Guide
The newest Edible Westside Magazine just hit the news stands, and Gardenerd's Sow, Plant Eat Guide is included. Pick up your copy at Whole Foods and other find food locations around Los Angeles, or take a gander at the digital copy here. (Note: the link works best in Chrome):
Sow, Plant, Eat - Edible Westside Summer 2012
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Home Grown Meal: Poached Eggs with Asparagus
Have you ever tried to replicate a restaurant meal at home? It's part adventure, part science project around here. In our effort to eat from the garden as much as possible, we attempted to re-create, or at least give a nod to, the Poached Eggs and Asparagus dish on Venice Beach's GJelina brunch menu. Here's how that went.
Let me start by saying that I've never poached an egg ...
Ask Gardenerd: Why Won’t My Plants Grow?
A familiar question arrived in the Ask Gardenerd Inbox this week:
"Hi Gardenerd! It's been slow getting started with my garden because my life has been chaotic for a while. Anyway, I started some seedlings inside and potted them in small pots outside and some in a long box but they haven't grown, they still look like seedlings for two months now, and my broccoli raab, red kale, and red romaine wouldn't grow past four or five inches. I'm so discouraged but my sister ...
Shake, Water and Roll
You can also increase your chances for happy fruit and roots by rolling out red plastic mulch at the base of each plant. Find more tips for tomato care on the Gardenerd website.
New Organic Farmers at MV Farmers’ Market
This one is for you locals out there. We've got three new vendors at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market. Learn about each one and what they have to offer.
New Farmers Come to Mar Vista Farmers' Market
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Ask Gardenerd: Save Seeds …then what?
I love these kinds of questions:
"I was unable to attend to my garden for a few weeks and some of my chard, salad greens and cilantro plants shot up and are close to flowering. I've never collected seeds before, but I'll try. What do I do with the plants afterwards? Keep or remove them? Thanks, Nazie"
Nazie, thanks for writing in. Before we talk about what to do with the plants, let's start with a few seed saving tips. ...