New Edible Landscape for a Cottage

Continue ReadingNew Edible Landscape for a Cottage

Back in November, I got a call from a woman who wanted to turn her front and back yard into an edible landscape. She had seen me on Food For Thought with Claire Thomas, and felt instinctively that Gardenerd was the right hire for the job.

We worked together to come up with ideas: moving existing baby fruit trees to permanent homes in the front yard, adding a vegetable garden and more fruit trees in the backyard. She ...

Spring Garden Planning Workshop This Saturday

Continue ReadingSpring Garden Planning Workshop This Saturday

You've riffled through all of those seed catalogs, you've taken a survey of your seed collection and filled in the blanks. Now what? 

Where will everything go this season?  How will you find enough room?  What about crop rotation and companion planting? 


With all these things to think about, planning your spring garden may feel overwhelming. It's supposed to be fun. We can help.
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Fried Green Tomatoes – in Winter?

Continue ReadingFried Green Tomatoes – in Winter?

Yes, Dorothy, there still are tomatoes in February - if you live in Los Angeles. It's one of the many oddities of living in a warm winter climate. Up until last week, we were picking tomatoes from a volunteer tomato that had entwined itself through a giant Cecil Brunner rose, but with recent pruning, it all came to a delicious end.

The vine had ...

Chickens – Part 1: Building the Coop

Continue ReadingChickens – Part 1: Building the Coop

In an effort to expand our garden ecosystem, we've gone the way of the farmer, adding backyard chickens to our list of on-site resources. This is the story of how we got started. We intend to share the process in hopes of making it easier for others who plan to do the same.

We spent two years researching and being skittish about getting them, while everyone with chickens kept saying, "Just get them!"  2012 rolled around, as did ...

How to Know if it’s GMO?

Continue ReadingHow to Know if it’s GMO?

"Dear Gardenerd,

How do we know if our seeds are genetically Modified?"


Excellent question! I have answers for you.

The good news
is that GMO seeds are widely available to the commercial agriculture industry, but the push to sell them to home gardeners is not yet popular (and most likely not lucrative).    The bad news is that farmers growing non-GMO crops for seed are having a harder time isolating themselves from farms that ...

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