Pre Spring Cleaning
If you are planning to start plants from seed this year, now is a great time to spruce up your seed-starting equipment. This week's Tip of the Week will show you how!
False Garlic – you lie, you lie, you lie.
I don't know where it comes from, but it shows up in the strangest places. Unannounced, just after the rain, it pokes its slender leaves up through the soil to bring terror to the fastidious gardener. I'm talking about false garlic.
False garlic (Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth) is found primarily in California, Oregon and the Southeastern states, as well as some warmer parts of Europe. It's pretty, but don't be deceived. This little bugger will infest a garden and is ...
Gingerly We Grow
A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:
"Hi Christy, I want to try growing ginger in my zone 24 garden. I'm planning to start with a store bought (or farmer's market if possible) piece. Do you have any experience or tips for growing ginger? Thanks!"
I've grown ginger once before, when a neighbor at my community garden handed me a rhizome they had just pulled from their own garden. It had plenty of growth on it already, so I just ...
Fruit Tree Pruning 101
Learn the difference between first year and second year wood, and a pollenizer versus a pollinator with this week's Tip of the Week!
Chinese New Year at Bellagio Gardens
The place mat before me says, "Luckiest of all signs, you are also talented and articulate. Affectionate, yet shy, you seek peace throughout your life." This is the fortune for someone born in the Year of the Rabbit.
2011 celebrates the Rabbit once again; something that happens every 12 years according to the Chinese Zodiac. Technically, Chinese New Year starts on February 3, but Bellagio Gardens got a head start. I took a stroll through the garden to witness the bigger-than-life display honoring the Rabbit and the New Year.
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Do it While Dormant
January is a great time to spray your orchard fruit trees with a dormant oil that will help them fight off fungus, infestations and diseases that reduce fruit production in spring!
Seed Catalog Highlights
I love the sound of seed catalogs dropping into the mailbox. There's a particular "clunk" of distinctive heft that only a thick garden catalog can make. I keep a pen close at hand as I dog-ear the pages and circle interesting new varieties, dreaming of their vibrance in the garden.
This year heirloom varieties are popping up all over. The hunt for biodiversity is on, and we're part of the plan for preservation. If you are into seed-saving, here are ...
New Year’s Resolutions for the Gardenerd
I'm generally not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, but rather like to make "gentle intentions" instead. It just feels kinder and gentler, and less likely to fail. This year, however, I'm feeling a little more assertive, at least where the garden is concerned. So without further adieu, here are a few New Year's Resolutions for the garden in 2011:
Heal the Sick - I will diligently ...
Stevia – Nature’s Herbal Sugar
Stevia is an herb in the sunflower family. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar, and registers as basically a zero on the glycemic index. Learn more about stevia with this week's tip of the week!
Growing Broccoli – Italian Style
Each year it's exciting to try growing new things. This fall we planted an Italian broccoli previously unexplored: Cavolo Broccolo a Getti di Napoli
That's a mouthful. Basically it means that it's a broccoli from Southern Italy, specifically Naples, that has a sprouting behavior. "Getti" literally means "jets" in Italian. It shoots out little heads of broccoli, but more than that, the leaves are edible!
Broccolo a Getti di Napoli seeds
I picked up these seeds at the LA Garden Show at the ...