A question came in this week about scale:
"I have two large tree mallows (grown as shrubs) with a very heavy scale infestation. A local nursery recommends using a petroleum oil spray. Is there another effective, greener solution?"
Yes, I can definitely suggest an alternative to petroleum sprays, but first - a little understanding about what scale is:
Scale is an insect, but it looks and behaves more like a mollusk. There are soft ...
Have you ever had a recipe lying around that you keep for years, just knowing that someday you'll make it? Year after year, I've flipped through my binder of torn-out recipes from magazines that I've collected over time. My eyes have landed on this one page a hundred times, and each time I've promised myself I'll make it. This week I finally made good on that promise - 15 years later.
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Leeks are easy to grow and great to cook with. This week's tip features a simple recipe for your summer harvest.
Our adventure in Ojai continue with the opening day of "u-pick" season at a local lavender farm. New Oak Ranch hung balloons out on the road sign, inviting folks to come and pick a handful of fresh lavender for $5 a bunch. The farm features 20 different varieties of lavender (mostly Grosso, Hidcote, Buena Vista, and Provence) but they also have Pixie tangerines, olives and walnuts.
The bees were hovering throughout ...
A quick weekend getaway was in order - some place warm and cozy, and filled with joyful memories. Ojai, CA fit the bill. It was the location of our destination wedding five years ago. Laden with orange groves, olive and avocado trees, and lavender fields, Ojai (pronounced Oh-Hi) combines the small town feeling of local farmers with the artist community of hippies. On a weekend with no plans, we found ourselves pretty busy.
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Learn how to preserve your surplus of green beans in less than 10 minutes.
Have you ever planted mint, thinking that it would be a nice addition to your vegetable or herb garden, only to find that in no time at all it had taken over your garden and choked out your veggies? Well that's what happened to Joan Wilner in Beverly Hills. She called me up to rescue her waning vegetable garden from the claws of the overwhelming mint patch a couple of weeks ago.
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Sometimes the best things in life are free - and from your neighbor. That seems to be a theme this week. While my garden may still be launching into its productive phase, some of my neighbors' gardens are already there.
At my community plot the lady to my left is overrun with ripening blackberries and, as of last week, I've been given permission to harvest as many as I please. Since I've been dying to find a ...
This week's tip talks poultry and the laws surrounding urban chicken keeping.
Summer is nearly here and the rain barrels are running dry. What will you do this summer to conserve water in your garden and home? Well, come to the Metropolitan Water District's Spring Green Expo 2010 to find out ways to conserve not only water, but energy and time as well. Gardenerd will be hosting a booth, so bring your gardening questions and get them answered.
I will ...