Coir is Better!
You don't have to carry a sign saying, "Save the Peat Bogs" to be environmentally conscious. Just use Coir instead. This week's Tip of the Week features a sustainable substitute for one of your garden soil's staple ingredients.
Green Beetles – What’s the Buzz?
Another question came in today:
"Metallic green beetles keep invading my garden--about 1" long. Green wings with brown edges. Friend or foe?"
Well - I know my Permaculture friends would say that there's no such thing as a bad insect, but to answer your question in a word: foe.I've watched these little buggers make lunch out of my neighbor's roses. They sure love 'em. They are known as Figeater Beetles with a Latin name of Cotinis Mutabilis. Here is a blog entry I found about them:
http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2008/03/08/figeater-beetle/
The bugs themselves are harmless, meaning they ...
New Gardener’s Dilemma
"I just started gardening recently, so my first garden is full of mistakes. I was watering my cherry tomatoes every day, until I was told that was way too often. They didn't show any signs of being over watered, but I cut it down to twice a week. Several of their lower branches have turned yellow or brown and died since I cut down on watering. What should I do?
Also, my squash and cucumbers haven't shown much growth in a little while. I made the mistake of planting them too close together. I'm also worried that I haven't given them ...
What’s a Fig to Do?
A savvy gardener writes in:
"My young mission fig tree has very few fruit forming, can I use an organic fertilizer now to encourage more fruit output?"
In general, the best time to fertilize fig trees is in spring and as needed until late summer (which is now for Californians) - so go ahead and fertilize your fig. Many fig trees don't require fertilizing at all, but there may be some conditions that are contributing to your low fig yield:
Fig trees can take up to two years to produce fruit from their planting date. You mentioned that your fig is young, though I ...
Our Landscaping Project – Part 2
We had a flurry of jackhammers and 3-foot deep trenches in recent weeks. New plumbing (for proper drainage away from the house) and a sump pump were installed. We also had irrigation to all the major watering areas installed.
Here's something very nerdy and exciting: My raised bed garden now has drip irrigation in each of the raised beds, each with a separate zone and the capacity to set different watering times for each bed! Fancy and possibly unnecessary, but we couldn't resist the chance to experiment with such a personalized watering system. There is a spigot in each bed, with a ...
Monster Green Onions
Today I spent a good few hours cleaning up the summer garden, in preparation for our upcoming fall growing season. Sometimes it takes these dedicated hours in the garden to notice things that haven't quite caught your attention before. Like the massive green onions growing in the middle of the pumpkin patch that seem to have gotten away from me.
When I say massive, I might be exaggerating, but most people walk by my plot and say, "nice leeks" when they see them. I guess there's something about our American mentality of bigger is better that made me leave ...
Start Your Fall Garden Indoors
It's back-to-school time, and that means it's time to start your fall garden. Take advantage of the warm weather by starting seeds indoors. Your broccoli will thank you.
Garden. Read. Eat.
It's rare that I pick up a magazine and feel like they've written it just for me. This week we talk about a new publication (and others like it) that is geared toward die-hard gardenerds and foodies.
White Fly Terror
Another great question came through Ask Gardenerd this week:
"We have white flies on our hibiscus trees, and I was wondering if there is a pesticide free way to get rid of them. The infestation is on one tree, and I don't want it to spread to the other trees or anything else in our garden. We have dogs, and I don't want to use malathion or diazinone. What would be safe to use?Thanks!"
In many cases, your hose is your best friend. If you have a hose nozzle set on my favorite setting: Kill (read: Jet or Full), you ...
Peach Tree Blues – EM Answers
We got a question in this week from a gardener:
"I have a 2 year old white peach tree, and it has peach leaf curl. Is there any natural way to control this? I've looked in books and on line and I've not found any other way to control it than the chemicals..."
It just so happens that I recently met someone who had a similar problem here in Venice, CA. What they used to improve the tree's situation without chemicals is something you may have not heard of before. I'm just starting to really learn more about it, so ...