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Wordless Wednesday lemon cucumber
Lemon Cucumbers light up the garden. They taste like regular cucumbers but are more interesting to look at.

Ask Gardenerd: Saving Cucumber Seeds

Continue ReadingAsk Gardenerd: Saving Cucumber Seeds

Ann writes in to Ask Gardenerd this week: "Hi! Just came upon your site and LOVE it! A friend who lives up north from us just shared lemon cucumbers with us. We have never had them before and find them pretty neat. I haven't even tasted them yet. They told us how they save the seeds year to year for planting. Do you have any insight on saving the seeds? Would truly appreciate it. Lemon Cucumbers will definitely be part…

Home BioGas popcorn
Our first batch of Home BioGas popped popcorn. Oh, and we grew some of this popcorn.

YouTube: BioGas is in the House!

Continue ReadingYouTube: BioGas is in the House!

Nerd Alert: We've been working on this one for awhile, and we're so excited to share the latest self-reliance, nerdy happening at Gardenerd HQ.  What is it? It's BioGas! What is BioGas, you ask? It's fuel generated from waste, specifically animal manures and food scraps. It builds up in an anaerobic digester that creates methane gas you can cook on for up to 3 hours per day. Check out our latest YouTube video that explains it all: Cooking with BioGas…

Jessica and Christy
Learn what happens to those 6-packs and 4" pots when you put them in the recycle bin.

Podcast: Recycling and Composting with Jessica Aldridge

Continue ReadingPodcast: Recycling and Composting with Jessica Aldridge

Jessica Aldridge is a hotshot in the recycling world. Her passion for environmental education led to creating Zero Waste programs and other sustainability projects for corporations, cities, and municipalities in Southern California. In this week's podcast she shares what gardening supplies can and can't be recycled, and what happens to them when you put them in the blue bin. I met Jessica after watching her presentation at an Earth Day event, where she held up common items we often think…

Anello Beans
We received 8 Anello beans at a seed swap last year. Grew them out and here's what we got.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer’s Not Over

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Summer’s Not Over

The chickens are putting themselves to bed a little earlier every night, but I refuse to believe that summer is over. Temperatures will remain in the high 80's for at least another month here in Los Angeles. Soon we'll be starting seeds for fall, but right now it's harvest time. Enjoy this Wordless Wednesday as summer fades.   Enjoy these final weeks of warm weather and sunshine. Fall will be here before you know it and cool season crops will…

Read more about the article Ask Gardenerd: Green Ground Cherries
Ground cherries drop to the ground when ready to pick. Easy peasy.

Ask Gardenerd: Green Ground Cherries

Continue ReadingAsk Gardenerd: Green Ground Cherries

We received a question to Ask Gardenerd from Cheryl Dickson this week. She asks, "I have ground cherries that have fallen to the ground but a lot of them are still quite green. Should I leave the husk on them to ripen inside, or should I remove the husk to let them ripen? Thank you in advance for your answer!" Great question, Cheryl. As you may know, ground cherries drop to the ground when they are ripe. Occasionally they will…

Nan-Sterman-headshot
This week's guest Nan Sterman shares her best low-water garden design tips.

Podcast: Hot Color, Dry Garden with Nan Sterman

Continue ReadingPodcast: Hot Color, Dry Garden with Nan Sterman

This week's guest on the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast is Nan Sterman, the host of A Growing Passion and author of the new garden design book, Hot Color, Dry Garden: Inspiring Designs and Vibrant Plants for the Waterwise Gardener. Nan shares her best design tips and ideas for a colorful low-water garden. Nan is also a passionate vegetable gardener, so we talk about her hoop house that protects her garden beds from critters. You'll hear ideas for your…

Read more about the article Review: To Catch The Rain by Lonny Grafman

Review: To Catch The Rain by Lonny Grafman

Continue ReadingReview: To Catch The Rain by Lonny Grafman

To Catch the Rain When Humboldt State University Press contacted me with a review copy of Lonny Grafman's To Catch The Rain, I couldn't resist the appeal of this nerdy water catchment book. Drought and aquifer depletion continue all over the world, so capturing water for reuse is more important than ever. Grafman's book "looks at real, practical, global experiences of rainwater harvesting on individual, financially constrained, and community based levels through academic, mathematical and practical perspectives." His work in…

Wordless Wednesday Styrian Hulless Pumpkin
Styrian Hulless pumpkins are already on display as a centerpiece. We'll press the seeds for pumpkin oil soon.

Wordless Wednesday: Dog Days of Summer

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Dog Days of Summer

It's hot, and the Dog Days of summer (July 3-Aug 11) promise to continue through the end of the month. Here's to keeping cool, and harvesting often. As I write this, one of our new hens is in the egg box for the first time. We await our first chocolate brown egg from our Cuckoo Maran. I'll post a picture if it happens today.

Read more about the article Ask Gardenerd: Can I Compost in the Garden Beds?

Ask Gardenerd: Can I Compost in the Garden Beds?

Continue ReadingAsk Gardenerd: Can I Compost in the Garden Beds?

This is the perfect Ask Gardenerd question for those with no room for a compost bin. It came from Nancy Ross: "I have been putting my scraps for compost directly into my raised beds. Is this OK? Will this reduce the need for plant food? Thanks!" Great question, Nancy. The short answer is, yes, you can do that. Let's explore the details. A lot of people who don't have room for a compost bin, or who don't have the energy…

Ceebs Bailey Tip of the Week Podcastchickens
Ceebs Bailey knows her hens. Here she holds our hen Sylvia.

Podcast: Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey

Continue ReadingPodcast: Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey

This week's Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast features a chat with Ceebs Bailey, who keeps 17 chickens in the middle of the city. Ceebs helps run Honeylove.org and is our beekeeping mentor, but today, we're talking about chicken keeping. She shares her favorite tricks for integrating new chickens, introducing chickens to dogs, and feeding tips for healthy hens. Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey Listen here for our interview with Ceebs. You'll laugh, you'll learn, you'll want chickens: Chicken Keeping…

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