Diana Rodgers
Farmers Markets and Flower Farms with Diana Rodgers
Thinking about starting a flower farm? Listen to our podcast with Diana Rodgers about her own.
The squash tower reigns supreme over all other displays.
Come to the Heirloom Expo
It's time to run away to the circus. The circus for gardenerds, that is.
Lemon Cucumbers light up the garden. They taste like regular cucumbers but are more interesting to look at.
Ask 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…
Our first batch of Home BioGas popped popcorn. Oh, and we grew some of this popcorn.
YouTube: 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…
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
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…
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
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…
Ground cherries drop to the ground when ready to pick. Easy peasy.
Ask 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…
This week's guest Nan Sterman shares her best low-water garden design tips.
Podcast: 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…
Review: 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…
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
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.