Gardenerd's Organic Gardening Blog

Feeding Fruit and Flowers

A question recently came through Ask Gardenerd:

"Is this the time[February/March] to fertilize - Roses, fruit trees (apple & orange) bushes, etc? Last year our roses didn't produce much. Right now our flowering shrubs look yellow and the overall look of things looks spindly and not healthy. Help!"

In many parts of the country, fruit trees haven't started to show buds yet. I don't know about you, but my fruit trees are all either in full bloom or already have buds fattening on the branches. So if you live in zone 10, yes, fertilize your fruit trees now. (I worked some into ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 22, 2008
Post category:Sage Advice
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Gardenerd is Featured on Low Impact Living

Just a quick note to let you know that Gardenerd.com is featured in a guest blog entry on Low Impact Living.com. Special thanks to Jessica Jensen who gave us a place on the homepage for today, February 20th, 2008.

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/02/20/organic-gardening-gardenerd/

Check out this great website, packed full of wonderful ideas for living the green life. Whether you rent or own, there are plenty of ideas to help you lessen your carbon footprint. Visit www.lowimpactliving.com and have a great day!

...

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 20, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Dumpster Diving for Coffee Grounds

What would make a person don gloves and a shovel to dig through a dumpster for coffee grounds? This isn't a case of being thrifty, like the nuns in my grade school who would re-use tea bags and tissues until they disintegrated. No, I'm not making weak coffee with old filters and spent grounds here. I have bigger plans.

Coffee grounds are a highly coveted commodity both before and after they're used. Walk by any Starbucks and the lines out the door (or in the drive through) will tell the tale. It's the "after" part that leaves most people hanging. Why ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 19, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Gardenerd is podcasting now!

Big News here in the land of Gardenerd. We're
now podcasting the Tip of the Week! Click below to
hear it. We'll let you know when we get placement
on iTunes (hopefully soon) so you can subscribe and get the Tip of the
Week delivered right to your MP3 player.
Sweet!

Seed-Starting for a better tomorrow

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 19, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Seed-starting for a better tomorrow

February is the perfect time to start seeds indoors. Helpful tips for happy seed starting!

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 17, 2008
Post category:Blog
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Registraton is now open!

It's been a little quiet here on the Gardenerd blog. Reason being - Time Warner Cable decided to display its flare for deplorable service for 10 days. However, rather than shout from the rooftops about my newfound "strong dislike" of Time Warner Cable, I'll change the subject and head in a direction that makes me much happier.

REGISTRATION FOR THE GARDENERD ORGANIC GARDENING CLASS SERIES IS NOW OPEN!

If you haven't heard, we're going to be teaching a series of 4 basic organic gardening 101 classes starting February 23, 2008. Sign up now, because space is limited. Click the link below to go ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 11, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Announcing – Organic Gardening Class Times and Dates!

The VIP group already got this information earlier in the week, but I don't want to leave anyone out of the loop:

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, February 23, 2008, 9:30 a.m. - The Basics 1 - Soil, Soil Amendments and Fertilizers

Saturday, March 1, 2008, 9:30 a.m. - The Basics 2 - Small Space and Container Gardening

(No class on March 8th)

Saturday, March 15, 2008, 9:30 a.m. ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 31, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and …Time?

A fellow Gardenerd recently wrote in:

"When is the best time to plant herbs? I planted basil last spring which slowly started to die in November. I planted another basil in October which is on its way out as well. Dill I planted in the fall is brown and not growing!! HELP!"

That's a very good question, and depending on your climate and growing options, I have an answer for you. Before that though, I want to say you have really good luck with Basil! Basil is a summer plant, and it usually dies back when the first cold spell hits. If ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 30, 2008
Post category:Sage Advice
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A New Member of the Family

Yesterday we went and picked up a new member of the family. No, we didn't adopt a child. We went to the City of Los Angeles' Compost Workshop and Bin Sale. It was a very exciting day for us. We've been waiting for this moment for many months.

We drove to Burbank, exiting the 134 Freeway at Griffith Park Drive. We found ourselves trailing behind a tanker truck going about 5 miles an hour, so there was plenty to time to take in the scenic beauty of this expansive park. People were out jogging or walking their dogs, while other folks were riding ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 27, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Fall plans for the garden are complete. We're ready to start seeds.

Planning that Dreamy Spring Garden

Well, the rain dance I did last week definitely worked. We're lined up for 7 straight days of rain. This kind of weather makes for good daydreaming about the sunny spring sure to follow. What better time than to curl up in bed with all those seed catalogues and make good on some garden design fantasies and promises? That's what I do, anyway. Here's how to do it:

1) Get out your most trusted gardening books: (my are listed below)

Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Geoff Hamilton's Organic Gardening

Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte

Rodale's Garden Answers...

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 24, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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