Gardenerd's Organic Gardening Blog

Our pomegranate tree leafed out this week. So exciting!

Wordless Wednesday: Signs of Spring

With recent rain storms, the garden is going gangbusters. Signs of spring are everywhere. Here's some inspiration for what is to come regardless of whether you're gardening now, or your garden is knee deep under snow. A bee with full pollen pockets inspects a bok choy flower. Our pomegranate tree leafed out this week. So exciting! We cut down our cover crop, chopped it up, and covered it with compost. It will be ready to plant 3 weeks later. It's…

Post author:Christy
Post published: February 13, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Ask Gardenerd: Corn is Falling Over

Steven Duke writes into Ask Gardenerd this week: "I have an issue with corn being blown over. This year I want to plant okra around my corn to see if it can help with keeping the corn from being blown over as bad. Is this possible??"

Post author:Christy
Post published: February 12, 2019
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:3 Comments

Rose mixes up a batch of goodness at Red Bread. Photo credit Bernadett Vanek @born.under.the.sun

Podcast: Cooking from the Garden with Rose Lawrence

This week's guest is Rose Lawrence, owner of Red Bread Bakery. She's a Master Food Preserver, personal chef, and activist in food justice issues.

Post author:Christy
Post published: February 7, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

Rose

Ask Gardenerd: Caterpillars on my Roses

A question from Bettina came in to Ask Gardenerd this week about green caterpillars on her roses: "My rose gets eaten by green caterpillar, I try to pick them off as well as I can but am wondering if there is something I can use that makes the moth stay away? The rose is in a large clay pot." Bettina, sorry to hear these pests are eating your roses. What you have is probably Sawfly larvae (which is technically not…

Post author:Christy
Post published: February 5, 2019
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

The harvest needs washing right away. It took about an hour to process this batch. We soak lettuces and other greens, rinse off roots, and trim stems from brassicas and roots. The chickens get some of it, we get the rest.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Garden Harvest

The beauty of a fall or winter garden is that it grows almost without care. Cooler temperatures and rain lend themselves to a stress-free garden. There are virtually no bugs, you don't have to water as often, and some veggies (brassicas and root crops in particular) become sweeter with a frost. True, they do need protection from cold snaps in cooler climates. But now we reap the benefits of a winter garden--it's harvest time! If it's too cold for a…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 30, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

Mittens is enjoying her cat grass.

Ask Gardenerd: Cats in my Garden

A great question came in from Michele this week about trouble with cats in the garden: "My next door neighbor has several cats and she insists on letting them run loose. One of them has been digging in my raised beds, destroying some young seedlings - and what's worse, defecating in them. Do you know of any non-toxic products that will keep him out??" Hi Michele, we are quite familiar with cat issues in the garden. We find cat poop…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 29, 2019
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Joanne Poyourow. photo by Christopher Frangapane

Podcast: Joanne Poyourow the Environmental Change-Maker

Joanne Poyourow is a change-maker. She started two community gardens, created a seed company, founded a grassroots environmental activism group, and wrote a book that started it all. In today's podcast, Joanne shares her journey from feeling helpless about Climate Change, to fostering a positive impact on her local community and beyond. She has funneled her gardening knowledge into several publications that raise awareness and reduce one's carbon footprint at the same time. Environmental Change-Makers is headquartered at Holy Nativity…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 24, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

Frankie and this guy live in an open pen and let guests pet them.

Field Trip: Wildlife Waystation

This week I had a unique opportunity to visit the Wildlife Waystation, a sanctuary for wild and exotic animals on 160 acres in Sylmar, CA. The motto of the Wildlife Waystation is Refuge, Healing, Education. It was an experience I'll never forget. Imagine standing in the midst of the Angeles National Forest, among chaparral, cactus, and wildflowers. Suddenly you hear a lion roar. Next, a peacock caws, followed by the hoot of two or three chimpanzees. It's out of place…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 22, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

William Woys Weaver

Podcast: Heritage Seeds with William Woys Weaver

Our final interview from the 2018 Heirloom Expo is with Dr. William Woys Weaver, steward of the Roughwood Seed Collection. Dr. Will is author of 16 books, and a fascinating food historian and epicure. We chat about how he discovered the Roughwood Seed Collection at the bottom of his grandfather's freezer. Dr. Will's knowledge of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and cookery has filled volumes, so it was hard to limit this podcast to just seeds. We chat about his process of…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 10, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

New Year’s Resolutions 2019

New Year's resolutions are tough. I'm torn between motivation to make changes, and residual exhaustion from last year telling me to take it easy. Usually that exhaustion wains as spring draws near, as excitement for new seedlings permeates my world. So with hope in the wings, here are two resolutions to share for the coming year: Self-Care We all know that self-care is hard. We sacrifice ourselves for our families, for clients, for the cause. It's easy to burn out.…

Post author:Christy
Post published: January 8, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment