Gardenerd's Organic Gardening Blog

The Ever Curious Gardener is a walk through the mind of Lee Reich, PhD.

Review: The Ever Curious Gardener

When Lee Reich emailed me about his new book, The Ever Curious Gardener: Using a Little Natural Science for a Much Better Garden, I was indeed curious. Gardenerds always are. Reich's new book focuses on observation (which is, I would say, the most important skill in a gardener's tool bag) of his New Paltz, NY garden, where he walks the reader through topics including propagation and planting, soil, flowering and fruiting, plant stress and more. While the book features plants…

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 23, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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John Jeavons is creator of GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farming system.

Podcast: Grow BioIntensive with John Jeavons

While planning my trip to the Heirloom Expo I contacted some of the world's top garden experts for interviews, and when John Jeavons of GROW BIOINTENSIVE responded to my email inquiry with a date and time to meet, I jumped out of my chair. What luck! John Jeavons has more than 50 years of data and research in his head, and he shared it all with me in our latest podcast. You can imagine it's hard to distill years of…

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 11, 2018
Post category:Blog Podcast What's Growin' On
Post comments:8 Comments

John Jeavons is creator of GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farming system.

Grow BioIntensive with John Jeavons

Enjoy this in-depth conversation with the ever-fascinating John Jeavons.

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 11, 2018
Post category:Blog
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Our bare-root Pom gave us 6 fruits this year. A great effort for a tiny tree. Almost ready to harvest.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Planting Time!

Fall is here and it's time to change beds from summer to cool-weather crops. Peppers are hanging on, but kales and lettuces are making their way into the picture. Celebrate these transitions as fall planting time comes on. For help figuring out what to plant this fall, read our Fall Planting Guide (scroll down). Add compost to your beds, grab your seeds, and plant something!

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 10, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Tree roots can be small like this.

Ask Gardenerd: Decreased Production in Planter Beds

Vidya writes in to Ask Gardenerd with a problem we've been dealing with for awhile: decreased production in raised beds. She writes, "For five years I have been growing flowers and vegetables in my garden. The first few years, I had amazing yields...Slowly, the plants became shorter and weaker, and this year, I barely had any fruit...I believe that we attracted all of the neighboring trees to send roots into our garden. After scouring the internet for solutions, I found…

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 3, 2018
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
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Dendromecon Hartfordii and it's cousin, Dendromecon rigida are sunny additions to any California native garden.

Infograph: Eco-Friendly Gardening

It might be surprising to hear that gardening can be unsustainable, but it can be. As we head into the rainy season here in So Cal, and fall gardening all over the country, here are some tips for stepping up your game in eco-friendly gardening. Rain barrels capture water for use through winter and into spring. We're still using rain water from a brief summer rain. Fall is a great time to plant natives. They build strong roots over winter…

Post author:Christy
Post published: October 2, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

Read all three of Jeff's books.

Podcast: Soil Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels

We just returned from the Heirloom Expo where we interviewed eight great guests for upcoming Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcasts. Our first guest from that whirlwind experience is Jeff Lowenfels, author of 3 books including Teaming with Microbes: the Organic Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web. We chat about gardening in Alaska, his newest book on soil fungi, and his project Plant a Row for the Hungry. More Than Just Fungi Read all three of Jeff's books to…

Post author:Christy
Post published: September 27, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Read all three of Jeff's books.

Soil Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels

Today's guest is Jeff Lowenfels, author of 3 books including the popular Teaming with Microbes: the Organic Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web. He lives and gardens in Alaska and is the founder of Plant a Row for the Hungry.

Post author:Christy
Post published: September 27, 2018
Post category:Blog
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Broccoli, cabbage and more grow under lights for October planting.

YouTube: Seed-Starting 2 Ways

Our latest YouTube tutorial comes in answer to a request for a video about seed-starting. In this video we share two different methods for starting seeds for your fall (or spring) garden. We explore the traditional seed-starting method, as well as the Grow BioIntensive method for germinating a lot of seeds in one small seed flat. Seed-starting allows you to grow plants that aren't available at the nursery. The world is your oyster when you grow from seed. It's also…

Post author:Christy
Post published: September 25, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:8 Comments

This is probably the best photo I've ever taken. Little Miss Sebright graced me with a close up.

Wordless Wednesday: Heirloom Expo 2018

The National Heirloom Expo 2018, put on each year by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, did not disappoint. It continues to fill the well for me every year. Not only are there great speakers, and seed-minded people milling about, there's eye candy on a drool-factor 5 level. Check out these beautiful images from this year's Expo. Speaking of squash... Make plans to visit the Heirloom Expo next year. Take a train, plane, or car. Just get there to witness it…

Post author:Christy
Post published: September 19, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments