Ants on My Artichoke!

Continue ReadingAnts on My Artichoke!

Here's a new question that came in this week:

"Dear Gardenerd, How do I keep the pesky ants off of my precious
artichokes? I soaked the ones I harvested and still found some. . .
ugh! Please help!     -  No Ants On My Tree"

Ants are, in and of themselves, not harmful to a garden.  That said, they are the harbinger of bad things because they have a symbiotic relationship with aphids.  They consume the sticky sweet sap that aphids excrete and in exchange they will take the aphids from place to place.  It's the ultimate dealer-junkie relationship.

There are ...

Read more about the article Vegetable Gardening in Colorado Springs

Vegetable Gardening in Colorado Springs

Continue ReadingVegetable Gardening in Colorado Springs

We've been getting a lot of questions about how to grow things in specific parts of the country.  Here's one that might apply to other places in the US:

"Hi there!  I live in Colorado Springs, CO - where it's really cold for
about 7 months of the year, with snow off and on. We want to start our
own backyard veggie and fruit garden, but don't know where to start.   We
are not sure if much will grow out here.  Our family eats a vegetarian
life style...for health and other reasons.  Any tips or contacts out
here? Thanks and GREAT ...

Growing Stone Fruit from Seed

Continue ReadingGrowing Stone Fruit from Seed

A great question came in this week:

"A friend gave me 2 peach trees from the peaches that had fallen from
his trees. Will the trees produce the same peaches as the parent trees?"

The answer is yes, your peach tree will most likely produce fruit like its parent.  While apples tend to not reproduce well from seed, stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, apricots) tend to carry forth the traits of its parent.  I tore out an article from a magazine last year that explains how to start stone fruit trees from seed.  It's an excellent read by Lee Reich ...

Veggies & Fruits for Shade, and other great questions

Continue ReadingVeggies & Fruits for Shade, and other great questions

A new gardener wrote in this week:

"Hi Christy, I have 2 questions for you. Well a lot of questions, but
I'll limit this to 2.   First question: I'm getting ready to build 2
4'x8' raised beds in my backyard. The spot I'd like to use would have
one of the beds be in full sun, but the other one would be in shade for
the first half of the day. Are there veggies that would do well in part
shade, or should I have both beds in full sun to maximize my options
and production? I live in San Jose, so it's ...

Compost at the Ready?

Continue ReadingCompost at the Ready?

All the spring garden questions are coming into Ask Gardenerd this week.  Here's one now:

"Hello! I'm about to start spring planting so I need to amend my soil a
bit. I have a barrel of compost that has been doing its thing for about
10 months. It's mostly done, but there are still some chunks of leaves. Should I use this compost now or do I need to wait? thanks!"

I'm guessing that your compost set up has been one where you add material to it and let it sit, correct?  This would be considered cold composting (which is a misnomer ...

Organic vs. Non-organic seeds

Continue ReadingOrganic vs. Non-organic seeds

Another great question came in to Ask Gardenerd:

"I don't understand what the difference is between organic seeds and
regular seed packets.  Are there any benefits of purchasing organic
seeds?  Can I buy regular seeds and just grow them organically with the
same results?"

The short answer to your question is yes, you can essentially get the same results with regular seeds as with organically grown seeds.  Here, for the record, is the difference:

Organic seeds are just that - organically grown.  In other words, grown using sustainable methods from start to finish.  No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, all on land ...

White Fly Control

Continue ReadingWhite Fly Control

The questions have really been coming in lately.  Here's one selected for this week's post:

"How do I control white flies? I tried using bugs that would eat them,
but they arrived in the mail dead. Is there anything else I can do? All of my plants died last summer and we had clouds of white flies all over
the place."

Such a bummer about those white fly predators showing up dead.  Take solace in knowing that you are not alone.  Others have suffered the curse of the white fly.  In fact, you might even check out a previous blog entry about ...

New Gardener has Hope for Small Space

Continue ReadingNew Gardener has Hope for Small Space

One of those all-encompassing questions came in to Ask Gardenerd last week:

"I have an apartment and no land of my own but was interested in how I can make a garden for myself. Thanks"

I have oh-so-many suggestions.  Here's a good place to start - a search of container gardening entries on the Gardenerd Blog:

Container Gardening info

This spring is a good time to start planting in containers.  Here are a few good veggies/herbs to try out in pots:

Herbs - basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, chives

Veggies - lettuces (partial shade is perfect for these guys during the ...

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