Two-Book Review: Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening & Baker Creek Vegan Cookbook

Continue ReadingTwo-Book Review: Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening & Baker Creek Vegan Cookbook

With fall coming on, it's time to crack open a new gardening book or two. I recently finished reading these new additions to my library and wanted to share my findings: First, William Moss' Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening, which focuses on growing in containers, community gardens, and in small spaces. Moss' personality comes through in the book, and his lyrical narration really gives the reader a sense of the rich, cultural gardening experience he had growing up in South…

Read more about the article Chicken Forage Mix: The Feeding
The ladies investigated the flat first, but wouldn't eat.

Chicken Forage Mix: The Feeding

Continue ReadingChicken Forage Mix: The Feeding

Awhile back, we started planting a special blend of legumes, grasses and greens from Peaceful Valley Farm for our hens to forage, and we wrote about it in June. The day of truth came when the mix had grown tall enough to give to the ladies. Would the chickens like it? Would they eat it? Would they ignore it? Here's what we found out: The seed mix didn't germinate as thickly as we would have liked. But that didn't stop…

Read more about the article Heirloom Expo 2012 Review
Heirloom Expo 2012 - Giant Pile of Squash

Heirloom Expo 2012 Review

Continue ReadingHeirloom Expo 2012 Review

Last year when the first Heirloom Expo took place, I was not able to attend but swore that I would next year, come what may. Fast forward to year two, and it was looking like I wasn't going to be able to go again. Curses. Then the free media passes showed up in the mail. I had no choice. Heirloom Expo 2012 went beyond expectation. Not only was it a gardener's heaven, but every lecture, every seed company, every food…

Margo and Dan’s BioIntensive Farm

Continue ReadingMargo and Dan’s BioIntensive Farm

When I spent three days learning the ways of GROW BIOINTENSIVE  (GB) with John Jeavons and his team at Ecology Action in Willits, CA in 2009, two of my instructors were Margo and Dan Royer-Miller. They were completing several years of training and were about to move to their own farm to implement the GB methods in a real-life situation.  Some of you may remember that Dan was my inspiration for building my own solar food dryer. Here is Dan's…

My History Through Plants

Continue ReadingMy History Through Plants

Plants can take you down memory lane. This week, my dear gardening friend and Master Gardener, Sarah Spitz, shares some of her plants and the memories they spark. Here's Sarah: For almost thirty years, I have lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment, converted into a Santa Monica condo, where I put in some French doors off the bedroom and created a step-down brick patio with a lot of containers. It’s a tricky space; everything needs to be lifted up for…

Little Saplings – Secret Spaces: How to Bring Fantasy into Your Everyday Garden

Continue ReadingLittle Saplings – Secret Spaces: How to Bring Fantasy into Your Everyday Garden

And now something for those with little ones. Ruth Steinberg, founder of Little Saplings.org, is committed to helping kids find a love of gardening. I had the pleasure of meeting her electronically awhile back, but when we finally met in person, I could see that her enthusiasm for gardening with children was infectious. She specializes in fostering curiosity and play in the garden, and she's here today to share her story and some ideas for doing the same ...

Dealing with Apple Scab

Continue ReadingDealing with Apple Scab

This week's guest blogger is David King from the Learning Garden. He's a great friend and an amazing gardener who does more for the Los Angeles gardening scene than I have space to write. Today he shares his helpful tips for managing apple scab. Take it away David!


For many of us wanting to grow more food on our own, fruits and nuts from trees comprise a major part ...

Read more about the article Immersing In Compost
Use 1 person to water while 1 person loads the compost bin.

Immersing In Compost

Continue ReadingImmersing In Compost

I just completed a 5-day composting intensive workshop presented by Alane O’Rielly Weber. Much like my experience with Jon Jeavon’s Grow BioIntensive workshop, this intensive class has re-swizzled the way I think about everything underground.

I knew about the Soil Foodweb, the intricate web of microbial life that exists in the soil and facilitates nutrient uptake in plants (which was first written about by Dr. Elaine Ingham), but I didn’t quite have a handle on how to create a healthy environment for ...

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