What's Growin' On Archives - Page 118 of 142

Growing Broccoli – Italian Style

Each year it's exciting to try growing new things. This fall we planted an Italian broccoli previously unexplored: Cavolo Broccolo a Getti di Napoli

That's a mouthful. Basically it means that it's a broccoli from Southern Italy, specifically Naples, that has a sprouting behavior. "Getti" literally means "jets" in Italian. It shoots out little heads of broccoli, but more than that, the leaves are edible!

Broccolo a Getti di Napoli seeds

I picked up these seeds at the LA Garden Show at the ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 16, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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A Gardenerd’s Wish List, 2010

Each year it is a family tradition to form a wish list in October for holiday gift-giving ease. Inevitably, my wish list gravitates toward garden gear. I'm sure my family is sick of it by now, but when you're a gardener, what else do you need?

It has become a Gardenerd tradition to share the wish list on the blog, not to solicit gifts, but to revert back to childhood and dream big together. Here's what I hope Santa brings this year:

Patriot Electric ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 15, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Kidney Bean Bonanza

With cool weather upon us, it's time for soups and stews. What better way to showcase the often-neglected kidney bean (it's not just for the salad bar) than to highlight some of our favorite dishes made with this crimson legume?

I'll confess, I didn't grow kidney beans this summer, but I will someday. In the meanwhile, we buy them dry and soak them overnight to make great meals. We cook them for about 15 minutes in a pressure cooker and voila! Perfect beans.

Cooked ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 9, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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MacGyver me this: Broken Watering Can Rose

There isn't much that can't be fixed with duct tape. Garden tools are no exception. While I wouldn't trust a loose-headed pick-axe after wrapping it with several rounds of shiny silver duct tape, I would trust it to fix my reliable yet cheap, plastic Rite-Aid watering can with a broken rose attachment.

Plastic is, as we know, forever. Except in the case when it photo-degrades. Plastic pots or tools become brittle and cracked, and eventually useless for their intended purpose. ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 8, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:4 Comments

The New 2011 Spring/Summer Organic Seed Collection

This being the beginning of the holiday season, and the first day of Hanukkah, it felt only fitting to unveil the all-new 2011 Spring/Summer Organic Seed Collection from the Gardenerd Store. Read about the great choices for your spring garden (makes a great gift or stocking stuffer!) and see why we chose them for your garden.

Who needs gold coins when you can have gardener's gold like this instead:

All photos
courtesy of Seeds ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 2, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Kohlrabi – the Alien Vegetable

As most brassicas go, broccoli is pretty attractive, and cabbage conjures comforting thoughts of Irish stews and Asian stir-fry dishes. There's one brassica, however, that makes people double-take when they see it on the shelves of the produce aisle: kohlrabi.

Kohlrabi looks something like a broccoli stem that had its molecules reorganized in the transporter (sorry, couldn't avoid the Trekkie reference). It has leaves like broccoli, but instead of the long stalk, it has a bulb at the base of ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 2, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Pea Protection

Last week we talked about how to grow peas. Ordinarily it's easy as pie, but what do you do when creatures of the night and/or sky make it their business to snatch up all your delicate sprouts before they have a chance to take hold in the soil?

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 18, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:4 Comments

Back to the Ranch – Huntington Style

I'd been dying to see the secret Huntington Ranch for over a year. Back then, I read an article in the Huntington Library and Garden's monthly newsletter about the development of a new vegetable garden on the property. I searched and searched each time I went to try and find its secret location to no avail.

Then an invitation to an all-day symposium for professional garden nerds hit my inbox, and when I saw that the events of the day ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 17, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Growing Peas – The Garden Snack Food

Most people grow peas in the spring. I like to grow them in the fall. I think I started growing them in fall primarily because, A) we can, and I need my trellises for other things in the spring. Over the years peas have become a prominent part of my fall garden, lending height and tastiness to fall garden chores.

They never make it into the house. A ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 11, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:9 Comments

Bad Haircuts – the Cutworm Way

People aren't the only ones to suffer from a bad haircut every once in a while. Plants get them too. The only difference is that the garden stylist servicing your plants is much less forgiving - in fact, the cutworm's handiwork is usually fatal.

I've done a podcast about this already, but now I have pictures to go with it. So for those of you who haven't seen a cutworm in action, this is for you.
...

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 10, 2010
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments