What’s Growin’ On

Mulch vs. Bees – Something to Consider

A student recently sent me an article when they saw my post on mulching our entire back yard with free city mulch.  The article has a really interesting take on the idea of mulching and how it effects bees and I felt that it would be important to share it with you. 

As a preface, I'll say that I don't generally mulch my growing space in my garden, only the pathways, simply because we have a real problem with sow bugs here and they thrive in mulch.  I don't use black plastic as mulch either since I don't ...

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Gardenerd on Your Daily Thread

Gardenerd.com was featured on Your Daily Thread this week.  Tracy Hepler of YDT came to visit the Gardenerd test garden and sat down to interview me last week It was great to share with her all the great things coming up in the world of gardening.  

For those who don't know, Your Daily Thread is LA's Neighborhood Guide to Conscious Living.  You can get a daily dose of what's green in LA and find out about upcoming green events throughout the city. Here is the article featured on YDT:

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Read more about the article A Season of Orach

A Season of Orach

It's sort of mean that we can't grow salad greens in the summer here in So Cal.  It's too hot and they bolt to seed so quickly.  I've tried growing lettuces under shade cloth and that helps a lot, but it's nowhere near as delicious as fall-grown salad greens.  One way to combat the heat is to grow slow-bolt or heat tolerant varieties.  Another is to try something completely different.

Enter Orach Mountain Spinach. 

I know I've talked about this fantastic green before, but I'm going to expound on the wonders of Orach again because this year was particularly ...

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Read more about the article Taming of the Asparagus

Taming of the Asparagus

I'm a little bit of a late bloomer.  Or maybe it's just that I get used to looking at - or stepping over - something that's in my way and then I don't do anything about it for a long time.  It's kind of like that pile of laundry in the middle of the room.  It doesn't go away, but you start to ignore it - so it really isn't there any more, right?

This was the case with the wild patch of asparagus in the raised beds.  We're at the end of our second year, which means that ...

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Read more about the article Eggplant Parmigiana – Under the Tuscan Sun Style

Eggplant Parmigiana – Under the Tuscan Sun Style

I'll admit it.  I've never made eggplant parmigiana.  I ate it growing up; as a picky eater it was probably the only way I'd ever eat eggplant.  So leave it to a gardenerd to grow eggplant and not know what to do with the finished result.  Until now.

I've been hoarding a copy of Frances Mayes Bringing Tuscany Home  for a few years now, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike, when I felt confident enough to try making what I thought would be a daunting recipe. The torn piece of paper marking the page was nearly withered ...

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Read more about the article Adventures with City Mulch

Adventures with City Mulch

Awhile ago, my husband and I decided to put a hold on our backyard design project until the economy levels off.  This of course took place after we had ripped out most of the existing plants and installed drainage and irrigation materials.  So we had a lovely expanse of dirt we were perfectly willing to live with (which many students have seen if you've come to a class at the house and test garden). 

Of course, what happens when you have a large expanse of dirt?  You get weeds. 

We needed mulch to cover the dirt.  Lots of ...

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Read more about the article Pumpkins on the Early Side

Pumpkins on the Early Side

Believe it or not, our pumpkins have finished up already this year.  The vine has dried up and those bright orange globes are littered about the garden, just waiting for fall holiday celebrations.  But we had a good reason to put them to use right away in the middle of summer - curiosity. 

You may recall an earlier post where I talked about the crazy pumpkins taking over the yard:  Houston, we have some Squash!

What I didn't mention is that, even though I hand pollinated all of those pumpkins, only 1 of them actually came out ...

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