For those like me who don't get the paper, here is the recent article by Mary MacVean on the resurgence of Victory Gardens in Los Angeles. It appeared in the Saturday, January 10th edition of the Home and Garden section of the Times. Enjoy!
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-victory10-2009jan10,0,7167635.story ...
And now for a moment of shameless self-promotion:
http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArticleDetails.asp?eid=9299
...
For those who have been tracking our landscaping project, you might recall there are 5 spaces for fruit trees in the front yard, and only 4 trees. On Christmas Eve, the final addition arrived via FedEx (upside-down, despite the multiple appearances of "up" arrows all over the box, thank you very much). Our Fantasia semi-dwarf nectarine arrived virtually safe and sound, with only a couple of broken branches. Admittedly, I had never planted a bare root fruit tree before. I've killed a couple bare root roses in the past, so ...
In the middle of writing this month's newsletter, I was struck with hunger and a craving for soup. Could it be that I've been subsisting on gingerbread cookies all morning (made fresh last night)? They are a complete protein, aren't they?
Anywho - the need to eat right away was overshadowed by the idea of having something really nice to eat that could be assembled with minimal time. I cracked open my handy dandy binder of torn out recipes from magazines and leafed through to find something that used chickpeas and diced tomatoes - because that's what's in the fridge. I fell upon a ...
There's been a bit of a lapse on blog entries in the past week. Reason being, I was at the Eco-Gift Festival for 4 days, and the workload leading up to it was tremendous. Now that it's over, and after a little much-needed rest, blogging can resume as regularly scheduled.
For those who couldn't attend, here is a little taste of what it was like at the Festival. First of all, we had a great location - the first booth you saw upon entering the tent. You couldn't possibly miss our banner, which was wonderfully designed by Lenore ...
I was out in the garden the other day and noticed that my parsnips, which I had planted from seeds that I had saved last year, were sprouted and very happy. In fact, they were in need of thinning. See, I had planted several seeds on each hole because I didn't know if my saved seeds would actually be viable. Turns out, they are extremely potent.
So instead of following my own advice to snip off the extra sprouts with scissors, I opted to gently pull them out and put them to use in the kitchen. I was already ...
Admittedly, I'm a little behind the curve on this one, but I guess I can blame the fact that I don't have television for getting news a little later than other folks. Anywho...
For those who haven't yet heard, it appears that a major cause of the bee collapse has been definitively sussed out. There are still a few other possible causes, but a recent report that came out in September confirms the connection. Lawsuits are a'flyin' and hopefully soon we will begin to see change around this issue. Read below for more details:
http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2008/09/colony-collapse-disorder-resolved.html
Special thanks to Ramon for bringing ...
We can not make a major announcement like the unveiling of the new Gardenerd Collection without mentioning the impetus behind it all. While it's true that it has taken two years to get the starting lineup of premium Gardenerd Gear going, it could very well have taken three or four years had it not been for Tommy Rosen and the Eco-Gift Festival.
Tommy became a client of Gardenerd.com and asked us to build him a food garden at his Venice, California home. He then invited us to participate as a vendor at the 2nd annual Eco-Gift Festival at the Santa Monica Civic ...
We've been quite busy here at Gardenerd.com over the last couple of weeks. As a result, there aren't many blog posts. Here's why:
(Cue dramatic music)
(The late great voice-over artist Don LaFontaine speaks)
It's been two years in the making. Hours of leg-work finding just the right fabrics and colors, even more hours slaving over a hot computer to build a brand new online store. In a world... where gardenerds need to shop, but don't know where to turn...the answer has come. The Gardenerd Collection has arrived.
Click below to get started!
The Gardenerd Collection
Happy Gardening! ...
In a bit of a diversion away from the usual subject of vegetable gardening, I am pleased to report that our front yard no longer lies barren. Plants - actual plants now reside in the space that once was a flatland of mud and weeds. No longer the embarrassment of the neighborhood, we can now hold our heads up high - and even smile - as we approach the front door.
If you've been following the previous segments about this project, you'll remember the exciting plant removal, and pathway and irrigation installation. (It's really worth comparing ...