What's Growin' On Archives - Page 130 of 136

No-Dig Gardening in the Times

One of my students from the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series sent me this article that appeared in the LA Times last Thursday. It thought I would share it with you here. It's a great story with how-to instructions for building no-dig soil and raised beds (without borders). There is also information about a farm exchange program where you can learn a lot by volunteering on a farm.

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12%2C0%2C55177.story

Thanks, Ramon, for sending this nice tidbit!

Hey folks, you can get the books mentioned in the article by clicking on the links below:

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Post author:Christy
Post published:June 18, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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A Stinky Affair: the tale of a trip to the Gilroy Garlic Festival

In honor of the pile of garlic bulbs which are curing on the counter behind me, it felt appropriate to reach into the archives and re-print an article I wrote for the Ocean View Farms newsletter several years ago. I hope you enjoy it:

A Stinky Affair

It was a hot and sunny day in Gilroy. Despite my olive skin and heavy doses of SPF 25, I still managed to develop a driver’s ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 12, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Makin’ Tomato Cages

They were fending for themselves and getting taller every day. Critical Mass was about to be reached and it couldn't wait any longer. My tomatoes needed support. They were having a breakdown - or a "tip sideways" so to speak. So I set out to build new cages for my leaning tower of tomatoes at home this weekend.

For some of you, this might look really familiar, as I talk about the "How-To" of my tomato cages in Christy's Top 5 Organic Gardening Tips, which you can get when you sign up on the Gardenerd website. For this project, I needed cages that were ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 6, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Tools of a Different Kind

Warning - nerd alert!

Yesterday, I met with a client to help design the food garden at his new home. The entire house is being remodeled and is going to be one of the greenest homes in the United States when all is said and done. Using solar power, recycled materials, and renewable resources, the house is sure to be a centerfold in Architectural Digest or Mother Earth News in the coming year, and I'm thrilled to be part of the process.

I'm also thrilled that I got to use one of my favorite tools for the job. It's something I got ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 30, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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1 Potato, 2 Potato…

If there's one thing I unwittingly repeat over and over again, it's this:

You haven't lived until you've grown your own potatoes.

Potatoes have been part of my garden for years. They are comfort food for some, or the carb from hell for others, but aside from tomatoes, they are the quintessential vegetable (okay, tuber) to grow as a home gardener.

About a month ago, I planted an assortment of seed potatoes in my back yard garden. I obtained them from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine, where they sell organic, non-GMO seed potatoes and other organic vegetable seeds. I was thrilled to ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 30, 2008
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Gardenerd Appearing in Mar Vista

Hey local gardenerds, here's a chance to get something for free!

I will be giving a free organic gardening lecture at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market on Sunday, May 18th at 10:00 a.m. We will be set up at the Mar Vista Community Council booth with plenty of chairs for everyone.

The Mar Vista Farmer's Market is located at Venice Blvd. on Grand View, by the post office. Wear a hat, and come get the free scoop on gardening this spring.

http://marvistafarmersmarket.org/

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Post author:Christy
Post published:May 17, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Small Space Gardening – a Container of Fun

This morning, six fellow gardenerds joined me for the Small Space and Container Gardening class. We had a range of gardening space situations, from a no-space garden to patio and rooftop gardens, and even someone with a back yard that has a little bit of soil for a vegetable garden. Most were beginning gardeners, but we had a couple intermediate level green thumbs as well.

We watched a little video about Square Foot Gardening, talked about terra cotta versus plastic pots. We discussed the recent article about a three year container garden test trial from Ed Smith where he found that ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 11, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Hello Garden

Gardenerdiness seems to be a theme this week. Why fight it? This is just too darn cute to pass up...

So I was at my brother's house visiting my niece, when my sister-in-law and I got to talking about gardening. She's been into gardening for awhile and says the "h" in "herbs" because she's Welsh. There's a long history of proper gardening in Great Britain, and you might imagine my sister-in-law to be pretty straight laced and formal because of that. The truth is, I don't know many straight-laced Welsh gardeners with fuchsia hair and chunky black leather Doc Martin's that lace up to the knee. She's a ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 10, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Gardening at Night

Warning: This blog entry is a pure, unadulterated display of Gardenerdiness.

Tonight I satisfied a desire I've had for years - to garden in the dark, after the sun has completely set. It's a desire I've never been able to indulge in because my gardening space, the community garden, closes at sunset. Now that I am a homeowner, the world is my oyster, so to speak, as far as living out my nighttime gardening fantasies. Now, I'm not talking about gardening outside where it's well-lit. I'm talking about piercing the night's dark shroud with good old fashioned geek gear - a head ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 10, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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Starting Them Young

On Easter, I spent some time with my brother and his wife and their 20 month year old daughter, Arianwen (that's a Welsh name, pronounced Ar-e-ahn-wen). Not only am I completely in love with this child, I am completely biased in believing that everything she does is magical and fabulous. This Easter proved to be no different, when Arianwen began to garden right before my eyes.

Since it fits into our theme, I felt compelled to share some home videos. I know, I know, it's ridiculous to think that anyone would be interested in watching my niece garden, but it's ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 29, 2008
Post category:What's Growin' On
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