I just spent two hours pulling weeds in the front yard. At least I think it was two hours. It could have been 20 hours and I wouldn't
have noticed the difference; my mind was elsewhere. There's something very therapeutic about the act of doing repetitive physical movement that let's the mind go off into
the space where it can solve the problems of the world.
...
I don't like being cold and wet. I'm pretty clear about that. There is one time, however, when I actually go out of my way to lose all
feeling in my hands and soak myself to the bone - harvesting in the rain.
There's nothing quite like the smell of wet soil and ozone mixing together as you tromp through the mud. Sticking your hands into an overgrowth of leaves to pick plump peas is somehow more
satisfying than when all is dry. Seeing leaves weighed down with rain, they emit a dark green that only comes to ...
Today, December 22nd, is Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere. The shortest day and longest night of the year. From here on out, the
days get longer until Summer Solstice in June. What a glorious thing to look forward to.
In celebration of the solstices and equinoxes, I try to spend time out in nature, and today was no exception. I spent the morning in my garden at Ocean View Farms. Since the last few
days included heavy rain and wind, I was wondering what I'd find when I got there. To my surprise, everything was still in ...
It's raining in Los Angeles today. A glorious, drizzly rain. While most Angelenos would complain about the gloominess, Gardenerds rejoice! There is something
about rain that nourishes the soil and plant life more than any irrigation system could do. Even more importantly, it helps to ease the drought conditions all over.
One of my goals as a new home owner is to incorporate a rain barrel into our water management system. Rain barrels collect runoff from the roof and rain gutters, which funnel the rainfall
down drain spouts. The drain spouts usually feed to a pipe that takes the runoff out to ...
I had a little car trouble a couple weeks ago and had to rent a car.
Butternut squash is a winter squash, which means that unlike zucchini and yellow
crookneck squash, it will last in your cellar or pantry all winter long. Other
winter squashes include pumpkin, acorn, Hubbard (the squash that get so large,
it is supposed to cure world hunger), spaghetti and the
heirloom Delicata.
Harvesting butternut squash in the
fall is one of most satisfying experiences in the garden. You've waited
all summer long for the skin's color to change from pale green to creamy
beige. You've watched as the leaves start to turn brown and whither ...
Right about this time of year, I start to chuckle as I walk through my garden. As I look down at the happy, perky, green leaves of my lettuce, arugula,…
Moving right along in our series on raised beds, we have now come to the part where sweat and elbow grease come in handy.
After a trip to the hardware store to pick up a non-rusted blade for our dusty Skilsaw (keeping in mind that Trex Decking can dull blades faster than wood), a box of 3 inch galvanized deck screws, a roll of 4 foot x 25 foot galvanized poultry fencing, tin snips, and two carloads of Trex Decking (19 12 foot boards were needed for our job), we were ready to build our raised beds.
On Day 1 - we opted to cut and assemble the beds before clearing the space of the old raised beds.