Tree spinach
Magenta tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum) spotted at the Santa Monica Main Street Community Garden. It's both edible and beautiful!

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Delights

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Spring Delights

Spring delights are already abundant here in Los Angeles. Step outside and you're greeted with the fragrance of wisteria overhead, or the wild Painted Lady butterfly migration all around. Loquats are ripening, artichokes are sending up buds, and the SuperBloom is showcasing southern California like never before. Here are some photos to inspire you on the first day of spring. Loquats are ready! These delicate fruits don't store or ship well, so grow your own! Wisteria buds open, scenting the…

Podcast: Fun with Plants with Amy Stewart

Continue ReadingPodcast: Fun with Plants with Amy Stewart

This week's podcast features a conversation with Amy Stewart, the New York Times best selling author of Wicked Plants, Flower Confidential, and The Drunken Botanist. We chat about her latest novel series, The Kopp Sisters, and Amy shares some of her favorite plants to grow for cocktails. Amy Stewart, image courtesy of Delightful Eye Photography Gardening & Writing Hand in Hand Our conversation reveals that her passion for writing came first, followed by gardening. She later found gardening to be…

Black Magic kale sprouts
Black Magic kale sprouts under grow lights.

Wordless Wednesday: Start Your Engines!

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Start Your Engines!

The time has come to plant your garden, whether indoors or out. Start seeds, amend soils, and bring dreams into reality this month. Soon you'll taste the rewards of today's toil. But it's not really toil, it's a labor of love. May this Wordless Wednesday inspire your gardening activities this week. Barry's Crazy Cherry tomato sprouts under grow lights. Black Magic kale sprouts under grow lights. It's bred to be durable in hot weather. Using the link helps Gardenerd make…

Read more about the article YouTube: Battling Aphids without Bug Spray
Aphids are the major reason why our kale meets its end in March. Time for something new.

YouTube: Battling Aphids without Bug Spray

Continue ReadingYouTube: Battling Aphids without Bug Spray

Our latest video is timely as the winter gardening season winds down. Some crops grow tired at the end of the season, as indicated by massive aphid infestations on greens like kale, chard, and spinach.

mushroom Erica Wohldmann
Erica Wohldmann shows off her foraged stash.

Podcast: Foraging with Erica Wohldmann

Continue ReadingPodcast: Foraging with Erica Wohldmann

My guest this week is Erica Wohldmann, professor of Psychology at Cal State University Northridge and avid forager of urban and wild places. She spent 6 months gathering food and medicine in the forest to live off, without spending a single dollar on meals. She shares her knowledge and philosophy with us today. Erica Wohldmann shows off her foraged stash. Foraging in Urban and Wild Places Erica talks about what to look for when foraging for mushrooms in the forests.…

Wordless Wednesday pomegranate
Our pomegranate tree leafed out this week. So exciting!

Wordless Wednesday: Signs of Spring

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Signs of Spring

With recent rain storms, the garden is going gangbusters. Signs of spring are everywhere. Here's some inspiration for what is to come regardless of whether you're gardening now, or your garden is knee deep under snow. A bee with full pollen pockets inspects a bok choy flower. Our pomegranate tree leafed out this week. So exciting! We cut down our cover crop, chopped it up, and covered it with compost. It will be ready to plant 3 weeks later. It's…

Wordless Wednesday Harvest
The harvest needs washing right away. It took about an hour to process this batch. We soak lettuces and other greens, rinse off roots, and trim stems from brassicas and roots. The chickens get some of it, we get the rest.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Garden Harvest

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Winter Garden Harvest

The beauty of a fall or winter garden is that it grows almost without care. Cooler temperatures and rain lend themselves to a stress-free garden. There are virtually no bugs, you don't have to water as often, and some veggies (brassicas and root crops in particular) become sweeter with a frost. True, they do need protection from cold snaps in cooler climates. But now we reap the benefits of a winter garden--it's harvest time! If it's too cold for a…

Joanne Poyourow
Joanne Poyourow. photo by Christopher Frangapane

Podcast: Joanne Poyourow the Environmental Change-Maker

Continue ReadingPodcast: Joanne Poyourow the Environmental Change-Maker

Joanne Poyourow is a change-maker. She started two community gardens, created a seed company, founded a grassroots environmental activism group, and wrote a book that started it all. In today's podcast, Joanne shares her journey from feeling helpless about Climate Change, to fostering a positive impact on her local community and beyond. She has funneled her gardening knowledge into several publications that raise awareness and reduce one's carbon footprint at the same time. Environmental Change-Makers is headquartered at Holy Nativity…

Pig Wildlife Waystation
Frankie and this guy live in an open pen and let guests pet them.

Field Trip: Wildlife Waystation

Continue ReadingField Trip: Wildlife Waystation

This week I had a unique opportunity to visit the Wildlife Waystation, a sanctuary for wild and exotic animals on 160 acres in Sylmar, CA. The motto of the Wildlife Waystation is Refuge, Healing, Education. It was an experience I'll never forget. Imagine standing in the midst of the Angeles National Forest, among chaparral, cactus, and wildflowers. Suddenly you hear a lion roar. Next, a peacock caws, followed by the hoot of two or three chimpanzees. It's out of place…

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