What's Growin' On Archives - Page 61 of 142

A swarm of bees in a tree.

YouTube: Rescuing a Feral Bee Swarm

It's spring, evidenced by the sudden appearance of bee swarms everywhere. I've received 3 requests from friends in the last 2 weeks to help find someone to rescue a bee colony that has swarmed into their backyard, water meter, or nearby tree. And then one showed up at Gardenerd HQ. Bee swarm rescues should be done by professionals, or at the very least, a beekeeper who has all the proper equipment on hand: A bee suit with veil and gloves…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 18, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

The completed garden will feed the family tasty vegetables year after year.

New Edible Space-Filler Garden

Our latest project came together quickly. The client's yard had been remodeled a few years back, and the designer left a flat patch of mulch for a future vegetable garden. Enter our space-filler garden. The client has two dogs, so she wanted taller beds to keep the dogs from jumping into the veggie patch. We installed 4 18" tall raised beds with room for doggies to walk around between them. The garden gets a little morning and late-afternoon shade, but…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 17, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Loofah seedling is ready to be planted out after hardening off.

Wordless Wednesday – Spring Planting

Busy times, people. Spring planting is on! We're planting gardens (our own and clients'). Squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, basil, and edamame are all going in the ground. Some from seed, some as transplants. It's that anxious waiting game to see what will sprout. What a great time to be alive! Enjoy these moments every day. Here's what's growin' on in our spring Test Garden these days. Get out there and plant something!

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 11, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Still life with celeriac

From Harvesting Celeriac to Celeriac Soup

We grew celeriac for the first time this winter, inspired by a celeriac soup we tasted a couple years ago. It grows like celery but the part you eat is underground, rather than the stalks above. Don't get me wrong, the whole plant is edible, but celeriac was bred for the root, so that's our focus today. Celeriac is ready to harvest around the same time as celery. The identifying factor is when the shoulders of the root are visible…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 10, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:4 Comments

The All New Gardenerd Tip Of the Week Podcast

Spring brings a renewed sense of hope to our daily lives. We spring clean, we clear out the cobwebs; out with the old, in with the new. Such is the case with the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast. For 10 years, we posted a weekly tip in 2-minutes or less. We ranked in the Top 5 gardening podcasts the entire time. It was fun, but after 10 years and 473 podcasts (and a book compiling all of those into…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 28, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Captured in the perfect Charlie's Angels pose: meet (left to right) Mildred, Olive, and Betty.

Spring Chickens!

We have a new addition to the Gardenerd family: three spring chickens! Our three existing ladies are nearing retirement age, though they are still productive, and we wanted a boost in our supply. We've never raised chickens from chicks before, we've always purchased 10-14 week-old pullets, so this is new for us. We jumped in head first, with the guidance of the folks at Malibu Feed Bin. We didn't have any equipment for raising chicks, but knew they needed a…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 27, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Blue hyacinth awakens in an abandoned pot.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Spring!

Spring is officially here! To celebrate, we're sharing some photos from the garden. Wisteria is blooming, hummingbirds are whizzing by, and flowers are attracting pollinators. It's a beautiful time to be still in the garden. Enjoy spring to its fullest! It's time to prep beds for planting. It's time to turn compost piles. It's time to get your hands in the dirt. Plant something (indoors or outside, whichever works for you). Eat salad greens, pick fruit, watch flowers bloom. Feel…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 21, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Fuji apples ripen on our potted tree. Almost ready!

YouTube: Save a Pot-Bound Tree (or Plant)

Have you ever brought home a fruit tree or plant without knowing where it will go in your yard? Have you planted it in a temporary pot with every intention of moving it up to something bigger someday? Better yet, plant it in the ground? Our new YouTube video shows you how to rescue a pot-bound tree or plant that has grown through the drainage hole, or has grown too large for its pot. This step by step video takes…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 20, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Organic Pest Control

We write a lot about pest control from an organic perspective, but you might not notice. You might expect us to talk about which USDA organic sprays to use, but we don't do that lately here at Gardenerd (our older posts include sprays and powders that are OMRI and USDA approved). Instead, we focus on soil health, physical barriers, using microbiology to build a healthier garden with less work, and a few traps to catch critters that won't go away…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 14, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Review: Grow What You Love by Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy is known for her website Pass The Pistil, where she shares home-grown gardening tips and seasonal ideas for food and wellness. She's also a photographer who's work shines through in her new book Grow What You Love: 12 Food Plant Families to Change Your Life. In the interest of full disclosure, Emily and I are friends on social media, where we #FF each other regularly. I offered to write a review of her new book in a Twitter…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 13, 2018
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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