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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Well smack my fanny and call me Pearl! I just germinated tomato seeds that "expired" in 2000. What's the secret to prolonged seed vitality and successful germination? It's all about seed storage, baby. The truth is seeds don't expire. They lose viability if stored improperly. While most seed companies will tell you to replace seeds every 2-3 years, those seeds will keep for decades and will germinate when planted if kept in a cool, dark, and dry place. The germination…
The top requested subject on our New Year's survey was "What to Grow When." For those new to Gardenerd, we want you to know that every year--nay--every spring and fall, we publish our list of what to grow for the coming season. Often the information is buried in a Gardenerd Gazette, so here it is in easy-access form. It's spring, and for many climates that means it's time to plant cool season crops. If you live in an area where…
Last year, during a heat wave, Meredith of Snuggly Toes sent me a free, unsolicited pair of her alpaca fur shoe inserts to test out. Meredith runs a small farm in Oregon, and calls herself the "head pooper scooper and alpaca lover at Springtime Farms." Ever since I wrote about FiberShed I've been keen on supporting local fiber. When the package arrived, my first thought was "when will I ever need these in California." But then I remembered that my…
Nothing grows outside in Iceland in the winter. The land is blanketed with snow and scarcely a twig is visible for miles. Lava rock punches through the landscape and geysers power the entire island. Iceland gets 100% of its energy from either wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric power sources. And you can swim in the runoff as a health benefit. It's another world. I'll bet you're wondering why I'm writing about Iceland. I was there last week for a scant 2…