What's Growin' On Archives - Page 64 of 142

They're perfect and beautiful, just slow to mature.

Fall is about Patience

File this post under philosophical ruminations. As the holidays careen toward us, we might feel a twinge of anxiety to hurry up and plant the garden, or to harvest, or to shut it down for the season, depending on where you live. The urge to rush through the process before holiday craziness arrives is strong. We planted our fall crops in stages as the weather cooled down (really it was more like a raid on the garden. As soon as…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 8, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Long tables sloped up the hill. We sat listing to one side but the food more than made up for it.

Review: Outstanding in the Field

You've probably heard of them, these renowned dinners with elaborate, farm-fresh menus eaten on long-tables in the middle of a field somewhere. Outstanding in the Field (OITF) dinners are a feat of catering genius that bring people together for a cause. I was lucky to attend one at my very own Ocean View Farms last week as the sun dipped below the horizon. OITF's mission "is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 7, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Cooler temperatures means the kale can go in the ground. Protected with floating row cover (water and sunlight penetrate), our babies are ready to go.

Wordless Wednesday: RAIN!

Los Angeles saw its first real rain yesterday, a bit later than usual, but still in October. It may have lasted for only 20 minutes, but it was enough to wash off the roof for clean rain water collection later this week. Fall is finally here! In celebration, here are pictures of plants with real live rain dripping off the leaves, plus a few other activities for fall gardening. Fall is here - plant cool season veggies, build compost piles,…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 1, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Wasted aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food.

Review: Wasted! The Story of Food Waste

Last week, I attended a screening of Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, a new film from Executive Producer Anthony Bourdain and other concerned citizens. The film "exposes the criminality of food waste and how it’s directly contributing to climate change, and shows how each of us can make small changes – all of them delicious – to solve one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century." For most of us in attendance, it was preaching to the choir, but for…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 24, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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We relocated another sculpture at the entrance of the new garden as a humble greeter.

A Sleek, Modern Garden

We specialize in small-space gardening here at Gardenerd. Our latest project makes use of a 10' x 12' passageway for a couple who wanted to grow veggies, herbs, berries, and fruit trees. We found space for everything they wanted somewhere on the property. Before The front yard provided the only full-sun exposure on the property. Our job was to find a way to install raised beds without blocking access to the front yard seating area. We had room for 4…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 18, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Green and partly green tomatoes can be ripened easily.

Ripening Green Tomatoes

When a client mentioned that she still has a ton of green tomatoes on her plants, but needs to pull them to make room for fall crops, it occurred to me that not everyone knows the old newspaper trick for ripening tomatoes. So here it is: Ripening Green Tomatoes Take a sheet from any black and white printed newspaper section that you don't read. Place a single tomato (or a small group) on the newspaper. Wrap the tomato (or group…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 11, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Drill holes and set shallots on soil surface to start.

Planting Shallots

It's fall, which means it's the perfect time to plant shallots, onions, and garlic. All of these delicious alliums grow over winter and bulb up in spring, then we harvest in late spring or early summer. It's easy to grow a decent amount of shallots in a small space. We use Square Foot Gardening methods of spacing (4 per square foot for larger bulbs, 9 per square foot for smaller). Here's how to do it: Planting Shallots Start by prepping…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 10, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Fuji apples ripen on our potted tree. Almost ready!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Renewal

It's hard to write about gardening with the news of the Las Vegas massacre and Tom Petty's death, but here's a little fall gardening sunshine to help soothe the soul. A new season brings new life. Let's celebrate what we can, and grow a better world together. On days when it feels like the world should stop turning, we can be grateful that nature has our back. She goes on when we can't.

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 4, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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A small but proud harvest

Homegrown Goji Berries

Our first year of growing experimental goji berries comes to a close and we actually have something to show for it. Some readers may recall that we won two goji berry plants at the Garden Writers Association Symposium in 2015. It took a year for the plants to get established and 2017 was the first for fruit production. This week we harvested and dried our own goji berries. Here's how: The Harvest The harvest was small, but enough to claim…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 3, 2017
Post category:Blog Sage Advice What's Growin' On
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This potatoes has at least 1 eye that is long enough to plant.

Sprouting Seed Potatoes

White potatoes get a bum wrap, but they are the most delicious tuber to grow in your own backyard. Not only that, they are easy and fun to grow, especially if you have children. From sprouting your own seed potatoes to digging for buried treasure, growing potatoes provides wonder and joy for kids and adults alike. First things first - sprouting seed potatoes Potatoes grow from potatoes, so it's easy to start your own. You may even have skanky potatoes…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 27, 2017
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:17 Comments