Read more about the article YouTube: Italian Vegetable Pronunciations
Do you know how to pronounce this kale? We'll show you.

YouTube: Italian Vegetable Pronunciations

Continue ReadingYouTube: Italian Vegetable Pronunciations

We hear people struggle to pronounce Italian vegetable varieties all the time. Chioggia, Lacinato, the list goes on. We're here to help. Yours truly studied the Italian language in college (okay, granted I can't remember most of it) but certain things stick. Learn our tricks for remembering these Italian vegetable pronunciations and you'll never forget how to say them again. Italian Vegetable Pronunciations Now that you've got it, here are some tips and tricks for using those words in action:…

Read more about the article Design: Southern Hemisphere Garden
Finished garden pops with color in front of the home's white background.

Design: Southern Hemisphere Garden

Continue ReadingDesign: Southern Hemisphere Garden

We recently completed a landscaping project for a homeowner from South Africa. He wanted a lush and colorful landscape that is drought tolerant and low maintenance. At the same time, he talked of turf grass and wispy foliage that reminded him of home. We brought his desires and needs together in this new landscape. Since we usually focus on edible gardens, we started with fruit trees in the front yard, then surrounded them with succulents and a combination of California…

Read more about the article Recipe: Cabbage Hot and Sour Soup
The thick mixture lives up to its name. Hot and sour and delicious.

Recipe: Cabbage Hot and Sour Soup

Continue ReadingRecipe: Cabbage Hot and Sour Soup

The tail end of a winter garden is marked by an abundance of cabbage. We've got enough to feed a small country at the moment, so we're reaching for our stock of cabbage recipes. While others focus on kimchi, we prefer to focus on the immediate. This green cabbage hot and sour soup is ready in 30 minutes or fewer.  It serves 8, so you'll have leftovers if your family is smaller than the Weasleys. Martha's Green Cabbage Hot and…

Read more about the article Fungal Wood Pile for Compost
Fungi growing on wood chips. Used for making fungal-dominant compost.

Fungal Wood Pile for Compost

Continue ReadingFungal Wood Pile for Compost

If you have issues like powdery mildew and blight in your garden, chances are you need more good fungi in your soil to combat the bad fungi. Our latest YouTube video shows you one easy and free way to inoculate wood chips, which can be used later in your compost bin to create fungal-dominant compost for your garden. Fungal is good! Dr. Elaine Ingham, who coined the phrase, "Soil Food Web," recommended this trick, so we tested it out last…

Read more about the article Wordless Wednesday: Winter into Spring
White Sonora wheat rises up for pollination.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter into Spring

Continue ReadingWordless Wednesday: Winter into Spring

March is a time of transition. Winter crops die, making room for spring seedlings. Volunteers poke through the soil and take a chance. We celebrate new life in the garden as the old fades away. We move from winter into spring. Start seeds, weed soils, add compost over bare soil, plan big and enjoy this transition from winter into spring!

Read more about the article Growing Artichokes From Seed
SLOLA's collection is small, so we are all growing out seed to increase availability.

Growing Artichokes From Seed

Continue ReadingGrowing Artichokes From Seed

Artichokes bring to mind the romantic rolling hills of Tuscany. In fact, during one of my trips to Italy, I photographed a box of baby purple artichokes (see below) at a Naples farmers market that captures the splendor and beauty of food in Italy. We have a Mediterranean climate here in Los Angeles, so artichokes grow as well here as they do in Italy. And while most people buy transplants at the nursery, growing artichokes from seed is not difficult.…

Read more about the article Favorite Seeds for Spring 2016
Anna Peach's Hawaiian Black Kabocha squash seeds.

Favorite Seeds for Spring 2016

Continue ReadingFavorite Seeds for Spring 2016

It's that time, gardenerds. Let seed-starting commence. You have your favorites, your tried and true varieties that you grow every year. So do we, but we get bored easily so we're always looking for new varieties to test out in our gardens. Each  year we discover new heirloom and open pollinated varieties that we haven't grown before. 2015 was a year of generosity. Many seed companies gave away free seeds and we took full advantage. Here are our favorite seeds…

Read more about the article YouTube: Growing Corn
Country Gentlemen Corn

YouTube: Growing Corn

Continue ReadingYouTube: Growing Corn

Spring is nearly here, and it's time to plant corn. Whether you like popcorn or sweet corn, it's fun and easy to grow. Just make sure you do it right. We're here to show you  how. Watch our latest video on growing corn and you'll be off to a good start. Once you've watched our video on growing corn. Check out these blog posts for more information: Growing Popcorn The Birds & the Bees: Corn Sex Interplanting Corn We've also…

Read more about the article Planting Bare Root Strawberries
Bare Root Strawberries arrive looking a little sad. A bundle of roots and dormant crowns.

Planting Bare Root Strawberries

Continue ReadingPlanting Bare Root Strawberries

Our strawberry patch thrived for about 7 years. We ignored common lore that you have to replace your strawberry plants every couple of years and did something different instead: every year or so, we'd lift the plants by the root ball, set them aside, then add 2 inches of compost and soil, then replant our existing berry plants. It worked like a charm for years. Recently they've grown tired (or maybe we have). Production has dropped, we forgot to refresh…

Read more about the article Valentine’s Day Gardening
Martha Stewart's team came up with this recipe nearly 20 years ago. It's still delicious.

Valentine’s Day Gardening

Continue ReadingValentine’s Day Gardening

We love our gardens. Much like we do with pets, many of us spend more money on gardening stuff than we do on essentials for ourselves (well, gardening stuff is essential, isn't it?). This year, whether you have someone to garden with or not, celebrate Valentine's Day in the garden. It falls on a Sunday, so there's no excuse. You don't have to buy a thing to celebrate Valentine's Day. Here are some of our favorite ideas for celebrating love…

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