What's Growin' On Archives - Page 77 of 142

Proven Winners plants came to the door one day.

Proven Winners Winner

Not to brag or anything, but apparently that's what I am: a Proven Winners winner. I won 8 plants from Proven Winners and a set of Corona pruners at the Garden Writers Association Symposium back in September. Rather than ship the plants in spring (which is what they usually do) I convinced Team Proven Winner that perennials are best planted in Southern California in the fall. They were game. So last week I opened the door to find a box…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 18, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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The new raised beds are still in a little bit of shade, but in the sunniest part of the yard. Surrounded by fruit trees and native plants.

Design: Front Yard Veggie Garden

We've been hard at work helping people get rid of their lawns in favor of edible front yard landscapes instead. Our latest garden is located inland where temperatures are high in summer, but large trees create a lot of shade; two conditions less than ideal for growing food. This new front yard veggie garden works around all that. The homeowners, both rabbis, wanted to incorporate as many of the Seven Mystic Fruits of Israel into their garden as would fit.…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 17, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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All-blue, russet and red potatoes are jewels from the garden.

The Martian and His Potatoes…and Mistakes

Everyone, I mean everyone told me, "You must see The Martian. He grows potatoes on Mars." So I went. It was well done, except for a couple things: 1) No one could possibly stay that positive in those circumstances, and 2) His potato-growing experiment most assuredly would have failed. Walking out of the theater, my husband asked how accurate the potato farming was. After counting on my fingers the errors made, his first words were, "They should've asked you." Let's…

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 10, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Artichoke hearts sold fresh, floating in water.

Field Trip: More Italy!

There's nothing quite so exotic as a farmers market in a foreign country. You get to see the staples of the local diet on display. Here in the US, we see peppers and eggplant and tomatoes just like in Italy, but the varieties are different and there's so much more. Radicchio, fennel, porcini mushrooms and chestnuts are readily available at Italian farmers markets right now. Just remember, the rules there are different: don't touch the produce, tell the vendor what…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 28, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Once those eggs hatch, the worm grows from tiny (above) to fat and juicy. They'll destroy your plants in a day.

Fall Planting is Here!

It's still hot here in Los Angeles, but there have been a few cooler days that we took advantage of to plant out our fall brassicas. If you're ready for fall planting, now is a good time. Seeds will germinate more quickly in warmer weather (if you keep the seed bed moist) and you'll be picking salad greens in no time. Here's what's growin' on right now in our Test Garden. Potatoes, onions, brassicas, spinach, celery and more: Seedlings grown…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 27, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Salad Leaf Basil

Recipe: Almond or Hemp Seed Pesto (Vegan)

It's wonderful to return from Italy to find the garden bursting with basil. This is cause for celebration! It's time to make more pesto to freeze for later use. Since one does not return from Italy thinner than one was before one left, we opted to make a vegan version of pesto using almonds or hemp seeds as the "cheese." We found a recipe from the Cafe Gratitude cookbook and whipped up a few batches. It's pretty easy, all you…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 21, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Fresh olives ready to be picked next week.

Field Trip: Villa Vignamaggio, Italy

We took a little break from gardening here in the states to visit the Chianti region in Italy for a friend's wedding last week. Little did we know we would be staying in a magnificent villa complete with organic vegetable garden. Meet Villa Vignamaggio. Villa Vignamaggio is everything a hopeless romantic could wish for: stately mansion, spectacular hilltop views, olive trees and grape vines everywhere, manicured gardens suitable for royalty. But while everyone else was busy fawning over all that…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 20, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Some home grown, some pilfered. All beautiful.

Wordless Wednesday: Harvest 2015

These are never really wordless, but you get the idea. Today is a celebration of a season passing, and a season's passion. Harvest time is satisfying, beautiful and temporary. Next we start fall crops. Here is a little of both. And what's next? Fall! What are you pulling from your garden these days? Post your haul / stash / treasures here.

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 14, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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One of several Pomegranate trees on the property.

Field Trip: Arlington Gardens, Pasadena

During the Garden Writers Association Symposium in September, bus loads of eager gardenerds stepped off to visit Arlington Gardens, an historic site in Pasadena, CA. It is "Pasadena's only designated public garden designed to demonstrate sustainable water-wise gardening in a Mediterranean climate." Boy, did it live up to that claim. In the middle of our drought, this garden was lush and thriving. Enjoy these photos, and then plan your visit. Walking around to the different "rooms" in the garden, we…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 13, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Renee's Purple Opal basil

Basil Trial: Our Favorite Basils

This summer we tested four new basil varieties against four of our favorites. That was a lot of basil! It was a grueling process (ha-ha) and as a result, we have many pints of pesto in the freezer for winter use. Basil is a hot weather crop, so its planting season is over, but you can use this trial to help guide you as seed catalogs begin to fill you mailbox. So many choices, here's what worked for us: Tested…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 6, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments