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.
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…
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…
This will be my last post about the 2015 Heirloom Expo, but it's one that couldn't be left out. Every year the Heirloom Expo hosts a seed swap for those who have been saving seeds throughout the year. They bring their seeds to swap with other gardeners, hoping to find interesting varieties to take home and try this year. It's mayhem. It's wonderful. It's worth writing about. Baker Creek not only hosts the seed swap, but they hand out bargaining…
The 2015 Heirloom Expo was another huge success. I had the pleasure of giving a talk to a full house about Growing Food in the Drought. The rest of the time I was wandering amidst the beauty, sampling wholesome food, listening to top-notch bluegrass music, and meeting some of our fearless leaders in the movement toward seed freedom. Please allow me to gloat for a moment. Being a speaker (and having a blog) affords one the opportunity to chat with…
It's been 9 months since we planted the three Jerusalem Artichokes that had sprouted in the fridge. Now the plant has dried up and it's time to harvest. Most guide books tell you not to harvest until after frost, but here in Southern California things are different (heck, we planted in December, so that should tell you something). The flowers on our massive sunchoke stalk are long gone and the leaves and stems are crispy brown. The biodegradable pot has…
It's hard to keep the beauty of the Heirloom Expo to oneself. Enjoy a few images for the week: Stay tuned for more from the Heirloom Expo!
The Seed Library of Los Angeles recently hosted a dinner with visiting Qachuu Aloom Farmers as they journey up to the Heirloom Expo this coming week. David King at the Learning Garden (home of SLOLA meetings) invited me to attend, and learn about how these native Guatemalan farmers harvest and save seeds for amaranth and other crops. We got more than we bargained for during this dinner event. Not only did we eat well, but we learned tricks for how…
We grew ground cherries for the first time this year. Having been previously under the impression that they only grow in northern climates, ground cherries were never something we considered growing here in the south. Now that we're full-up on golden ground cherries, it's time to do something with them. Ground cherries taste like a tropical fruit crossed with a tomato. If you love sweet/savory combinations, you'll find this fascinating fruit. When making recipes, our goal is to make food…
Back in July we were up to our eyeballs in Santa Rosa plums raining from our front yard tree. We ate as fast as we could, but still there were about 60 plums on the counter at any given time. Drastic measures needed to be taken. Enter Plum Skillet Cake. Martha Stewart is good for one thing if nothing else: ideas for excessive amounts of fruit. Her recipes for plums run the gamut, offering a plethora of options for the…