What's Growin' On Archives - Page 82 of 142

Clockwise from upper left (2 of each plant): Renee's Mrs. Burns, Native Seed's Mrs. Burns (1 just sprouted), Salad Leaf Basil, Aurelia Basil, Opal Basil.

Experimental Spring: New Basils and More

Gardeners get bored, so we keep trying new varieties to keep things interesting. This spring at Gardenerd HQ, we're trying out several new seeds for 2015. We planted seeds a week or so ago, and now those seeds are sprouting and the excitement is really kicking in. Let's take a look: 4 types of basil (and 2 different strains of 1 cultivar) sit beautifully in their seed tray. Basil Every year we grow Renee's Garden Seeds Salad Leaf Basil. It's…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 24, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Scott's new book, Tomatomania! Grab your copy today.

Tomatomania is Here!

Scott Daigre began his tomato passion at Hortus Nursery back in the day, when gardeners would flock to Hortus's annual Tomatomania seedling sale. Once Hortus closed its doors, Scott took on the task of continuing the tradition, offering heirloom and hybrid tomato seedlings at Tomatomania events all over Southern California. Now Tomatomania is on the East Coast as well, and Scott has a new book to share with tomato lovers all over the world. TOMATOMANIA, A Fresh Approach to Celebrating…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 11, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Five Steps to a Beautiful Flagstone Ground Cover

Today we have a guest post from Dane O'Leary, a full-time freelance writer, lifestyles and design blogger, scientist, and humanitarian. His writing has been published in a variety of independent web and print publications. He has degrees in psychology and anthropology with additional study in journalism, graphic design, and public relations. Dane is currently also working on his debut novel. Good luck with the book, Dane, and take it away! 5 Steps to a Beautiful Flagstone Ground Cover We all…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 4, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:11 Comments

Dr. Elaine Ingham shares the amazing restoration work she's doing.

Urban Soil Summit Review – Part 1

If you've ever wanted to know how soil works and what's going on underground in your garden, a Soil Summit is a great place to start. It is impossible to summarize the whole of the Urban Soil Carbon Water Summit (Soil Summit for short) that I attended last week in one blog post. So I won't. I can, however, share the highlights from the first part of the first day which featured talks from Dr. Elaine Ingham and Ray Archuleta.…

Post author:Christy
Post published:March 3, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:8 Comments

Venice Green Expo is this Saturday

Local: Gardenerd @ Venice Green Expo

This one is for Angelenos. If you don't live here, go plant some seeds indoors and make sure all your tools are clean for spring. Soon it will be time to garden again. Now, onward... This Saturday, February 28, from 1-3p.m. I'll be doling out free gardening advice at the Venice Green Expo. They have an Eco Genius Bar, where you can stop by and ask questions of several experts on hand. I'll be answering gardening questions, so stop on…

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 25, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Lilac Verbena, verbena lilacina

Wordless Wednesday: California Natives in Bloom

Everyone else's winter is California's spring. Check out these California natives in bloom. And not a California native, but certainly a trademark of California: More to come!

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 18, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Is gardening still possible with an injured hand?

How To Garden While Injured

It happens to everyone at some point, we get injured. Injury brings garden progress to a halt. All those plans for fruit tree pruning, rose pruning, turning compost piles, etc., stop dead while injuries heal. Or do they? I recently had a little roller disco accident while celebrating a friend's 40th birthday. I think it's needless to say, at this point, that "40th" and "roller disco" probably shouldn't be uttered in the same sentence. But it happened, and I've been…

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 17, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:6 Comments

Honey Nut from Renee's Seeds

New Seed Favorites for 2015

Now that we've finished combing through the pile of seed catalogs that came in the mail over the holidays, we've made our list of new seeds we'll be planting this spring. It's a Gardenerd tradition to share our new seed favorites for each year. Let 2015 be no exception. Several of our selections came to us via seed saving: Marina di Chioggia David King at the Seed Library of Los Angeles handed out wedges of Marina di Chioggia squash last…

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 4, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Seed heads start to emerge from grassy stalks.

Growing White Sonora Wheat

Every year we experiment with growing a new grain, not only to enjoy it in the kitchen, but to generate biomass for the compost bin. This year we chose White Sonora Wheat, and heirloom wheat. According to Slow Food USA, White Sonora is "one of the oldest surviving wheat varieties anywhere in North America. Predating the Red Fife and Turkish Red wheat." Even small space gardeners can grow grains. In our 4x4 bed, the yield isn't high enough for a…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 28, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:10 Comments

Ours was #17. Would we win?

Field Trip: Honey Tasting Competition

You would never know how different honey can taste from hive to hive until you've tasted a few samples side by side. It's astounding, really. The flavor profiles range from grassy to floral to fruity, just like a good wine or chocolate. This past Sunday, beekeepers from all around submitted their honey for the Honeylove Honey Tasting Competition. There were jars sent from as far away as Nepal and as close by as our backyard. 17 samples in all, and…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 27, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment