In this, our last installment about Seed School we explore the economic and political makeup of seeds in our world. For me, this is the real reason we need to save seed and preserve species. On our final day, we were asked to brainstorm about how to solve problems on a local level, as well as a global one. As gardeners we know that local action is sometimes the only thing that makes a difference. Community gardens, for example, have…
I ran across this poem a friend wrote several years ago. I read it through again and felt it went right to the heart of what every gardener must be feeling in anticipation of spring. The excitement of new journeys, the fear of failure (yet again), and the burning desire to get out there in the garden right now; all of these feelings are swirling about. This poem reminds us that patience, trial and error, and suspense are all part of…
Cats love chewing on grass. And corn seedlings, apparently (ugh!). And young cover crops (double ugh.) In order to keep Mittens out of the raised beds, we've planted a flat of cat grass just for her. She's enthralled. The convergence of two things brought this on: free Cat Treats, Mixed Gourmet Greens grass seeds arriving from Renee's Garden Seeds (thanks, Renee's Media Kit 2014), and some freshly germinated Sonora White Wheat from our germination test at Seed School. Renee's Cat…
We're back with more about our week in Seed School. (In case you missed the first post, click here.) Later in the week, we delved more into the wonders of seeds with dissection, genetics and seed cleaning. So...let's go to seed school again. Plants are marvelous things, all very different. We were given the charge to look closely at the male and female parts of flowers in order to understand the process of pollination. Once again, when the hand-outs landed…
I had the pleasure of participating in a 6-day workshop all about seeds, presented by the folks at Native Seeds/Search. More than 30 gardenerds gathered to learn as much as we could, and we were not disappointed. We covered everything from plant genetics (for breeding and plant purity) and plant sex (plant parts), to saving seeds (stomping and screens included) and starting seed libraries. What a ride! So here's a quick review of Part 1 - let's go to seed…
Today we are joined by Jeriann Watkins, our guest blogger. Jeriann is a writer and self-proclaimed chronic procrastinator who is trying to make her life more intentional by focusing on vegetable gardening, making her own cleaning products, and other frugal living tactics. She's come to Gardenerd to share her strategy for eating and shopping from the garden. Take it away Jeriann! Shopping from Your Garden This year I’ve decided to focus on living frugally and paying off my student loan…
Our latest video on rose pruning is live and ready to help you get your roses in shape for spring. We show you 4 easy steps to guide you through the process, ease fears and keep your roses healthy. While this video was shot in January, you can still take care of your rose pruning tasks in February, and even after they start sending out new growth if you're really behind. Just do it soon and you'll be rewarded with…
As much of the country is covered with snow, or too soggy to start spring gardening, the warm-winter gardener is reaping the blessings of mild temperatures. Winter's bounty is a basket of root crops, greens and peas. Take a look at what we're harvesting from this season's Test Garden (p.s. we're not bragging. There have been plenty of failures due to drought conditions and heat waves, but these pictures are too colorful not to share). Our kale may be full…
Some people have been asking for a chicken update, and since we haven't posted about them in awhile, it seemed like the perfect time. For those new to the blog, here's our original post about our new girls from last July. Meet the girls (from right to left): Wilma the Wellsummer, Anabelle the Americauna, and Sylvia the Silver-laced Wyandotte. These beautiful birds are, as you can see, quite full of personality. As they have grown we've enjoyed watching their quirks…
Every once in awhile someone hires Gardenerd to landscape their property, not to install a vegetable garden. This particular client already had a thriving vegetable garden, but wanted new landscaping to create an oasis in the city. Here were her issues: Her front yard consisted of lawn and a hodge podge of treasured plants discovered over the years. Many of the plants required more sun than was available, so they stretched out toward the light, making them leggy and sprawling.…