What's Growin' On Archives - Page 92 of 142

A sign welcomes guests to the garden.

Field Trip: Quebec City Rooftop Garden – Les Jardins des Lauberiviere

One last stop on our tour of Quebec City's gardens: an impressive rooftop garden that anyone can replicate, at least in part. Les Jardins des Lauberiviere is a project that sits on top of a former hotel, and is now Quebec City's largest homeless shelter. Not only does this shelter provide a home for its residents, but the 6,000 square foot rooftop garden produces 1.5 tons of vegetables each year. The project was installed by Les Urbainculteurs, a non-profit organization…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 10, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Tomatoes, peppers, onion and cilantro are simple ingredients to this simple salsa

Recipe: Summer Salsa

Last month's Westside Produce Exchange was amazing. The haul was beyond belief. Each person left with a bag filled with summer produce that rivaled any farmers' market. I brought poblano peppers and in exchange I received tomatoes, peppers, peaches, zucchini, onions, basil and more. All handed out in abundance, all for free. If you've never heard of a produce exchange, check out our previous blog post about it. It's a great way to distribute your excess to friends and to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 4, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Rouge Vif e’Etampes much like the one we grew this year

When Life Gives You Destruction: The Pumpkin Massacre

Each year, we grow our own pumpkins for Halloween and winter pumpkin puree-based desserts. Most years it goes well, but this year's results left much to be desired. It all started out so good... We planted Rouge Vif e’Etampes (AKA Cinderella's Carriage) and despite our gloomy overcast summer dishing out gobs of powdery mildew, they thrived. We had three pumpkins in one cluster growing gangbusters. Then, well past the point of pollination infancy, one 5" small pumpkin withered and fell…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 3, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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A Simple Guide To Digging A Sustainable Garden Pond

This week we have a guest blogger talking about a subject we haven't covered here at Gardenerd: ponds. Ricky Peterson is a nature lover who likes to walk in the woods and generally spend time outdoors. He loves his garden and, unlike some of us, like sharing it with lots of wildlife. Ricky works for Swallow Aquatics, selling pond supplies to keep home ponds aerated and healthy. He's here to share his knowledge about DIY pond construction. Take it away…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 28, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Field Trip: Quebec City Community Gardens

Community gardens are glorious to me. The diversity of each member, the variety of aesthetic design choices, and the ingenuity of cramming as much as possible into one plot is inspiring. During my trip to Quebec City, we visited one such garden that keeps flooding my memory. Here's a tour: The garden was established in 1982, which makes it Quebec City's oldest and largest community garden. The residents came together to create an organic garden where they could grow healthy…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 27, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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A different kind of butterfly garden

Field Trip: Quebec City Gardens – Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens

You are about to be transported to a place of lush beauty, where rainfall is abundant but the growing season is short (only 4 months). Given these circumstances, the Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens in Quebec City celebrate every moment with color, fragrance and texture. At first glance you wouldn't know it was a garden. The entrance presents a metal and glass building that looks more like a laboratory than a botanical garden. Indeed, inside were rows of plants…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 21, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Field Trip: Apricot Lane Farms

I had the pleasure of not only visiting Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, CA last week, I spent 2 hours working in their amazing vegetable garden. It was the kind of experience that gives one hope for a brighter future. Apricot Lane Farms is 130 acres of glorious symbiosis. Established in 2011, this new biodynamic farm is taking sustainability to the highest level. And <<inner child squealing with glee>> they have Hairy Coos (Scottish Highland long-haired cows--AKA walking teddy bears…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 14, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Saving Poppy Seeds

If you've ever considered saving seeds, but have been too afraid to try, start by saving ornamental poppy seeds. Why? Saving poppy seeds is practically labor-free, is incredibly easy, and can be done in about a minute. We grew a beautiful variety this year that came unannounced in the mail from Botanical Interests Seeds. It's called Lauren's Grape. I'm never one to turn down a gift, especially if it's purple or burgundy. This poppy inspires instant happiness. Now the flowers…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 13, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Air tubes run along the metal frame

Brewing Compost Tea

Last week we got up close and personal with compost, or more specifically the microbes in compost. Now that we've determined that our compost is biologically active and suitable for brewing compost tea, we took the plunge. Earlier this year we received a compost tea brewer as a gift (and a great one at that - thanks Mom and Dad!). The brewer pumps air bubbles into the water to keep it oxygenated and promote the growth of the right kind…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 7, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Colors pop and flavors explode when combining green beans, eggplant and the garlic/onion/ginger mixture

Recipe: Eggplant Stir-fry with Green Beans and Cashews

It's eggplant time, so it's time to decide which side you're on: love it or hate it. If you're at all squeamish about the texture of eggplant (like yours truly) you'll want to try this recipe that does an excellent job of masking the vegetable's inherent sliminess. It appeared recently in Vegetarian Times magazine and it is proving to be a reputation-building recipe for dear old eggplant. We happened to have harvested several Japanese eggplant and a handful of green…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 6, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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