What's Growin' On Archives - Page 96 of 144

Woolly Pockets and shade tolerant plants make up this new garden.

School Garden Wonderland

School playgrounds in urban environments tend to be comprised more of concrete than soccer fields. Still there is always room for green. Kehillat Israel Early Childhood Center in Pacific Palisades, CA wanted to create more garden space for their kids to grow food and enjoy something green every day. They also wanted to clean up the space and make it more orderly. Enter Gardenerd. The playground (along with abundant tricycle parking) included a race track, craft tables, a jungle gym,…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 16, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Home grown poblanos ready for deliciousness

Recipe: Home Grown Chili Fries (Poblano Pepper Poppers)

We're up to our ears in Poblano Peppers from our second-year pepper plant. The little guy hardly produced last year, but over winter the plant started sprouting new leaves and by spring it had doubled in size and was full of flowers. So far we've made chile rellenos and roasted poblano quesadillas, but what else could we do? Chips. Something crunchy but healthy that didn't require roasting and peeling the skins. That's what I wanted. I found this: Rachel Ray's…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 10, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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We selected our hens from several stalls like this one.

New Hens in the House

Over the past year, we've lost 2 chickens for various reasons. Our remaining hens grew louder (we assume due to loneliness - they are social animals, after all) so we decided to bring in more chickens to enliven the party. Last week we made a trip out to Chickens Galore in Norco, CA to pick out three new hens to join the flock. We brought our research--a dog-eared book highlighting different breeds for the best egg layers, disposition, etc. The…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 9, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Is this a White Peacock? So beautiful.

Field Trip: Butterfly Pavilion

The Natural History Museum's Butterfly Pavilion is more than a place to see butterflies, it's a place to learn what to grow so you can attract them to your garden. I spent some time there last week taking in the beauty of the butterfly, and words just can't express it as well as a photograph. It's my first time using the "gallery" feature on this blog post, so forgive any formatting glitches when you try to click on the photos…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 3, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Spicy Zucchini Soup

Zucchini Overload? Spicy Zucchini Soup to the Rescue

You know the drill: you go away for a weekend and come back to baseball-bat sized zucchini. After you've given away as many as you can and your neighbors have stopped talking to you, there's only one thing you can do--make Spicy Zucchini Soup. This recipe is the perfect solution for zucchini overload because it uses 2 POUNDS of chopped zucchini (you don't have to shred or even peel it). It comes together in about 30 minutes and is perfect…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 2, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Hot weather crops get the sunniest part of the garden

Tiny But Mighty Venice Garden Makeover

Those who are familiar with Venice Beach, CA know that it's a great place to live, but the lots are tiny. Finding a place to garden is challenging and finding adequate sunlight can be even more of a challenge. Last month, Gardenerd helped one couple find the perfect solution to both issues. The homeowners were excited to take back control over their food sources, and wanted to grow as much as possible. The front yard was the only place that…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 26, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Bee on a cardoon

Field Trip: Edible Garden at Natural History Museum

Amongst the dinosaur bones, fossils, and taxidermy, there is a beautiful reason to step outside at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, CA: the Edible Garden (or Home Garden as they like to call it). You can see the expanse of fragrant and colorful roses from across the fence, but only in the Edible garden can you catch, marvel, and release insects of all sorts as you browse tasty heirlooms growing in abundance. Each plant is carefully marked to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 25, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Tassels can appear to be many shades, from purple to white

The Birds and the Bees: Corn Sex

It happens every day. Plants send up flowers, bees pollinate them and vegetables are born. But corn has its own way to doing things, bees not included. So how exactly does corn come to be? Let's explore: It all starts with a seed...but we'll skip that part and get to the juicy stuff. Jump ahead to when corn stalks are several feet high. Tassels start poking out from the top of the plant. The tassel floret - the male part…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 12, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
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Poona Kheera cucumbers start out green and spiky.

Growing Poona Kheera Cucumbers

With Monsanto's renegade GMO wheat in the news, the importance of growing and preserving heirloom and open pollinated seed is even more evident. Every year we plant and heirloom we've never grown, and this year it was the Poona Kheera cucumber. The Poona Kheera is an heirloom cucumber from India, where the fruit's heritage finds its origins. It's a light colored cucumber with skin that darkens to resemble a russet potato when ripe. How could any gardenerd resist something that…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 11, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:22 Comments

Finished product - shelf stable green onions

Preserving Green Onions

No matter how we try to use up green onions from the garden, we always end up either with too many in the fridge or overgrown, leek-sized onions taking up space in the garden. This week we did something about it. Now that the days are longer, we hauled out our trusty solar food dryer to put it to work for the season. In addition to making delicious flax chips again, we've christened the solar dryer this year with our…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 6, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:6 Comments