What's Growin' On Archives - Page 98 of 142

Emerson Avenue Community Garden

Everything’s Better with Cob

Cob is a rustic building technique that dates back to pre-historic times. It combines sand, clay and straw, and is held together with water and an abundant supply of elbow grease. These ingredients are identical to adobe, but adobe is generally formed into bricks, then dried before application. Working with cob is essentially like playing in the mud. I had the pleasure of attending a cob workshop at Emerson Avenue Community Garden in Westchester, CA. Robert from EarthWorks Natural Building…

Post author:Christy
Post published:February 5, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

Group hive inspection

Field Trip: A Visit to a Bee Sanctuary

We're new to bee keeping, and while we enthusiastically raced out to buy equipment (bee suits, gloves, brush, hive tool, etc.), we have been lacking courage to open the hive and see what's going on in there. Until a recent trip to a bee sanctuary. Rob and Chelsea McFarland of Honeylove.org house upwards of 15 rescued hives in the hills of Moorpark, CA. Each month, they invite newbies and fellow bee keepers to come learn how to inspect the hives.…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 30, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

Mittens likes cover crops

Cats in the Garden: Our New Addition

There's a new member of our garden's ecosystem, and her name is Mittens. This little black and white cat arrived to our neighborhood in November, and has been courting us ever since. She won us over with her gentle regard and loving disposition, and the fact that she'd sit in my lap all day if I let her. Mittens investigated our back yard, watching our chickens but not attacking. That was the big test. If they could get along, she…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 29, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Finished Citrus Salt, ready for gifts.

Making Citrus Salt

This holiday season we gave gifts from the garden, which came primarily from our citrus trees. Sunset Magazine featured an easy home made gift idea that struck a chord: citrus salt. Sprinkle it on salads, meats, and in soups to brighten flavors just before serving. Here's how we did it. Ingredients 1 cup course flake salt (we used Penzeys - our favorite spice company) 3 Tbsp. citrus zest, any kind (we used lemon, lime and orange, divided) How-to: Combine salt…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 15, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:7 Comments

Parsnips, carrots, a purple sweet potato and Yukon potato

Roasted Winter Vegetable Jambalaya

Looking for a delicious way to cook up those winter vegetables? Look no further. This recipe from the November 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine cooks up a savory, satisfying jambalaya that rivals any meat version. Smoked paprika, cayenne and chili powder make it spicy, but not too hot. Roasted Winter Vegetable Jamabalaya -Serves 6 1 cup long-grain brown rice (we used short grain - worked fine) 2 large carrots, diced 2 medium parsnips, diced 1 small sweet potato, diced…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 9, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:4 Comments

Dirt Simple Compost Tea Brewer

2013 Gardening Resolutions

With each new year, gardeners vow to make changes or try new techniques (or remember old ones). 2013 shall be no different, and so we bring you Gardenerd's Gardening Resolutions for the new year. 1) De-Clutter - haven't used that stack of plastic pots in three years? It's time to let them go. Donate them to a school or recycle them through Freecycle or Craigslist. I'm cleaning out shredded bird netting, old balls of wire (collected from Christmas wreaths of…

Post author:Christy
Post published:January 8, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Chayote squash sprouted

The Chayote Squash Dilemma

Interesting things come in the monthly produce exchange, and last month it included one chayote squash. As it sat on the counter, it became more interesting. It sprouted. I've never eaten chayote squash before. It's usually cooked like summer squash, but the roots, leaves and stems are also edible. A quick glance at Wikipedia yields an abundance of ideas for using it in different ethnic cuisines: Uses for chayote squash But wait, there's more... Perhaps the most interesting part about…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 19, 2012
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:10 Comments

Navel orange

‘Tis the Season for Citrus

There's something special about sneaking outside in your bathrobe into the crisp, cool, fall air to pick a citrus breakfast off a tree: a fresh orange dripping with new fallen rain. December is when navel oranges really hits their stride, and lemons fall abundantly from the tree. Instead of installing a front lawn four years ago, we opted for a mini orchard of five trees. This week the navel orange and Meyer lemon have finally turned color and are ready…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 18, 2012
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

Pine needles for tea?

Oh Christmas Tree (+a Book Giveaway!)

This week we have a great guest blog post from Kami McBride, author of The Herbal Kitchen. I met Kami at the Heirloom Expo, where she was sharing her knowledge of healing remedies from the garden. Today Kami presents an interesting twist on the Christmas tree. Take it away Kami... Healing Qualities of the Evergreen Trees Decorating the Christmas tree is an ancient tradition from a time when various trees and plants were honored at different times of the year.…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 12, 2012
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:14 Comments

The family has 2 rabbits, and they plan to put up a barrier to protect the herb garden.

New Herb Garden

A call came in from a Santa Monica homeowner who had been wanting to put in a small herb garden for years. She had a busy life, and participated in a monthly CSA (community supported agriculture), so a full-sized vegetable garden wasn't necessary. She dreamed, though, of walking out her back door to harvest fresh herbs. With most of the back yard relegated for volleyball, we chose a corner of the yard for the herb garden. The homeowner wanted to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 11, 2012
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

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