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Gardenerd at Esalen

As I write this, I’m sitting in the lodge at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. When last I was here, I was particpating in a 5-rhythms workshop. This time I’m on the teaching side of things. Like a miracle that fell in my lap, I was invited to co-teach a workshop on the Heart of Organic Gardening with Shirley Ward, the fabulous woman in charge of the farm and garden at Esalen. With Shirley and a few other guest teachers, we’ve been immersed in the wonder of Esalen’s soil structure, composting production, seed-starting and transplanting schedule, …

Saving Money through Gardening

This morning an article appeared in my inbox from Kitchen Gardeners International that I thought I would share. It felt appropriate to post it because the main question that was asked of those of us who participated in the recent Nightline interview was, “Does this save you money?” While I couldn’t really summarize the ways in which home growing saves me money, this article really nails down an concrete answer. Enjoy!

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Planting a Nectarine Tree

For those who have been tracking our landscaping project, you might recall there are 5 spaces for fruit trees in the front yard, and only 4 trees. On Christmas Eve, the final addition arrived via FedEx (upside-down, despite the multiple appearances of “up” arrows all over the box, thank you very much). Our Fantasia semi-dwarf nectarine arrived virtually safe and sound, with only a couple of broken branches. Admittedly, I had never planted a bare root fruit tree before. I’ve killed a couple bare root roses in the past, so …

A Nursery Full of Babies

Shhhhhh… they’re sleeping. Actually, they’re not sleeping, they’re growing big and strong.

Dumpster Diving for Coffee Grounds

What would make a person don gloves and a shovel to dig through a dumpster for coffee grounds? This isn’t a case of being thrifty, like the nuns in my grade school who would
re-use tea bags and tissues until they disintegrated. No, I’m not making weak coffee with old filters and spent grounds here. I have bigger plans.

Coffee grounds are a highly coveted commodity both before and after they’re used. Walk by any Starbucks and the lines out the door (or in the drive through) will tell the tale. It’s the
“after” part that leaves most people hanging. Why …

A New Member of the Family

Yesterday we went and picked up a new member of the family. No, we didn’t adopt a child. We went to the City of Los Angeles’ Compost Workshop and Bin Sale. It was
a very exciting day for us. We’ve been waiting for this moment for many months.

We drove to Burbank, exiting the 134 Freeway at Griffith Park Drive. We found ourselves trailing behind a tanker truck going about 5 miles an hour, so there was plenty to time to take in the
scenic beauty of this expansive park. People were out jogging or walking their dogs, while other folks were riding …

A Gardenerd’s Christmas List

Each year in late September, I get a familiar e-mail. It’s from my mother and it goes something like this:

All right everybody, it’s time to start making your Christmas lists. You’re not allowed to buy anything for yourselves from September ’til January. Write it down instead and send it to
us. You may see it under the tree in December.

Okay, let’s call what I wrote above an amalgam of what my mother has said over the years. At this point the e-mail is much shorter. It just says, “Lists please!” Every
year, I think two things. …

Dirty soil

A new member of the Gardenerd community writes in:

“I just recently moved into a newly constructed house and would love to have a garden in the backyard. However, the soil around the house is filled with chemicals from the construction process. I
plan on removing about 2 and a half feet of dirt, covering it with organic compost, and letting the sun (heat) and oxygen do its thing so I can plant in march. Is this enough? Should I be doing
something else?”

Firstly, congratulations on your new house! I think a garden is a perfect choice (but then again, …