Squash Bug Battles

A question came in last week from a concerned gardenerd:

“As we start to thaw (and possibly refreeze this coming weekend) out here in NE TX, I’m planning my garden for 2011. We will be starting seeds this weekend and a friend has offered us the use of
their greenhouse, as long as we share our harvest – no problem. My question as I start planning, and remembering last year, what can be done about Squash Bugs? I lost the battle last year, due to a
back injury that put me in …

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Storing Garlic – Sprout Not, My Friend

A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:

“If I braid my garlic and hang it in my kitchen, how long will it keep? When I buy garlic and the store and put it in my fridge, it begins to sprout after a month or so. Will the same thing
happen to my braided garlic?”

Would you believe that it depends upon the variety of garlic you choose to grow?  The truth is that, like onions or apples, some varieties are known for better storage than others. …

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Gingerly We Grow

A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:

“Hi Christy, I want to try growing ginger in my zone 24 garden. I’m planning to start with a store bought (or farmer’s market if possible) piece. Do you have any experience or tips for growing
ginger? Thanks!”

I’ve grown ginger once before, when a neighbor at my community garden handed me a rhizome they had just pulled from their own garden. It had plenty of growth on it already, so I just

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Growing Broccoli – Italian Style

Each year it’s exciting to try growing new things. This fall we planted an Italian broccoli previously unexplored: Cavolo Broccolo a Getti di Napoli

That’s a mouthful. Basically it means that it’s a broccoli from Southern Italy, specifically Naples, that has a sprouting behavior. “Getti” literally means “jets” in Italian. It shoots out little
heads of broccoli, but more than that, the leaves are edible!

Broccolo a Getti di Napoli seeds

I picked up these seeds at the LA Garden Show at the …

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The New 2011 Spring/Summer Organic Seed Collection

This being the beginning of the holiday season, and the first day of Hanukkah, it felt only fitting to unveil the all-new 2011 Spring/Summer Organic Seed Collection from the
Gardenerd Store. Read about the great choices for your spring garden (makes a great gift or stocking stuffer!) and see why we chose them for your garden.

Who needs gold coins when you can have gardener’s gold like this instead:

All photos
courtesy of Seeds …

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Growing Swiss Chard – Nature’s Multivitamin

“Eat your greens.”  How many times did you hear that as a child?  If I had a dime for every time I sat in front of a cold plate of broccoli in
protest as a kid, I’d be a wealthy woman. Now, that has all changed.

I love Swiss Chard!  I admit, the residual resistance to wilted green things put me off trying Swiss chard until someone gifted me with a bouquet of it a few years ago (yes …

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Growing Christmas Lima Beans

At the end of the LA Garden show earlier this spring, my booth neighbor and fellow Gardenerd, Nysha Dalgren of Ardenwoods Edibles let me choose a plant or two to take home. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try something new, and a the tiny tendrils of a Christmas Lima Bean plant were calling out to me.

When I got home, I tucked the plant in behind a …

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My First Chile Relleno

It might seem crazy to grow something in the garden specifically for one dish, but when it comes down to it, there’s something to be said for seeing a meal
through from start – as in seedling – to finish. This is the case of our poblano peppers.

We grew poblanos for one reason and one reason only – to make chile rellenos. Not that I even knew how to make them, but it was about time to learn.

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