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Herb Haven

This helpful tip will keep your freshly harvested herbs in tip top shape until you're ready to use them.

I’ve got the Tomato Blues

Here’s the second part of our new gardenerd’s question:

“I buy organic and local produce here [in Paso Robles], but my heart’s desire is to grow most of my own veggies. I also want to do so organically, without using
pesticides. I have tried the last two years with truly disastrous results and I’m really discouraged. I’m thankful I found this site as I’m hoping it will assist me in trying again.
I especially crave homegrown heirloom tomatoes. I finally did 3 plants in pots last year and they had bugs galore and then this horrible rotten part at …

Picking in the Rain

I don’t like being cold and wet. I’m pretty clear about that. There is one time, however, when I actually go out of my way to lose all
feeling in my hands and soak myself to the bone – harvesting in the rain.

There’s nothing quite like the smell of wet soil and ozone mixing together as you tromp through the mud. Sticking your hands into an overgrowth of leaves to pick plump peas is somehow more
satisfying than when all is dry. Seeing leaves weighed down with rain, they emit a dark green that only comes to …

Winter Solstice

Today, December 22nd, is Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere. The shortest day and longest night of the year. From here on out, the
days get longer until Summer Solstice in June. What a glorious thing to look forward to.

In celebration of the solstices and equinoxes, I try to spend time out in nature, and today was no exception. I spent the morning in my garden at Ocean View Farms. Since the last few
days included heavy rain and wind, I was wondering what I’d find when I got there. To my surprise, everything was still in …

What to do with all that Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is a winter squash, which means that unlike zucchini and yellow
crookneck squash, it will last in your cellar or pantry all winter long. Other
winter squashes include pumpkin, acorn, Hubbard (the squash that get so large,
it is supposed to cure world hunger), spaghetti and the
heirloom Delicata.

Harvesting butternut squash in the
fall is one of most satisfying experiences in the garden. You’ve waited
all summer long for the skin’s color to change from pale green to creamy
beige. You’ve watched as the leaves start to turn brown and whither …

Raised Beds – Part 3 continued – If you build it…

Do you ever have one of those moments when you realize that you probably should have done something in a different order than you’ve done it? Well, such is the
case with our raised bed project this weekend. Our neighbor, a retired contractor, stopped by to see what all the sawing and hammering was about. He took one look at our beautiful
grouping of raised beds and said, “you’re gonna need a border to level all that dirt.” As much as I wanted to ignore his words, I knew he was right. The area where the old raised
beds …

Raised Beds – Part 2 – Design

You may have caught the last edition of Raised Beds Part 1, where we talked about materials for building raised beds. Now we move on to Part 2 –
Design.

There are an infinite assortment of ideas in the world for raised beds. I happen to be, much to my husband’s chagrin, severely influenced by formal English gardens with closely trimmed boxwood
hedges and topiaries and espaliered fig trees on the wall. We have a ranch house, so that kind of formality doesn’t fly in our back yard. However, I really really wanted something that
made my heart …

Caution: Fall Garden in Progress

After a previous year of not planting too much due to a home remodel, I was heart set on getting seeds in the ground for this, my favorite planting season.
It’s a process, but one I’m enjoying immensely. In warmer climates or in cold frames in colder ones, you can enjoy some of the best vegetables of the year starting now, and watching them
grow from seed to harvest is one of the most rewarding experiences I know. Here’s what I have planted so far in my fall garden:

Raised bed #1
Sugar Snap Peas (they share a space with a …