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Winter’s Bounty 2011

As the winter growing season is winding down, we’ve already planted some spring crops, and planned out the summer crops. There’s still one important thing to do, however, before we move on to spring:
appreciate winter’s bounty.

Even though we can see what’s growing above ground, there’s an element of surprise when harvesting root crops like carrots, parsnips and potatoes (okay – it’s a tuber, not a root crop). Students
always ask me how they will know when to pick their root vegetables. I tell them to run their index finger around the …

Seed Catalog Highlights

I love the sound of seed catalogs dropping into the mailbox. There’s a particular “clunk” of distinctive heft that only a thick garden catalog can make. I keep a pen close at
hand as I dog-ear the pages and circle interesting new varieties, dreaming of their vibrance in the garden.

This year heirloom varieties are popping up all over. The hunt for biodiversity is on, and we’re part of the plan for preservation. If you are into seed-saving, here are …

The Potato Experiment

I’ll admit it, I’ve never grown potatoes in the fall. It’s always been a spring thing for me. When some scary looking potatoes greeted me in the pantry the other day, however, that all changed. Our
Test Garden is chock-full of fall crops already, so there’s no room for potatoes, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. The Way of the Pot.

(Cue Zen Buddhist musical interlude)

Potatoes are well-known for being suitable for growing in containers. They can be grown in trash cans, burlap sacks, bags of …

Harvesting Garlic

Growing your own garlic is such a joy, and harvesting it can be even more fun. Each October we plant what turns out to be a year’s supply of
garlic in about 7 or 8 square feet (using the Square Foot Gardening method). Then we nurture the bulbs through winter and into spring. In late spring, which is May or June here in Los Angeles,
the foliage starts to turn brown and die back. We cut …

Woolly School Gardens Needs Your Vote!

Yes, Woolly School Gardens needs your vote, and I’ll tell you about that in just a minute, but first a little story:

On Tuesday, June 1st, I had the opportunity to help install two Woolly School Gardens at two neighboring schools in downtown Los Angeles. Together with a team of Woolly gardeners, we filled Pockets
with soil and planted food gardens for students to enjoy. We planted herbs like sage, chives (which some of the kids pronounced chee-vess), thyme, basil, rosemary and …

How to Grow Shallots

We received a question this week on Ask Gardenerd that we wanted to share: “I’m wondering when the best time to plant shallots is in SoCal.”

Telluride Farmer’s Market

For those who don’t know, Telluride, CO is one of the most active and environmentally aware communities in the U.S. Not only do they host countless festivals, like the Telluride Film Festival, MountainFilm Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, but they have a weekly farmer’s market that brings out the best of the town.

My husband and I wandered through on Friday morning when the sun was shining and the mountain was clearly in view.

…

Late Spring Harvest

With a tiny bit of rain drizzling down this morning, I harvested a few things from the garden. It’s very exciting on a number of levels.

The first requires a little story: I didn’t plant eggplant this year – I planted it last year. It was attacked by flea beetles early on and in fall when the time came to clear the raised bed, I decided to leave the plants because they were showing signs of new growth. So they overwintered, and when spring came they had grown to a very respectable size. Then they flowered and set …