Fall is here, cooler days are on the horizon and fall planting is well under way. (Full disclosure: I wrote this before election results came in so I'm assuming we'll all need a palette cleanser after all the stress.) Here are some highlights from the Gardenerd Test Garden this week.
Fall is here and it's time to change beds from summer to cool-weather crops. Peppers are hanging on, but kales and lettuces are making their way into the picture. Celebrate these transitions as fall planting time comes on. For help figuring out what to plant this fall, read our Fall Planting Guide (scroll down). Add compost to your beds, grab your seeds, and plant something!
Los Angeles saw its first real rain yesterday, a bit later than usual, but still in October. It may have lasted for only 20 minutes, but it was enough to wash off the roof for clean rain water collection later this week. Fall is finally here! In celebration, here are pictures of plants with real live rain dripping off the leaves, plus a few other activities for fall gardening. Fall is here - plant cool season veggies, build compost piles,…
Twenty five years ago, when I started gardening in Southern California, we planted cool weather crops in September. As Climate Change increased, September became too hot to plant. Now we plant brassicas, lettuces, alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, etc.) and root veggies in October. No...wait. Now October is too hot to plant. It's October 25th and it's going to be 95 degrees on the westside. This post is for those experiencing this weather in lower latitudes. Last year we didn't plant…
It's fall, which means it's the perfect time to plant shallots, onions, and garlic. All of these delicious alliums grow over winter and bulb up in spring, then we harvest in late spring or early summer. It's easy to grow a decent amount of shallots in a small space. We use Square Foot Gardening methods of spacing (4 per square foot for larger bulbs, 9 per square foot for smaller). Here's how to do it: Planting Shallots Start by prepping…
It's hard to write about gardening with the news of the Las Vegas massacre and Tom Petty's death, but here's a little fall gardening sunshine to help soothe the soul. A new season brings new life. Let's celebrate what we can, and grow a better world together. On days when it feels like the world should stop turning, we can be grateful that nature has our back. She goes on when we can't.
The most exciting thing in the garden this time of year is the ritual of starting seeds for fall, but nothing bursts your bubble like damping off. What is damping off? It's when seedlings are overtaken by a pathogen (a fungus or mold) that damages them to the point of failure. Let's take a closer look. Damping Off Sucks When you put moisture, soil, and light together, you get germination. You may also get diseases. Damping off occurs under a…
It's fall, and garden installations are top on our list. Last week we created a starter garden for a health-conscious couple and their young boys. They all want to know where their food comes from, and this first garden is a great way to learn. Since theirs is a household of boys, our garden needed to be protected from soccer balls, water guns, and general rambunctiousness. We chose the neat and clean lines of portable cedar planters, that elevate the…
There's nothing quite so exotic as a farmers market in a foreign country. You get to see the staples of the local diet on display. Here in the US, we see peppers and eggplant and tomatoes just like in Italy, but the varieties are different and there's so much more. Radicchio, fennel, porcini mushrooms and chestnuts are readily available at Italian farmers markets right now. Just remember, the rules there are different: don't touch the produce, tell the vendor what…
These are never really wordless, but you get the idea. Today is a celebration of a season passing, and a season's passion. Harvest time is satisfying, beautiful and temporary. Next we start fall crops. Here is a little of both. And what's next? Fall! What are you pulling from your garden these days? Post your haul / stash / treasures here.