We used a pumpkin from a produce swap, spices and olive oil. That's it!
Recipe: Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Wedges
Fall isn't fall without pumpkins, and this recipe for Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Wedges really brings fall into focus.
Our pomegranates are turning red. They'll be ready in another week or so.
Wordless Wednesday: Fall Gardening Time
It really feels like fall now, as pumpkins appear on porches, leaves turn colors, and days are notably shorter. There's a chill in the air in the mornings as we walk through the garden. It's time for a change, time for fall gardening. Here's some inspiration as we transition to this new season. Kale, bok choy, broccoli, Romanesco, kohl rabi sprouts popped up in just a couple days. Need help starting from seed? Watch this video for two techniques. We…
Anna dons borrowed festival garb at the Heirloom Expo 2018. We chatted about powdery mildew, giant pumpkin techniques and more.
Podcast: Growing Squash with Anna Peach
I met Anna Peach years ago at the Heirloom Expo, so it's only fitting that we recorded a podcast at this year's Expo. Anna is a one-woman winter squash powerhouse, growing pumpkins and gourds for restaurants in Hawaii on her quarter-acre farm, Squash and Awe. Anna's research and persistence paid off, when she set out to grow pumpkins on an island plagued with pests and diseases (at the time Hawaii was importing 97% of their squash because they couldn't grow…
The last of our Black Futsu pumpkins are ready for harvest. It's pie time!
Wordless Wednesday: Fall Takes Over
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.
Our bare-root Pom gave us 6 fruits this year. A great effort for a tiny tree. Almost ready to harvest.
Wordless Wednesday: Fall Planting Time!
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!
Cooler temperatures means the kale can go in the ground. Protected with floating row cover (water and sunlight penetrate), our babies are ready to go.
Wordless Wednesday: RAIN!
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,…
Brassicas under grow lights
Too Hot to Plant
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…
Drill holes and set shallots on soil surface to start.
Planting Shallots
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…
Fuji apples ripen on our potted tree. Almost ready!
Wordless Wednesday: Fall Renewal
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.
Discoloration and thinning of the stem right above soil level is a sign of damping off.
Damping Off – What to do?
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…