If you've ever considered saving seeds, but have been too afraid to try, start by saving ornamental poppy seeds. Why? Saving poppy seeds is practically labor-free, is incredibly easy, and can be done in about a minute. We grew a beautiful variety this year that came unannounced in the mail from Botanical Interests Seeds. It's called Lauren's Grape. I'm never one to turn down a gift, especially if it's purple or burgundy. This poppy inspires instant happiness. Now the flowers…
Last week we got up close and personal with compost, or more specifically the microbes in compost. Now that we've determined that our compost is biologically active and suitable for brewing compost tea, we took the plunge. Earlier this year we received a compost tea brewer as a gift (and a great one at that - thanks Mom and Dad!). The brewer pumps air bubbles into the water to keep it oxygenated and promote the growth of the right kind…
It's eggplant time, so it's time to decide which side you're on: love it or hate it. If you're at all squeamish about the texture of eggplant (like yours truly) you'll want to try this recipe that does an excellent job of masking the vegetable's inherent sliminess. It appeared recently in Vegetarian Times magazine and it is proving to be a reputation-building recipe for dear old eggplant. We happened to have harvested several Japanese eggplant and a handful of green…
Nerd Alert: this blog post may cause irrational desire to look at compost under a microscope. Ever since I took Alane Weber's compost immersion workshop last year, I have been trying out the techniques I learned to make better compost. In our test garden, we've been building Active Batch Thermal compost piles as well as cold compost piles (slowly adding material over time) with plenty of water and a good balance of carbon and nitrogen materials. The results look good,…
By now you've probably heard of aquaponics and hydroponics--growing plants in water instead of soil. This week we have an interesting post from a guest blogger who explores aeroponics (growing plants in air and water). Our guest Linda Bailey is from housekeeping.org. She is a Texas-based writer who loves to write about housekeeping, green living, home décor, and more. She welcomes your comments at b.lindahousekeeping @ gmail.com. Take it away Linda... Aeroponics for the Home Do you want a garden…
We usually leave crafts to Martha Stewart, but this week we were invited to teach a class at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to show people how to turn just about anything into a garden planter. It's simple, just think outside the planter box. A walk down the isles of Habitat's ReStore was all it took to find household items that could be repurposed as a container. This amazing organization removes construction materials from homes as they are being demolished…
Our summer garden is growing strong, and since we've posted about new varieties and projects earlier in the season, I thought I'd post an update to share how things are going. We've seen successes and failures this year, but that hasn't stopped us from harvesting the bounty this summer. Take a look: Sure we have leaf miners and powdery mildew, but the Lakota squash is still beautiful and interesting in a summer garden. Our Poona Kheera cucumbers developed this amazing…
School playgrounds in urban environments tend to be comprised more of concrete than soccer fields. Still there is always room for green. Kehillat Israel Early Childhood Center in Pacific Palisades, CA wanted to create more garden space for their kids to grow food and enjoy something green every day. They also wanted to clean up the space and make it more orderly. Enter Gardenerd. The playground (along with abundant tricycle parking) included a race track, craft tables, a jungle gym,…
We're up to our ears in Poblano Peppers from our second-year pepper plant. The little guy hardly produced last year, but over winter the plant started sprouting new leaves and by spring it had doubled in size and was full of flowers. So far we've made chile rellenos and roasted poblano quesadillas, but what else could we do? Chips. Something crunchy but healthy that didn't require roasting and peeling the skins. That's what I wanted. I found this: Rachel Ray's…
Over the past year, we've lost 2 chickens for various reasons. Our remaining hens grew louder (we assume due to loneliness - they are social animals, after all) so we decided to bring in more chickens to enliven the party. Last week we made a trip out to Chickens Galore in Norco, CA to pick out three new hens to join the flock. We brought our research--a dog-eared book highlighting different breeds for the best egg layers, disposition, etc. The…