We've had great guests on the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast this year. In our last episode of 2021, Christy shares her year-end thoughts from the year.
I know this sounds weird, but I feel like Gardenerd is fulfilling its mission now that Coronavirus is here. For more than a decade we've been sharing How-To knowledge for everything that would be handy to know right now.
Spring brings a renewed sense of hope to our daily lives. We spring clean, we clear out the cobwebs; out with the old, in with the new. Such is the…
As you pull out your tomato plants this fall, check the roots for galls. These are lumpy swellings that indicate that you might have nematodes living in your soil that are stunting the tomato plant's
growth. (You can learn more about it from our Got Nematodes podcast)
We had that problem last year so we planted Golden Guardian Marigolds, the roots of which contain a toxin that kills harmful nematodes. Now it's time to harvest the seeds and turn the crop under so
it can do its job.
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Low-level panic strikes when the pile of cucumbers from the garden starts to become overwhelming. What to do? If you've already made "spa water" with cucumber and orange slices in a pitcher of
water, and you've been scooping up hummus with sliced cucumbers every day, try an Indian side dish that will help dwindle down your supply.
Cucumber Raita (ra-yee-ta) is an Indian/Pakistani condiment made with yogurt that is usually used to cool the palate when eating spicy foods. It can have its own degree of spice, with mustard seeds
or paprika, ...
We get a lot of pest control questions at Ask Gardenerd. Here's one now:
"Hey Christy, Love your blog - thanks for all the great tips and pics! I live in Culver City and a year ago I turned my whole back yard into a garden with raised beds. I'm loving it but
have noticed lately I have TONS of earwigs. I think they're eating all my veggies, and strawberries for that matter. Any tips on getting rid of them? Everything I read says to put out cardboard
so they will congregate ...
A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:
"I am looking to purchase a variety of grain seeds. Not bulk, not for production? Yet. My goal is start growing and saving seeds from planter pots, as my yard is xeriscaped and I am in the
process of trying to sell my home. This way once I move I should have seeds for planting a small scale grain garden for personal use. Where can I find open-pollinated grain seeds that are not
planting a whole flappin' acre at a time?"
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A question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd:
"I was cycling in Silverlake and saw your garden you've setup for a greyish building! It looked great! I was especially intrigued by the interesting bean & tomato trellises you have. I
know this is technically "consulting", but where can I get my hands on some of those for my garden?"
You must mean the Dream Center Garden that I've been working on for over a year now. We
planted 24 tomatoes and nearly 100 peas in just ...
Maybe I'm a little anxious. Maybe I'm just ahead of the game. Really, though, I think I'm just excited about the coming of spring to the point that I can't hold it in any longer. See, I planted
squash and cucumbers - I KNOW, I know... it's early... I can't help it. It may still be blustery and chilly out there, but I've got a plan to make everything alright:
Cloches - home made cloches - will keep my cucurbits happy until the weather warms up.
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