Potash Deficiency
A new question dropped into the Ask Gardenerd inbox this week: "Lovin' [your] podcast since 2009! My soil test recommends 15-0-15 for potash deficiency. Organic sources would be....what?
Gardenerd is Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter
Gardenerd's Christy Wilhelmi became a columnist for Mar Vista Patch.com this week writing the weekly Farmer's Market report, Mar Vista's Bounty Hunter. If you love the Mar Vista Farmer's Market like we do, you can sign up on Patch.com to get the latest news about what's fresh at the Farmer's Market delivered right to your inbox.
This week's story is all about the strawberries. Even if you don't live in the Los Angeles area, you'll find some great tips about ...
Growing Kale – Ironman of the Garden
There's a thing that happens when someone discovers kale for the first time. They become addicted to it. Well, maybe not addicted, but if their experience is anything like mine was, they can't get enough of it. My intro to kale was with Esalen's Raw Kale Salad and I've been growing kale ever since.
What kind of kale is best? It depends upon your preference. Many people like the color and texture of Italian kale, also known as Lacinato (laa-chee-nah-toe) or Dinosaur kale, and because it is not ...
Bamboo Insanity
Oh, the trouble with bamboo... here's a question that came in this week on the subject: "I attended a class of yours a few years ago. Since then, we had a planter built in my yard out of railroad ties. There was a think fabric base placed underneath to block out weeds and bugs. As we prepared for spring planting this week, we discovered that bamboo has infiltrated everything. It grew under the fabric base and worked it's way through…
Phytoremediation Update – Sad News
I'm supposed to be a garden guru with a bountiful garden year-round, right? When crops fail or disease sets in, my husband is thoughtful enough to remind me that a true gardener's approach to gardening is experimentation, and more specifically trial and error. So in the spirit of true gardening, I present my latest error.
You may remember that I spent the winter growing milk thistle and chicory in my community garden plot to remove some excess zinc from the soil. Included in the results from the initial soil ...
How’s that Broccoli Coming Along?
Experimentation yields results - just not always the results we expect. Such is the case with our trail planting of the Italian broccoli, Cavolo Broccolo a Getti di Napoli. The picture on the seed packet indicates that this sprouting broccoli is harvested mainly for it's leaves, but those leaves (and the shoots of sprouting broccoli) are reported to be slender and spear-like.
Well... not so much.
While it's true that this is a ...
Squash Bug Battles
A question came in last week from a concerned gardenerd:
"As we start to thaw (and possibly refreeze this coming weekend) out here in NE TX, I'm planning my garden for 2011. We will be starting seeds this weekend and a friend has offered us the use of their greenhouse, as long as we share our harvest - no problem. My question as I start planning, and remembering last year, what can be done about Squash Bugs? I lost the battle last year, due to a back injury that put me in ...
Ladybugs – Nature’s Aphid Brigade
For some unknown reason, my Swiss chard is covered - no, make that enveloped - with aphids. I have fed the plants with worm castings and compost and worm tea. I have sprayed them off with a strong hose blast. I have squished the aphids with my bare fingers. I have pleaded and begged for them to go away, to no avail.
My next plan, as a last resort before pulling out the chard, would be to try laying down a layer of tin foil around the base of each plant, to reflect ...
Storing Garlic – Sprout Not, My Friend
A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:
"If I braid my garlic and hang it in my kitchen, how long will it keep? When I buy garlic and the store and put it in my fridge, it begins to sprout after a month or so. Will the same thing happen to my braided garlic?"
Would you believe that it depends upon the variety of garlic you choose to grow? The truth is that, like onions or apples, some varieties are known for better storage than others. ...
False Garlic – you lie, you lie, you lie.
I don't know where it comes from, but it shows up in the strangest places. Unannounced, just after the rain, it pokes its slender leaves up through the soil to bring terror to the fastidious gardener. I'm talking about false garlic.
False garlic (Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth) is found primarily in California, Oregon and the Southeastern states, as well as some warmer parts of Europe. It's pretty, but don't be deceived. This little bugger will infest a garden and is ...