Santa was very good to me this year. I got the Worm Factory that I wished for, and we couldn't wait to move our worms to their new home. My husband and I
carefully read through the instructions that were included with the Factory and found it very informative - above and beyond the usual information that you might see in a vermiculture
pamphlet.
We assembled the unit, and then moved on ...
While developing the Gardenerd Hand Care Kit, I met Sue Dwiggins. She's a blender - an aromatherapy specialist with a company called Essential Three. She and her sister happened to be in town and were helping out at Soaptopia when the owners of the shop and I were working out the details
of the new product. They helped create the signature scent that is in the Gardenerd Hand Care Kit.
...
And so we continue with the adventures in Willits, CA during the 3-day Grow BioIntensive workshop...
The workshop took place in a most unusual location, what I can only describe as an intentional community of horse people. There were homes and stables
(in fact, this is where Sea Biscuit used to live back in the day), but it was isolated from the main highway and was centered around a faith-based community gathering space where our little garden
class took place.
...
I'm a self-proclaimed soap whore. Let me clarify...I love bar soap. None of that anti-bacterial frothing pump stuff for me thank you very much. I
need a bar I can roll around in my hands, something that cuts through the layers of green tomato plant juice in the summer. Something that scrubs away the dirt under my nails, but leaves
me feeling like I've just done something decadent for myself.
...
I just got word today that we've been mentioned in an online article for Dwell Magazine.
Miguel Nelson brought me in as the garden expert for the project and we partnered with School Nutrition Plus to create the Woolly Pocket School Garden Program back in early Summer 2009. So far, we've installed 5 school gardens and we're about to venture into Arizona to reach other schools.
Here's a chance to see what goes on in Miguel's head when he invents these great ideas for our participating schools:
While I was co-teaching a workshop up at the Esalen Institute earlier this year, I met Jesse Carmichael and his mom. They were taking the class together and found it to be a bonding experience to learn about gardening together. When I got home, Jesse called me and asked if I could design a vegetable garden for him.
Interestingly enough, what started as a simple vegetable garden evolved into a full-fledged drought tolerant front and back yard landscaping project. Here's what it looked like before:
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In addition to helping others plant their fall gardens, I'm not ashamed to admit that I get the most joy out of planting my own. The Gardenerd Test Garden is being planted slowly but surely, and as of this writing there are a few things to report:
We planted sugar snap peas a few weeks ago and they are about 6 inches tall and starting to reach for the trellis. I used the Gardenerd-designed tomato cages from summer to support the peas - it might be a bit short, but we'll see how it goes.
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It's been busy these last few months. It seems that everyone wants a garden, and I'm happy to help.
Today I helped a family in Corona Del Mar to plant a garden in a small space in their back yard. The space was occupied with a couple of recently planted fruit trees that weren't yet established, and some shrubs. After measuring the space and making some suggestions for plant removal, we were on our way....
I participated in an interview with Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh of Vital Juice.com recently. She wanted to know what were my healthy favorite things to do and see. Here is the published article on Vitaljuice.com:
