Tips Archives - Page 8 of 14

Even Pumpkins

We got a fine question at Ask Gardenerd this week:

"I just harvested my pumpkins. They all are a very beautiful orange
color. However, after rolling them over, all are flat on the bottom side
that was next to the ground, and a white color is on that side. What can I do
next year to prevent this?"

Yea for pumpkins! It's so satisfying to harvest them after all that time and space (they get so big and sprawl everywhere) over the summer. Here's a very easy thing that you can do to solve both the white color ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 23, 2009
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:1 Comment

Growing Horseradish

Here's one I hadn't encountered before:

"We have a horseradish root that we bought at the store and on a whim
we put the top part of the root into some potting soil, we now
have growth. Our question is what type of soil does it require and how
much sun will it need to grow properly. Dave Garman & Karen Blessington"

Good for you for being adventurous! And lucky for you, you've chosen a really easy plant to grow. Horseradish has no particular soil requirements and basically likes to be ignored. It prefers full sun, but can handle ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 23, 2009
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Gardenerd at Green Beacon Foundation – Fall Garden Workshop

Fall is just around the corner and Gardenerd has been invited to give a fall gardening workshop at the Green Beacon Foundation on Saturday, September 26th from 2-4 p.m. Read the details below:

As a
recognized educational, non-profit organization, The Green Beacon Foundation
was designed to show people the simplicity of sustainability. We
conduct tours the first Saturday of the each month and feature green
processes & products ranging from "old-fashioned" to the latest
in design & technologies.

...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 11, 2009
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

Telluride Farmer’s Market

For those who don't know, Telluride, CO is one of the most active and environmentally aware communities in the U.S. Not only do they host countless festivals, like the Telluride Film Festival, MountainFilm Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, but they have a weekly farmer's market that brings out the best of the town.

My husband and I wandered through on Friday morning when the sun was shining and the mountain was clearly in view.

...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 11, 2009
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

Sprout Struggles

A curious question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd:

"Hello-I'm starting some cool season plants from seed inside my house. I
planted some De Cicco Broccoli seeds in seed starting mix, and placed
in a window sill. The seeds sprouted in 3 days, which was definitely
exciting! But now a few days later, the little sprouts' stems are about
2 inches tall and they are falling over. What may cause the sprouts to
grow too fast and become top heavy??"

First of all, congratulations on starting broccoli from seed! It isn't always the easiest thing to ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 11, 2009
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Gardens of Telluride

Once you arrive in Telluride, there is little need for a car, which makes for great sight-seeing on foot. When I was last here in spring, the flowers were just starting to get going and there was still snow on the mountains. Now the gardens are in full bloom and everyone is making the most of their gardening space. While I haven't seen too many vegetable gardens, I have been charmed by the plenitude of cuteness in every corner. I thought I'd share some photos from this beautiful mountain town:

...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 3, 2009
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

99.9% Homegrown Soup

It's hot as Hades and fires are burning everywhere. The last thing on my mind is to fire up the oven to make dinner.

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 29, 2009
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:1 Comment

A Season of Orach

It's sort of mean that we can't grow salad greens in the summer here in So Cal. It's too hot and they bolt to seed so quickly. I've tried growing lettuces under shade cloth and that helps a lot, but it's nowhere near as delicious as fall-grown salad greens. One way to combat the heat is to grow slow-bolt or heat tolerant varieties. Another is to try something completely different.

Enter Orach Mountain Spinach.

I know I've talked about this fantastic green before, but I'm going to expound on the wonders of Orach again because this year was particularly ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 27, 2009
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:8 Comments

Taming of the Asparagus

I'm a little bit of a late bloomer. Or maybe it's just that I get used to looking at - or stepping over - something that's in my way and then I don't do anything about it for a long time. It's kind of like that pile of laundry in the middle of the room. It doesn't go away, but you start to ignore it - so it really isn't there any more, right?

This was the case with the wild patch of asparagus in the raised beds. We're at the end of our second year, which means that ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 26, 2009
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:4 Comments

Eggplant Parmigiana – Under the Tuscan Sun Style

I'll admit it. I've never made eggplant parmigiana. I ate it growing up; as a picky eater it was probably the only way I'd ever eat eggplant. So leave it to a gardenerd to grow eggplant and not know what to do with the finished result. Until now.

I've been hoarding a copy of Frances Mayes Bringing Tuscany Home for a few years now, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike, when I felt confident enough to try making what I thought would be a daunting recipe. The torn piece of paper marking the page was nearly withered ...