Fertilizing vegetables with compost: pros and cons
October being one of the two transitional times in the vegetable garden in Southern California (March being the other), it is a month when I usually add compost to the beds. So compost is on my mind right now. I’ve been using compost to fertilize my vegetable gardens...
What to do in a Southern California garden in October
"Why are those leaves on the pistache tree yellow?" asked my three-year old son. "Soon they'll all be yellow -- and orange and red -- and then they'll fall. That's why they call this time of year Fall." Truth is, in Southern California it's mostly the leaves of...
Training young avocado trees
The good news is that even if you don’t train your young avocado tree to the perfect shape, the tree can still ultimately be healthy, balanced, and fruitful. I should know. I’ve got a number of mature avocado trees that perform well but that I wish I had trained...
Growing small blackberry and raspberry bushes on stakes
Maybe you don’t have much yard space, or maybe you don’t need a bushel of berries, or maybe you don't want to invest in a trellis support structure. By tying the berry canes of a single plant onto a stake you make the bush's footprint smaller -- you can even grow it...
Fall is fast, until it’s slow
I stayed up late last night sowing seeds into module trays in my garage. It’s the dawn of the new season -- fall -- yet I’m afraid of time passing me by. You want to get certain vegetables growing by now, on the cusp of the fall equinox: brassicas, lettuces, greens....
Interplanting a strawberry patch
My Aunt Renee always grew the family’s best strawberries in her garden in Corona, where she had a permanent strawberry patch near her garage. All she did each year was rake out a few old or dead plants and add new ones to fill gaps. With a permanent strawberry patch,...
Online presentation “Avocados: Varieties and Heat” this Friday
Join me as I join the California Rare Fruit Growers, North County San Diego chapter, to talk about "Avocados: Varieties and Heat" on Friday, September 11 at 7 PM via Zoom, meaning from the comfort of your own computer or phone. The presentation will take about 45...
Growing peppers in Southern California
At the end of summer, peppers look better than anything else in my vegetable garden. Corn has been harvested and stalks are drying, tomatoes are getting brown leaves from the bottom up, but peppers remain verdant, and adorned by red, yellow, orange, brown, purple,...
Welcome
I’m Greg. My goal is to help others grow some food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits — especially avocados — in Southern California. I write a new “Yard Post” every Friday.
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