by Greg Alder | Nov 29, 2019 | Misc |
There’s this slice of time a few days to a few weeks after the year’s first rain in Southern California when you can knock out thousands of weeds in minutes with a simple tool and little effort. The first rain falls — and by rain, I mean at least a half-inch,...
by Greg Alder | Nov 8, 2019 | Misc |
You may recall my mentioning the calendars that I make in order to help me remember what to plant in the vegetable garden each month, how to care for my fruit trees, and how to water it all. I’ve found that these calendars save me a lot of time and money over...
by Greg Alder | Sep 27, 2019 | Misc |
Three nights each week I’m responsible for feeding our three children. My wife works long shifts at the hospital as a nurse. I often struggle to make quality meals, as the kids are young — five, three, and one — and after a twelve-hour day with them,...
by Greg Alder | Sep 13, 2019 | Misc |
I crack up whenever I think of this comment someone made to my wife: “I really like your husband’s blog, except there are so many words.” Maybe not this week? Here are ten photos that capture aspects of this past summer, with captions that I’ve...
by Greg Alder | Jul 26, 2019 | Misc |
I was innocently making lunch when my mind started following trails about where I got each ingredient, and by the time I ate the avocado toast I tasted not only bread, avocado, lemon, onion, and tomato, but a lot of memories too. The bread wasn’t one of them....
by Greg Alder | Jul 19, 2019 | Misc |
Here I’ve selected just over a dozen posts on topics relevant to summer food gardening in Southern California. These are the posts that I reread this time of year. Enjoy! WATERING The best way to water a vegetable garden How much to water a fruit tree in...
by Greg Alder | Jun 21, 2019 | Misc, Vegetables |
Just when I thought my vegetable garden was humming, I visited Roy’s. Actually, before I visited Roy’s garden, he handed me three bags stuffed full of pickings. One contained heads of romaine lettuce. Another had zuchinni, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, and...
by Greg Alder | Jun 7, 2019 | Misc |
When I write my weekly Yard Post I’m often sitting in my garage, where my view out of the door used to be a weedy hillside but is now this: a dedicated Bee Garden full of color. The notion to grow a Bee Garden has been germinating for years, and finally last winter I...
by Greg Alder | May 17, 2019 | Misc |
Join me this evening (Friday, May 17) at 7 PM at the Oceanside campus of Mira Costa College for the meeting of the California Rare Fruit Growers, North San Diego County chapter (guests are welcome), where I’ll be talking about “Early season fruit tree...
by Greg Alder | May 3, 2019 | Misc, Resources |
An easy and free way to get a gardening question answered is by calling or sending an email to your local Master Gardeners. I’ve spent many hours as a Master Gardener volunteer in San Diego County answering phone calls and emails from the public at the University of...
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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