by Greg Alder | Aug 7, 2020 | Misc |
I bet you’re harvesting a lot from your garden here in midsummer. Let’s celebrate that, and let’s remember how we got here. Midsummer harvest First, what to celebrate? Here are some items we are harvesting in early August from our yard. For vegetables, there are...
by Greg Alder | Jul 10, 2020 | Misc |
Sunflowers are on my mind these days, in part because these sunflowers almost bonk me on the head every time I walk down the path in the photo above. Bees get scared as I get close, and they jump off the flowers to buzz around me. But I just can’t get myself to cut...
by Greg Alder | Jul 3, 2020 | Misc |
After collecting the branches I’d pruned from my Valencia orange tree, I knew just what I would do with them. I could have sent them away in a trash can. I could have stacked them in a brush pile in a far corner of the yard. I could have chopped them into small pieces...
by Greg Alder | Apr 17, 2020 | Misc |
I continue to learn more about bees. Last week, for example, I attended a webinar presented by two UC Riverside entomologists, Quinn McFrederick and Boris Baer, about native bees and honey bees and their current health status. You can watch it here; it has been given...
by Greg Alder | Mar 20, 2020 | Misc |
“Oh, good to see you have weeds too,” said my neighbor as we walked through my vegetable garden. I’ve felt just like that when visiting other gardens, haven’t you? Here’s a fact that should give all of us a feeling of relief: In the best gardens and on the...
by Greg Alder | Feb 14, 2020 | Misc |
First I grew fruits and vegetables for myself. Then I grew for my wife (Happy Valentine’s Day!). Now my plantings are largely directed toward feeding our three children — and the kids don’t like to eat the same stuff we do. Let me share what I’ve found our...
by Greg Alder | Jan 17, 2020 | Misc |
Below is a list of the posts I’ve written on this site. I’ve categorized them, and each title is a hyperlink that can be clicked. Every time I write a new post, I will add it to this list so consider it always up to date. Enjoy! Fruit Trees, general:...
by Greg Alder | Dec 28, 2019 | Misc |
Taking a week away from writing a Yard Post to end 2019, but here are a few photos anyway. Above, the cauliflower is coming along well with very few aphids this season. Below, installed a weather station in the yard the other day, which immediately recorded a couple...
by Greg Alder | Dec 20, 2019 | Misc |
I make a million mistakes in my garden. I love experimenting out there. My only goal is to not make the same mistakes over and over again, and my gardening notes help with that. I want to share mainly the three types of notes about my garden that I’ve found most...
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,...
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. 
Recent comments