The Home Orchard: a book review

The Home Orchard: a book review

Chuck Ingels is one of the main authors and technical editors of The Home Orchard, the best book available on growing deciduous fruit and nut trees for home gardeners in California, and at last week’s Master Gardener conference in Long Beach I attended a presentation...
Gardening with kids

Gardening with kids

Yesterday, I opened the door and my two sons, ages 1 and 3, ran straight for the blueberries. After they’d worked those plants, they dropped down to the strawberries, and then the garbanzo beans, and then the broccoli, and then the peas, and then the carrots....
Persimmon vs. tomato

Persimmon vs. tomato

I have a challenge for you: Can you tell them apart? Which one is tomato and which is persimmon? And how do you know — color, sheen, blossom end marking, shape? The answer is found in the comments. Share Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)...

Best resource for growing avocados

While there isn’t a great single resource for growing avocados at home, the best of what’s available is a handbook written for commercial farmers that is edited by Gary Bender, former farm advisor in San Diego County. He taught my Master Gardener class on...

Farmer to Farmer podcast

Gardeners and farmers are kin, and I’ve found myself listening incessantly to a particular podcast where one farmer, Chris Blanchard, interviews other farmers. The Farmer to Farmer podcast has given this gardener wheelbarrows of food for thought. Some of my...

Cass’s first garden

He’s two and a half years old now, so I decided it was time to let him sow some of his own. He really enjoyed sprinkling the lettuce seeds; I let him sprinkle way too many since he found it so fun. But probably his favorite part was getting his hands mucky while...

Cactus among cedars

​ What’s this? It’s a garden on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where lush squash, tomatoes and peppers are growing behind these pads of cactus. Huge cedars and healthy Japanese maples partly shade the garden. I find the scene...

Just move!

Walking around the San Diego neighborhood of South Park yesterday, I noticed that most yards had ornamental plants (giant bird of paradise, bougainvillea, lawn, Mexican sage, ficus, magnolia), but I came upon one that made me reminisce. It had peach and apricot trees,...

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