by Greg Alder | Oct 25, 2019 | Weather |
Santa Anas cause many things. They mess up your hair, they put dust into your eyes, they make your lips crack and your throat feel dry, they make the power company shut off your electricity, and of course, they make fires run wild. Santa Anas also make for good...
by Greg Alder | Mar 15, 2019 | Weather |
A couple weeks ago I grew tired of protecting baby mango trees from frost and of watching more leaves on my banana plants brown due to cold nights. This has been a persistently chilly and rainy winter for us in Southern California. At my house, only once did we go a...
by Greg Alder | Nov 2, 2018 | Watering, Weather |
It is the middle of fall and we’re running downhill right now. Can’t you feel it? Dusk already descends before dinner time. Sweatshirts are desired in the morning. And you can comfortably water potatoes in the afternoon in a Kion costume. (Halloween never ends when...
by Greg Alder | Jul 12, 2018 | Weather |
That last one was a scorcher! In Santa Ana, it set an all-time record at 114. In Riverside, it got up to 118. Ojai hit 110. In the shade of my front porch in Ramona, San Diego County, it reached 113. July 6-8, 2018 was a spell for history. It was so hot that it...
by Greg Alder | Apr 27, 2018 | Fruit, Weather |
Are your deciduous fruit trees acting funny this spring too? Frightfully funny? Look at a couple of my trees today compared to this time last year, and then let’s explore why they’re behaving this way. Finally, is there anything to do about it? Bloom is a full month...
by Greg Alder | Mar 16, 2018 | Weather |
I get frantic when rain is forecast. Southern California doesn’t get rain often, so I really feel the need to take advantage of each event. Rain provides ideal conditions for certain garden tasks. Some are best done just before the rain starts, some during the...
by Greg Alder | Feb 23, 2018 | Weather |
Both my plants and I got suckered by this week’s frost. I had gone up to Oregon and Washington, not thinking any plants in my yard would need protection while I was gone. It was snowing up north, and I thought of returning to Southern California as returning to...
by Greg Alder | Jun 30, 2017 | Watering, Weather |
Heat waves make me a worried gardener. What can I do to help my plants? Should I water again? How much? This summer of 2017 has started off with a blast of multiple heat waves for Southern California’s valleys (the beach has been spared by the presence of a...
by Greg Alder | Jan 19, 2017 | Watering, Weather |
This morning I awoke to the sound of rain. It’s the most pleasant sound, a muffled pecking on the roof. This is the first storm in a series of four that the National Weather Service says will give us three to six inches by Tuesday, an event with more potential...
by Greg Alder | Sep 15, 2016 | Weather |
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...
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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