Custom signs for fruit trees
While I may know the names of all of the fruit trees in my yard, my wife and children don't, and friends and family who visit certainly don't. So I started drawing the names of my trees on pieces of wood that I then stuck into the ground with metal stakes. They looked...
Growing grapes on a chain link fence
Five summers ago, we moved into a house that is fronted by 250 feet of blank chain link fence. I saw a grape canvas. And I started planting. Now in 2018 I see that my vision had been a good one. We’ve got 13 vines growing and a few dozen feet of fence left...
Teaming with Microbes: a book review
A good book changes you. If you looked at my vegetable garden today and compared it to my vegetable garden a couple years ago, one difference you’d notice is the fullness of its beds. Nowadays, I aim to keep plants growing over every square inch of each bed at all...
How much and how often to water avocado trees in California
I’ve always wished there were a simple formula that could tell us how much and how often to water an avocado tree. Alas, the variables are too numerous: weather is ever-changing, different soils have different water-holding capacities, frequencies are partially...
Starting a vegetable garden in Southern California
The change I’d like to see in my corner of the world is that more people grow a little of their own food. It doesn’t require a lot of space, many tools, much physical effort or time or money. Here I've gathered the five most useful things that I wish I had known when...
Who is eating holes in your avocado leaves?
If your avocado leaves are getting holey this spring, you are due for a night hunt. Every May and June, I find myself going out after dark and finding the same culprit: June bugs. Here's what I do: Grab a flashlight or better yet, a headlamp. Bring along a cup with a...
Keep mulch away from tree trunks?
When some people visit my yard or see photos of my trees, they spot a violation of the rules: Aren’t you supposed to keep mulch away from the trunks of your trees? (That's my rule-breaking lime tree in the photo above.) It's true, there’s no real benefit to keeping...
Reading my grandma’s 1961 Sunset Western Garden Book (My, how things have changed)
Last summer, I was touring my grandmother’s yard when we came to her peach tree and she assessed, “It’s in OK shape. But I didn’t get around to spraying it this year.” We moved on to her macadamia, tangelo, tangerine, avocado, grapefruit, and then down to her apple...
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