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 favorite...
How to water a newly planted avocado tree
Let’s say you just planted an avocado tree from a five-gallon container, the typical size available at nurseries. How should you water this tree? First, immediately after planting you should water lavishly, making sure that all of the container soil is wet and also...
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 hilarious because it...
Grapevine on eave to shade house
This is the native grape of Southern California, Vitis girdiana, and I planted it two winters ago. Grapes grow like grass fires! The first year I tied it up a string that I hung from the fascia board. This year I tied it along a wire that runs parallel to the fascia...
Gardening benefits of a hot-summer climate
Every August, I curse the summer. I grow tired of the heat and I wish I lived at the beach again. Last week, I wrote an email to the host of my favorite garden show asking for encouragement in this season of discomfort. Don Shor hosts the Davis Garden Show alongside...
Don’t thin apricot fruit in order to increase fruit size
The standard advice from the experts once again doesn't align with my experience. This time it relates to the idea that thinning fruit will lead to larger fruit. From the horse's mouth: "Thinning immature fruit at the appropriate time allows each remaining fruit to...
Chickens eat bugs in the garden
Joel Salatin advises that you wake up every morning aiming to attack the weak link on your farm. That could be soil fertility, irrigation, labor efficiency, anything. The weak link in our yard has been -- for a couple years now -- a proliferation of earwigs and pill...
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