Blog
April is the Time to Plant Warm Climate Vegetable Gardens
Yeah! It’s time to plant summer veggies in warm climate vegetable gardens. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and other summer vegetables are good to plant now, whether from seed or from seedling. Wait until the end of the month when the soil is warmer before planting basil, pumpkins, and squashes. Every year, I trial new vegetable varieties in…
Read MoreGo Gently into the Wildflowers
Southern California’s hillsides are ablaze gorgeous tapestries wildflowers – orange poppies and ground pinks, golden fiddlenecks and bluebells, and more! if you plan to go in search of wildflowers, please know that those flowers are in fragile native habitats you can destroy simply by walking through them. Watch Nan Sterman’s video about wildflower etiquette before you go, so you can enjoy the flowers without killing them.
Read MoreLet’s Plant! Seed Starting Workshops
— Join Nan for a hands-on workshop near you — Tickets must be purchased in advance to reserve your spot and supplies. March 16, 2019, 9:30 am to noon, Community Roots Farm, Oceanside, CA, Purchase tickets March 17, 2019 , 12 pm to 2:30 pm, Bancroft Center For Sustainability, Spring Valley, CA, Purchase tickets March 24,…
Read MoreKeyhole Gardens – a new take on growing vegetables with less water
A few months back, I did a garden consultation for a couple who asked me about building a keyhole garden in their backyard. Keyhole garden? It comes from Africa, they said, and it’s supposed to be a highly productive method for growing vegetables, yet uses very little water. High productivity with little water? That’s my…
Read MoreZa’atar – The All Purpose Middle Eastern Spice Mix
Did you know that Judaism is rooted in agriculture? Many Jewish holidays have agricultural roots: Passover at planting, Sukkot at harvest, Tu b’shvat marks bud break in spring, and so on. Plants and trees, fruits and nuts are woven throughout the Torah, both literally and figuratively. Many Jewish traditions incorporate planting and respect for nature,…
Read MoreQuick! Click to Win a Cluck
Quick, click this link and you might win a chicken! I’m not kidding. Timber Press has a contest going that ends February 17th. If your entry is selected, you win: A $50 gift card for chicken feed or supplies from McMurray Hatchery (they sell baby chicks) One chicken coop plan from The Garden Coop (a…
Read MoreThe Year’s First Seed Starting Workshop is a Big Success
it was cold and rainy, but that didn’t’ stop anyone from showing up for the year’s first seed starting workshop one evening last week at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant in Old Town San Diego. We all knew that spring is just around the corner and with it, spring and summer vegetable gardens. I panicked…
Read MoreTurn the Water ON
This is the time of year when I’m usually telling people (in the strongest terms) to turn their irrigation systems off. Problem is, we’ve had almost no rain this winter. Our rainfall total is far below normal. While the weather is warm, sunny, and beautiful for us humans, it isn’t so beautiful for plants. This…
Read MoreThe Last Harvest of Summer
Sorta sweet, sorta sad… the last harvest of summer.
Read MoreExpressive beauties: Peruvian lilies are low-maintenance flowers with a lot of personality
I remember clearly when I saw my first Peruvian lily. It was the early 1980s, and I was in graduate school in Santa Barbara studying the tiny plankton that swim in our oceans. At the end of another weeks-long research cruise, my then boyfriend (now husband) met me at the dock with a huge hug…
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