Finding solutions for pests is the life-long quest of an organic gardener or farmer. Late Bloomer Lesson (LBL): Be Persistent! Just because you found a solution, does not mean you found the solution. Late yesterday afternoon, I planted a variety of organic seed potatoes in the repurposed wood bins, as I had done last spring. I finished just before […]
Screening Winter Greens is now a key component to pest and varmint management for my cool season greens. What farmers have known for decades – cover crops to prevent flying pests laying eggs on brassicas and more – is rarely put into practice in a front yard garden like mine. However, after daily plucking and squishing […]
Late Bloomer – Summer Garden Wrap-up covers the resolution of Kaye’s big mildew on cucurbits (squash, pumpkin, melons, cucumber) after a visit to friend Dorothy’s squash patch in the 20 degree hotter San Fernando Valley, plus seeding and planting her third winter garden. When the goldfinches have had their fill of the amaranth, the area of […]
Late Bloomer Lesson #1 for Garden Issues covers a problem that has arisen in July in the Late Bloomer Garden. If you have downloaded my free ebook, “10 Steps to a Great First Garden,” (sign-up box on right), you will have heard of my LBL’s, or Late Bloomer Lessons. The beautiful, wondrous and sometimes frustrating thing about […]
Celery patch pests are trouble. I highly recommend growing celery in raised beds, so you don’t have to get down on all fours to inspect your celery. I did that today. I went out to harvest some spears for juicing, and ran across a cabbage worm. I ran in for my camera and had to […]
Fig Beetle Grub. This year I discovered my first fig beetle grub, or larva. Also, known as a June Bug. Eggs are laid by the adults during the summer under pots or just under the soil surface and when the grubs hatch they burrow down and inch or two and spend the winter under the […]
Green, Good Morn! Just as the sun was making it’s appearance, I observed what’s new in the garden. Everything’s green! I barely spotted this 3/4″ cabbage worm resting on a baby arugula leaf. Kale’s a’ comin’! My baby kale is sprouting in a pushed up hill in the middle of my white pot. It was […]
Monarch Sighting! I was out watering, and doing a minimal gardening job as record heat is expected today, when I spotted my first Monarch Butterfly! If you haven’t yet seen my Monarch episode of episode of “Late Bloomer,” please check it out! After my visit with Loree Bryer, citizen scientist for the Monarch, I planted […]
My Little Lemon Tree, my so-called “ever-bearing” Meyer lemon tree, has not born a ripe lemon since last November. It had quite a lot of blooms in the spring, but, it’s September, and, though carrying two dozen lemons, the leaves don’t look so well. I recently gave it more iron, organic plant food, alfalfa meal, […]
Aphids and Planting with Linden: I started at seven A.M, hand-watering. When it’s quiet out, and you take a good look at how things are in the garden, you get drawn in. First, I tidied up my tomato and watermelon vines (it seems there’s more of that to do every day now with the summer […]
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