Category: Gardening Miscellany

  • Bare Root Artichoke How-To

    ***Giveaway below! Comment to win one of three sets of bare root artichokes from Peaceful Valley*** Giveaway ended – congrats to the winners! Planting bare root artichokes is like planting bulbs. You know in your head that some miracle or magic is going to occur to turn this tiny lumpen thing into something somewhat more…

  • Worm Power Fertilizer

    ***Worm Power Fertilizer Giveaway Below – Just Leave a Comment to Enter!*** Giveaway ended and winners have been contacted. Thanks for playing! I’ve enthused about vermicomposting before, but some of you poor saps haven’t yet started a worm compost setup of your very own. But not to worry, because even if the whole worms-as-pets deal…

  • Planting Bare-Root Blueberries

    ***Sunshine Blue Dwarf Blueberry Giveaway Below!*** EDIT: Darlene is the lucky winner – we’ve sent you an email, Darlene. Congrats! I’m a huge fan of blueberries in the landscape, because of all the fruits and vegetables, I think they have the best year-round interest in the garden. In spring, you get the masses of white-pink…

  • Monday Miscellany: It’s Giveaway Week!

    Yes, people, it’s that time.  I have a stash of incredibly awesome items that people have sent me to test out, and these kind people? They want to share the love with you, too! This week I’ll be holding giveaways for bare root blueberries, a SonnyLight LED Kitchen Garden grow light (swoon!), Worm Power worm…

  • Monday Miscellany: Garden Photography Edition

    With spring on the way, there’s nothing more important for me than actually capturing it all in photos. Not only for the pure enjoyment of looking back on it all, but also for practical reasons. How vexing is it when in August, you wish to plant a shrub in a bare spot, but can’t recall…

  • Monday Miscellany: Garden Video Edition

    YouTube’s always been cool for us gardeners. Where else can you find gardening tutorials, product reviews, and adorable animal videos all in one place? This week, I’ve got a few favorites to share. Billy Goodnick, the Garden Wise Guy,  cheers us up with his adorable music video about getting rid of lawns. Yes, people, I…

  • Monday Miscellany: Multiple Fruit Trees in One Hole, Succulent Planters and Curing the Common Cold

    I’ve been reading about this new trend of planting multiple trees in one hole, and my initial reaction was suspicion – overplanting goes against everything I know about tree health. But when I read about this technique from a few fruit tree dealers that I thought were credible, my suspicion turned to confusion. Could this…

  • Monday Miscellany: No-Mow Lawns, A Hardy Tropical, and a Wicked Bugs Excerpt

    Folks like the Lawn Reform Coalition have been keeping up the good work suggesting lower-care versions of lawn that require less in the way of water, gas-powered mowing, and unsustainable fertilizers. Recently they featured a post about a low-care fescue grass good for the Pacific Northwest. The fescue cultivars they mention are especially good because…

  • Monday Miscellany: Plants You Can’t Kill, Sprays That CAN Kill, and Assorted Other, Um, Miscellany

    I’ll start out with the depressing bit: Despite the fact that many gardeners have a relationship of convenience with Roundup, and an “it’s not so bad” attitude about the harmful effects it has on the environment and on human health, scientists are continually discovering new ways Roundup is screwing with our bodies and our environment.

  • Monday Miscellany: DIY Awesomeness, New Contributors at Gardening Gone Wild, and Garden Trends for 2011

    This week, Jenny over at J. Petersen Garden Design blew me away with her DIY projects. First, she showed us how to create a cinderblock wall that doesn’t suck. Cinderblocks can look so stark and industrial if not softened by plantings, paint, or other embellishments of some kind. Here, Jenny shows us how to create…

  • Monday Miscellany: Jocelyn from The Art Garden Visits, Five Books, and Best Garden Blogs

    Yes, I live in the boonies. My fellow Humboldt County peeps know – it’s like pulling teeth to get anyone to visit here because of that extra plane ride or seven-hour drive from San Francisco’s airport. So you all can imagine my delight when I heard from Jocelyn over at the The Art Garden that…