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Sheet Mulch: Creating Rich Soil Without Tilling
Read MoreHave you ever dug a hole on a summer day in clay soil? The sun bakes your back as you strike your shovel to the ground. It seems like instead of the shovel digging the soil and soil is breaking your shovel. Where I garden in the San Fernando Valley, we have lots of clay […]
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Nasturtium Margarita
Read MoreNasturtiums are my favorite edible flower. They are colorful but most special, they are peppery. For this recipe I infuse their peppery flavor and color into tequila. Now you can…
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Growing Nasturtiums: Champion of the Edible Flowers
Read MoreI first met nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) growing wildly in an abandoned park. They had no water and no love but their lily-pad leaves blanketed the ground and their vibrant flowers…
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What to Grow in Your Winter Garden
Read MoreWinter can be more than dormancy and mid-term elections. There are plenty of crops that can be grown throughout the winter and they include some of the most nutrient dense…
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Kale, it’s Still Cool: How to Grow Kale
Read MoreKale was not always cool. It used to be a garnish used to dress up the food in mediocre restaurants. My friend would take it home to feed to his…
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What I Love About Native Plants and Can’t Stand About Native Plant People
Read MoreThese thistles were not the ones I was used to, not the small ones that sneak through your socks when you venture off the hiking trail. These thistles were taller…
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Why the Fight Over the Most Sustainable Diet is Missing the Point
Read MoreThe food we eat, whether it is bacon or tofu, is based on an ideology of control of the land. All food has blood on it. But, it doesn’t have…
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Squash Sex: How to Pollinate Squash
Read MoreRecently, I started an urban garden that bees seem to be avoiding like it’s a honey bear. This could be for several reasons but, I am guessing it is because…
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Corn Sex: How to Pollinate Corn
Read MoreWhen it comes to corn sex, the backyard gardener needs to lend a hand. Unlike many plants that are pollinated by insects, corn is pollinated by the wind. First, the…
New Herb to Try: Holy Basil (I use the leaves to make one of my favorite teas)
