Happy Summer Solstice!

This may be the first summer solstice where I am harvesting summer vegies- basil and summer squash are on.   As Wendy shared in the last blog it is an early season and we will be getting everything earlier than normal.   Don’t forget to do some successions of cucumbers, summer squash, beans, and basil.   I also love to do a late planting of sunflowers to get a big sunflower bloom in October.   Read more »

Usually sometime in the spring planting something doesn’t germinate, some plant fails to grow at all, other plants are mowed down by slugs or earwigs.  It is just how the garden works.   I have been doing this so long that I come to expect it.  I find many newer gardeners or gardeners with different personality types really struggle with this. Read more »

The nurseries are full of summer crops, and it has been warm and maybe this year you can plant your summer crops this early but one thing Wendy and I really agree on is that we suggest you wait until May to plant summer crops.  There are often cold snaps in the end of April, and soil temperatures have not warmed up. Read more »

Wow has it been warm, makes it feel like it is time to go full speed in the garden. And it is!   There is so much you can be planting now: peas, potatoes, onions, lettuce, chard, kale, arugula, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, beets, carrots, radishes, turnips cilantro and parsley.  Read more »

I was reading about ancient traditions that celebrated the cross quarter days- the time half way between solstice and equinox. Febraury is often seen as the time when the earth is beginning to awaken and the light is coming back.  I loved a tradition from Ireland that buried a loaf of bread symbolically feeding the earth in hopes of a good harvest.   Where we live, the soil is not covered with a layer of snow so it is a good time to literally think about feeding the soil.  The soil cannot give you food if you do not feed it. Read more »

January is often cold and then sometime in the end of January or early February we have our first warm spell.  That warm spell is what I call the beginning of the new season.  That means we are still in the in between time for the garden where the main things you should be doing are planning, pruning and cleaning up the garden and your tools. Read more »

As we enter the shortest days of the year and the cold and wet seems to settle in for a bit, it is a good time not to garden.  I always encourage people to take a break and rest and reflect during this time.  If you want to be outside working in your garden- clean up the weeds, rake up leaves and branches and mulch.   Don’t forget to harvest also- you can be eating kale, beets, carrots, last of fall lettuce, greens, chard, leeks, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower if you planted your fall garden back in August and September.    I am Read more »

At last it feels more like fall then summer.  October felt warmer then most of the summer for the West County.  I appreciate these early rains that are light, the soil absorbs most of the moisture and the world greens up a bit.  I have been really appreciating the late fall fruit crops.  It was one of the ways that we are so lucky in this climate- we can harvest fruit into January.  Persimmons, feijoas (Pineapple Guavas) and kiwis are all amazing fall fruit that are also really beautiful in the landscape.  Think about adding one to your landscape and al Read more »

One of my favorite crops to grow is garlic.  I can grow almost all the garlic I need for the year, it grows through the winter with little assistance from me, it is pretty easy to grow and it is sooo good.  Oh and you can grow lots of interesting varieties that you can never find in the store.     And right now is garlic planting time.  You can plant it any time in the next month.  Later then that might work but you can have problems with rot if you plant it too late.  Read more »

 The fall equinox is this upcoming weekend and that means that the transition occurs when days become shorter than nights.  It also means that many plants growth really slows down.  You can easily plant lettuce, spinach, salad greens, beets and bok choi, but make sure you are in a full sun spot if you are planting broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower (from starts) as they really should have been planted a month ago.   Location makes a huge difference on how late you can plant, if you have a south-facing slope in full sun your season is much longer than a low shad Read more »