Garden Field Notes

Here are ingredients for a solution that can help keep your cut Christmas tree fresh throughout the holiday season. The solution allows the tree to take up far more water than normal, so make sure you keep the reservoir topped off.  Read More >

The signs are unmistakable. You stroll out for a look around the garden and notice neat piles of crumbly, fresh looking earth. You’ve got gophers! Let them be and maybe they’ll leave, but more likely if they suddenly disappear, its because you have hungry predators looking out for you. Nature is the best solution.  Read More >

Compost tea contains many beneficial micro organisms including, bacteria, and protazoa. My favorite critter you can’t see is beneficial nematodes. These microscopic worms are predators that will fan out and consume more than 200 soil dwelling pests including fleas, termites, and many beetle grubs. Read More >

In recent days our gardens have come alive with black beetles running around looking under plants as though they are on a mission. I'm happy to share with you that it is an important mission which will help keep our gardens free of pests. Read More >

Each year millions of pounds of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are poured, spread and dumped on California lawns. The result is polluted waterways and groundwater, and lawns strangled with thatch and compacted so badly it seems aerating is the only solution. Wrong! Here are a few tips to create a healthy chemical-free lawn. Read More >

Here is one of my favorite recipes for sweek pickled watermelon rind Read More >