Tag Archives: gardening

The Importance of Itty Bitty Carrots

18 Saturday Jan 2014

Posted by in Altadena, Garden, Why I Garden

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In my backyard garden I put up small fences around many of the garden boxes to keep out the feral cats and the raccoons. Inadvertently, they are  now (more or less) keeping out a third destroyer of vegetable garden delights – my almost three-year-old. His motivations are heartwarming. He is not digging for grubs, tearing out anything in his way. He is not looking for a good bathroom. He is actually looking for a tasty snack.

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A Garden Tragedy in the Pantry

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Garden

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Brockton Horticulture on the vine.

As all gardeners know, sooner or later you are going to lose a plant, several plants, or even a whole crop. Sometimes a pest comes and nibbles them out of existence in the course of a night. Other times a disease or a mildew may take hold. It is always sad and disappointing. It has happened to me many times, but nothing has been as disappointing as what I discovered just a few days ago. Continue reading →

Gardening is Like Running

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Garden

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Let me start off by saying that there is one way gardening is not like running for me. I started running about six months ago, and if you had asked me my opinion of running before then I would have said something like, “Oh, I can’t stand running, one of my least favorite things to do.” On the contrary, I have never felt that way about gardening, not before I started doing it nor when I was just starting out. But, in many other ways the two are very similar.

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Mostly Dirt

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Altadena, Garden

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With the start of school a few months ago, my daughter in Kindergarten and my son to preschool, I got swept up in a new routine, new communities, new anxieties….The garden waited. I mustered up enough time just to get the essentials done. Pull out the tired summer crops. Start cole crops. Dig in goat manure. Call on the garlic order that had not arrived. Plant peas. Things settled down just in the nick of time for the big push. Turning soil. Planting the garlic. Transplanting the cole crops. Sowing a second round of peas, carrots, and lettuce. Just in time.

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In Between

15 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by in Garden

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This morning was the first time in a long while that I have spent any extended time in the garden. Life has gotten a bit hectic since my oldest started Kindergarten and my youngest started preschool. Just when I thought I would have a few hours to myself a few mornings a week, my oldest was home sick for four days. We had big plans for today, possibly a trip to the beach or an adventure downtown. But, I woke up this morning with that tugging feeling that pulled me toward the garden. I really wanted to plant this weekend. I am hoping for sweet pea blossoms by December. So, instead, I worked in the garden and we will swim at grandma’s house later.

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Putting Up Summer

17 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Garden

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It is that time of year when the garden just sort of hums along, needing only for me to water and do light weeding. The first round of soup beans have been pulled up and the second round planted. The cucumber vines have just about reached their end. The zucchini slowed down, but is now making a come back. The peppers are coming on strong. And the tomatoes, oh the tomatoes. I am in the middle of a sea of tomatoes. And I am in the kitchen. A lot. Continue reading →

One Hundred Posts, Zero the Hero, and Tomatoes

03 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Garden, Off Topic

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I have hit a blogging milestone. This here is my one hundredth post. I had been mulling over what I should write about to mark this accomplishment, and all I could think about was Zero the Hero. Zero the Hero? Who’s that you might be asking. Well, he has nothing to do with gardening, but everything to do with the number 100.  Continue reading →