Seed packet info- a look at a few envelopes

I'm kind of a freak about good packaging, because I'm a nerd and like to read all instructions thoroughly, no matter what the product. So it's no surprise that I like a lot of info on my seed packets. I don't know how much of a practical crutch it is at this point, because I could probably remember on my own how most things are supposed to be planted. But I like having that info nearby in print just in case for quick reference. For a new gardener, accurate and thorough label info can be very important. It certainly was for me since I didn't own a lot of gardening books initially. So I thought I'd go over a few seed packets that I've accumulated and see how useful their labeling is...

Experiment: Night Gardening!

These days when I get home from work, it's already dark. That combined with busy weekends has made me feel like I haven't gardened in forever. Not cool. I decided to do something about the situation and just try gardening in the dark.

My goal was to replace a gnarly looking section of lawn with better-looking and drought-tolerant plants. The results were mixed. The planting went okay and I did manage to replace another 15 square feet of lawn with succulents. But ultimately I didn't enjoy the actual gardening as much as I typically do. Here are some tips in case you try it yourself...

Film Can Centerpieces for a Wedding in (nigh) Hollywood

Upshot: I need 15 centerpieces for an event this summer here in Los Angeles and I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. Let the scrounging begin...

A Composty, Wormy Update on the Garden

This weekend I spent some time with my compost, both the regular bin and the worm bin. I wanted to share a quick update, particularly with the worm bin, which has really turned around and is looking better. I guess time does heal some wounds, or festering mold piles in this case (if you're curious about what I'm referring too, there's a previous post on the problems with feeding worms moldy tortillas)...

Attempts to Repair Reemay and Tulle Garden Covers

I finally got around to dealing with some of the tears in the tulle and Reemay I use to protect some of my plants in the garden. The fixes ain't pretty, but I thought I'd share...

cold snap, or alternatively, oh hell cold snap again

It's not supposed to get this cold in April in Los Angeles! Or so I had hoped...

Urine: the pros and cons of free fertilizer

btw, I <3 Banksy

If you think you're going to get all judge-y about my unconventional gardening methods, you really shouldn't read this post...

2011 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show

I went up to Santa Barbara today to check out the Santa Barbara Orchid Show. There were so many orchids, my brain exploded. Halfway through, I was so overwhelmed, I had to step outside for a minute and rest. Then I went back in to finish wandering around. Here are some pics...

The Curse of the Dill Beast

Some creature keeps eating my dill seedlings just as they sprout. It's making crazy! I think the fiend is either a snail, a slug, or a cutworm. But those three things are really ugly. So I put a picture up of this hilarious karate hamster from cuteoverload.com instead. Let me tell you what's been going on, while I share some more pictures of things that are cuter than garden pests (all images totally stolen from cute overload)...

HELL YES!!!

My Turkish vegetable seeds are here!!!
Melon (kavun) and eggplant (patlıjan, pronounced patlujan) seeds! So many, what will I do with them all!!!???

On Tap: not quite a snowpocalypse, but I'm going to wrap my plants anyway

This weekend's supposed to be CooooooooLD in LA. I've heard Valencia and the Pasadena Foothills may get snow. Saturday night is going to be the coldest night in my East Hollywood/Los Feliz neighborhood, with temperatures dropping to the 30s. I have a little bit of wind tunnel action going on in my backyard because of the layout of the space, so my birdbath will freeze over even when temps dip just into the low 40s. Upshot: I made a reminder to bring my potted subtropical plants into a sheltered area. Any plants I can't move that may suffer from frostbite, I will be wrapping with Reemay to try and insulate them a little. I'll be leaving my Kale and brussels sprouts exposed though, because I read they're supposed to taste better if they get a little frosted. At least I think I read that somewhere. I'm pretty sure I didn't make that up. It sounds believable in any case.

All you humans and animals stay cozy this weekend!

Don't ever let me cut your hair...

I don't actually know how to prune anything. But that doesn't stop me from pruning everything.

A Moldy Setback

I had to move my worm bin outdoors this weekend. It's a bummer but things got a little funky in there and I had to do a little damage control. I suggest you not be eating anything if you're going to read on...

Worms!

It's been raining so hard I haven't been able to do any gardening, so instead I made a worm bin! There's supposedly 50 worms in there right now. I didn't actually count when I added them. Not too many, but I thought I'd start small (also I'm being cheap). Hopefully they'll multiply quickly. The instructions for building the bin are available online from the WSU extension. (Thanks Yoonjo for the link!) It was SOOO easy.

Review of Master Nursery Bumper Crop - worse than poop

I hate that my first review of a product has to be negative. In fact, I'd been holding out on posting this because I wanted to first have a lab test the product. But I've gotten the results, and I have to say, Master Nursery brand's Bumper Crop Soil Builder is just not a product I will ever use again.

Here's the full review...

Short Book Reviews: Part I

I've been looking for a house now for about 4-5 months, and, so far, it's been pretty disappointing.  Every offer I've put in has been counted by an all cash offer, which is almost always accepted over normal bids. At first, when I thought finding a house was imminent, I lost sleep over all the things I didn't know about - like how I was going to unclog my sink or how I was going to layout my garden, which I hadn't seen even yet.  The answer to my sleepless nights: research!  I realized I knew nothing about home improvement or gardening, so I hit the bookshelves at home depot (and at Jennifer's house) and this is what I found....

Cheap Plant Markers From Plastic Utensils

Here's a quick suggestion for cheap plant markers that reuses something difficult to recycle: plastic utensils with writing in grease pencil (aka china marker).

Composting for Beginners

 

This past weekend, I attended a composting workshop at the Milagro Allegro community garden in Highland Park, which was taught by master gardener Lora Hall.  Having no previous experience in composting myself, I sat through the hour-long lecture with an expression of awe and fear. 

RACCOONS!!! - Anatomy of a Vegetable Massacre

Animals vandalized my garden last night! I say vandalized because I don't even think they ate anything. They just showed up, broke stuff, dug stuff up, had themselves one of those rave parties the kids are into, and then left!

Halloween Costumes for Your Garden

My brussels sprouts are going as the Bride of Frankenstein. 

...I know, but let me explain...