The Wonder of Worms

...o your seed starting mix. (If you keep a worm bin, you’ll know how readily seeds sprout in castings!) Top dress established plants, be they vegetables, flowers or established perennials Mix them with bagged nursery soil to get your potted plants and raised beds off to a good start Apply a thin layer of castings to the top of your garden beds just prior to planting, or use castings to back fill seed rows. Use sifted worm castings to provide light c...

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061 National Heirloom Expo Report

...loom Exposition. The three day Expo is run by the folks behind Baker Creek Seeds and features speakers, a huge hall of heirloom fruits and vegetables, vendors, livestock, a biodynamic pavilion and live music. I’ve attended each year for five years in a row. This year I took my portable recording equipment and on this episode of the podcast you’ll hear interviews with root vegetable expert Grant Brians, Sir Cobalot, Sustainable Santa (yes you heard...

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Our new front yard, part 5: Constructing a meadow community

...he territory. If I’d had more lead time, I wold have grown more stuff from seeds and cuttings–so I’d have had more options and saved a lot of money. Isn’t that always the case? You pay for speed and convenience. I know this. But I really wanted the plants to have a chance to root down a little before our torrential El Niño rains hit in January. At least our money is going to a worthy non-profit. So, that’s the end of my excuse-making and complaini...

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Going to Seed

...ey love our overgrown, browning beds, because of course they’re eating the seeds or the bugs on the ripening plants. They would not, however, allow me to take any pictures of them doing these things. They love all the weedy places, the vacant lots and over grown side yards. Those places are full of flashing wings and trilling songs. It’s already a seed time of year here in LA on our fast moving calendar, and I’m watching the birds feast. I love wa...

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Least Favorite Plant: Bidens

...ack jack, burr marigolds, cobbler’s pegs, Spanish needles, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers.” Those popular names should give some clues as to the plant’s behavior. Brush up against it and this happens: It turns out that nature has brilliantly designed these seeds to hitch a ride on mammals. Just touch or lightly brush up against the seed pods, which resemble mid-century chandeliers, and you’ll be picking out seeds for the next hour....

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