Organic Gardening

Guest Post: Want Happy Plants? Feed the Microbes!

February 23, 2012 10 comments
Thumbnail image for Guest Post: Want Happy Plants? Feed the Microbes!

Five Ways To Improve The Health And Diversity Of Your Soil Food Web: A guest post by Phil Nauta, The Smiling Gardener. Most of the work in our gardens is done by the “soil food web.” If you’re not familiar with this term, it refers to the inhabitants of the soil, including plants and animals, [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Monday Miscellany: Sustainability Freaks

August 8, 2011 2 comments
Thumbnail image for Monday Miscellany: Sustainability Freaks

Kicking things off, Ginny Stibolt takes P. Allen Smith and others to task for taking the old-skool pesticide philosophy (kill! Kill them all!) and trying to make it eco by using organic pesticides. And sure, if you’ve gotta spray, go organic. But as she points out, poison is poison, people. If you care about supporting [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Monday Miscellany: Drunken Shenanigans Edition

August 1, 2011 8 comments
Thumbnail image for Monday Miscellany: Drunken Shenanigans Edition

Local author Amy Stewart has become my very favorite non-fiction writer, not only because she’s so fun to read, but because her writing is so very practical in everyday life. Case in point: the other day, a mildly tipsy houseguest was about to tell me a story about banana slugs for the third time. I [...]

Click here to continue reading →

How To Gopher-Proof an Existing Raised Bed (Photo Tutorial)

May 12, 2011 9 comments
Thumbnail image for How To Gopher-Proof an Existing Raised Bed (Photo Tutorial)

Ah, gophers. So cute, with their cheeks stuffed with grass and their little burrowing ways. Yet so destructive to our vegetable beds. A client finally got tired of having her beets, lettuces, and other delicious veggies cruelly snatched away by Mr Gopher juuust when they were looking ready to harvest. So we were called in [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Book Excerpt: Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies by Owen Dell

April 20, 2011 2 comments
Thumbnail image for Book Excerpt: Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies by Owen Dell

A couple weeks back, I reviewed this deliciously funny and extremely useful guide to sustainable landscaping by Owen Dell. You can check out my video and written review here. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share an excerpt with you, so you could get a feel for Owen’s writing style, which is [...]

Click here to continue reading →

The Slug Shield Copper Snail and Slug Repellent

April 15, 2011 20 comments
Thumbnail image for The Slug Shield Copper Snail and Slug Repellent

***Giveaway below! Comment to win one of SIX sets of slug shields!*** EDIT: Winners have been chosen and contacted. Thanks everyone for entering! I’ve written before about how nasty the usual snail and slug baits are. In fact, here in California, metaldehyde snail bait is the #1 poisoning agent of dogs. Hmmm…. Fido or slug-free [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Monday Miscellany: Plants You Can’t Kill, Sprays That CAN Kill, and Assorted Other, Um, Miscellany

January 24, 2011 13 comments
Thumbnail image for Monday Miscellany: Plants You Can’t Kill, Sprays That CAN Kill, and Assorted Other, Um, Miscellany

I’ll start out with the depressing bit: Despite the fact that many gardeners have a relationship of convenience with Roundup, and an “it’s not so bad” attitude about the harmful effects it has on the environment and on human health, scientists are continually discovering new ways Roundup is screwing with our bodies and our environment.

Click here to continue reading →

The Evolution of a Gardener: Finding the Middle Ground Between Neat and Natural

October 20, 2010 24 comments
Thumbnail image for The Evolution of a Gardener: Finding the Middle Ground Between Neat and Natural

Debbie’s post over at Garden of Possibilities was a catalyst for me to really think over an issue I’ve been having a lot lately – the Neat VS Natural debate. It’s not a debate I’ve been having with anyone else, it’s more been an internal struggle. You see, the more I learn about gardening, the [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Honeybee Love: Keeping Honeybees Safe While Using Pesticides

May 16, 2010 20 comments
Thumbnail image for Honeybee Love: Keeping Honeybees Safe While Using Pesticides

We’ve all heard about the plight of the honeybees by now – pesticides, hive infections, and other causes are combining to make it a very hard time to be a honeybee. If you’re thinking to yourself that it’s not the worst thing in the world to have one less type of stinging insect around – [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Vinegar Weed Control that Actually Works

March 4, 2010 15 comments
Thumbnail image for Vinegar Weed Control that Actually Works

When I was in horticulture school, the old-skool dudes teaching pest control were all about the chemicals – they just didn’t believe organics could be as effective as the lethal stuff. Yet every so often, a hint of doubt would creep into their voices about safety. I’d hear, “well, this one’s actually pretty bad” or  [...]

Click here to continue reading →

← Previous Entries