Every year I find it helpful to write about the things I’ve learned in the garden so that I can make sure I avoid the same mistakes next year. Plus it helps teach all of you the obstacles I’ve faced so that you can learn what to avoid. So here’s what I’ve learned this year…
Every gardener has a weed that they curse at. For me it used to be Bermuda grass. I hated it. Our last house had a backyard covered with the stuff. If you don’t pull it all up, any little bit would grow and spread like wildfire. But we were able to control it to a…
It’s Watermelon season so I figured now is a great time to teach you how to pick the perfect watermelon whether it’s at the store, farmers’ market or in your own backyard. Most people just grab one out of the bin and hope for the best. But nothing can be more disappointing than a lackluster…
I’m a huge proponent of heirloom and open pollinated (OP) seeds. The difference between them and F1 hybrid seeds is that heirlooms and OP seeds can be saved each year and the offspring will be consistent with the parent plants. F1 hybrids cannot produce similar offspring the following year. Heirloom and OP seeds help keep…
I’ve got quite a few books on vegetable gardening, some are great, some I wish I had never bought. So to help other gardeners, especially those just starting out, I’ve decided to review some of my books. I’ve included a rating, but for some books, while they are great, they may have a low rating…
Brad from Highly Uncivilized has a fantastic post about making compost tea that he wants to share with us. We haven’t really gotten into making compost tea here because we use our animals as composters, but for those that do make regular compost sans animals this is a fanastic way to increase your soil fertility….
Soil testing is incredibly important when you’re planning to produce food from your yard. It tells you what you’ve got and what you need. Plants won’t give you their best if they don’t have the proper nutrients or proper pH levels. The three most common nutrients, referred to as macronutrients, that plants need are Nitrogen,…
Once a month I’ll be answering your questions! Ask them in an email (if you want to be anonymous just say so) or just leave a comment – I’ll find them and answer them the best I can. So here is one I found in our comments that I haven’t had a chance to answer…until…
Alfalfa and Orchard Grass When you live in an urban environment it can be pretty much impossible to grow everything you need. I wish I had enough space to grow all the grains we need and all the animal feed as well. But we can’t – there just isn’t enough room. But just because you…
I used to be a proponent of rototilling. It was comparatively easy to hand digging new beds. Especially if you have clay soil. When we moved into our house there were no beds. We wanted to make three 75′ long x 4′ wide beds. Seemed to be a rather daunting task to do by hand,…
Dog Island Farm is a small urban farm in the San Francisco Bay Area.
