I have been getting a number of inquires from other gardeners around the country asking where to buy Bababerry plants. In addition, I am often asked about shipping the potted Baba berry plants I propagate each year from my own Baba Berry patch. Up until recently, I have limited my sales to local gardeners. I really haven’t had a need to ship, since I barely keep up with requests for Babas from Southern California gardeners. But last month, I finally…
Burclover is a commonly used name for two prickly invasive clovers, Black Medic Medicago lupulina and California Burclover Medicago polymorpha. Since the beginning of the last drought we had, probably around 2007, my neighborhood has slowly been overtaken by burclover. It is the tiny clover looking plant with yellow flowers and then prickly spiral shaped seed pods that stick to beach towels, picnic blankets, and dog fur. I have been hand pulling it from the beginning, not wanting to resort…
Now that our wet season is pretty much over, it is time to switch back to gray watering in the in the back yard garden. For a little over 5 years we have been using some of the water from our washer machine to irrigate part of the backyard. During most of that time, the washer machine water was just sent out through a hole I haphazardly made in the laundry room window and into a homemade surge tank. I…
As many urban chicken keepers will attest, backyard chickens can be addictive. And for flock owners, like myself, who often have non chicken keeping friends’ eyes glaze over at the mere mention of chickens, there is help out there. It is in a social network at MeetUp: Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts (although I have over heard a few members jokingly call Chicken Addiction Anonymous.) When I first joined in April of 2010, Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts, or LAUCE…
Some gardeners save “heirloom” and non-hybrid seed from special plants. I don’t consider myself one of those conscientious gardeners, only rarely saving seed from some of my favorite perennials. However, I often have packets of vegetable seeds leftover at the end of the season that I didn’t manage to use up or I bought on an impulse and never got around to planting. Seed retailers and growers would like us gardeners to discard out of date seed packets and buy…
My daughter and I both love fairies and fairy gardens. I had not visited LBCC Horticulture Department grounds since last spring, and I was delighted to find that fairies moved in over the course of the year. They had set up miniature house in a tree and on the ground underneath, as well as a miniature sized vineyard, railroad, greenhouse, and windmill. There were a few scattered tiny gnomes, too. If you are local and like gardening, mini…
Pesticides cost lots of money, especially organic ones. A carton of iron phosphate type snail bait sets me back $10 to $15, depending on volume, and it needs to be reapplied every few weeks. Hand picking is generally as affective as using chemicals, and a whole lot safer, but I don’t always make time to do it. However, the bug bounty hunters are often happy to do it for me. My kids, as well as a few of their friends,…
Long Beach City College April 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. 2012 9AM-6PM Long Beach City College Horticulture Department is holding its 40th Annual Open House and Spring Plant Sale this April. For many years, the Fullerton Arboretum’s Green Scene was my all time favorite plant sale, but in recent years, I have decided this sale is even more fun. It is kind of like a treasure hunt. In past years, I purchased some of my favorites plants here, including red…
Depending on what garden resource I read or who I listen to, what I do around our property is referred to by a variety of names…urban homesteading, Permaculture, backyard orchard culture, edible landscaping, victory gardening, etc. I really don’t care what it is called, except when my husband calls it an addiction. This is a small sample of what’s growing around here, and more pictures can be found throughout my blog. We live on a 1/12th of an acre, smack…
In February 2009, I purchased three tiny 4″ goji berry Lycium barbarum plants from a fellow edible plant collector during bare root planting season. At the time, I was reticent to pay a premium for a small plant I knew very little about, and even worse, never tasted. I like collecting edible plants, especially ones that are exotic for Socal backyard gardens, hard to find the fruit sold as organic in stores, or would cost me more than other common…