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Tag: Homesteading

Long Beach City College plant sale date
Local Garden Tours and Plant Sales for Spring 2014

Local Garden Tours and Plant Sales for Spring 2014

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I look forward to this time of year all winter long, the Spring Garden Tour season and annual plant sales sponsored by some of the local non profit horticulture groups. For many years now, my favorite plant sale has been the Long Beach City College Horticulture Department’s annual spring plant sale and fundraiser.  This is their 42nd year and the sale falls on April 16th -18th, 2014, the week before LBCC has their Spring Break.   If you are a local…

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review of spicezee
Choosing a New Bare Root Fruit Tree – Spice Zee NectaPlum

Choosing a New Bare Root Fruit Tree – Spice Zee NectaPlum

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I know, I know, I shouldn’t be thinking about buying and adding more bare root fruit trees, since my yard is already crammed full, but it is hard to not collect one of everything, and even more so, after K shared some of her Spice Zee nectaplums last summer. Back in early July, K generously gave me a half-dozen Spice Zee fruits, even though she didn’t have much of a crop yet since the tree is only 3 years old….

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vincent kiwi
Tons and Tons of Vincent Kiwis!

Tons and Tons of Vincent Kiwis!

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Okay, maybe not tons, but at least 50 or 60 lbs. of Kiwis, is my best guess at this point. Although in past years, I have grumbled and griped a lot about the lack of pollination on my Kiwi vines, this year we have a bumper crop, and now that we have had a few cold snaps, it is time to begin harvesting. If I had to guess, I would say there are at least 500 kiwis on the female…

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Bababerry plants
How to Prune Bababerries and other Everbearing Raspberry Plants

How to Prune Bababerries and other Everbearing Raspberry Plants

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The past couple of years I have been received lots of questions via email regarding how to prune Bababerry plants, a variety of everbearing raspberry that grows well in Southern California and other low chill – warm climates.  Managing Baba raspberries is much the same as any other everbearing or fall bearing raspberry variety.  Most folks are able to pick fruit the first year they buy and plant an everbearing raspberry, including Baba. That is not the case on summer bearing…

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I have caught the Iris Virus

I have caught the Iris Virus

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* Iris Virus = A burning desire to learn everything there is about growing and caring for iris plants. A person with an iris virus reads tons of iris publications and surfs all of the known iris society web sites. The person with the virus may have just started growing irises, be an avid collector, or be an established grower/ hybridizer of irises. For me, it all started back in 1995, when a next door neighbor gave me two rhizomes…

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new fig tree
Adding More Plants To The Edible Landscape

Adding More Plants To The Edible Landscape

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I actually didn’t get as many new edible plants and trees this winter or spring as I have in past years, but I still probably got more than I really have room for.  Basically, my small urban backyard is getting too full and the family isn’t ready to give up the front yard lawn yet.  Since many of the neighbors on the block are changing over their lawns in the city’s Lawn to Garden program, our front yard has become…

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How to Gently Get A Brooding Hen to Stop Setting

How to Gently Get A Brooding Hen to Stop Setting

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Bantam Cochins are one of the best breeds of chickens for small urban backyards, mainly because they are generally quiet, curious, very friendly, easy to handle, kids like their small size and docile nature, they don’t fly like other bantams do, and they do well with confinement to a small coop or tractor.  Some people are reticent to keep them as part of their flock because they are also known for going broody often, just like Silkies.  Well, the part…

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Free Reusable Storage Canning Lids that Fit Ball and Kerr Jars

Free Reusable Storage Canning Lids that Fit Ball and Kerr Jars

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Once a jar of homemade jelly or jam is opened, reusing the same metal lid and ring that was used to can it can be difficult and messy.  When my neighbor first starting teaching me to can a couple of summers ago, she asked if I had any storage caps or lids, and when I told her “no” she mentioned where I could buy the reusable lids at the best price locally, along with some of the other canning stuff…

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Low Sugar Kiwi Strawberry Jam from Home Grown Vincent Kiwis

Low Sugar Kiwi Strawberry Jam from Home Grown Vincent Kiwis

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This past growing season, despite the fact we only had a half dozen male flowers on the Kiwi vines, we still had a bountiful crop of Vincent Kiwis, way more than the previous year when we only had two male flowers for cross pollination.  Since we are limited on our cold storage space here at Hanbury House, rather than completely harvest all the fruit at once this year, I decided to let the fruit continue to hang on the vines,…

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The High Cost of Sub-Urban Homesteading

The High Cost of Sub-Urban Homesteading

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  Am I imagining it or are edible plants at the nurseries going way up in price due to the increased popularity of backyard food gardening, sustainability, and homesteading? I was running errands this morning, and one of them took me past a Garden Center; it’s a chain, but I won’t name names.  I love browsing at new plant selections and I am in process of helping a friend with a backyard garden design that includes some fruit trees, so…

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