Celery patch pests are trouble. I highly recommend growing celery in raised beds, so you don’t have to get down on all fours to inspect your celery. I did that today. I went out to harvest some spears for juicing, and ran across a cabbage worm. I ran in for my camera and had to […]
Pineapple Guava Popsicles! This is the first year in the ten years we have had the pineapple guava tree that the squirrels have left the guavas alone, and I have been able to gather a handful of fallen guavas every day. I also have guavas on one of the bushes planted in pots. I’m not […]
My baby watermelon plants are confused watermelons. Do they not know it’s nearly Halloween? I think they think they are pumpkins! I photographed four baby watermelons, on separate vines this morning at 8AM. After a long summer of low production, my neighbor, C.L., remarked he thought I should be watering more. Because I hand-water everything, […]
Today, October 22nd, is the 22nd birthday of my son, Walker. He’s a senior at Stanford, and I’d hoped to be up there, but the life of a college athlete is very busy, and he didn’t think he would even have time to dine with me. So, I am not going to see him in […]
Fig Beetle Grub. This year I discovered my first fig beetle grub, or larva. Also, known as a June Bug. Eggs are laid by the adults during the summer under pots or just under the soil surface and when the grubs hatch they burrow down and inch or two and spend the winter under the […]
My Monarch photo appeared on GardenStalking today! (Click on the photo to go the blog post.) GardenStalking is a sister site to DessertStalking. Join GardenStalking and submit photos! Monarch Butterflies only lay eggs on milkweed, and the Western Monarch is particularly at risk due to a parasite called O.C., and with loss of habitat. Grow […]
Things You Expect to See, And Don’t in October. You don’t expect to see summer vegetables and flowers. You do expect pineapple guava a Stupice tomato (developed in the Czech Republic, and suited for Southern California’s microclimate by the coast) and if you are lucky, some olives. What’s showing in your garden in October? What […]
Today I had Some Thoughts on Clay. This is my soil. Hard, almost hard as a rock, compacted clay. If I was a potter, or a brick maker, I would have a lifetime supply with which to work. It took a pick axe to separate this clod from the Earth. Last fall, my son Walker […]
Yesterday, I stopped into the Waldorf school, where one of my sons spent five years, to say hello to Farmer Jack, who was giving a biodynamic demonstration for the children. You will remember Farmer Jack from episode 7 of Late Bloomer. I hadn’t seen him in a while. The children were taking turns stirring water […]
Monarch caterpillars, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: You are gentle, and stunningly beautiful; You don’t mind sharing a milkweed branch with a sibling; You can hang upside down, while shedding your skin; (See those smaller feet it has just shed? This rather blows my mind.) You are big! Your color […]
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