Savillum
Our neighbor started New Zealand tomatoes from seeds and gave me one seedling just a few inches tall. I had tried to grow tomatoes from seed this year, but they got too hot in the sun one day and didn’t survive. I still have a lot to learn about starting tomatoes. All other plants seem […]
Let me introduce you to a variety of pepper that is very rare. It was cross-pollinated, and is partial jalapeño. A friend gave us a small plant, which is doing well so far in one of the raised garden boxes. My friend calls it the “Matsushima Pepper.” I asked my friend for an explanation of […]
I have been getting into propagation lately. I wrote recently about how to propagate Ajuga. Today I organized what I call my “propagation station,” and perhaps you need one too! Something I had to learn the hard way was how important it is to label and separate varieties of plants. When I first started propagating, […]
Last year, I grew French cantaloupe from seed. Then, I dehydrated the fruit into a crispy, thin fruit leather. It was delicious and different than the typical flavors of strawberry or apple or apricot. This year, I decided to grow melon from a start I found at the store. The melons that are coming off […]
End rot is one of the most common problems I have had, and we have nutrient-rich garden boxes. Even with the best soil, I need to supplement. End rot often happens when plants don’t have enough calcium. End rot has a few signs. First is simply a “rotting” of the end of the fruit or […]
We grew so many tomato plants last year that I didn’t have room for the Sun Sugar tomatoes (a type of cherry tomato) that I bought. So, my sister grew them. I got a taste and they were so good I decided to make room for them this year. This week, there are finally some […]
Strawberries are possibly the easiest plant to propagate. Maybe even easier than succulents. When I first received my strawberries from my sister Kelly, they were starts in a bag with water. They had long roots. Kelly told me that once my strawberries were mature, I could start some of my own. I remembered this and […]
Crimson Night raspberries are a deep red and we grow them with Red and Double Gold raspberry varieties. Crimson Night is a variety of raspberry that was first available for purchase in 2013. The variety was invented and introduced by Courtney Weber, Cornell small fruits breeder and associate professor of horticulture. This variety is patented: […]
Pineapple Tomatoes are one of the most delicious varieties of tomato. They have a solidness to them, not the seeds-floating-in-mucus type. They are great diced for tacos, sliced for sandwiches, or even whole if you’re the type to bite right in like a vampire. I grew this plant from a start, not from seed. Earlier […]
Watermelon Cucumber Salad is one of my favorite summer salads. It is healthy and doesn’t require any dressing. Ingredients Watermelon Cucumber Feta cheese Last year, I used cucumber from my garden. I diced watermelon first and add it to the bowl. Then, I chopped up lemon cucumber and added it. Then, I crumbled feta cheese […]
Of all plants, I have the most varieties of succulents. I like how hardy they are—and I can go on vacation without getting a plant sitter. They survive for days without attention or water. One of my favorite varieties of succulent is “Little Pickles,” Othonna Capensis, also known as “Ruby Necklace.” Little Pickles can appear […]
Our zucchini plants have been producing a lot. I gave away some zucchinis, but I still had many left. My 97-year-old neighbor recently taught me how to make zucchini fritters so I can use my zucchini. I hope you enjoy this zucchini fritter recipe. This is roughly the recipe she taught me. She and I […]
In this post, I am going to talk how I plant blueberries in the right soil so that they can thrive. We have two varieties of blueberry plants in a garden box together: Sunshine Blue and Pink Lemonade. What I share is applicable to blueberries in general. These are my personal experiences growing blueberries, not […]
Tree Poppies, or Matilija Poppies, are native to California and northern Mexico. They are very tall flowers (the tallest stemmed flower I have been in the presence of) with delicate white petals. They bloom in the spring and summer here in Northern California along a short hiking trail. The poppies I have seen are the […]
Horsetail, which is the English name for the genus Equisetum, is a genus that comprises fifteen varieties, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. It is also known as “scouring rush.” The horsetail is the only living genus in the class Equisetopsida. This is a prehistoric plant, and the only of its kind to survive to this day! […]
We had some room in one of the garden boxes and I saw some melon starts at the local hardware store, so I decided to purchase and plant one. I started French melons from seeds last year and that process was successful. I even dehydrated some melon, which was really cool. We had many small […]
I have three potted Ajuga plants in my back yard that have long stems with leaves growing off of them. This usually means that they are ready to be propagated. I cut the start, which it has a “V” shape to it, and set the bottom of the “V” in water for a week or […]
This week, I have been painting garden signs! They are fun to make. If you want me to make some for you, contact me for pricing. Otherwise, read below for how to make them yourself! First, I buy wooden stakes that are 1/4” thick and about 12” long. Really, 10-15” long works. The stakes need […]
There are two ways I know of to deter birds from eating your cherries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. The most effective is to use a net, but that doesn’t have the best aesthetics. If you have many fruit trees and want to get as much fruit as possible, go with the net. However, there is a […]
I love juicing! My all-time favorite juicer, which has been an amazing worker for over ten years, is my Breville Juice Fountain. Breville Juicers are amazing. They really get all the liquid out of the vegetables and fruits. I like a little foam on top of my juice, but if you hate foam, the juicer […]
Savillum