Summer in Laguna Beach this year was very gray and dreary. Not a lot of sun for tomatoes or peppers. But I kept at it. The cages around the raised beds did their job and I’m happy to say I only caught a couple rats! Below I will share my harvests and some pointers for new gardeners. If I can save anyone any aggravation I’ll be pleased. This is my […]
I should have known better! Just last week I was telling a friend that my garden had been “pest-and-critter-free” this year. I was even gloating a little. As soon as I said it I worried that I had jinxed it…and boy, did I ever! Last Wednesday, as I planted more cilantro (I can never have enough), admired how well my lettuce looked, and nibbled on the best strawberry crop I’ve ever had, […]
A lot of you have asked how my garden was doing this summer–or should I say lack of summer here in Laguna Beach. I think we broke a few records for how little sunshine we’ve had. So when I woke up to sunshine last Wednesday I was so excited–I had forgotten what that was like. This summer the sun made an appearance around 2 or 3 in the afternoon–if at […]
This is what June Gloom looks like in Southern California. It’s grey, wet, damp and chilly. It’s the kind of cold that hangs in the air all day and bathroom towels don’t ever really dry–not even overnight! On a good day the sun might peek out around 4. On a bad day we don’t see the sun at all. I hate it and my garden hates it too, especially the tomatoes. So […]
I thought my season for tomatoes was almost over and look what I found in the garden this morning! But I also found more horned-caterpillars who were enjoying them as well. And worse yet “something” ate all the tops off of my cilantro. That’s a new problem for me, but I’ll worry about that later. First I have to enjoy these tomatoes. I could have just sliced them and […]
What do my garden and my blog have in common with David Bowie? Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! I was experimenting with the format of my blog and before I knew it…changes were made and the old format was no longer available. I hope you like the new look! The one feature I really like is the “Search” button on the top right. Just type in any ingredient or anything you’d like to cook […]
My poor garden. If I’m not sharing tomatoes with the critters… …the plants are dying on the vine. It’s so sad. It never fails. Just when you think everything in the garden is happy and producing…Wham! Crop Failure. And this time on a huge scale. This was one of my favorite tomatoes–the Black Seaman Russian Heirloom that I got at TomatoMania at Rogers Gardens. It produced the most delicious tomatoes I’ve […]
Whenever I have a tough day at work I can’t wait to come home and dig in the dirt–and for the last two weeks that’s been every single day. Why? We just got a new computer system at work and let’s just say, they’re still fine tuning things. We’re all crabby and grumpy trying to figure it all out, but today I shared some of my tomatoes with my fellow […]