The Laguna Beach heatwave continues to confuse me and my veggies! It was 80 degrees here last Saturday and my winter crops didn’t know what to do, so they bolted. Literally. Just when the broccoli was actually producing beautiful clusters–without the mold problem I usually battle–it got so hot they went straight to flowers. So much for roasted broccoli. And just look what happened to the bok choy before I even enjoyed one […]
Yes, it’s that time again! Tomatomania at Rogers Gardens. You’re probably wondering what three cans of high gloss purple spray paint have to do with Tomatomania and my spring veggie garden. Well, wonder no more, and take a look at my “refurbished” bistro table sitting proudly in the newly-planted spring garden “screen” house. Tomatomania is always so much fun! They have hundreds–I’m not kidding–of varieties of tomatoes to choose from. […]
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 […]
I always love the first big harvest of the summer season. When I dug up these red potatoes and picked the green beans I knew I was going to make a red potato and green bean salad with vinaigrette dressing–I’ll share the recipe in another blog, but right now I want to tell you about the garden maintenance I did this weekend, and hopefully inspire you to start working on […]
You might be wondering…what are these? And what do you do with them? Well, wait until you taste the results. It’s like you’re eating the best-ever roasted potatoes…except they’re parsnips! Cathy Foote…this one’s for you and Michael. Never tasted a parsnip? You’re in for a big, delicious surprise! Prepared like this they taste like really yummy roasted potatoes. And with the carrots mixed in–it’s like heaven. (And I don’t […]
It’s been exactly a month since I planted the new garden and I thought you’d like to see how the veggies are coming along. So I’ll take you on a pictorial “then” and “now” tour. I swear by starting with good soil and healthy bug-free plants. So find a great nursery and get to know the people who work there–they’ll be glad to help you. Roger’s Gardens rogersgardens.com is my “go-to” favorite […]
What a weekend! I went on a shopping spree at Roger’s Gardens http://www.rogersgardens.com TomatoMania www.tomatomania.com, waited patiently for Max to finish the garden remodel and then I planted 99 (I just counted them) new spring veggies. Originally, I just wanted to replace the “chemically treated wood” surrounding my veggie beds with cedar, and install a better, more efficient drip irrigation system. But you know how that goes. Projects always start small. Then they […]
When most people think of fall they think of college football, the start of the basketball season (well, maybe not this year) and the World Series…but not me. I long for the day when the veggies arrive at Roger’s Gardens and I can begin my fall garden. It seemed I had to wait longer this year, but last Saturday I took the surfboard, skateboards, drumsticks, guitar picks and various other reminders of […]