Mulch, mulch, mulch!

...ng stuff fall and lay there. This, by the way, entirely contrary to common gardening practice, which seems to believe that if a surface isn’t covered in turf or cement, it must be swept as clean as a kitchen floor. I see a lot of dead soil in my neighborhood, dry and exposed and baking in the sun–but ever so tidy. Insulating the soil provides the conditions necessary for life to bloom in the soil. Mulch helps retain soil moisture (which lessens th...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Garden Shows, Floppy Discs and an Auto-Wicking Garden

...e) May 22, 2016 #bikemonth If LA wants to recruit more bicycle riders, it should make roads safe for them https://t.co/KPUQjCFxAF pic.twitter.com/DfBJkuP0ll — L.A. Times Opinion (@latimesopinion) May 19, 2016 Cops Confiscate Axe from Teen Chopping Wood to Build Fort. Phew! https://t.co/Bq0vmxsI2s pic.twitter.com/dhYBLnKcws — Lenore Skenazy (@FreeRangeKids) May 19, 2016...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Subterranean Heating Systems, Achocha, Tree Beekeeping and Valentine’s Day Cocktails

...edgehoghugh @janeperrone @AlysFowler pic.twitter.com/4f1DFF4g4x — Guardian gardening (@guardiangardens) February 6, 2017 Now: TONIGHT: Meet the man reviving the ancient craft of ‘tree-beekeeping’ #bees #honey BBC1 at 7:30pm pic.twitter.com/W9N6pTuc1n — Natural BK Trust (@NaturalBeeTrust) February 6, 2017 Recycled Wine Barrel Chandelier https://t.co/jK3ool5vs3 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) February 11, 2017 How long do seeds stay viable? Are those se...

Read…

Reader Favorite California Native: Ceanothus

...er than yearly pruning, you can retire to the nearest bar and rest on your gardening laurels. But getting it established can be tricky. The most common mistake is over-watering during the summer months and planting in overly fertile soil. We didn’t over-water, so how we manged to kill three of them is a Root Simple gardening mystery. That said, many of our neighbors have had no problems with Ceanothus. If you have a well drained sunny spot, it’s a...

Read…

104 Erin Schanen the Impatient Gardener

...we discuss some of Erin’s recent blog posts and other subjects including: Gardening mistakes. Dealing with creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) and other weeds. Remodeling a cottage. Erin’s day job as editor of Sailing Magazine. You can hear more about Erin’s sailing adventures on Garden Fork Radio episode 421. How to plant a tree. Killing plants. Winter and gardening with climate change. The folly of taking shortcuts with your soil. The...

Read…