Saturday Tweets: Bulbs, Bees and Basil

October 10, 2015

...o/vl8yudowa9 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) October 8, 2015 Michael Pollan on Plant Neurobiology – Commentary – The New Yorker https://t.co/ngNkCP6U9T via @YouTube — Root Simple (@rootsimple) October 7, 2015 4 new varieties of #basil vs 4 favorites! http://t.co/G8jOO9rvze #gardenchat #mygarden pic.twitter.com/pVu4YUKKMn — Gardenerd (@gardenerd1) October 6, 2015 Sauerkraut crocks are for holding umbrellas: http://t.co/S6KjECPPp4 — Root Simple (@rootsi...

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Ill advised grafting projects

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2016

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

4 Comments

...6.0% and 7.6% less total fruit yield per cv. It does remind me of the unsuccessful attempt back in the 1970s to graft hops onto cannabis root stock with the goal of creating a legal looking plant containing THC. The grafts take but the “Hopijuana” plants contain no THC. No doubt this is a huge disappointment to the microbreweries of Colorado....

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Growing Potatoes in Tires

Mr. Homegrown

January 29, 2008

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

20 Comments

...Chris, is to dig trenches and mound up earth around the base of the potato plant as it grows. We’ve planted earlier this year, to see if our potatoes will do better in Southern California’s mild spring weather. One disadvantage to this earlier planting might be all the rain we get in January and February. Soggy soil can cause the potatoes to rot before they start growing. We’ll keep our fingers crossed–we’ve had a streak of bad luck with our plant...

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Behold the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata)

Mr. Homegrown

July 13, 2009

Pests

4 Comments

...rpshooter pee. Sharpshooters feed on the xylem, the water bearing veins of plants. As the xylem contains mostly water, the sharpshooter must process large quantities of material in order to survive. Excess water is puffed out their rear ends, a fascinating thing to see close up. The constant water puffing combined with their fast side to side movements make GWS seem more like machines than insects. Perhaps we could “monetize” this blog by teaming...

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Rapini is the New Broccoli

Mr. Homegrown

January 6, 2010

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

8 Comments

...roccoli or cauliflower. It’s a cool season crop, so here in Los Angeles we plant it in the fall for a winter harvest. You just gotta pick those flower buds soon, before they actually start to flower, otherwise you’re in for extra bitterness. The variety I planted is another winner from the Franchi seed company, Cima di Rapa Quarantina. As this vegetable doesn’t ship well, it’s an obvious choice for the home garden. While fresh homegrown broccoli i...

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