Hollywood always gets gardens wrong (I’m talking to you, Maze Runner)

...t, at this moment, laughing riotously at my boring middle aged concerns. (“Plants? You were looking at the plants?”) Yes, I was analyzing the background foliage while yummylicious Dylan O’Brian and Thomas “Elf Boy” Sangster were talking about…something. But yeah, I was looking at them, too. But seriously, ivy??? This may be an all time low. And to add insult to injury, they also have an upside down tomato planter strung between two of the trellise...

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My Big Fat Greek Squash

...visit my mom, her Greek neighbor pops over the fence to offer me seeds and plants. He visits Greece each summer and comes back with seeds for plants whose names he can’t translate into English. As a result I always have a few mystery Greek vegetables growing in the garden. This spring he gave me a squash seedling he had propagated. It grew into a massive vine and produced two winter squashes whose weight exceeded the capacity of my kitchen scale....

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Build a vegetable prison to keep out raccoons and skunks

...Down to protect small seedlings: And up to act as a trellis and allow tall plants to grow out the top: I’ve noticed that once plants get established and past the 2-foot point I don’t usually have to worry about those midnight raccoon parties. Obviously, if I had to deal with deer I’d have to build a bigger cage. I can also cover the whole thing in floating row cover material if I want to keep out cabbage leaf caterpillars. If you’re a Sketchup use...

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Beads and Roman Sandals Won’t Be Seen

...which is essentially a mound. In the permaculture version the water hungry plants are placed at the bottom of the mound and the dry plants at the top, the idea being that the water collects towards the bottom of the mound shaped spiral. We didn’t do the mound thing out of laziness and a lack of materials, and because the herbs we planted don’t require much water anyways. As for the spiral shape itself, we’d like to think that it’s our little tribu...

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Artichoke Season at the Homegrown Revolution Compound

...t than the Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) which is also one of the most ideal plants for our climate here in coastal California. Let’s count the other reasons: They are perennial, producing and abundant crop starting with the second year. Artichokes are attractive, making an ideal choice for edible landscaping. They spread like crazy. Suckers can be transplanted elsewhere. They’re damn tasty either steamed, combined with pasta or made into an omelet....

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