136 Garden Fundamentals with Robert Pavlis

December 11, 2019

...Soil science for home gardeners The problems with soil tests Soil prep for native plants Fungi inoculation products How to open up compacted soil Sources for organic material Ugh, landscape fabric Cardboard in the garden Hügelkultur Winter sowing Baggie technique LED lights How to water houseplants You can find Robert at: GardenFundamentals.com, GardenMyths.com on YouTube and via the Garden Fundamentals Facebook Group. Also–subscribe to Bike Talk!...

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Biochar: Miracle or Gimmick?

Mr. Homegrown

May 17, 2013

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

12 Comments

...a decrease in growth in some plants and higher yield in others. In the Arboretum and St. Paul campus sites, we noted similar results, but more crops seemed to decline with biochar than without it. There’s nothing new about biochar. It was in use by native peoples in the Amazon region before Columbus. Hopefully this study will help clarify what types of soils and what crops benefit most from its use. Do you have an opinion about Biochar? Leave a co...

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Annie’s Annuals and Perennials

Mr. Homegrown

July 10, 2013

Garden Design, Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

4 Comments

...would have us, down here in the Southland, badly beat. There’s a few good native plant nurseries here, but that’s about it. There’s nothing quite as spectacular as Annie’s Annuals and Perennials, located in Richmond on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. Entrance display at Annie’s. Photo: Annie’s Annuals and Perennials. Annie’s was one of the stops on the Garden Blogger’s Fling, where we got to hear Annie Hayes herself talk about her busi...

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Pierce Disease Resistant Grape Vines for Southern California

Mr. Homegrown

July 11, 2013

Gardening

7 Comments

...’ and has determined that it is a first generation hybrid (F1) between the native V. californica and a wine grape (Vitis vinifera) cultivar known as ‘Alicante Bouschet’. This grape, ‘Alicante Bouchet’, is unusual in that it has both red skin and red flesh – most red grapes and red wine gets its color from the skin only. Pearl River This mysterious vine came from the equally mysterious Papaya Tree Nursery. The talkative and knowledgeable owner of P...

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LA’s Parkway Garden Dilemma: Not Fixed Yet

Mr. Homegrown

August 20, 2013

Gardening, Urban Farming

9 Comments

...parkway, I also think that the city should be encouraging the planting of native and Mediterranean plants. My advice for the Bureau of Street Services for their new regulations: Consult the community: activists, landscape architects, non-profits and individuals like Ron Finley. If you had done this the last time we would not be wasting time and money to re-craft the parkway regulations. Throw out your plant lists. There are a lot of species of pl...

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