This guy makes so much sense and I’d like to meet him – and I’d bring my shovel.
“South Central Los Angeles [is the] home of the drive-thru and the drive-by. Funny thing is, the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.” Ron Finley
“Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city. Plus, you get strawberries.” Ron Finley
“We gotta flip the script on what a gangster is — if you ain’t a gardener, you ain’t gangster.” Ron Finley
“If kids grow kale, kids eat kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when none of this is presented to them, if they’re not shown how food affects the mind and the body, they blindly eat whatever you put in front of them.”
Ron Finley
I have a row of gardenias planted across the front of my house – Ed Campbell grafted gardenias to be exact. They’re doing pretty well, but a couple of times a year I have to treat the bushes for thrips. The tell-tale signs are leaves that lose their luster and have little, black spots on the undersides of the leaves. When the plants have been under attack for awhile they seem to develop a black soot on the leaves.
I typically treat for pests in the most organic way possible, but all those methods repeatedly failed on my gardenias and I was at my wit’s end. The guy from whom I bought the gardenias came by to deliver a few more plants so when he arrived, I showed him my problem. His solution is to use Bayer Rose & Flower Care which seems to be the only thing that works on this problem. It’s a combination of systemic pesticide and food for nutrition which should strengthen the plant against further attacks. Not organic, and sometimes compromises need to be made, but problem solved.
I’ve got a lot of herbs growing in my garden. I love the colors and the fragrances, not to mention that I can cook with produce from my garden.
One herb I’m growing isn’t for eating, but I’m enjoying it in the garden. Helichrysum (Bracteantha) italicum, aka Curry, is an ornamental herb used in floral arrangements for its dried flowers and delicious fragrance. It likes full sun, likes good drainage and is drought tolerant. You can’t eat it, but it sure smells good when I pass it in the yard. I’ve been using it as dividers in my planting beds.
This tub below is growing African Blue basil, the heartiest basil I have ever grown. This plant is actually from a cutting from my original plant that was taking over a raised bed in the front yard. Little did I know how big that monster would get!
I have had a bumper crop of cilantro so I cut a big bunch last weekend to make ice cubes for future cooking. I brought a big pile in to the kitchen, but when I plucked all the leaves off and finely chopped it down, mixed with olive oil, the final result was nine cubes. Doesn’t seem like much, but I think this will go a long way.
This giant mound is a mixture of edibles in tiered beds. The cilantro is taking over one side of the plot so I guess I need to make another round of chopped cilantro and olive oil cubes.
The swiss chard is robust and I’ve harvested a lot for our dinners. The celery is giving me a little trouble with bugs so I’m washing it down regularly. I have some parsley, sage, mint, and thyme hiding in there, too! It’s a mess, but good eatin’!
Here are some great ways to stretch your food and your food budget! Don’t waste food!
I’m home from Molokai but I’m not done looking, and talking about, my pictures! These aloes are blooming all over the island now. This plant was growing next to the beach, no watering other than sea mist and rain, beautiful and strong. Talk about bulletproof!
Okay, you’ve had the first day of the year to recover from 2012, so now there’s work to do in the garden. Check out the January Garden Tasks to help you get organized and git ‘er done. Happy New Year!!! Here’s to a beautiful garden all year long…..
Are you growing blueberries? I do and I LOVE being able to go out to the garden and pick a handful of really fresh berries. Blue sunshine! Living in coastal Southern California, the best kind for us to grow here are Southern Highbush blueberries. There are a number of varieties available to grow, so you [...]
I’m kind of new to the whole orchid game, so I’m just muddling along without much concern about whether I am doing the right thing or not. Orchid pruning came up in conversation a few weeks back and, honestly, I had never given it any thought. Other than cutting the flower stalk all the way [...]
May in the Garden is posted for your information. It’s starting to get exciting out in the garden. I’m cutting lots of sweet peas, the bees are buzzing around, and it smells so good in the evening as my jasmine sends waves of beautiful scent through the open windows.
