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Written by Janine Warner
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Monday, 06 July 2009 18:52 |
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We seem to have at least two different pests in the garden this summer that are eating our trees. Any help and advice about how to help the trees, without poisoning their fruit (or us) would be much appreciated. Peach Tree Leaves are Curling and Turning Red  Exhibit A is a photo of the leaves on one of our Peach Trees.
Whatever it is that is plaguing this Peach Tree is causing the leaves to curl and turn a kind of burnt reddish-orange color. We have four Peach trees and this only seems to be happening toone of them this year. I've seen this in past years on another of the trees, but it's worse than ever this year and is affecting nearly all of the new growth leaves on the tree pictured here. Avocado Tree Leaves Have Spots  Exhibit B is a photo of the leaves on our Avocado Tree. I love this tree, which is about 30 feet tall and produces bushels of avocados every year. I’ve seen these spots on the leaves before, but never so many and on so many leaves.
Please add your comments with any suggestions for how to combat these pests and save our beloved trees (and their wonderful fruit). Thank you for your help!
The Accidental Gardener |
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Written by Janine Warner
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Saturday, 04 July 2009 19:59 |
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After years of frustrated experimentation, I've finally found a spray gun nozzle that works!  Don't get me wrong, like all nozzles I've tried this one will wear out over time, but after many attempts I've finally found a nozzle that makes me happy.
In fairness to nozzle makers everywhere, these hose attachments must withstand tremendous water pressure, and if you're like me, they get dragged through the dirt, dropped, and occasionally stepped on, as well. But after the frustration of bringing home new nozzles that didn’t work from the start, I’m happy to report consistently good luck with the Dramm Revolver. With nine different settings -- from spray to jet to full to mist -- you get everything you need to water, mist, and spray clean everything in the garden, including the muddy tools. And the Dramm Revolver, which looks a bit like a ray gun from the latest sci fi cartoon, even comes in a rainbow of colors. I prefer red because it’s easy to find and that means I’m less likely to step on it. Order the Dramm 9 Revolver Garden Hose Nozzle from Amazon |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Monday, 15 June 2009 03:08 |
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 It’s pretty much a given today that the top chefs are looking to use the freshest produce in their cooking. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to follow chefs as they traveled to local farms or scoured farmers markets and talked to the gardeners to find just the right ingredients for that night’s meal.
Brix, the well-regarded restaurant in the Napa Valley town of Yountville, has taken that symbiotic relationship of gardener and chef a step further by having its own two (actually 16, if you include the vineyard and orchard) acres on the property set aside for produce to be used in the restaurant.
I recently talked to Guillermo “Memo” Rodriguez, the master gardener at Brix and started by asking what the chefs had come to pick from his garden that day. The answer was English peas, plus some tarragon and parsley and thyme for an English-pea risotto that Executive Chef Anne Gingrass-Paik was looking to put back on the menu. The peas were also being used in a chicken pasta that was already on the menu. (If anyone was lucky enough to eat that dish at Brix on May 29, please let me know how it was …)
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 00:31 |
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 When starting plants from seed, you will want to find a place that gets a lot of light each day -- and I mean a lot (at least four hours). I'm lucky in that my kitchen window gets that much sun so I've been able to start a number of plants from seeds there.
The other important thing is a good soil mix. Here is the mix used (and suggested) by the folks running the farm and garden at Esalen: 1.5 parts sifted compost
1.5 parts vermiculite
1 part coco peat
.5 parts earth worm castings
.25 kelp meal Not having any coco peat or worm casting around, I start seedlings using an organic potting mix plus the vermiculite, compost and kelp emulsion. If anybody has any soil recipes they'd like to share, feel free to send them along or post them in the comments section of this article. |
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Gardening Tips
