Water waste or water savings – which are you planning for?
If the most current forecasts prove true, we in drought-wracked Southern California could be in for a very wet winter. Weather analysts are predicting a Godzilla El Niño, with once-in-a-generation levels of rainfall. Rainwater harvesting is the word of the…
What vegetables to plant when in Southern California
Here in Southern California, we can grow and harvest vegetables year-round. That doesn’t mean we can harvest tomatoes every month of the year; it means different crops will grow well here in different months of the year. The trick is…
Exposing the False Prophets of Transformation
Nicole Ashcoff has posted an excellent article on what comes after capitalism — or more precisely, what DOESN’T come after capitalism. She writes: “While elite storytellers [like Ophrah Winfrey, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, John Mackey of Whole Foods, and the…
What benefits does your drought-tolerant garden provide?
A California Natives garden can be a beautiful haven for bees, pollinators, butterflies, beneficial insects, birds, and urban wildlife. An edible garden can feed you and your family, perhaps with extra to share with your neighbors and the food pantry…
Some of my favorite books
Q: Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you? A: One of the first books I remember loving was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. My forever take-away was that there are many…
Garden’s Edge / Qachuu Aloom – Sept 3
We are delighted to co-host a very special Guatemalan farming and seed saving group on September 3. In New Mexico they are known as Garden’s Edge, and their Guatemalan name is Qachuu Aloom (“Mother Earth Association”). When aid organizations brought only hybrid and…
Soil pH in Southern California
I’ve been thinking about soil pH lately – particularly since the oven project at the Garden will be creating an ongoing supply of wood ash. pH is a measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. “Soil pH influences…
The Art of the Edible Landscape, Fall 2015
Is your food garden beautiful? At the Community Garden at Holy Nativity, we pay a lot of attention to aesthetics — as well as to the functional structure of the garden (soil, water, plant selection, maintenance team). This autumn I’ll be…
OvenMaster Training
There are baking skills and there are fire skills. Los Angeles Bread Bakers will soon be scheduling baking classes at the new Westchester Community Oven. (And we’ll have a public “grand opening” celebration sometime in September). But for fire skills,…
Make your own flowerpot ollas
how to make an easy, inexpensive, DIY olla for your garden - using flowerpots
