Hydrophobic: What to do when your soil is too dry
You pour water on your garden soil but it rolls right off the surface. It won't soak in! Here's what to do.
Manufacture microclimes
One of the big advantages of container gardening is that you have so much ability to adjust the immediate local “climate” your plants are growing in. If a plant is baking in too much sun, you can pick up the…
Drought-ready gardens
We know already that it’s gonna be a long hot summer. And (despite LA Times misleading headlines) Southern California is STILL in extreme drought conditions. That means we’ve got to adapt our gardens. Here’s what I’m doing at mine:
Rainwater Harvesting demonstrated at the Community Garden
We have 4 different types of rainwater harvesting demonstrated at the Community Garden at Holy Nativity in Los Angeles. You are welcome to come and see them, and copy them at home.
Making the best of drought and flood
Seems like we’re getting the weather extremes this year. A summer of extreme drought, water rationing, and lawn removal. And winter forecasts are for record-breaking rains (but all that water isn’t here yet). How do we make the best of…
Rainwater harvesting: Infiltration features
One category of rainwater harvesting uses Mother Earth as your “storage device.” You design your landscape, including choices on surface materials and making decisions about the grading (land sculpting), with the goal of making water soak into the ground. Up until fairly…
Rainwater harvesting: Capture and Store devices
I’ve written before about rain barrels. At the Community Garden at Holy Nativity, we have rain tanks. TreePeople has a massive cistern up on Mulholland. All of these devices — rain barrels, rain tanks, cisterns — are what are considered…
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 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…
Make your own flowerpot ollas
how to make an easy, inexpensive, DIY olla for your garden - using flowerpots
