Summer Planters Beware
Bears may hibernate in the winter, but July signals the beginning of an extended period of dormancy for many Valley gardeners. The heat is on for the next several months, and you cannot blame people ...
Category Archives: Soil Improvement
Red Wrigglers vs. Night Crawlers
I have been privileged to receive many interesting letters from readers of this column. Some of their questions are printed here. Q: I buy night crawlers (earthworms) and put them around my plants. D...
George Patton, Seaweed Extract, & Clematis
George Patton, no relation to the general, is part of an army of a few select individuals who do combat on behalf of organic gardening throughout Los Angeles. A resident of Sherman Oaks, Patton’...
Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth
“Even into this century, when a country girl was going to be married in France, they fixed the amount of her dowry according to the weight of the manure produced on her father’s farm.R...
In Good Soil, Everything Grows Fine Together
I saw the two of them cheek by jowl in the nursery and could not resist the temptation of having them both. Their colors contrasted completely and perfectly with one another. To the extent that oppos...
Biowaste: Heavy Metals are Everywhere
Q. I need compost for my vegetable garden and fruit trees. I will also use some of it for flowers and shrubs. I have hard clay soil and will rototill in the compost to loosen the soil and provide nut...
