The rain held off last night as we burned our solstice affirmations in my friends' backyard fire pit. As we said goodbye to the sun on the longest night of the year, we each tossed in a slip of paper where we had written something from this past year that we'd like to let go. It was a wonderful ritual, that in different circumstances might have been solemn. Our group, however, was about 1/2 kids, and as soon as the affirmations were burned, all sorts of experimental items from the garden...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Before I wrote to you on Seedurdays, back when I was first starting this newsletter, I wrote to you on #Caturdays. Over the years, I shared lots of garden pictures of this guy, perhaps the world's best garden model: Though it has to be mentioned, even as a youngster he was never much for catching gophers. This picture was pretty typical, giving me a look that says, "Well? Aren't you going to get those gophers?" As of today, our beloved Nani, who turned 16 in November and whose full name is...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Working late and packing Sixies last night, I took this picture for you: When you receive a finished product in it's cute little package, you can't really know all the waste that happened along the way. These little pop-outs are a good example. They make the box way cuter! And you can see the glaze color of the pot inside without having to open it. Of course, little bits of extra stuff add up. This is just a quick shot from a few minutes of packing. Because we only use paper packaging with...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
I waited two full years with our young pluot trees before doing what everyone* said we would need to do: Apply a copper-based fungicide. *“Everyone” in this case includes the tree nursery where we bought the trees and our local master gardeners, both of whom advocate organic growing and are better at growing fruit than I am. (Copper-based treatments are safe for organic growing, BTW. When a product has the OMRI label, it means that it can be used on organic produce. That doesn't necessarily...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Do I need to go out and cover the citrus / avocado / other frost-tender plant tonight?! Have you ever asked yourself that question? It’s one thing to check the weather forecast for your area, but the actual microclimate around the specific plant you’re worried about is a whole other question. Here is a detailed discussion about measuring weather and microclimates in home gardens (available as both a podcast and a written article) between two of my favorite online people: Farmer Fred Hoffman,...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Are you thinking about the holidays yet? Is the Black Friday madness closing in around you yet? As I write this, there is a little "Claim Black Friday deal" button at the top of my screen urging me to upgrade my email subscription. What does business software even have to do with holiday gifts?? Because I'm a business owner, however, of course I'm thinking about Black Friday, whether I want to or not. Starting about a month ago, I was bombarded by marketing *for* marketing: Services aimed at...
2 months ago • 3 min read
In an alternate life, my family and I are living in a town called Squamish, in British Columbia. Because it’s green and beautiful and full of moss and ferns. Because it’s close to extended family and to mountains and BC ferries. And because we spent a lovely family vacation there a few years back. For many practical reasons, we actually live in California, but we check in on Squamish from time to time. Throughout the fall when it was 70ish and sunny here, it was frequently around 33 degrees...
3 months ago • 3 min read
On day 3 of a heat wave, I found myself having hot chicken soup for 2nd breakfast. Yes, I've been too hot for many days. Also, it's back to school season and I have a cold. By lunchtime it will be way too hot for hot soup, and I expect dinner will be something cold out on the patio again. However. For my health, even if it's just a placebo effect, I need some broth today. So. 10:30 am soup it is! I like soup. And I like 2nd breakfast. Maybe the weirdness isn't the combo, it's that I've never...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Our end of summer sale kicks off tomorrow, Thursday September 4th at noon Pacific time! Don't want to hear about the sale? That's ok. Click here to turn off all emails about the sale. You'll stay on the regular email list. Because of the sale, Seedurday's regular newsletter is coming out today, and it's a big topic. Here goes . . . I’ve heard and read it many times this summer: Vegetable gardening is a waste of money. “The only thing that’s cost effective to grow is zucchini! Lolz.” “The...
5 months ago • 8 min read