My garden gifts me wonderful things all year long, but this year I think it sensed I needed a bit more…maybe a sign?

Spring equinox is March 20th around my part of the world and it’s coming up fast and furious. Now, I have to admit that doing my spring garden prep work was never a source of serious intestinal “knottage” in my earlier years. In fact it was a seasonal milestone that I really looked forward to…a sort of “back to school” feeling that everything was nothing but possibilities.

Originally posted in 2011, I wanted to update and re-post this as California (and the country) deals with the wettest winter in years, ending years of drought. Our thoughts are with all who are in the areas of the state-wide wild fires that devastated the homes and communities of so many.  These areas are extremely […]

With dozens of places to get a fine cup ‘o joe on our block, you might think we’d be collecting the grounds by the truckload to use at The Cook’s Garden. But this is the time for restraint and information

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

The method to the madness of organic pest management with a bit on responsible fertilizing thrown in! The following is handout material from an HGEL lesson and for your individual reference only. Please do not reproduce or distribute without the author’s written consent. Click HERE to download lesson

What is”the nitrogen”cycle? Nitrogen makes up 78% of earth’s atmosphere.

“It’s a no-brainer for organic sustainability gardeners but this graphic makes it so simple and clear for non-gardening folks. Treating the soil, soil food web, air, oceans and animals as one living being to be cared for and nourished is an idea that our agronomy forebearers had practiced for centuries.”

Download the PDF to the handout for my “Oh…Beehave” class on bee-friendly gardening!

The soil food web is the community of organisms living all or part of their lives in the soil.
Soil organisms support plant health as they decompose organic matter, cycle nutrients, enhance soil structure, and control the populations of soil organisms including crop pests.