Posts under ‘Plants’

My very first California tomato blossom did not, indeed, yield a tomato. Instead, it fell victim to whatever was causing the yellowing of the plant. It browned. It shriveled. It most certainly did not transition to a fruit. This, which in my world constitutes an emergency, spurred my research into what might be killing all [...]

“Do you realize the tomato plants are turning yellow?” Fatemeh asked one day. I probably turned a little yellow myself. I had, indeed, noticed, but in my usual manner, had been trying to ignore it. I had also developed a convoluted set of theories that explained the problem. For example: We are downwind of a [...]

Though the seedlings received prime placement on the dining room table, one of the sunniest spots in the house, I knew I had limited time to get them in the ground. The cheery red plastic cups in which they were planted were not going to give them enough space to thrive, and looking at them [...]

While we were in the midst of sorting out the HOA problems, I received a cheery email from my coworker, Pilar, who was in the midst of nurturing tomato seedlings on my behalf. They were just about ready for delivery, she said, and she’d bring them in after the weekend. This presented a dilemma. Tell? [...]

A funny thing happened on the way to the patio garden: we ran into a bit of legal trouble. OK, to be fair, it wasn’t REAL legal trouble. There weren’t cops involved, and no one was led away in handcuffs. But there were rules and regulations tossed about via some very stern emails, and for [...]

Earlier today, at the very beginning of our monthly staff meeting at work, my coworker Pilar leaned over and murmured, “Your tomato seedlings smell.” Anyone listening carefully might have considered that an insult. Me? I considered it awesome.

At the risk of allowing this site to become an echo chamber, I want to point you in the direction of Trey Pitsenberger’s blog, and Trey’s take on the issue of the unscented Home Depot tomatoes I highlighted last week. Trey’s post mostly points back at me (echo…echo….echo…), but I think he provides a really [...]

During the height of my move to the new apartment, I made a last-minute run for more packing paper. The place I’d plan to buy the paper was closed, which sent me hightailing to Home Depot, the only place I could think of on short notice between where I was at the time and my [...]

I’m still deciding exactly what needs to go in the wine barrels on the patio, and Bill Thorness, author of Edible Heirlooms: Heritage Vegetables for the Maritime Garden has been kind enough to provide me with some terrific ideas, and the following guest post: Growing heirloom vegetables in large pots can be a great way [...]

Yesterday afternoon, I got an email from Seed Savers Exchange announcing it’s time to put in transplant orders. Since I moved to Oakland, I’ve been deleting most messages from SSE, although, it should be noted, not actually getting off the mailing list. Just deleting, and ignoring. Until yesterday afternoon. Though it’s not yet time for [...]