With year round gardening required at the garden, you may be wondering what to plant. If the thought of deciding what winter crops to plant is daunting this year, consider doing a cover crop. Cover crops are close-growing plants sown
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Butterfly Gardens
Attracting Butterflies to a Garden Butterflies are some of the most beautiful and interesting creatures on Earth. I found simple joy in watching butterflies dance around my garden and yard. A butterfly garden is an easy way to see more
Read moreGardening For Good
With all the anxiety that has been circulating, last weekend I decided instead of worrying about trying to go out and get more food and supplies than we actually needed, I would plant my garden. It was the best
Read moreBackyard Crop Rotation
Article Written by Diana Lovejoy Backyard Crop Rotation One of the ways that organic gardeners can create a sustainable garden at home is by seasonally rotating their crops. Crop rotation is planting something different in your backyard raised bed veggie
Read moreCover Crops
Organic cover crops create happy, healthy soil. Cover crops like red clover, buckwheat, fava beans (in the picture above), daikon radish, ryegrass, hairy vetch, and peas revitalize the soil with natural nitrates, suppress weeds, improve water retention, discourage pests and
Read moreSensory Gardens
With Spring fully upon us we have all been enjoying the flowers, blossoms and lush landscapes. The yellow colored hills on the 101 freeway still delight and amaze me as I drive by. One of the best things to me
Read moreImprove Your Soil Without a Compost Pile
It’s All About The Soil We all know that a big part of successful gardening is a healthy and strong foundation. Plants need soil that is high in well-rotted and decomposed organic matter that came from similar vegetable plants that
Read moreBeat the Heat with this easy Gazpacho Recipe
Heat Wave As we brace ourselves for another heat wave we are all looking for ways to beat the heat. Cooking and eating hot food when it’s hotter than a jalapeño outside doesn’t excite any of us I’m sure. Want to
Read morePesky Bindweed Article
Phil Hof shared this informative article written by Stephen Scott about the very invasive bindweed that we have all experienced seeing in the garden. Click this link to read the article bindweed Happy Gardening! And Happy Weeding! Mary Church
Read moreORGANIC GARDENING PAST AND PESTS
I was double blessed with my grandmother’s gardening genes; and my mother’s healthy eating habits. Long before organic gardening was so popular, my grandmother was making her garden chemical free and my mother was feeding us an organic plant based
Read moreA French Breakfast with a California Twist
The first time I saw French Breakfast radishes in a neighbor’s garden plot, I was hooked. Who doesn’t love the pink and white color and the unusual shape? I started growing my own crop, and I discovered that they are
Read moreTaming Your Tomatoes
To Prune or Not to Prune One of the joys of gardening is obviously watching our plants grow. Sometimes with tomatoes they show off by their growing power by turning into a tomato jungle. One year my plant swallowed up
Read moreCoffee Bush
PERK UP YOUR GARDEN WITH THIS CONTAINER TREE A few years ago, I had the pleasure to tour a central coast rare fruit farm. I got to see and and sample some of the exotic trees that we don’t usually associate
Read moreWhat are Heirlooms, Hybrids and GMOS?
The Difference Between Heirlooms, GMO and Hybrids Have you wondered what is really means to be an heirloom, GMO or hybrid seed? There are some distinct differences that make all these plants very different. Heirloom plants are the only
Read moreThousand Oaks Planting and Harvesting Guide
One of my neighbors prepared this handy planting and harvesting guide from information in the Farmer’s Almanac. Enjoy!! Click Link to download the PDF. Los Flores Gardens Happy Gardening, Mary Church
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