Comments for Gardening Coaches

Comment on When to Plant Veggies by mike

mike — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:45:43 +0000

Hi, Lizzy
Check here for your USDA zone – just plug in your zip code. : http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php
Better perhaps to look at the Sunset zones – there are 27 compared to the USDA’s 10 zones, and sometime better describe California’s micro climates. A few hundred foot elevation change or which side of the valley you are on makes a great difference in what you can grow in some spots. :
http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/climate-zones-intro-us-map-00400000036421/
BTW, the weather everywhere has been nutty last 3 years, all the plants and trees are confused, and nobody knows whether it is spring or fall… The best advice I can give is plant a few the same crop every few weeks – some early, some in the recommeded period, and some late. Some of them are bound to hit favorable weather.
Good luck to us all this year!
Mike

Comment on When to Plant Veggies by Lizzy Jones

Lizzy Jones — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:50:59 +0000

Hi, You talk about Ventura County and neighboring areas…I live in Upland (I.E.), should I use the dates above, or do they not apply?
Thank you.

Lizzy
P.S.
I’m super new at this…we just rented a home that has a backyard area for vegetable planting. THANKS!

Comment on How to Make Compost by mike

mike — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:52:58 +0000

Ana,
It really depends on your situation and how much raw material you have to compost. For a family, the tumblers are good. Look for either two small ones or one with two chambers. You feed one and let the other one rest and finish. I have a family of six and lots of garden material and love my two large, hand-cranked, barrel-type Kemp tumblers – I have used them for 25 years. I have not had much luck with the columnar type that say add new material on top and pull finished material out the bottom. They need to be aerated and have a tendency to clop up and smell. If you live in an apartment, there are motorized under-counter units that are very intriguing. Worm composting (search for ‘vermiculture’) also seems to produce a finished product very quickly.

Comment on How to Make Compost by Ana

Ana — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:49:09 +0000

I am new to composting. Could you please recommend a few good tumbling composters? I am having trouble selecting one from the many out there.

Thank You!

Comment on Saving Water with Pervious Concrete by mike

mike — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:05:20 +0000

Thanks for the comment, David. I checked out your web site and you have some great information there and superb photos, too. Nice site! Thanks for checking in!

Comment on Saving Water with Pervious Concrete by David Liguori

David Liguori — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:43:54 +0000

Hi Owen,

Well done video!

I’ve been installing pervious concrete in northern CA since 2007 and can confirm everything you’ve stated in terms of performance and benefits. As people often say after they understand how pervious concrete works, “why don’t we use this everywhere!”

David Liguori

Comment on Oganic Insect Control by mike

mike — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:22:39 +0000

I have had good luck with bobcats, hawks, terriers and air rifles. A neighbor poisoned our dogs with squirrel bait, and it was horrible what it put them through before they died. I won’t do that to anything – not even a pest animal. I demand clean kills or nothing at all…

Comment on Oganic Insect Control by Deb Haugen

Deb Haugen — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:39:06 +0000

any ideas on ground squirrels? I have been filling their holes with water, trying to flush them out without poison!

thnx, Deb

Comment on Starting A Fall and Winter Garden by mike

mike — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:14:00 +0000

Thanks for the comments, Diane. Eileen and all the ladies (and gents) did an excellent job putting on a great evening. I’m glad you got some of the goodies. The event raised close to $2,000.

The garden needs new eyes. The tools are out side because a lot of them won’t fit in the shed. That is a problem. There is a lot of stuff to store and not much room to do it in. Plans are to build or buy a larger unit, and plot subscription fees should cover that in the near future.

We are all trying to get a new garden going. Some of the current gardeners would move to a more convenient location, but generally – it is a community effort…

Comment on Starting A Fall and Winter Garden by Diane Mortensen

Diane Mortensen — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:22:13 +0000

Much improved newsletter – great job, thanks for all of your effort and time. Also, I would like to thank all the volunteers who worked so hard to achieve a successful fund raising dinner in Sept. I brought my family and they had a wonderful time, even won some prizes. The food was terrific and Eileen did a marvelous job at the mike – band played on longer and what else can I say, but Excellent effort by all. Yes, I would be interested in knowing just how much was raised. I am a latecomer to the gardens and have only been to one meeting so I may have missed some of the reasons why the gardeners of the first garden is raising money for a second garden. It was my understanding there are many, many people who are on a waiting list for garden plots, why are they not raising money for the future garden(s) they will be participating in? Another question is why are all the gardening tools outside with no protection, cover to keep them from rusting? Is this not one of the first rules of gardening, keep tools clean, sharp and stored in a protective place? Perhaps a portion of the monies raised could have gone to purchasing another shed to store tools. I feel very fortunate to have a plot in the first community gardens and so proud of how much my first vegetable garden produced. Other gardeners are wonderful and so helpful. well it is so much FUN.