The Limits of a Good Plan
I’m about to put a collection of new plants in the ground — most of them not for food at all, but for the jobs they do in the system. Comfrey for mulch, cowpeas to fix nitrogen, pigeon peas to shade my young fruit trees. This week's issue walks through each one, where it's going and why — and ends on the value of planning well and then letting go.
Assume It's a Good Guy
Most of the insects in your garden aren't pests — they're allies. This week we're meeting the beneficial bugs that keep things in balance in the Southern California garden, from the ladybugs you can buy at the nursery to the assassin bugs hiding in plain sight. Plus a thought on what it means to assume the best of something before you know it.
Tending the Threshold
The cool season is winding down, the warm season is warming up, and the garden is full of transitions — new growth, final meetings, and big decisions about mulch. This week we tour six types of mulch, share a spring progress update from my parents' yard, and I pose a question about the future of the Monday livestream. Come tend the threshold with me.
I Have No Idea If This Will Work
What does it look like when you try to put every principle of regenerative gardening into a single raised bed? This week the hugelkultur bed at my parents' place is finished, planted, and full of experiments — worm bins, winecap mushrooms, companion planting, and four tomato varieties all sharing the same few square feet of soil. I have no idea if it's going to work. But that's kind of the whole point.