What World Do I Want to Live In?
This week I'm setting up my first-ever worm tea rig (the brewing comes in my next video!), getting honest with you about a very full summer ahead, and reflecting on a question I keep asking myself: what world do I want to live in? Plus it's potluck week, the plant raffle, and a stack of videos on the Honorable Harvest and the Three Sisters. Come grow with me.
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.
Everything Comes Back Around
This week's newsletter has a meaty deep-dive on drip irrigation math (with a worked example from my hugelkultur bed), a heads-up on spider mite season, and a recommendation for the green lacewings I use to keep tomatoes pest-free. I also share a beautiful afternoon spent at Manju Kumar's regenerative food forest — one of the most inspiring gardens in our area — and a Thought of the Week about kinship, gratitude, and serendipity that I didn't expect to write but couldn't put down.
The Time Is Now
Late April is the last call for warm-season crops — and a reminder that waiting for the perfect moment is the one mistake you can't afford to make. This week: vining plants, planting updates, and a thought on why starting imperfectly is always better than not starting at all.
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.
The Garden as Medicine
What if the best thing you could do for your health this week was go outside and dig in the dirt? In Issue 15, I share a full update from my parents' garden — the fruit trees, the flower border, two new blueberries, and an herb spiral I built entirely by accident — plus a deep dive into the science of why gardens heal us.
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.
The Work That Fills You
Wine cap mushrooms, hügelkultur, and a full cubic yard of soil — this weekend I built the most complex garden system I've ever attempted. Plus, a live stream announcement and everything you need to know for Week 6.
Before and After the Shade
This week’s newsletter includes a livestream announcement, updates from all three classes, a new YouTube video on California native plants, and major changes in the garden—including the removal of a century-old avocado tree. I also share some thoughts on upcycling and a personal reflection on tending landscapes across generations.
All Flourishing Is Mutual
What can corn, beans, and squash teach us about cooperation? This week we explore the story of the Three Sisters, new research on monarch butterflies and milkweed, and the idea that healthy ecosystems — and healthy communities — are built on reciprocity.
A Garden Needs People
What actually keeps a garden alive year after year? Not just compost and water - but people. This week I’m sharing updates from class, progress on my parents’ backyard project, and a reflection on why community may be the most important regenerative principle of all.
Making Space for What Comes Next
After years of decline, we’re saying goodbye to an old avocado tree - and reimagining the garden for the season ahead.
When Nature Has Other Plans
Weather whiplash, confused plants, and ingredient lists that make you pause - this week’s newsletter is about rolling with the punches. We talk about what sudden winter warm spells mean for your garden, how to make sense of what’s in your body products, and how to respond when things don’t go according to plan.