Take Care of Yourself
Change is coming to Growing With Professor Brown. Starting next semester, I'm splitting things into a weekly student bulletin and a monthly newsletter for the whole community — with new ways for students to share their writing and their gardens. This week's issue has all the details, plus a reminder worth hearing if you're in a busy season: don't forget to take care of yourself. Issue 29 is up.
Slow Down and Think
What does a trip to the farmers' market really give us? This week's newsletter reflects on slow food, local food and health, and the connections we build with our community when we know who grows our food. Plus a look at what's happening in class — a winecap mushroom demonstration and a creek cleanup. Issue 28 is up.
When to Trust, When to Act
Six weeks ago I found an aphid infestation and chose to do nothing about it. This week I found out whether that was a mistake. Issue 24: the end of the semester, a packed garden update, and a Thought of the Week on knowing when to trust the system — and when to step in.
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.
What We Bring to the Table
This week we reach the last of the eight principles: ask what you can give, rather than what you can take. With our potluck two weeks out, it felt like the right moment to reflect on what we bring to the table — in the garden and in our communities. Plus a full preview of the summer Local Food Communities class.
Peace Found on a Butterfly's Wings
May is still a great planting window in Southern California, but the heat is coming. Get your warm-season vegetables and flowers in now — and if your in-ground spots are full, containers work beautifully. Plus this week: a quiet reflection on peace, and why I believe the only road to a peaceful world runs straight through our everyday actions.
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.
When Nature Speaks, We Should Listen
Record-shattering heat across Southern California. A rock rose that bloomed white instead of pink. A viral short crossing 38,000 views. This week, Professor Brown reflects on what nature is telling us, shares his journey through the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, and looks ahead to a brand new regenerative gardening course launching this fall.
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.
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.
Winter Is a Season for Slowing Down
Winter is a season of quiet work. We explore what winter means in Southern California gardens and how slowing down can lead to healthier, more sustainable systems.
Let the Rain Do the Work
Issue 1 – January 4, 2026
Class updates, winter gardening guidance, and a short reflection on sustainability and small, meaningful change.