https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter daily 0.75 2026-04-19 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-16-tending-the-threshold monthly 0.5 2026-04-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/6ae4755c-01dc-459b-a530-7a6e6d1fd838/20260418_142657.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold The herb spiral at my parents' garden is settling in nicely. With the wood chip mulch in place, we've been able to stretch our watering intervals to about three days between sessions even as temperatures have started to climb — and everything is looking happy. The mulch is doing exactly what it's supposed to: slowing evaporation, keeping the soil cooler, and giving the roots a buffer against the heat. One of the things I love about the herb spiral design is how it creates its own little water gradient. When we water at the top, the excess trickles down through the beds, so the plants at the higher, drier end — like the thyme and sage — get what they need without getting waterlogged, while the more moisture-loving plants at the base stay consistently hydrated. You can see the viola down at the bottom absolutely thriving, which is a good sign that the whole system is in balance. The Mexican tarragon in the middle is also putting on a cheerful little show with its yellow blooms. It's one of those early wins that makes all the planning feel worth it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/083a2303-fd88-4c0c-b543-bc9c14d9e131/20260418_142713.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold Two weeks in and the flowers along the north fence are absolutely thriving. With a colorful mix of gazanias, dianthus, verbena, and more running the length of the fence line, the bed has really come to life. What's been surprising is how little water they've needed — they're drinking less than expected and still putting on a great show. The soil here was quite sandy and low in organic matter, so I added a modest amount to get things started. The one thing still on my to-do list for this bed: mulch. I haven't gotten any down yet, and given how well everything is already performing without it, I'm genuinely curious to see what happens once I do. Right now I'm deciding between pulling some of the orchard wood chips we've been using elsewhere in the yard or going with something lighter like straw. The family is leaning toward the wood chips for the look, and honestly I think that's the direction we'll go — keeping the whole yard visually consistent while giving these flowers the moisture retention they deserve heading into the warmer months. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/f1deb426-0f50-4068-ba9b-743ff5ac61a3/20260418_142748.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold Two and a half weeks since we finished the raised bed, and I have to say — I'm genuinely amazed at how fast everything is taking off. The tomatoes are at least three times the size they were at planting, and the basil on the left side of the bed is absolutely going bonkers. It's lush, it's fragrant, and it's already looking like it wants to take over. Scattered throughout the bed, the marigolds and alyssum are providing bright pops of orange, yellow, and purple — and honestly, I didn't expect the alyssum to be blooming this enthusiastically this soon. Both of the tomatoes visible in this photo already have flowers on them, which means fruit isn't far off. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/35c259c5-64b7-450a-ac32-48e271844a86/20260328_171835.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Wood Chip Mulch / Orchard Bark Wood chips are my go-to mulch for most situations. The chips I’m using right now are orchard bark — a byproduct of local orchard trimming — and they break down slowly, feeding the soil over time while locking in moisture beautifully. Some gardeners avoid wood chips around annual vegetables because the chunks can feel heavy and awkward around delicate seedlings, and there's a persistent concern about nitrogen tie-up. In practice, as long as the chips are sitting on top of the soil rather than being mixed in, nitrogen tie-up is minimal and only affects the very top layer. Around fruit trees, perennials, and established vegetable beds, they're hard to beat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/def1c182-86d5-44a5-97a5-3b909cf6c770/IMG-2413-34-_1.webp Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Gorilla Hair Mulch Gorilla hair is shredded redwood bark, and it earns its name from the long, stringy, fibrous texture it has. The big advantage is longevity — because it's redwood, it resists decomposition and stays in place for years. The fibers also knit together, which means it doesn't wash away on slopes the way other mulches can. The downside is cost. Gorilla hair is significantly more expensive than most wood chips, so I tend to recommend it for visible landscape areas, slopes where erosion control matters, or situations where you want a mulch that won't need replenishing for a long time. It's an investment, but in the right spot it pays off. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/8d60666c-8777-48f3-b188-6793f6a63a5b/straw-bale-for-pick-up-only.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Straw Bale Straw is a fantastic mulch for vegetable gardens. It's light, it breathes, and it breaks down into the soil relatively quickly, which is ideal for annual beds. But this is where I have to sound a cautionary note: straw is not hay, and the distinction matters enormously. Straw is the dried stalks of cereal grains left over after harvest — it's essentially seed-free. Hay is a mix of grasses and legumes grown specifically as livestock feed, and it is full of viable seeds that will sprout all over your garden if you use it as mulch. If you remember one thing from this newsletter, let it be this one: ask for straw, confirm it's straw, and don't let anyone sell you hay as a mulch substitute. Also, when possible, source organic straw — conventional straw can carry herbicide residues that persist and damage sensitive vegetable crops. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/cd39bfaa-d017-4b9e-9e4e-76b8c8903238/leafmould-small.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Leaf Mold Leaf mold is one of the most underrated mulches available, and for most of us it's completely free. When deciduous leaves are collected, piled up, and allowed to break down for a year or so, they transform into a dark, crumbly, earthy material that plants absolutely love. It's gentler than wood chips, richer than straw, and it builds soil structure like almost nothing else. Even partially broken-down leaves work beautifully as a seasonal mulch. If you have deciduous trees on your property or know a neighbor who bags leaves every fall, you have access to a premium soil amendment for the price of hauling it home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/12623b35-8087-4ca9-970a-d6bbd2852b39/51155842683_58999acae8_k-1024x683.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Compost This one surprises people: compost itself can function as a mulch when it's applied to the surface of the soil. As a longtime advocate of no-dig methods, I love using compost as a top dressing — it feeds the soil biology directly, suppresses weeds, and moderates moisture without any disturbance to the root zone or soil structure below. The main caveat is that pure compost doesn't last as long on the surface as a woody mulch does, so it's often best used in combination. A layer of compost underneath a layer of wood chips or straw gives you the best of both worlds: immediate feeding plus long-term protection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/a74a3bc9-3ee7-4839-8665-2263c1dd598c/20240419_112137+%281%29.jpg Newsletter - Tending the Threshold - Green Mulch Finally, there's living mulch — plants that sprawl across the soil surface and act as a living blanket. Nasturtiums are one of my favorites for this, and you can see them doing beautiful work at the Conservation Corps garden. They cover bare soil, moderate temperature, shade out weeds, and attract pollinators and beneficial insects all while producing edible leaves, flowers, and seed pods. Other good candidates include clover, sweet alyssum, and creeping thyme, depending on your goals. Living mulch is one of the most regenerative approaches you can take, because it's working with the garden rather than just covering it up. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-15-the-garden-as-medicine monthly 0.5 2026-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/68709075-b9a7-4f9a-abd2-0e8361b56392/20260411_163838%5B1%5D.jpg Newsletter - The Garden as Medicine The hugelkultur raised bed is coming along steadily. I've been watering deeply twice a week to support the new plants, but I've also been giving it a little extra water on the off days to keep the wood chip mulch consistently moist — I have winecap mushroom spawn tucked in there that I'm trying to keep alive, and mushrooms need that ambient humidity to get established. The worm bin is going well too, though the worms are still getting settled. I've fed them a few times, but they're not eating a ton yet — that's completely normal when a bin is young and the population is still building. As for the tomatoes: the Juliet and Sungold have more than doubled in size and are looking fantastic. The Cherokee Purple and Black Star, though, are struggling — they look a bit stunted, and I'm keeping a close eye on them. I'll give them another week or two, and if they don't start putting on growth, I'll likely replace them. Sometimes a plant just comes out of the nursery already behind, and there's no shame in starting fresh. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/a1b9b70f-c222-4937-9dde-c8b7918fc3be/20260411_163933%5B1%5D.jpg Newsletter - The Garden as Medicine Fruit tree trio — Burgundy Plum, Mid-Pride Peach, Hachiya Persimmon Last Monday I planted the third and final tree in this little fruit tree triangle — and I actually did it live during the Monday night livestream. All three trees are doing well. The peach was pruned way back at purchase, almost to nothing, but I can already feel the buds beginning to swell. After this weekend's rain I'm expecting to see some real movement there. The persimmon has a few dormant buds that have started pushing in the wrong places, so I need to go back in and make a couple of corrective cuts. And the plum still needs its first proper pruning — I'm planning to tackle both the persimmon and the plum during Monday's livestream so you can watch the process in real time. You'll also notice the wood chips spread around the base of the trees. These are the same winecap mushroom-inoculated chips I used in the raised bed. I've been giving them an occasional light watering to help the spawn establish. As the trees mature and the area fills in, I'll back off the supplemental water — but right now I just want to give that mycelium every chance to take hold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1cafcdd9-4f8d-458d-865f-467028530047/20260411_164025%5B1%5D.jpg Newsletter - The Garden as Medicine This bed runs along the north fence, just behind the fruit tree triangle. Originally I had planned to grow vegetables here — cucumbers on trellises, that kind of thing — but my mom had a different vision, and honestly, she was right. She wanted a flower garden, so that's what we planted. I picked up a mix of flowers and a few herbs, got the drip irrigation laid in, and now it's starting to come alive with color. You can also spot two metal t-posts that haven't been pounded in yet — they will support the trellis for the blackberry that will go in right where those two red bricks are. I've already ordered it, and once it arrives I'll either plant it during a Monday livestream and build the arbor live, or turn it into its own dedicated video. The one thing I haven't done yet is mulch this bed — I want to put something down, I just haven't settled on what, so I'm holding off for now. As for the grape I originally planned to plant here — that changed. After checking the sun exposure with the Sunseeker app, I realized this spot doesn't get enough direct light for a grape vine to thrive. So the grape is going elsewhere in the yard, and I'll actually be planting it live during Monday's livestream. I may even set up the trellis on camera, so tune in if you want to watch that process unfold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/b8b5b953-5fc0-4d16-88ca-e99ed741edaf/20260411_164935%5B1%5D.jpg Newsletter - The Garden as Medicine This is the south end of the yard — an area most of you haven't seen much of yet. This is where the original raised bed used to be, and if you've watched my tools video, you might recognize this fence as the backdrop. We removed that bed because the neighbor's trees have grown so large over the years that this corner just doesn't get enough sun for vegetables anymore. So rather than fight the shade, we leaned into it. My Mom set up a little patio seating area back here, and eventually this will become a proper shade garden — My Dad has a whole collection of shade-loving plants that will find their home in this spot. Along the fence, you'll also spot a wooden arbor with a small plant at its base — that's a passion fruit, which we'll be training up the arbor and across the chain link fence to eventually create a living green wall. I've also ordered two Akebia vines (sometimes called chocolate vine) — a purple-flowered variety and a white-flowered one, both from Armstrong's. They're a really unique and underappreciated plant, and I'll be sharing more about them as soon as they arrive. And yes — the blueberries are here too. One is already potted up, which I completed Saturday morning. The second one still needs its pot, and I'm saving that process for an upcoming video all about how to grow blueberries in containers — covering variety selection, soil mix, fertilizer, and how to make sure your plant actually flowers and fruits. Speaking of videos: I know it's been about a month since my last regular YouTube upload, but I have a backlog of content in editing right now and a whole wave of new videos coming in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned — there is a lot on the way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/cd6cb043-458d-4738-a3c7-cf1c7b9b3478/20260411_164957%5B1%5D.jpg Newsletter - The Garden as Medicine I have to be honest with you — this one was not in the plan for today. I've been thinking about building an herb spiral for a while, and I briefly mentioned it during last week's livestream. My intention this morning was simply to lay out the first course of bricks and get a sense of the shape. Eight hours later, I had a fully built, fully planted herb spiral. I got into the zone and genuinely could not stop. No regrets. The structure is built from stacked bricks — no mortar — tapered slightly inward so they lean against each other and stay put. It feels surprisingly solid, though we'll see how it holds up over time. The real magic of an herb spiral is that the shape creates multiple microclimates within a very small footprint: the top is drier and gets the most sun, while the base retains more moisture and stays cooler — which means you can grow herbs with very different needs all in one compact structure. I'll be giving a full tour during Monday's livestream, and I also recorded the entire build process on my phone, so a complete how-to video is coming that will cover what an herb spiral is, how to orient it, how to build one, and which herbs go where. This is my first time building one — and I'm genuinely proud of how it turned out. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-14-i-have-no-idea-if-this-will-work monthly 0.5 2026-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/f7d0ac91-4e16-44ff-94e2-1c364359dec5/20260331_091320.jpg Newsletter - I Have No Idea If This Will Work This is where we left off at the end of the Monday livestream. The bed was built, the outer irrigation was roughed in, and the plants were sitting in their pots ready to go. I came back the next morning to finish everything up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/8a51a398-a3ba-47ce-bee7-1ed45ac708d1/20260331_154742.jpg Newsletter - I Have No Idea If This Will Work Here's the bed fully planted, before the wood chips went down. I wanted to show the irrigation layout while it was still visible. You'll notice the quarter-inch lines get a little wibbly-wobbly in places — that's actually one of the advantages of this type of tubing. It's flexible enough to work around obstacles, in this case the worm bins. I positioned emitters near the bins but not directly over them. I want to keep the surrounding soil moist so the worms stay comfortable, without dripping directly into the bin itself. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/8b1330e2-d2d7-4396-8638-0c2c5b7fcc20/20260331_173555.jpg Newsletter - I Have No Idea If This Will Work Here's a closer look at one of the worm bins after the wood chips went down. To get it started I used coconut coir, torn cardboard and paper as bedding, then added food scraps — greens, banana peels, a couple of blueberries. Then I went to Armstrong's and picked up the worms. I'll just say the price gave me a mild heart attack. But here we are. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/bf2f22df-13eb-4825-a6b2-6651a50a533e/20260331_173548.jpg Newsletter - I Have No Idea If This Will Work And here it is — finished. The wood chips are thick along the edges where I want to encourage the fungal culture to take hold. Under the tomatoes I kept it lighter to avoid smothering the carrot seeds. Once the carrots come up, I'll mulch more thickly around them, and eventually put down as thick a layer as I can across the whole bed. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-13-the-work-that-fills-you monthly 0.5 2026-03-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/664d0ceb-d3d6-4818-86e0-6c09d89d651b/20260324_093723.jpg Newsletter - The Work That Fills You Here's what the bed looked like a few days ago, before I added the soil. You can see the layers of wood, branches, and organic debris packed into the cinder block frame. This is the foundation — the "skeleton" of the bed that will decompose slowly over the next several years, feeding the soil from below. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/2b07965d-d203-4ecd-ab20-d6e7c1ef86b9/20260328_171856.jpg Newsletter - The Work That Fills You Here it is after the soil went in. It doesn't look like much yet — just a bed full of dark, rich soil. But underneath that surface is a whole world of decomposing wood, worm castings, coffee grounds, and mycorrhizal fungi getting to work. Tomorrow, this bed gets its plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/2cb9fc63-e510-44c1-b03f-7e5b3770b562/20260328_171835.jpg Newsletter - The Work That Fills You Here's the mother pile, tucked along the fence line with the old avocado logs behind it. The plan is to let the mycelium colonize this pile over the coming weeks, and then spread the inoculated chips into the raised bed and the orchard area. Essentially, this pile is a nursery for the fungal network that will eventually run through the whole garden. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-12-when-nature-speaks-we-should-listen monthly 0.5 2026-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/4770af0b-5cfb-49dc-b363-baf4f2a5dd04/20260320_094910.jpg Newsletter - When Nature Speaks, We Should Listen And nature noticed. In the CCC garden, I watched something I've never seen before. A pink rock rose — a plant that reliably produces vibrant pink flowers — bloomed entirely white. The extreme heat had cooked the pigment right out of the petals. I've been gardening in Southern California for a long time, and this stopped me in my tracks. It was a small thing, one plant in one garden, but it was a message — the kind of message nature sends when something is deeply out of balance. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-11-before-and-after-the-shade monthly 0.5 2026-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/07ec32f9-8438-40a9-8849-a8dc007517af/20260314_104349.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - The Raised Bed — Saturday Morning This is what the raised bed looked like when I started working on it Saturday morning. A good portion of the south side had to be completely redone — I had figured it would be out of the way when the arborists came, but they ended up moving the blocks to give themselves room to work. So, back to square one on that section. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/eaadd2c5-8bb2-43be-9677-c566f7c7681c/20260314_171444.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - The Raised Bed — Saturday Late Afternoon As you can see, the south side is now stacked to its full height of three blocks, but I still need to finish leveling and completing the north side. I'm planning to wrap that up tomorrow morning — it shouldn't take long. I had originally hoped to plant this weekend, but with several days of high-90s temperatures forecast for the coming week — quite a bit higher than normal for mid-March — I've decided to wait. I'll use this week to work on filling the bed and getting the irrigation prepped, and then we plant next weekend. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/671a5128-c09f-440b-9889-f5bbd643e8cb/20260314_171630.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - The New Compost Bin Over the last week, we built a new compost bin in the southeast corner of the yard, behind my parents' garage. You can see where the old bin used to be on the right side of the photo — it was never in a great spot, and it had been built somewhat haphazardly over the years. The new bin is properly leveled, wider, and taller. It's going to be a great setup. And speaking of compost — keep an eye out for my next YouTube video! It's going to be my first intro to composting video. I'll be kicking off the new pile on camera and walking through the basics of how composting works. Expect to see that in about two weeks! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/7f1d6d36-f353-4a3c-bdfb-117bee066d19/20260314_171609.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - A Visitor on the Fence With all of the activity in the garden this week — moving leaf piles, resetting raised beds, bringing down the tree — the local birds and lizards have been absolutely fascinated. They must be loving all of the small critters that get exposed every time we disturb the ground. I don't love disrupting the habitat, even temporarily. But I know that what we're building here is going to be more productive, and will ultimately provide better habitat for all the creatures that share this space with us. In the meantime, the fence apparently makes an excellent spot to watch the chaos unfold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/660b8ea5-0a31-4696-8fa3-1b38ce919b6d/20260314_173434.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - The Wood Pile As you can see, we kept just about all of the usable wood from the tree — and honestly, even some pieces that aren't particularly usable (I'll find something, I always do). Every single piece will be repurposed in some way. Some will be turned into something functional or beautiful. Others will simply be left to become what's known as a nurse log — a decomposing piece of wood that provides shelter, moisture, and nutrients for insects, fungi, and other beneficial organisms in the garden. Nothing goes to waste. A tree that shaded this yard for over a century is going to keep giving. I also want to mention — a few of my sisters have asked for pieces of this tree as well, so I'll be making things for them out of the wood over the coming weeks. I'll share those projects here as they take shape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/fab4e850-e9de-4d82-a925-5a858757b119/20260314_173429.jpg Newsletter - Before and After the Shade - Work In Progress? And I've already started. As you can see, I've begun working on one of the larger sections of the trunk. Can you guess what I'm making? If you join me on my livestream on Monday, March 23rd at 5 PM, you'll get to watch this project come to life — and hear a little more of the story behind it. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-10-all-flourishing-is-mutual monthly 0.5 2026-03-08 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-9-a-garden-needs-people monthly 0.5 2026-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/b791c137-1110-4c65-b827-9c431ed4569f/20260228_091601.jpg Newsletter - A Garden Needs People The first photo shows where we were earlier this week - not much further along from two weeks ago, honestly. I raked back the avocado leaves, flattened the ground a bit, and laid out the blocks to get a general sense of placement. Because I'm working on this in one or two hour stretches when I can, I'm skipping the guide strings that would normally make this job easier. With all the critters in the yard, I didn't want to mess around with that. So I'm doing it the old-fashioned way - eyeballing the layout, checking level with a phone app (I use Bubble), and adjusting as I go. I also know that once the avocado tree comes down in the coming weeks, I'll need to tweak the layout again. And down the road, as the roots decompose, there may be some settling. But concrete block beds are incredibly durable - I've built several over the years, and when done right, they last a very long time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/4569d7a9-bcfd-4404-be34-3dbe649edc90/20260228_121254.jpg Newsletter - A Garden Needs People This shot is from this morning, and it tells the real story of what I was working through. Once I started digging in earnest, I hit roots - a lot of them. That's expected near an established tree, but what surprised me was how many of them were dead and inactive. It's hard to say exactly why. My suspicion is that the old pathways may have played a role, cutting off moisture and airflow to parts of the root system over time. I also found some unexpected treasures buried in the leaf litter and soil: tennis balls, broken pots, old toys. Some I recognized as my nephews'. Some I recognized as my own from when I was a kid. It was a strange, sweet little time capsule - decades of a family yard compressed into the soil. But it also gave me pause. Many of these goodies were made of plastics and other materials I don't want anywhere near a food garden. Before I add any amendments or plant anything in this bed, I'm going to have to sift through the soil carefully to make sure nothing is leaching into what will eventually become a growing space. It's a good reminder that even in a backyard garden, knowing what's in your soil matters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/135d623b-6f6b-4956-b58e-de7eadea350e/20260228_170817.jpg Newsletter - A Garden Needs People Here's the end of the day - the corner is complete, and I'm genuinely happy with how it's coming together. I have just two more blocks to finish on the right side before I start on the east wall. The north side is going to be the most challenging - the yard slopes from north to south, and the walking path has a slight east-to-west grade as well. Keeping everything level so the blocks sit flush and sturdy is slow, careful work. The plan is to build this three blocks high, and I'm still deciding on the topper - either end caps to create a nice seating edge, or maybe wood planks. I'm leaning toward leaving some of the holes open, though, because I actually want to create habitat for critters. Some people think that's counterintuitive for a garden bed, but in my experience, the lizards and other small animals that move into those spaces do real pest control work. I may also pack some leaves lightly into some of the holes to create a kind of carbon insulation - my theory is that it'll help keep the soil from heating up too much in the blocks. (Am I crazy? Maybe. But it makes sense to me, and I'm curious to see how it works.) https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue8-things-dont-always-go-according-to-plan monthly 0.5 2026-03-01 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-7-making-space-for-what-comes-next monthly 0.5 2026-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/c323a38d-f2f3-474d-84f5-edc7d18e82a5/DSC00018.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next This is the widest shot I have of my parents’ backyard, and it gives you a pretty good sense of what we’re working with. The raised bed in the foreground is actually a rescued piece - a neighbor put it out on the curb, and while some of the wood is getting a little crumbly, it still has plenty of life left in it. I brought it over, cleaned it up, and it’s going to get a new purpose. I’m planning to fill it with fresh soil and plant it with shallow-rooted edibles - probably lettuce or herbs. Since it sits up off the ground, I also want to plant an herb or two around and underneath it so that every inch of space is doing something. Just behind the raised bed is a compact white sage I recently planted. I made sure it gets plenty of sun and that it’s far enough from everything else that we don’t have to worry about water overlap - white sage really doesn’t want to be sitting next to plants that need regular irrigation. And straight ahead in the photo? That’s the avocado tree. But we’ll get to that in a minute. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/cb9cb004-16b2-4933-a9c0-4fcdfc2d31b0/DSC00023.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next This is the northeast corner of the yard, and it's already been through some changes. Up until just recently, this was a square pad of concrete blocks - a flat sitting area with no gaps, no breathing room for the soil underneath. My mom took those blocks out over the last few days and rearranged them into this curving path, which is going to open up a lot of possibilities as we move forward. This actually connects to a bigger story about the avocado tree. That tree started declining around the same time the family laid down blocks throughout this area of the yard. Before the blocks went in, fallen avocado leaves blanketed the ground beneath the tree, keeping the soil healthy and the roots happy. The blocks changed all of that - combined with years of drought and water that was high in salts, the tree never really recovered. It's a good reminder of how much the soil environment matters, even for a big established tree. Going forward, while there will still be a block walking path through this area, we've reduced the coverage and left small gaps between the blocks so that water and air can actually get into the soil. That might seem like a small detail, but it makes a real difference for the health of whatever we plant here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/a6738780-0854-4b41-bf16-712266d07f2c/DSC00020.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next Here's a closer look at the avocado tree, and I won't sugarcoat it - it's not doing well. That branch heading off to the left is completely dead. The canopy, which used to spread over 25 feet and produce hundreds - maybe over a thousand - avocados a year, has been dying back slowly for well over a decade now. In recent years it's been giving us maybe four or five avocados a year, if we're lucky. I grew up with this tree. I remember when we had so many avocados we were giving them away in bags to anyone who would take them. Neighbors, friends, anyone. There was always too much. That tree fed a lot of people over the years. But my father has finally agreed that it's time to let it go, and honestly, I think he's right. Taking it out is going to open up a lot of space and a lot of possibilities. In the coming weeks, we'll be removing the tree and planting four or five new small fruit trees along the north side of the yard. We'll also be putting in a new raised bed between the walking path and where the avocado currently stands. Saying goodbye to an old tree is never easy - but sometimes it's the right thing to do. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/c5efc21b-ce8c-4265-917f-7eb29874129d/DSC00027.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next This is the area where that new raised bed is going, running right along the pathway. It might not look like much right now - there are leaves piled up, a few volunteer plants, and not much else. But this is actually one of the best spots in the entire yard for vegetables. How do I know that? I've been using an app called SunSeeker, which uses your phone's camera and GPS to map out exactly where the sun will be throughout the day and across different seasons. It takes the guesswork out of sun placement completely. After checking this spot, I can tell you it's going to see between 8 and 10 hours of direct sunlight throughout the warm growing season. For vegetables - especially tomatoes - that's ideal. Once the bed is built and the soil is in, I'll be using another app called Planter to figure out exactly what to plant and when. It's a garden planning tool that tracks spacing, companion planting, and planting schedules based on your location. I've been using it to map out what's going in this bed, and I'll talk more about that in a future newsletter once we get to the planting stage. I usually have a handful of projects in motion at any given time, and I love sharing the process - even when things are still in progress. Between the newsletter, filming and editing, planning for classes, teaching, and projects like this at home, time is always a little tight. I’m prone to taking on more than I probably should because I genuinely enjoy this work, but I try to move things forward thoughtfully and sustainably. Some ideas take time to fully unfold - and I'm looking forward to making good progress on these garden projects during my short break. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/c6205d07-280a-45fc-89df-76b7862db10f/DSC00028.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next Here's another angle of the same area, and you can see the pile of leaves that's currently sitting right where the raised bed is going to go. This week, I'll be raking those back, clearing out whatever's growing in the space, leveling the ground, and laying the blocks that will form the bed frame. For the soil, I'll be bringing in fresh raised bed mix from O.F. Wolfinbarger's in Chino - if you haven't used their soil before, it's excellent. I'll also be mixing in some worm castings for a little extra biological activity, and I'll add a starter fertilizer when we actually plant up the bed. The old soil from the existing raised bed - which hasn't been amended in years - will get spread around the yard rather than thrown out. There's still life in it, it just needs some space to breathe. My goal is to have this bed built and ready to go by the end of this week. If that happens, I'm thinking the first week of March for planting - which lines up well with tomato transplant timing for our area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/ed17aeba-f81c-4a2b-b51d-fb1bb117e713/DSC00024.JPG Newsletter - Making Space for What Comes Next This last shot is taken from the back of the yard, looking toward the space behind the garage. This used to be the main vegetable garden - the heart of the whole operation. But in years ago, the neighbors planted some large trees right up against the fence, and now nearly half of this garden is in full shade year-round. You just can't grow vegetables in those conditions. So we're reimagining this space entirely. The old raised bed you can see in the back is coming out - it simply doesn't get enough light anymore. The blocks will be repurposed over in the raised bed area we just talked about. In its place, we're going to create a small patio sitting area - a few chairs, maybe a table - tucked into what is now a surprisingly shady, cool corner of the yard. With how shaded this area stays even in summer, we probably won't even need an umbrella. We'll fill it with potted shade-loving plants and make it into a space worth sitting in. And that far back corner to the left? That's going to be the new compost pile. Bigger than what they've had before, tucked out of the way. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-6-when-nature-has-other-plans monthly 0.5 2026-02-08 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-5-plants-made-for-here monthly 0.5 2026-02-01 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-4-tending-whats-in-front-of-us monthly 0.5 2026-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/bac80847-eeba-48d8-9a9e-edc67f25635d/chives.jpg Newsletter - Tending What's in Front of Us - 1. Chives Chives are about as low-maintenance as it gets. They like a sunny spot, but they're pretty forgiving. Snip them fresh for omelets, baked potatoes, salads, soups – anywhere you want a mild onion flavor. They'll keep growing back as long as you don't cut them all the way to the soil. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1f9940d8-ae08-483a-917a-8aeaa815c26b/pexels-ron-lach-10048323.jpg Newsletter - Tending What's in Front of Us - 2. Basil Basil loves warmth, which makes it perfect for growing indoors during our cooler months. It needs good light – a south-facing window is ideal. Fresh basil is amazing in pasta, on pizza, in pesto, or even just torn into a salad. One tip: pinch off any flower buds that start to form. That keeps the plant focused on producing leaves instead of going to seed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/bc7e8575-7b82-41b0-aff9-69f3fc6c3005/pexels-cottonbro-4503751.jpg Newsletter - Tending What's in Front of Us - 3. Mint Mint is almost impossible to kill, and it grows like crazy. In fact, if you plant it outside, it can take over your whole garden – so keeping it in a pot on the windowsill is actually a smart move. Use it in tea, with fruit, in summer rolls, or even just muddle it into water for a refreshing drink. Mint needs good drainage, but it also likes to stay moist – so don't let it completely dry out between waterings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/57b5403b-2d8b-4275-a982-5c28430b1443/pexels-guvo59-33410907.jpg Newsletter - Tending What's in Front of Us - 4. Rosemary Rosemary is tough, drought-tolerant, and smells incredible. It likes bright light and doesn't need much water – in fact, it's better to let the soil dry out a bit between waterings. Use it with roasted vegetables, potatoes, chicken, bread – it's one of those herbs that makes everything taste a little fancier. And the scent alone is worth growing it. One note: variety matters with rosemary. Some varieties can get huge, so if you're planning to keep it on the windowsill long-term, look for a plant that stays smaller. Of course, you can always transplant it outside later if it outgrows its indoor space. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/0979d14d-e6db-47f9-b3c2-61f929629090/pexels-yananadolinska-12178852.jpg Newsletter - Tending What's in Front of Us - 5. Parsley Parsley is a kitchen workhorse. It's great in soups, stews, salads, grain bowls, or just chopped up as a garnish. It likes consistent moisture (but not waterlogged soil) and does well in bright, indirect light. Flat-leaf parsley tends to have a stronger flavor, while curly parsley is a bit milder – both work great indoors. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-3-winter-is-a-season-for-slowing-down monthly 0.5 2026-01-18 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-2-one-year-later monthly 0.5 2026-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/94cdd15a-1e07-4555-b911-d039a3dd7aa2/Humboldt.webp Newsletter - One Year Later - Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian naturalist, explorer, and polymath whose travels through South America in the late 1700s and early 1800s fundamentally changed how people understood nature. Rather than viewing plants, animals, climate, and geography as separate subjects, Humboldt saw nature as an interconnected whole - a web of relationships shaped by climate, land, and human activity, explaining why some today refer to him as the father of ecology. He spoke openly against slavery and condemned the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in both South America and the United States, views that were far from common among European scientists of his time. Despite having countless places, species, and ideas named after him, Humboldt’s influence faded in the 20th century, particularly during World War II, when German thinkers were often sidelined in English-speaking countries. Much of what I know about Humboldt comes from Andrea Wulf’s The Invention of Nature, which beautifully captures how deeply his ideas shaped modern ecology and environmental thinking. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/e5c832f3-18ed-4fd4-ae91-459279f9e424/Marsh.jpg Newsletter - One Year Later - George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) George Perkins Marsh was an American congressman, diplomat, and scholar who is far less well known today than he deserves to be. Through his travels in Europe and the Middle East, Marsh became fascinated by the rise and collapse of ancient civilizations. He noticed a troubling pattern: many societies had cleared their forests, degraded their soils, and ultimately undermined their own ability to survive. In 1864, he published Man and Nature, a book that argued humans were not passive inhabitants of the natural world, but powerful agents capable of damaging it on a large scale. While some of his scientific conclusions were later refined, Marsh’s central idea - that human actions could permanently alter landscapes - helped lay the groundwork for conservation, forestry, and sustainability thinking in the United States. As Marsh himself warned, “Man is everywhere a disturbing agent. Wherever he plants his foot, the harmonies of nature are turned to discords.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/0346628d-dd60-4254-84ec-86399e467e8d/Carson.jpg Newsletter - One Year Later - Rachel Carson (1907-1964) Rachel Carson is often described as the mother of the modern environmental movement, and for good reason. A marine biologist and gifted writer, Carson brought scientific research to the public in a way that was clear and compelling. Her 1962 book Silent Spring challenged the widespread and largely unquestioned use of synthetic pesticides, including DDT, by documenting their impacts on wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. Carson faced intense criticism and personal attacks, many of which attempted to discredit her rather than engage with her evidence. Despite this, her work reshaped public awareness, influenced environmental policy, and helped inspire decades of environmental action. Tragically, Carson passed away before she could fully see the long-term impact of her work. https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/issue-1-let-the-rain-do-the-work monthly 0.5 2026-01-10 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Herbs monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Winter+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Container+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Community+News monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Sufficiency monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/For+Students monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Thought+of+the+Week monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Sustainability+Basics monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Reflection monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Living+Sustainably monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/History monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Pruning+%26+Seasonal+Care monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/In+the+Garden monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Watering monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Sustainability+in+the+Garden monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Sustainability monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Soil monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/category/Energy+Conservation monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Climate monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Environmental+History monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Environmental+Education monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Biophilia monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/IPM monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Lyle+Center+for+Regenerative+Studies monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Design monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Letting+Go monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Field+Trips monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Raised+Beds monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Sustainability monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Community+Building monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Spring+Planning monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Sustainable+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Indoor+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Regenerative+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Tomatoes monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Vermiculture monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Fertilizer monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Herbs monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Backyard+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Milkweed monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/h%C3%BCgelkultur monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/New+Beginnings monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Indigenous+Ways monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Resilience monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Deciduous+Fruit+Trees monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Composting monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Ecology monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Spring+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Monarch+Butterflies monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Nematodes monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Energy+Conservation monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Herb+Spiral monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Biodiversity+%26+Habitat monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Circular+Economy monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/soil+health monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Container+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Rose+Pruning monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Pollinators monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Community+Gardens monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Transitions monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Weekly+Update monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Body+Products monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Southern+California+Climate monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/raised+bed+gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Hugelkultur monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Reflection monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Projects monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/regenerative+gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Regenerative+Practices monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Trees+and+Orchards monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Companion+Planting monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Compost monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Cover+Crops monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Winter+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/wine+cap+mushrooms monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Planting+%26+Establishment monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Weather+Whiplash monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Reciprocity monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Shinrin-Yoku monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/mycorrhizal+fungi monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Southern+California+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/California+Native+Plants monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Seasonal+Gardening monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Fruit+Trees monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Mindfulness monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Upcycling monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Avocado+Tree monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Three+Sisters monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Soil+Health monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Worm+Bins monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Rainwater monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Mulch monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/drip+irrigation monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Garden+Refresh monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Life+and+Learning monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Personal+Reflection monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Blueberries monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Community monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/newsletter/tag/Water+Conservation monthly 0.5 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/home daily 1.0 2026-04-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/461c8e69-1f59-4cc6-bacf-69cac9c54445/20241213_115804.jpg https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/email daily 0.75 2026-01-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1722373943.343106-DLFGJJUXUHWWUATVHWQT/imgg-od3-70em_v7k.png https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/students daily 0.75 2026-01-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/34dc4fd1-2f27-429e-8ea2-67a209313f6a/imgg-demo-SZUz1hfg.png https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/classes daily 0.75 2026-04-19 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/about daily 0.75 2026-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/284b63c1-3871-4406-95b7-85166c0bbcf6/Still+2026-01-29+200855_1.23.1.png https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/test-page daily 0.75 2026-01-10 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/resources daily 0.75 2026-01-11 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/contest daily 0.75 2026-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1769749731291-USVTJ85E93HTWBAA6XK0/unsplash-image-1Z2niiBPg5A.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/714684f8-0f5c-49f4-a431-b5c6ecbcfff0/Planting+CA+Native+Plants+Thumbnail.png https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/regenerative-gardening-principles daily 0.75 2026-03-02 https://www.growingwithprofessorbrown.com/student-hub daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/284b63c1-3871-4406-95b7-85166c0bbcf6/Still+2026-01-29+200855_1.23.1.png Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1774239513912-75LMPD7SR7SVN82TQOSH/unsplash-image-B6yDtYs2IgY.jpg Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1774240130489-PI1HPRCS4PRF7QEABS1G/unsplash-image-sfL_QOnmy00.jpg Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1774240307767-9RVE73SWP363TU5GRLCO/unsplash-image-V0J9vNWPOs8.jpg Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1774240343638-801LEYQ4DAVECV8G9DIW/unsplash-image-fb7yNPbT0l8.jpg Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/1774240379187-ETED3VL9QM0TURGORS1F/unsplash-image-TqKFiMR9O6s.jpg Student Hub https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/691c00d01ee8c161d808ecbe/461c8e69-1f59-4cc6-bacf-69cac9c54445/20241213_115804.jpg