This is for my four-legged friends. You have a friend in me till the end.

Hey, it’s not all me, Mike Lieberman of Urban Organic Gardener is also featured.

Fall is on and that means I’m back at LBCC. I have a full schedule; from Principles of Pruning to Magazine Writing to Floral Design. I’ll have plenty to share with you.

Since I am not busy enough, Fern Richardson of Life on the Balcony and I have formed Beetnik Media – a social media marketing firm focused on cultivating social connections for garden and eco-living businesses. We know how to build a solid brand and we don’t just live online. This is What We Do; don’t miss it!

We will be hosting a tweetup during our stint at the Garden Writers Association symposium in Dallas, TX. If you’re in town Friday, Sept. 10, join us! Visit Beetnik Media’s Facebook page for more details on the shindig  and if you’re on Twitter give BeetnikMedia a follow.

Oh yeah, Fern and I will be guests on Good Morning Texas on Monday, Sept. 13! Tune in or set your TiVo. Think of us as a little bit gardening a little bit Wired.

Lastly, have a laugh on us.

How you get ZYMV: Aphids and by mechanical means such as equipment and pickers’ hands and clothing.

Symptoms of ZYMV: Prominent yellow and green mosaic, necrosis, and a distortion called “shoestring” are on zucchini leaves. Early infection may result in no fruit set. Later fruit are severely distorted, small and green, and have yellow outgrowths. More info at OSU Extension.

Severely distorted and small does not describe this hunk o’ zucc. I couldn’t find any toxicity information so I made calabacitas, using garden vegetables on hand, and ate it!

Chop:

• Garlic clove
• Zucchini
• Pepper – Anaheim
• Pepper - Pizza

Heat a nonstick pan. Add a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil. Toss veggies in, add a pinch of sea salt and coarse black peeper. Cover and saute for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to brown all sides.

Y voila! Warm up tortillas and make tacos de calabacitas.

If I’m really hungry I dice a Tofurky sausage and saute with the veggie mixture. I ain’t afraid of no ZYMV!

Since when did tomatoes become the darling of summer? Hogging all the glory. From TomatoMania to Tomatopalooza to Miss Hot Tomato. I kid you not. There’s even a dude that has dedicated his whole life to the tomato. I’m looking at you Steve Goto! And I bow down to you.

I’m sticking up for summer’s illegitimate crop – the pepper.

Capsicum – is a warm season crop and is divided into two categories, Sweet Peppers and Hot Peppers. My people call hot peppers, chiles.

Peppers require 6 to 8 hours of full sun. Like tomatoes, pepper seeds should be sown 8 to 10 weeks before the average last frost. Don’t sweat it if you didn’t sow seeds. You can still get your pepper on! Visit your local independent nursery and purchase transplants.

Long Beachers, I recommend purchasing seedlings from my home away from home, H&H Nursery in Lakewood, CA. Owner Jeff Shibata is super nice as are his daughters Cindy and Janice. Assistant Manager Sandra Romero and fellow horticulturist Kim are dolls and very helpful.

Southern California, we’re just starting to feel the heat so get those transplants in the ground or in a container and when you do, space about a foot apart. Container depth for peppers should be 14-16 inches.

Don’t forget to feed. I recommend a balanced liquid fertilizer like compost tea, worm tea, or Sea Magic Organic Growth Activator.

Sweet Peppers and Chiles growing in my garden:

from Territorial Seed Company – Miniature Chocolate Bell. Also growing: Golden Star, California Wonder, Early Jalapeno.

from Botanical Interests – Ancho/Poblano Pepperoncini Greek.

from Renee’s Garden – Pizza My Heart, Southwestern Chile Trio, Orange Fogo, Red Demon.

from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – Anaheim, Pasilla Bajio, Serrano Tampequino.

Iggy Kilmister – My garden sidekick.

Because it wouldn’t be complete without a little punk rock. Have I mentioned my major crush on the Ramones? I would marry all of them, even Republican Johnny Ramone.

The Ramones and Rancid – 53rd & 3rd

Nothing says, “I’ve arrived bitches!” like my beautiful anarcho-punk canopy.

Hey look! That’s Fern of Life on the Balcony. What is she up to?

Well, this Patch I decided to offer 15-minute, DIY gardening workshops. Since I heart collaborations I decided to solicit help from none other than Orange County Master Gardener, uber-blogger, container gardening expert - Fern Richardson of Life on the Balcony. Jealous?

I don’t mind saying that a lot of  Patch attendees came specifically to seek gardening advice from us. I know, we’re kind of a big deal. =D

This little fashionista approved of the gardening workshops.

Full house. Fern leading a workshop – How to Grow Tomatoes in a Container.

Check out the fancy container Fern made!

Fern also provided a useful hand-out to workshop attendees.

Great big hug to Fern for doling out serious gardening knowledge. Check out her blog post on how to turn containers from drab to fab HERE.

The Anarchy in the Garden booth was a buzz. All. Day. Long. It may have had something to do with the 4′X4′ redwood raised garden bed that I was raffling off for a mere $1.00. That’s not all, I threw in 13 seedlings including annuals, herbs, and vegetables, plus delivery, installation, and one-hour consultation with me. Did I mention it was a $1.00 raffle?

Insert picture of raised bed here. Oops, I didn’t take one. Here’s a close up of a pepper instead.

Unveiled at spring Patch, Anarchy in the Garden home edition – Culinary Gardens for an Urban Environment. After receiving several inquiries and being commissioned to design and install gardens for blog readers I thought I would fearlessly fling myself into green entrepreneurship. I service Long Beach, Orange County and the South Bay cities. For more information please check out the tab above.

I didn’t get a chance to visit many of the other booths. However I did sneak in jam and chocolate samples from Delilah’s Backyard in a Jar and Courtney’s C Salt Gourmet. I ain’t no dummy!

Thank you to everyone that stopped by my booth! Plans are in the works for the Fall Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival. Tell me what you want to see! I welcome any and all suggestions.

Special shout outs to:

and everyone that stopped by to say HI. You made my day.

*UPDATE*
According to Random.org the winner of the 4′X4′ redwood raised bed is #105. I’m looking at you Pamela Weinstein. Congratulations! I will be in touch with you shortly.

In the meantime please purchase soil. You will need 8 cubic feet of soil and 4 cubic of mulch for a 4′X4′X11″ raised bed. I recommend Kellogg Garden Products Patio Plus Soil and GroMulch or N’Rich for mulch. Or you can purchase bulk soil from Whittier Fertilizer and pick up free mulch from the City of San Pedro.

Enter C Salt Gourmet; artisan, hand-crafted, refined, sea salt dusted cocoa sweets.

Proprietor and chief chocolatier, Courtney Dudman Donley, launched C Salt Gourmet on Valentine’s Day, 2008 at the behest of upscale Promelis Westcliff Market owner in Newport Beach, CA. From brittle to truffles to vegan pistachio cherry (wink) confections all are ‘Hand-made with love by Courtney.’

Courtney Dudman Donley of C Salt Gourmet

As if she wasn’t kick ass enough, Courtney is committed to helping build a new world where the earth and its inhabitants are treated justly. C Salt Gourmet uses organic, fair-trade ingredients.

Visit Courtney at the C Salt Gourmet booth this Sunday, June 27 at the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival in Long Beach, CA. C Salt Gourmet is exclusively sold at uber hip vintage shop Fancy Disaster in Long Beach.

There’s still time to sow early maturing seeds like, Summer Squash – Straita de Italia (50 days) and Cucumber – Homemade Pickles (55 days) that will yield a bumper crop in no-time. For good measure, scatter seeds that take a little longer to mature like Winter Squash – Early Butternut and Delicata (70-80 days) and Edamame – Butterbean (85 day).

Below is a sampling of the seeds I am cramming into my Long Beach, CA garden (USDA Zone 10/Sunset Zone 24).

Sow where it’ll grow:
Bean Bush- Tavera
Bean Pole – French Duet, Trionfo Violetto
Corn – Sugar Pearl
Cucumber – Homemade Pickles, Armenian Burpless, Bush Slicer, Straight Eight
Edamame – Butterbean
Melon – Lil’ Loupe
Summer Squash – Straita de Italia, Yellow Crookneck, Scallop Sunny Delight, Peter Pan, Starship, Golden Scallopini Bush, Black Beauty
Watermelon – Icebox Rainbow Sherbert
Winter Squash – Early Butternut and Delicata

Some seeds are better off started indoors or in a hobby greenhouse and then transplanted into the garden. From Potty Pots to soil blocking there are various ways to start seeds.

Indoor sowing:
Chard – Scarlet Charlotte, Neon Glow
Cilantro – Slow Bolt
Dill – Bouquet
Lavender – White Ice
Leek – American Flag
Onion – Yellow Granex, Bianca Di Maggio, Flat of Italy

*Seeds used: Botanical Interests, Heirloom Seeds, Reene’s Garden Seeds, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Per Random.org #6 wins the sweet Corona Bypass Pruners #3180. I’m looking at you Michele Lujan of The Gardening Greenhorn. Who knew mural shout outs equal garden swag?!

Gardening powerhouse and burgeoning author Jayme Jenkins of the forthcoming Garden Rules: The Snappy Synopsis for the Modern Gardener is sponsoring this week’s giveaway; a $25.00 gift certificate to bomb online store – aHa! Modern Living.

If you’re aren’t already listening, check out Jayme’s podcast Nest in Style and follow her on Twitter: @NestInStyle and @aHaModernLiving

What type of tomatoes are you growing? Leave a comment and you’re entered in this week’s giveaway. Good luck!

*UPDATE*
According to Random.org #10, that’s you Millertime, wins a $25.00 gift certificate to super cool online gardening store aHa! Modern Living. Please email your deets to adriana0804@hotmail.com. Congratulations and thank you to Jayme Jenkins for hosting a fun giveaway!

Hey, remember my ode to everything compost and #gardenchat? Well, on May 24 I guest hosted the weekly Twitter session and talked all things school gardens.

Missed the chatter? Check out the #gardenchat transcript HERE; #gardenchat resumes Monday, June 7, 9:00 p.m. EST on Twitter. Fern of Life on the Balcony will be leading #gardenchat and discussing container gardening. Join us!

Thank you to Daily Breeze staff writer Sandra Barrera for including the Wrigley Village Community Garden in an article about community gardens. Read full story HERE.

Fruitful and Multiplying: More turning to community gardens

Last month Anarchy in the Garden turned one. As a token of my appreciation I promised to dole out prizes daily. Well, it didn’t quite happen that way. The celebration will continue until all goodies are divvied up. Slow and steady wins the race!

Per Random.org #11 is the champ – That’s you Andrea of Heavy Petal! You win heavenly Gardener’s Scrubbing Soap in Basil Poppy Seed by Botanical Interests. Just email me your mailing addy!

This week’s contest is courtesy of Corona tools. They’re graciously gifting a pair of Corona bypass pruners BP6250D. These pruners have a 1″ diameter cutting capacity, are ergonomic and lightweight. Lucky!

Leave a comment; tell me what you are harvesting in your garden. A winner will be picked at random in one week. Good luck!

A lot happens in a year. I went from being a full time accountant to not being one. I was featured in the OC Weekly, District Weekly, Al Borde, and got the cover of Palacio de Long Beach magazine. I made my first TV appearance on E! Entertainment’s That Morning Show; Martha Stewart meets the Sex Pistols! I became a contributing writer to Long Beach Magazine. The beloved Wrigley Village Community Garden took root and August passed me by – no posts. I co-sponsored the first ever Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival in Long Beach. I found Iggy Kilmister in a pond and I was accepted to the Los Angeles County Master Gardener Program.

Thank you readers for bearing with me – Often my posts are about events I am attending or about the hell that I am raising.

To show my appreciation there will be week-long giveaways!

First up, delicious Gardener’s Scrubbing Soap in Basil Poppy Seed by Botanical Interests. This soap smells heavenly! I crave pesto and want to run in a poppy field all at the same time.

More to love: The paper it’s wrapped in is made with both post-consumer pulp (recycled) and pre-consumer pulp from FSC-certified sustainable forestry practices. The mill that produces the paper is run entirely on wind-generated power and it’s cruelty-free; NO animal testing!

Enter to win and you’ll not only get the soap but you’ll also receive the basil and poppy seed packets featured!

Leave a comment – Tell me what you want to see more of or less; I can take it! I’ll choose a winner at random in one week. Good luck and come back tomorrow for another giveaway!

Bill Pearl of the Long Beach Report did a wonderful job covering the event. Please read his article here and enjoy the following footage:

Wrigley Village Community Garden would not be possible without collaboration; community members, local business owners, and corporate sponsors.

This garden was borne of a lot of sweat equity. Along the way relationships were strained. So be it.

A lot happens at the soil level. Had it not been for the garden the dilapidated apartment building next door would have never been discovered. Since then the apartment building has been renovated.

I’ve been called a serial volunteer. Whatevs. Relentless champion for an underserved community is more like it. Change happens at a grass roots level. Someone has to do it.

**Pictured above is our beloved and self described pirate gardener Tom. He is a gem.

PS, the music heard throughout the video is live music performed by the Alejandro Diaz Quintet from Wilson High School and the Long Beach Youth Steel Drum School.

Last Monday’s topic was all about compost with special guest co-host Chris McLaughlin. Chris blogs at A Suburban Farmer and is author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting.

Basically, compost is the end product of the decomposition of organic matter. Mix equal parts brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen) to produce one of earth’s greatest gifts.

What’s brown and what’s green?
Brown Green
Dried leaves                                                                           Grass clippings
Dried grass                                                                             Kitchen scraps
Straw                                                                                        Animal manure (sans dog and cat feces)
Cardboard                                                                              Coffee grounds
Paper shreds (sans shiny colored paper)                     *Green material will always be wet
Pizza boxes
Human and dog hair
Rabbit manure
*Brown material will always be dry

You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much organic matter. Here are the composting methods I use:

Uncontained Compost Piles

Good: Inexpensive – Pick a spot and start piling. Cut/shred compost ingredient as small as possible. This quickens the composting process. Keep your pile moist - I water my compost pile with water I harvest from the shower. Turn every 3 to 10 days for compost in 4 to 6 weeks; turn every other day for compost in about 3 weeks.

Bad: Takes up precious planting room and makes dining al fresco interesting. No one wants to sit next to the compost pile!

Ugly: See above; a picture is word a thousand words.

Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler


Good: Contained composting system eliminates varying stages of decaying piles from plain view.

Bad: Glorified trash can - A few years back when I was a high faluter I forked over $189.99 for this tumbler. Sucker! Compost is produced in batches – Ingredients must be added all at once. Contrary to Tumbleweed’s claim, I do not produce compost in 21 days.

Ugly: A 58-gallon capacity drum is hard to spin. On the other hand, once I spun the tumbler so hard it unhinged off it’s stand.

Vermicomposting

Good: No turning required! Simply add food waste and the worms (red wigglers) do all the work. PS, citrus makes worms angry; do not add to worm bin.

Bad: Must wade through the worms to harvest worm castings and worms don’t yield nearly as much organic matter as uncontained/contained compost piles. But, if you’re one of those succession planting types worms will yield enough castings to support your amending habit.

Ugly: Ocassionaly there are tiny flies. Just duck. I love my worms!

Chris did an excellent job of fielding questions and providing useful information in 140 characters or less. New topic next week – Join the conversation next Monday at 9:00 p.m. EST and don’t forget to add the hashtag #gardenchat at the end of your tweets!

What I really love and appreciate about Hector is that he doesn’t shy away from any chores. From sweeping the tumbleweed of dog hair that accumulates on our hard wood floors to shoveling compost into the raised garden beds he built for me. The latter activity requires a strong, well-fitting work glove.

Recently Hector ditched the $3.97 latex dipped gloves from the local big box retailer in favor of quality work gloves – Manswork Heavy Duty Washable Work Gloves by Womanswork. Here’s what he thinks of the gloves.

Father’s Day is in June. Grab a pair for your favorite dude!

Gardening Galore
What: LA Garden Show
Why: See, tour, learn, shop everything garden related
When: Friday, April 30 through Sunday, May 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (8:00 a.m. entry for Arboretum members)
Where: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia 91007

**I’ll be at the LA Garden Show on Friday, April 30^th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m at the UCCE Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County booth. Come by and say HI!

Admire
What: Renoir in the 20th Century
Why: Founding father of bringing sexy back
When: Now through May 9
Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles 90036

Cultivate
What: Pitchfork – Veggie/herb seedling and compost giveaway!
Why: Kids that grow broccoli, eat broccoli
When: Saturday, May 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Where: San Pedro Math & Science Center, 2201 Barrywood, San Pedro 90731 (Behind the Home Depot – off Gaffey)

**I’ll be there from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. then it’s off to Master Gardener training. Are you happy Mud?!

Mosh
Black Flag reincarnated.
What: Free OFF! show
Why: Art by Raymond Pettibon plus music by Keith Morris equals heaven on earth.   
When: Sunday, May 2 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Where: 6^th Street Warehouse, 1269 6^th Street, Los Angeles 90021

Classic Circle Jerks – Beverly Hills and Wasted

DoLeaf offers twenty-six pages of exotic plants for every USDA zone. Of course I couldn’t resist, I ordered a few plants.

They’re here, they’re here!

Agave potatorum – Butterfly Agave

**One gallon container costs $13.00 and shipping is $10.00/$5.00 each additional.  

Ficus elastica ‘Ruby’ – Ruby Rubber Tree

**Four inch container costs $7.00 and shipping is $11.00/$1.00 each additional.

Dracaena draco – Canary Island Dragon Tree or Drago

Dragon tree is pictured on the left. I could not find a link for it on DoLeaf’s site so it may no longer be available. I was way excited to recieve this plant and forgot to capture the big reveal. After attending Debra Lee Baldwin’s seminar – Succulent Container Gardens at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show last month I’ve been planting all my succulents in containers.

A couple of caveats – I ordered from three different vendors therefore I received three different packages. There go my carbon credits! Shipping is also a little spendy but hey plant material is being transported.

What I loved – Plant diversity, in all my garden center travels I have never seen a Dragon Tree for sale. Plant care instructions are included with every purchase and prices are reasonable. DoLeaf vendor Colors of Creation offers a one-gallon Agave Blue Glow for $13.00. I paid $60.00 for mine; I kid you not.

A word of advice, if you fancy anything on DoLeaf’s site act quickly. Many of their plants are sold out. DoLeaf is currently in beta mode and welcomes suggestions. My two-cents, I’d like a Show All button.

DoLeaf is filling a void commonly echoed amongst gardeners, the need for more variety. Vendors and new plant offerings are introduced frequently. Check them out and follow them on Twitter: @doleaf

My next workshop will be on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Road Less Traveled. It will be similar to the class I taught at Whole Foods but with an opportunity for hands-on learning. Seeds, seedlings and growing guide will be provided. Go HERE for more information and to sign-up.

A tip of the hat to Mother Earth, you’ve made the heat tolerable while we try to mitigate global warming and you give good tomatoes. Let’s all do our part because I don’t want to live on Mars.

Below are Earth Day events I will be participating at. Yes, all of them.

What: Civic Center Edible Garden Showcase
Why: UCCE Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County will answer your gardening questions.
When: Wednesday, April 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Civic Center Plaza, 333 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach

*There will be a seed swap, seedling giveaway, and organic cooking demonstration too.

What: Earth Day Celebration at the Growing Experience
Why: UCCE Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County will answer your gardening questions.
When: Thursday, April 22 from 3:00 to 6:00pm
Where: 750 Via Carmelitos, Long Beach, 90805

*Organic gourmet appetizers will be prepared by local chefs with produce from the farm, music by: Applesauce Music, Paper City and Ketchup Soup, children activities, interactive mural, farm tours, CSA sign-ups and more.

**Due to scheduling conflict I will not be participating at this event**
What: Earth Day Celebration at Whole Foods – Long Beach
Why: Long Beach Organic – Learn about community gardens
When: Thursday, April 22 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where: 6550 East Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, 90803

*Speak with a variety of local organizations and companies who are working hard to preserve the beauty of Mother Nature through their eco-friendly work.

What: Transplanting Workshop and Tree Walk
Why: Yvonne Savio will be leading a workshop for surrounding East LA residents.
When: Friday, April 23 from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: UCCE Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County Office, East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, 90022

If you come out to any of these events make sure you say hi.