Photo by punk.com

I am obsessed with Iron Fist Clothing and these Sugar Frosted heels are my new favorite shoes. They’re super cute and versatile too! Here are the deets:

• sugar skull print
• velvet ribbon bow with pink contrast stitching
• silver skull and rose charms
• peep toe
• shorter heel than the Iron Fist platform heel
• all man made materials – vegan

I’ve been rocking these shoes to work lately; paired with the Editor Pant by Express and Gap’s Favorite Long-Sleeved T. I purchased my kicks from Punk.com for a mere $22.99. Go get a pair!

It’s raining outside. Now What? Well, when it comes to gardening lots actually. I’m not alone when I say there is nothing better than curling up with a dirty soy chai latte and a good seed catalog on a chilly day. However, that’s not what we’re going to do.

Get out of bed or that comfy couch and do some real work like cleaning your pruners. Chances are they can use a good wipe down.

Pruners should be disinfected after pruning diseased plant material or before they are stored away. Using a cotton ball or a clean rag, sterilize pruners with a little rubbing alcohol.

Carefully clean the ins-and-outs of the blade. Whatever gunk remains can be removed with steel wool. I use 00 – very fine grade.

Finally, keep the blade sharp. This is important for making clean cuts. There are a couple of schools of thought on how to properly sharpen blades; circular motion, toe-to-head. My horticulture instructor taught me to sharpen the blade from head-to-toe. Just be careful not to nick the blade or sever your finger.

Next time the call of pruning arises you’ll be ready to go!

Welcome to the new home of Anarchy in the Garden – Loud, punk rock fueled, always DIY gardening and home economics hub for the domestic demolitionist. I’ve eliminated the fluff and added more categories. Check em’ out!

Grow – You won’t find begonia growing tips here but you will find info on how to successfully grow your own food in the city. I garden in the only state that matters, California; more specifically Long Beach, CA. That’s USDA zone 10b and Sunset zone 22 for you academic types.

Home Ec – Working 9 to 5 can blow and dinner doesn’t have to be a Del Taco burrito. I’ll share recipes, always vegan or vegetarian, using seasonal homegrown produce. You’ll also find a healthy dose of cleaning tips, craft projects, and much more!

Style – I love Target as much as anyone but dressing head to toe in Merona is not cute. Go ahead, hold down that corporate gig and rock it pretty. I’ll let you in on unique and affordable fashion finds.

Pets – They’re the next best thing to kids! From doggie wear to homemade treats or just gratuitous pictures of my mutts. You’ll find everything pet related here.

Holidays – Handmade Valentine’s Day cards, Mother’s Day bouquets made from locally grown flowers, let’s celebrate! Homemade style.

Community – From volunteer opportunities and gardening workshops to Social Distortion tour dates. An event calendar filled with fun things to do around town.

Lastly, I promise to cut out the suck (aka self-promotion), share more useful information and always keep it punk.

Speaking of Social Distortion, check out their first-ever TV appearance on Jimmy Kimmel. They’ll be performing in So. CA this month!

Yours in Anarchy,
Adriana

Hi guys!

In case you’re wondering, Anarchy in the Garden is on holiday. Steph of Hearts and Laserbeams and I are working super hard on a new logo design and total website overhaul. I am adding loads of new content along with region appropriate gardening information.

In the meantime, for antics and giveaways, check out Anarchy in the Garden’s Facebook page!

Sid Vicious – My Way

Much to my delight Southern California has been experiencing Seattle type weather. I don’t know what it is about a light drizzle that makes me want to dig in the soil, turn compost piles, and soil block. It kind of confuses the fur kids.

I’m not the only person eager to play outside. I’ve received several emails, text messages, Twitter DM’s, wall posts on Facebook, asking, “what do I plant right now?”

LOTS but before we tackle the grocery list of vegetables that thrive in fall I’m compelled to share my slight obsession with soil and the importance of soil building.

Soil, often overlooked, unsung hero and unlike dirt, is alive. What’s the make up of your soil; clay, sand, silt? What’s the best soil to grown in and how do I get it?

If you’re planting in containers, this breakdown will be academic. Instead check out Life on the Balcony’s post on The Dirt on Dirt. What You Need To Know Before Buying Potting Soil and for good luck also read Good Container Gardening Practices to Prevent Pest Problems.

Back to you. Clay soil, referred to as heavy soil, is gritty in texture, has poor water drainage and aeration, weak root penetration and is an overall drag to grow in. Sandy soil is smooth in texture and considered light. It warms up faster in spring but water drainage and nutrient depletion is fancy-free. Silt, is soil between clay and sand and tends to have clay’s characteristics.

Loamy (friable) soil, is a combo of clay (20%), sand (40%) and silt (40%) and is the most desirable, it contains ample organic matter, water drainage is ideal and expends nutrients moderately.

To achieve optimal soil texture generously amend the planting area with organic matter. Organic matter may consist of homegrown or bagged compost or green manure (cover crops). As the organic matter decays you are rewarded with humus, the organic portion of soil resulting from partial decomposition of plant matter.

You can test your soil before devising an improvement plan. I recommend University of Massachusetts. You’ll get pH balance, extractable heavy metals, and a slew of other nerdy information for a bargain basement price of $9.00! Either way taking the time to improve your soil will pay you back in dividends, or in this case a more bountiful harvest.

The house of Anarchy experienced a huge tomato fail this season. I planted several varieties of heirloom tomatoes at Wrigley Village Community Garden. I nourished them along the way only to have them die at the hands of tobacco mosaic virus. However, like a reliable BFF, zucchini is a steady crop.

The haphazard weather hasn’t detoured fruit production. Sitting on my counter are 13 zucchini and a promise of more to come. I dusted off the food processor, all burners are raring to go, the oven is preheated, and hopefully I’ll avoid a short out. I’m cooking up my favorite zucchini recipes. Check them out!

Simple, healthy, and seasonal – Judita Wignall author of the forthcoming Going Raw: Everything You Need to Start Your Own Raw Food Diet & Lifestyle Revolution at Home serves up guilt-free raw vegan angel hair pasta with pesto.

Yes we can and T. Loe of Living Homegrown Fresh shares an easy and delicious bread-and-butter zucchini pickle recipe for all your sandwich needs. Check out Canning and Preserving with Theresa for more tips from a food preserving expert.

Cuppie Vs. Pie

Step aside humdrum zucchini bread and say hello to my little friend – Zucchini cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting! This vegetarian confection by CakeSpy is sure to please the zucchini challenged. Me, nothing says business lady like Cuppie vs pie business card holder. What can I say, I like a good knife fight.

Abuela would scoff at any calabasitas (sauteed zucchini) recipe that contained corn but I’ll cut the New York Times a little slack. Tacos de calabasitas – omit the corn and cheese, slap on a tortilla and enjoy.

Have a zucchini recipe to share? Leave instructions in the comment section or better yet, provide a link. Happy cooking!

Ok, spiders are arachnids not insects. However one thing I am certain of is they’re beneficial and essential in the garden. While most people squeal and run away from spiders, I squeal and welcome them with open arms.

A spider’s sticky web is the easiest way for a spider to captures its prey but they’re also nimble and grab or pounce on insects that wander too close.

Want to attract more spiders into your garden? Groundcovers, mulches, and clump-like grasses are spider habitats but don’t cozy up to all spiders. The black widow and brown recluse are dangerous to humans.

Check out the beautiful Garden Spider Art spun amongst Vintage Garden Gal‘s vineyard.

And a Ramones song for every occasion – Spider Man.

Check it out. I’m diversifying. I’m not only a horticulturist but I am trying my hand at floral design. There is a lot of practicing in my future.

According to the American Institute of Floral Designers Armature is a decorative and supportive framework for floral composition. Armature is typically created using natural materials such as branches but can be made with non-natural materials like wire.

I hurriedly designed this bouquet while dodging elbows in a crowded classroom. You can recreate it in the comforts of your home using the following flowers:

5-6 Curly Willow
3 Zinnia
3 Celosia ‘Red Flame’
3 Alstroemeria
6 Carnation
5 Cushion Pom

Then – Twist curly willow into a circular design and create a grid. Tie off with floral wire where needed and insert flowers. Easy peezy! Not; but super fun to attempt and it reminds me of Halloween.

Fern Richardson of Life on the Balcony and I are back from a cyclonic trip to the long horn state, Dallas to be exact. We were there for the annual Garden Writers Association (GWA) symposium. We not only attended the conference but we threw a party as well. Pretty ballsy for a couple of garden bloggers attending their first GWA forum.

The tweetup was a huge success. Approximately seventy-five people attended and dined on pizza, Sprinkles cupcakes, and libations. When in Dallas…

We could not have thrown such a swinging party without our partners. Thank you Botanical Interests, P. Allen Smith, Corona Tools and Hootsuite for believing in Beetnik Media. People mingled until the wee hours.

I ran into my sister at GWA:

Angela Palmer, @Plantweenie on Twitter and of Plants Nouveau had the best booth. Hey, it’s Shayna of Botanical Interests and one of my favorite peoples.

I am really looking forward to trying out Fiskars Composting Bin. It’s collapsable, affordable (about $50) and stylish. Available spring 2011.

GWA felt more like college for some of us. Giggling until 3:00 a.m. and lulled to sleep by the glow of our iPhones. With Christa Hanson and Fern.

Fern and Cindy Shapton eagerly awaiting Make More Money: Writers as Revenue Generators session.

Patty Craft, editor, Horticulture Magazine; Katie Elzer-Peters, The Garden of Words, LLC; and Jayme Jenkins, aHa! Modern Living gave an excellent presentation on how to earn income as a garden communicator.

Patty offered an editor’s perspective and shared challenges editors face on the business side. Katie discussed different options and opportunities for writers including storefront, wholesale, online businesses, and ghost writing. Jayme talked about writing opportunities open to people without a traditional journalism background, as well as her advice on “selling” yourself in the new media arena. Great job ladies!

Fern and I rounded off the weekend with a live appearance on Good Morning Texas.

We were going to demonstrate a new use for Corona Tools hedge shears but instead decided to talk about cool garden finds we saw at GWA.

Is there a “I’m on a jumbo-tron” badge on Foursquare?

I clumsily tipped over P. Allen Smith’s Container Gardens Deck and neglected to mention the plant I was talking about was Monrovia’s “Katrina” African Iris.

Thank you to Shirley Bovshow and Joe Lamp’l for kindly offering invaluable tips for being on live TV and a huge hug to all our garden blogger friends that had kind and supportive words for Fern and I. Thank you.

For a complete list of garden products highlighted please check out Fern’s What’s New and Cool for Gardeners – Adriana and I Were on TV! post.

No one likes to hear excuses so I won’t go there. Instead I’ll try to distract you with my VegNews: City Pickers feature.

VegNews is the way to my heart. They advocate for animal rights and promote cruelty-free living. I rescue dogs on a regular basis and I am a steadfast defender of shelter animals. So, when I was approached to be a part of this uber cool and significant magazine I cried.

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.

Last week I proudly shared a picture of dual-colored squash on the Anarchy in the Garden Facebook page. I boasted, I planted a yellow squash next to a green squash and… Well, it turns out I wasn’t cross pollinating Cucurbits but instead my zucchini plant had developed Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV).

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!

You know you’re Mexican when you’re not only monocropping pepper plants in your modest home garden but in your community garden plot as well. Count ’em, 24 plants!

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

My legs are sore but my heart is full. Sunday was the second installment of the beloved Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival in Long Beach, CA. Anarchy in the Garden was once again a co-sponsor of the hippest, hand-crafted event in Southern California.

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.

Rarely am I jealous of omnivores. That is until it comes to sweets. Milk chocolate, fudge, pecan praline ice cream with it’s familiar amber-colored swirls. My palette evolved, I transitioned into a vegan diet and out went the milk chocolate.

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.