Pollinators Need Your Help

Photo Courtesy of Maria Steffen

Although a few plants rely on wind or water for pollination, most of the world's crop plants (75%) need pollinators to reproduce. Many people don't realize that a high percentage of the food we eat exists because of pollinators. Pollinators visit flowers in search of food (nectar and pollen) and during this visit often come in contact with a flower's reproductive parts, depositing pollen which is necessary to produce a seed for that plant.

Vertical Gardens

Vertical Wall Garden at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, CA

Whether you’ve run out of gardening space, or have seen one and just think they're plain cool, you may have toyed with the idea of creating some form of vertical gardening. Perform a web search on the term and you’ll find examples of all kinds of vertical gardening from across the country and around the world. That’s because vertical gardens are an ideal opportunity to think outside the planter box.  In other words, anything goes, so long as it goes up.

Growing Melons without Draining the Tank (or Breaking the Bank!)

Watering Melons with Drip Tape at Lopez Island Kitchen Gardens

If you love melons (and who doesn't), you may be surprised to find out that growing them doesn't require as much water as you might think. While the young plants like plenty of water for the first month or so, cutting back to a deep watering once a week will keep the plant thriving and improve the flavor. On the other hand, excessive watering or poorly draining soil will quickly promote root rot, so don’t make the mistake of killing your melons with kindness.