Aug 9th 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

gardening mistakes

Do you ever get the feeling, based on the overall state of your yard and garden, that there might be a few things you could be doing . . . better? Guess what? If you’re like many Southern California gardeners, odds are you are probably making a classic mistake or two.  Last post I outlined some things not to do, I’ll add to them now. The good news is that the most common gardening mistakes I see... read more

Jun 20th 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

garden no-no’s

So much is written about “How To This” and “How To That” in your garden and that is great but what about the mistakes that people make all the time and can be avoided? Here are some common issues that I see all the time visiting people’s gardens, in Part I of my post: Over Planted Gardens.  The plant looks super cute in it’s little 1 gallon nursery pot, but what about when it grows to... read more

Mar 3rd 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

companion plants

A nice technique to use when planting your vegetable garden is companion planting of vegetables – this method has you combine two plants for a specific purpose such as hiding, trapping or repelling pests. Planting basil discourages hornworms from tomatoes; tastes great in a Caprese salad and tomato sauce from your fresh ripe tomatoes.  While dill doesn’t discourage the hornworms from you tomatoes it... read more

Feb 24th 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

scv protect your plants

The Weather Service is predicting record cold temperatures in Southern California and snow down at  low altitudes!  Santa Clarita will not be spared, a few simple steps can be taken to prepare for freezing weather.  Please take a few moments to read about how to protect your plants.  Click on the link to see the post. Blogger bio   After years in the rat race of Corporate America, Julie... read more

Feb 21st 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

early vegetable crops

It is that time of the year again in Santa Clarita for “winter” vegetables.  We have such amazing weather that you can practically plant year round, but if you haven’t made your veggie garden yet… you can certainly start now.  Here is a nice list of vegetables that you can plant in your garden and have a nice crop of vegetables before your start your standard warm season crops of tomatoes,... read more

Jan 17th 11 Posted by Julie Molinare

january gardening

January is a gift for gardeners in Southern California that we often take for granted, there are gardeners all over the country who would trade all the seed catalogs they have for extra months in their garden.  While much of the country is blanketed with snow and/or the ground is frozen we have the luxury of spreading our gardening chores around through out the year! For me January is all about roses and... read more

Dec 14th 10 Posted by Julie Molinare

holiday plant care

I love to give plants to people for the holidays and I love to decorate my own home with them as well. You like many others may receive holiday plants and as the holidays wind down find that you don’t really know what to do next with those plants. Here are a few tips that will keep your plants happy through out the year. Taking care of Christmas Cactus is pretty easy, Water your cactus only when it is... read more

Dec 1st 10 Posted by Julie Molinare

community gardens open

This Friday December 3, 2010 at 10 am in Central Park in Saugus please join the Santa Clarita City Council and local gardeners for a very special groundbreaking, commemorating the City’s first Community Garden project. Please RSVP to the City at: 661.255.4939. We have built four plots (in freezing windy weather), which can be viewed at the site.  With 40 more to go we can use both your help and your... read more