Fire safety in the garden
One or two minutes may be all the warning you get when it comes to fire. Fire-safe gardening around your home can give you the time you need to get out safely. [...]
Articles by Kate Russell
About Kate Russell
How does your garlic grow?
Being the Garlic Capital of the World means there are plenty of garlic goodies to be found in Gilroy, but growing your own garlic may be the most rewarding way to celebrate this cousin to onions, shallots, chives and leeks. In late spring, garlic plants may not look like much. [...]
Fuzzy, but not friends
If you have citrus trees, you probably have citrus mealybugs. Cousin to scale insects, these tiny Morgan Hill pests are often overlooked. At first, you may see some sooty mold on a few leaves, an ant trail, or, finally, a telltale cluster of fuzzy white, tucked under leaves or [...]
Wonderful Waste
The science behind composting is solid. Yard and kitchen waste are made of plants. In nature, plants decompose and return their nutrients to the soil. Other plants feed on those nutrients, growing stronger and healthier. As a bonus, adding compost to planting areas makes plants [...]
Sap-sucking pests
Aphids, or plant lice, are nearly always a problem in the garden. This is particularly true in winter, when it comes to cabbage aphids. Cabbage aphids (Brevicoryne brassicae) can wipe out a cabbage crop before it ever gets started. Native to Europe, this pest of cole crops is [...]
Garden myths
Oxalic acid—you’ve heard the warnings, telling how rhubarb leaves and other plant parts that contain oxalic acid should not be eaten. But that’s not entirely accurate. Let’s learn the truth about oxalic acid in the garden. The chemistry behind oxalic acid As an acid, [...]
The bitter root
Chicory root coffee may inspire thoughts of pastry and jazz, but this rugged roadside weed has a place in Gilroy gardens and landscapes. Chicory is a woody perennial that comes in many different varieties, depending on the cultivar used: roots (var. sativum) and leaves (var. [...]