GROW San Mateo

 I went to visit my new plot at Beresford Park yesterday and found that a gopher had started to tunnel in the new compost.  And, in talking with our neighbors, it sounds like the gopher season is definitely upon us.  These little critters can take down huge plants in a single meal - pretty much destroying the garden bed you've worked so hard to prepare for the new growing season.  Here are a few strategies for dealing with them: 1. Take a deep breath Discovering gophers in your garden is a huge bummer and it can feel like you're personally being invaded.  So the first thing to do is take it all in and just relax...it will be okay.  You do have some work ahead of you...but everything will be okay. 2. Insert wire screen (also known as "hardware cloth") into the bottom of new beds This is expensive and labor intensive, but can give you some peace of mind.  Basically, the bottom of the bed is lined with wire, making it difficult for gophers to channel through.  Below i

You can grow your own food in just about anything (like the to-go container above) - and watching seeds come to life never gets old.  Getting started can sometimes seem daunting - so here's a simple way to begin growing your own food. You may have noticed "microgreens" in the produce section of your local grocery store.  They come in many varieties: lemon grass, kale, amaranth, sunflower, pea shoots, etc,...  Kale Microgreens sold by Whole Foods Growing your own microgreens is a fun way to add a homegrown ingredient to your meals.  Below are details for growing sunflower sprouts - and peas can also be grown using this method.  It's also nice to give a second use to plastic containers that would otherwise end up in the landfill.   Growing Sunflower Microgreens Step 1: Put holes in the bottom of a clean to-go container Step 2: Fill the bottom of the container with some type of soil & add seeds This could be potting soil, compost, coconut coir...there are many option