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Crop Focus: Ramallet TomatoesWe've harvested some of our ramallet tomato varieties and strung them all together in the kitchen!  It's a little early as we'd usually do this right before a freeze, but it feels like a bit of autumn self-care to have these beautiful fruits hanging above our sink. Ramallet tomatoes (as they are called in Spain), also known as winter tomatoes and piennolo tomatoes (in Italy), refers to a class of Mediterranean heirloom tomatoes that grow in clusters or tresses.  Fruit tresses are strung up at the end of the season and stored at room temperature for fresh eating, ripe...

Pictured above is an unassuming little patch of mixed cover crop thriving in the cold, wet soils of early spring at Giving Ground Farm.  Here we see a mix of triticale, hairy vetch, winter rye, and winter peas quietly accomplishing the life-sustaining processes of fixing nitrogen, protecting soil from erosion, and adding organic matter to the soil in the form of green manure.  Learn more about applying this most economical method of soil building to your garden below!  Building Healthy Soil So you've removed a sod or weed patch and exposed the soil you want to start growing your vegetable...

All over the Western United States, gardeners and farmers have been reporting an increased number of earwigs.  Earwigs are omnivores that eat other insects, rotting plant material like fallen leaves, and the tender shoots and fruits of some of our favorite garden plants.  If their numbers are relatively low we might not even notice them as they are active during the night and don't do much damage until their populations increase.  If their numbers are high we can face innumerable challenges in our gardens as a result- from seedlings getting munched before they can even grow, to fruit and leaves...

Gardening in the heat is a challenge.If you're a gardener you don't need the news to tell you that the last few years have been hot.  We gardeners are on the front lines when it comes to temperature extremes.  From increased pests due to warmer winters, to plant stress caused by drought- the effects of a warming climate stare us in the face every day.Fortunately, we gardeners are also the beneficiaries of centuries of plant breeding done by gardeners, farmers, and traditional plant breeders.  They have left us with an abundance of varieties bred to thrive in heat as all over the...

Nutritious and easy to grow, tepary beans are one of few vegetables native to North America!  Heat and drought tolerant, tepary beans love to grow in alkaline desert soils like those found in the SW United States and in NW Mexico, where they have been important to the diets of native peoples for generations.  They don't love waterlogged clay soils, but other than that they could thrive in most gardens- especially organic ones as their fertility needs are low.  Quite productive for the amount of space they take up, we think tepary beans are an incredibly rewarding crop to grow and are excited to be...