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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...

When I first started gardening, I grew my onions from small bulbs called onion sets.  Onion sets are large and easy to plant directly into the garden.  But what is an onion set and why can you grow from sets or seeds seemingly interchangeably?  An onion set is an onion that has been started from seed and allowed to form a small bulb the previous fall.  Sets are dug and stored, and sold to be replanted in spring.  So an onion set is really a second year onion.  Being a second year onion, most of your onion sets will flower...

Pictured above are 'Swenson Swedish' snow peas up and going in the cold, water-logged soil of early spring at Giving Ground Farm.  These peas germinated quickly and at the same time, something difficult to achieve in late winter soils without the help of a few pea germinating tips, my favorite of which are found below.  Impress your neighbors with the earliest peas, and get a warm and fuzzy feeling by sharing your secret/this blog post with them! Pushing the Pea-season Boundaries Yeah, yeah, we know, peas love it cool, moist, and as the back of every vague seed packet says should...