Gardening blogs.

As I muddle around with my own gardening, I'm getting a lot of info from bloggers out there, both experienced farmers who produce for restaurants and stores, and smaller ones. Here are some blogs I am following.

Noe Farm Report - my "neighbors". They are growning a lot more in the neighborhood we live in than I - right now I am only growing Cilantro, Dill, and Arugula in San Francisco, given I have the advantage of the plot in Healdsburg. They have built some raised beds and clearly have more sun as their arugula is kicking my arugula's butt.

Soma Farm Report - Noe farm report's Northern twin. They are in a warmer sunnier area of town, we'll see how they do. They are installing of drip irrigation - something I've become very familiar with up in Healdsburg.

Love Apple Farms - Ben Lomond. Cynthia grows the vegetables for Manresa, a highly regarded restaurant in Los Gatos. Some interesting info on Tomato planting - she digs a big hole, puts fishheads and eggshells in, then buries the plant to the leaves, and does a deep starter watering. I, on the other hand, dig a small hole and slop the plant in. I will be adjusting my technique! I got massive tomato production last year but I worry that was because I was starting with fantastically amended soil that the previous owner set up for me. I need to keep it going. Cynthia also gives classes on various topics - I'm eyeing a class on Beekeeping if Liam consents to let me go. The dream would be to commute to the class on bike :)

Tiny Farm Blog - a wealth of knowledge from this blog from Ontario, Canada.

A few weeks back I took some potting soil and mixed it - for better or worse - with soil from a particularly fertile spot in Healdsburg and added a little chicken manure, and planted some seeds in some old starter bins I had. This is not necessarily any more intelligent than how I started the Cilantro and Dill from seed in SF by planting them in soil from the SF backyard - my current opinion (right or wrong) is that this is better for drainage around the seed. Current status - the heirloom tomatoes and basil have come up, the Bell/Jalepeno peppers and squash are still dormant. I put in multiple seeds hoping one would come up and to thin if I got more. The tomatoes have come up with multiple shoots, I might research if I can prick out the extra seedlings and get more starts - I've decided to plant tomatoes and cucumbers on some extra land in Healdsburg - the soil is good but I need to run a drip and install a timer. The question is - will I need to rely on starts or can I get these seedlings into the garden.