Life begins in the garden

Category: Gardening

  • Oregano and Marjoram Drying Process for Flavorful Cooking | Zanganeh Garden

    Drying Oregano, Marjoram, Chamomile & Other Herbs Oregano is coming in strong as spring progresses. It is always a reliable herb in our garden, hardy and prolific. Left to its own it might take over the garden! We love the flavor of herbs in our cooking. It is the month of May and oregano is…

  • What’s Growing Now – February 2024

    It is citrus season here in Southern California. Although the Mandarins are done for this season, the Meyer lemons and sweet lemons are coming on strong. Both trees are loaded with fruit, so we’ll be enjoying that lemony goodness. All the greens love the cool and damp weather we’ve had this winter. Lots of kale,…

  • What’s Growing Now – January 2024

    We are in full citrus season here. Our Satsuma mandarin orange is packed with fruit, along with the Meyer lemon and sweet lemon. Lettuce is going strong, as is cilantro, kale, and collards. They enjoy the cooler weather and thrive at this time of year. Also have peas and beets coming up. Garlic is already…

  • What’s Growing Now – October 2023

    October was still quite warm with a few days of cooler weather indicating fall is on the way. The major harvest this month was digging 50 pounds of sweet potatoes. Summer crops like beans, squash, peppers, okra and tomatoes are still producing. For flowers, the okra, zinnias, coreopsis, hollyhocks, chocolate flowers, feverfew and marigolds continue…

  • What’s Growing Now – September 2023

    September has felt a little cooler than normal, yet still warm weather for sure. We often still have hot weather in September, but this year was fairly pleasant on most days. The cooler weather for getting the next round of lettuce started (they don’t germinate well in the heat). Summer produce is still growing well,…

  • What’s Growing Now – August 2023

    August is a full summer month with hot dry weather, except this year hurricane Hillary decided to head our direction. Before Hillary passed through we had temperatures well over 100 Fahrenheit (40 Celsius). The storm passed east of us but lowered the temperature significantly and dropped 3 inches or more (7-8 cm) of rain in…

  • What’s Growing Now – July 2023

    July quickly turned into a hot summer month. The cool weather of June slowed the maturation of summer tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. They are now enjoying the warmer weather of July trying to make up for lost time. Tomatoes did not get ripe until the very end of July, a few weeks later than our…

  • What’s Growing Now – June 2023

    June has generally been cool and grey. We call it our June gloom that follows the May grey. This time of year it is common to have a marine layer creep over the mountains to keep mornings overcast usually clearing late morning. This June we’ve had quite a few days staying cool and grey into…

  • What’s Growing Now – May 2023

    May started off with a warming trend getting into the high 80’s (low 30’s for our metric friends), then dropped to high 60’s (around 20 Celsius) as our May grey settled in. It’s a typical pattern here where May and June get a strong marine layer bringing low clouds and overcast mornings, usually burning off…

  • Vegetable Garden Plant Families

    Why talk about plant families? Understanding plant relationships and their shared characteristics enhances our appreciation of plants growing in the garden. Plants in the same family share common characteristics and ancestry. Knowing a plant’s family can give us insights on growing them and helps us see plants in a new perspective. For the gardener, understanding…