A collection of what interests me at any given moment.
Forest Girl Farm
shares the experiences of a dedicated hobby farmer who grows fresh, organic vegetables and vibrant flowers on a family compound in the scenic Santa Cruz Mountains. I discuss topics such as the beauty and magic of living in the redwood forests, the cultivation and versatility of different vegetables and flowers, the basics of seed starting, and the my personal journey as a mother and farmer.
Vegetables are for the body, flowers are for the soul.
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Stop Salting Your Eggplant — It’s Making Dinner Take an Hour Longer
If you’re still salting eggplant and letting it weep in a colander for an hour, you’re following advice written for eggplant your grandmother bought in 1970. Almost every variety grown…
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Why Your Peppers Keep Flowering but Never Set Fruit (It’s the Nights, Not You)
A pepper plant covered in blossoms that keeps dropping every one of them isn’t a sick plant. Nine times out of ten near the coast, it’s a temperature problem —…
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Never Peel a Tomato Again: The Freezer Trick That Does It for You
You do not need to boil a pot of water, score an X in the bottom of every tomato, or stand over a steaming sink in August to peel tomatoes.…
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Why Your Tomatoes Split Open Overnight (and the Watering Habit That Stops It)
A tomato doesn’t crack because of heat, or disease, or bad luck. It cracks because the fruit’s skin stopped growing days before the inside did — and almost always because…
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The Pesto Mistake That Turns Your Basil Sludge-Brown Overnight
Bright green pesto going murky brown in the fridge isn’t a sign your basil was old. It’s oxidation, it starts within minutes of the blade hitting the leaves, and there’s…
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Why Your Plants Vanish Overnight (and the Gopher Fix That Actually Holds)
A gopher can pull a full-grown artichoke plant straight down into the ground and leave nothing but a hole where it stood. That’s not an exaggeration — it’s the single…
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The Zucchini Bread Mistake That Makes Every Loaf Come Out Gummy
Two cups of grated zucchini can be hiding half a cup of water, and if you dump all of it into your batter, no amount of extra baking time will…
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The August Seed-Starting Window Most Zone 9 Gardeners Miss Completely
The best month to plant your fall garden in zone 9 is the month your summer garden looks its absolute best. That’s the cruel joke of it — August is…
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The 20-Minute Step That Keeps Cucumber Salad From Turning Into Soup
A cucumber is about 96 percent water, and every bit of that water is trying to escape into your salad bowl. That’s why a cucumber salad that looked crisp at…
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Why Your Squash Leaves Go White Every August (and What Actually Stops It)
Powdery mildew isn’t caused by wet leaves. That’s the myth that keeps coastal California gardeners baffled every August — we’re barely watering, it hasn’t rained since April, and yet the…
Forest Girl Farm 