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Month by Month Gardening
Drought-resistant Lawn Substitute for People and Dogs
Question from Candace and Cyrus: We recently got rid of our entire fescue lawn and replaced it ( or tried to ) with UC Verde, a new form of buffalo grass specially engineered for the climate of the southwest. Unfortunately, because we are within a...
Message From Pat
Dear Reader: This site contains more than one thousand answers to garden questions on a wide range of subjects common to Mediterranean climates. Among them, we hope you find the answer to your question. Please take this opportunity to share your experiences,...
Planting California Native Plants
Here is the way to plant native plants (Best time to plant: in November) Native plants like best to be planted in plain, native, un-amended soil. Amended soil where garden plants have grown is not the best environment for native plants because native...
Choosing and Planting Winter Crops
Question from Marshall: I am 13 years old and was looking at starting a garden for food and i just started turning the ground for spring and letting the rain run into the nice ground i have and i was getting a little anxious and i wanted to start...
Sulfate of Potash
Q: In the rose-pro method of caring for roses in your book, it calls for sulfate of potash (0-0-22) which I can’t find in ANY nursery or hardware store around here. I did find Sul-Po-Mag which has the same NPK numbers, but also contains sulphur...
Southern California Gardening: Month by Month Guide, 2000
This much-loved book, often called ‘the gardener’s bible” is now completely revised and updated with an improved format, new cover, all-new photographs by Steve Gunther and much added material. Covers all the basic plants and plant groups grown...
Plant Zinnias Seeds
Plant seeds of zinnias now. “Benary’s Giants” (sold as “Parks Picks” by the Park Seeds) is immune to mildew. Choose a spot in full sun, till the ground to spade depth, work in organic soil amendment and balanced fertilizer into the top six inches....
Fertilizing and Rain
Q. Can you give me some reasons that it’s not good to fertilize when it’s raining? A. Walking on heavy soil when it is wet can compact the soil, but other than that caveat what’s wrong with taking advantage of rainfall to fertilize with...
Generic Fertilizers & Soil Amendments
This Generic Fertilizers Chart show you what products can be used for a “source of”, how quickly it works, approximate formula, and characteristics. Generic Fertilizers & Soil Amendments Chart. Be sure to reference “Southern California...
Chicken or Horse Manure
Q. I’ve heard you talk about the benefits of horse manure.What is your opinion of using chicken instead of horse manure? I was told recently chicken is stronger than horse. A. Chicken manure is superior to horse manure but needs longer aging and...
Southwest Smart Garden Regional Guide
Over 2,500 spectacular identification photos, many taken by Pat Welsh, illustrate 250 plant category lists helping you choose plants for particular purposes, such as color, solid shade, near swimming pools, in a firescape, a boggy spot, for drought, heat,...
When to prune climbing rose
Question from Brigitte: I have a climbing rose that might be anywhere from 20 to 40 years old. It has a very large winding trunk and looks similar to the lady banks rose except that it has clusters of small pink one inch flowers that bloom in the spring....
Southern California Organic Gardening, Month by Month
“Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening, Month by Month”, Chronicle Books; 2010, takes local gardeners by the hand and helps them grow a beautiful pest-and-disease-free garden while living in harmony with nature, caring for the environment,...
