Produce Chart with Pesticide Levels

Several folks asked for a LABELED produce chart showing pesticide levels, so here it is! RED means it is likely to have a higher level and GREEN means a lower level usually.

Always Best to Buy (or GROW) Organic Produce?

Lately, I'm getting more requests from my landscaping clients who've never considered themselves gardeners to grow their own food. And they want to do it organically. Horror stories of tainted greens drive many to question what else they might be buying in that bag of lettuce or spinach. Restaurants, bars, and even airlines blame skyrocketing prices for dropping lime…

Best fertilizer? Holy crap, BATMAN!

We've put in some new plants this spring and wondered what type of fertilizer you'd recommend. Depends. What type of plants? What type of soil?  The best fertilizer for all plants and all soil types is rich soil. Don't have that yet? Here's my favorite fertility Rxs for the plantings here in my Texas garden. Here goes:…

Oh, deer, not tonight, please

Help! We bought a house in the suburbs that needed new landscaping, but every time I put out plants, the deer come during the night and eat them. What can I do? Ask folks planning a move into the countryside how they feel about nature and they’ll express devotion. A year and hundreds of landscaping…

Figs gone wild: YOU CAN GROW THAT!

A few months ago my doctor put me on a LOW-FODMAP diet.  The bottom line is I can't eat lots of things I love anymore. Including figs. That might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. Making fig preserves each autumn is a tradition for my dad and me to do…