Anawalt Gardening & Tool Tips
Butterflies enchant us. Their brilliant colors and graceful flight capture the eye and stir the imagination. They transform an ordinary garden into a zen-like sanctuary in a sea of suburban sameness.Â
The best way to welcome them into your life is to create an environment that gives them everything they need short of room service.
With just a little TLC, a fuchsia plant will reward you with bright, showy flowers from late spring to early fall.
Native to Central and South America, fuchsia prefers cool, moist summers and mild winters, growing like gangbusters along the California coast. Heat and drought-resistant varieties do well in California’s inland areas.
A clean shovel is a thing of beauty.
Not hardware store clean, but fresh from the garden and properly cleaned for storage. Just as your prize-winning tomatoes need care, so do the tools that help you cultivate them.Â
Rainwater collection was legalized in California with the Rainwater Capture Act in 2012. Before then, permits were required and still are in many states.
But Californians are in luck! Even though gas is sky-high, and housing prices are through the roof, rainwater is free! And all you need to store it is an efficient rainwater harvesting system.
Arugula is a leafy green with a distinct peppery flavor. It belongs to the Brassicaceae family, which includes mustard and cabbage.
It has been a staple in Mediterranean cuisine for centuries. Pliny the Elder wrote about it in the First Century AD.
The Romans considered it an aphrodisiac and used it as a culinary and medicinal herb.
Hydroponic gardening offers several advantages over traditional sod-busting, including the efficient use of space, water conservation, better pest control, and faster growth rates.
Commercial farmers have embraced the technology. Chances are those juicy cherry tomatoes you bought on sale were grown hydroponically.
You can call in the contractors or save a pretty penny and DIY the job. Installing a tile backsplash is within the reach of even novice home renovators willing to learn.
This guide will walk you through every step of the process, from gathering the right tools to grouting those magnificent tiles and achieving a professional-looking finish.
Growing a supersized pumpkin requires time, patience, know-how, and maybe a bit of luck. Here, we’ll share tips for cultivating gigantic gourds and hefty harvests and cover everything from selecting seeds to watering techniques so you can grow the greatest pumpkin in the neighborhood.
Fasteners hold everything together, from towering skyscrapers to humble DIY projects.
Although hundreds of types and styles exist, the most common fasteners are nails, screws, bolts, and rivets.Â
Each type has unique characteristics and uses, making it essential to choose the right one for your project.
Cucumbers belong to the gourd family. Like all gourds, they grow in trailing vines and thrive in warm climates.
The vines are easy to cultivate in Southern California’s Mediterranean climate, but need proper care to produce abundant harvests.Â
Radishes are one of the fastest-growing vegetables and easiest to grow at home.Â
Home-grown radishes have more kick, which makes them stand out in salads and slaws, tacos, relishes, and even sandwiches. That’s because they’re harvested at peak freshness and consumed almost immediately before their sharpness fades on the shelf.
Every self-respecting Mediterranean salad includes parsley, and the plant’s exotic leaves make it a garnish par excellence.
Parsley is remarkably easy to grow indoors or out. Once you’ve experienced crisp, fresh parsley from the garden, you’ll never be satisfied with the limp product sold in stores.
Maybe you have a door that sticks, a leaky faucet, or a loose cabinet handle. Who are you going to call?
As a homeowner, you’ll need tools for simple DIY repairs — unless you enjoy shelling out for every little thing that goes wrong and missing half a day of work waiting for help to arrive.
Imagine an authentic German meal without cabbage. For hearty soups, slaws, and fermented dishes, cabbage is king in northern Europe.
This nutritious and filling vegetable originated in Europe and the Mediterranean, with evidence of early cultivation dating back over 4,000 years.
Watermelon traces back over 4,000 years to West Africa, where it was first cultivated. Ancient Egyptians viewed watermelon as a symbol of regeneration and rebirth, often placing the seeds in the tombs of kings.
The watermelon spread globally through trade and exploration, reaching Europe and the Americas.
What’s the best-selling jam in America?
Strawberry, of course. Strawberries are America’s sweetheart. Nothing compares to the luscious flavor of a sun-ripened strawberry straight from the garden.
And if you live in Southern California, you’re in a prime region for strawberry cultivation. The climate and soil conditions are ideal for growing the delectable berries.