On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its new [Plant Hardiness Zone Map], the national standard by which gardeners can determine which plants are most likely to survive the coldest winter temperatures…
Tag: gardening
Gardening with Blood and Bones: and it’s not even Halloween yet
Bone meal and blood meal are organic fertilizers used in gardening, but they have different compositions and purposes. Bone meal is for plants that require a phosphorus boost for root health, such…
Costco Product Review: Sun Tropics Tapioca Boba Pudding with Coconut Milk
This one is a buy-again five-star find. When I saw it yesterday at Hawaii Kai Costco, I wasn’t sure whether to buy it or not. The thing with Costco is that if…
Sometimes the best food has no recipe
I had to blog this while the feeling is still in my mouth. Humble brag here, I went out to prune the plants and came back with a basket of vegetables that…
Gardening 101: Deadheading isn’t just for heavy metal fans
On a visit to a local nursery, I bought an already established coreopsis plant. The plant was so well established it had more dried up flowers than new blooms. No problem, I…
Poor soil? You’re in luck. Try cosmos flowers.
Both my mom and I tried growing cosmos flowers in the nitrogen-rich mulch soil mixture we usually use, but the flowers didn’t seem to like it. Then, we tried again using ordinary…
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones for Hawaii
One of the biggest mistakes one can make when buying plants or seeds, is buying them for the wrong climate. Many plants require cool nights, or even a period of frost in…
Planting seeds, new packaging with QR codes
It is amazing how many different varieties of the “same” seeds there are. Even after descriptions and Latin names, each plant has different characteristics from their relatives. Beginning in November, plant exchange…
Cilantro and successful milk carton gardening
Cilantro can be quite temperamental. It takes a good spell to finally germinate, only to be quickly consumed by Hawaii’s vast array of bugs. Always up to a challenge, I wanted to see if I could finally make it work.