Growing For Life: November
November was a time for wrapping up the summer garden, tucking some things in for winter, and harvesting a few nice things. Here are some highlights. We had our best harvest of pomegranates to date. Not a ton, but still some nice ones from our Wonderful tree and our Sharp Velvet tree. The Sweet varietal…
Growing For Life: October 2024
I love fruit. When picked at peak ripeness, it is delicious, and by some struck of divine luck, is also really good for our health. Whether talking of an uncommon fruit, like our arctic kiwi-berries pictured here, or the common apple, fruits are a perfect package of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber, and water. They…
Growing For Life: September 2024
Here in Northern California, we are entering the Fall season. The light has subtly changed, nights and mornings are getting a little cooler, and the first leaves are starting to change color. Now is the time to harvest and put away food for the winter. While several crops have been disappointing (another failed okra crop,…
Growing For Life: August 2024
I love warm weather. Part of that might be due to the fact that I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, a semi-arid coastal town in South Texas. To be honest, Northern California is just a little too cold for me most of the year. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful here, and…
Growing For Life: July 2024
Here we are in July. Now it really feels like summer. The earth is parched thanks to our rainless Mediterranean climate. The sun is beating down on us (hitting 100 degrees for a few days this week), reminding us how we are always at the whim of Nature. But yet, our plates are gifted with…
Growing For Life: June 2024
It’s June in the garden, and there is a lot in the works. The summer heat is on, and the tomatoes, squash, and sunflowers are reaching for the sky. There is so much that needs doing in the garden. Transplanting veggie starts, adding drip lines to a new “Navajo” blackberry and Loganberry bush that I…
Growing For Life: May 2024
As I look outside my window, I am in full agreement that April showers bring May flowers. The garden is in bloom, and bees and butterflies are bustling about, feeding and preparing to launch the next generation. The weather is warming up, the sky is blue, and there is a vigor and excitement in the…
Growing For Life: April 2024
April is here. The land is reborn, and hope is in the air. This spring though sadly also marks the passing of my father-in-law, one of the most masterful gardeners I have known. Over decades he created and shaped an enchanting forest garden in the countryside of his native France. Filled with flowering and fruiting…
Growing For Life: March 2024
Change is in the air. While grey, soggy days are still plentiful, we are starting to see the garden wake up. Bud break has begun among our little urban fruit trees and bushes. The blueberries are opening their white, bell-like flowers, and the raspberries, blackberries, currants and elderberries are pushing out fresh, green new leaves.…
Growing For Life: February 2024
(published in the Love.Life Telehealth Newsletter, 2/2024) As I write this month’s gardening column, the rain and wind are blowing on a very grey winter day. Oh well, it doesn’t look like I’ll be doing much gardening today. During breaks in the rain over the last few weeks, I’ve seized the moment, grabbed the garden…
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Jeffrey M Pierce, MD 