Another bulb I planted back in February is blooming. The tag is long gone so I need to do some detective work to learn its identity. Sue Clayton correctly identified it as crinum.

In October I harvested Mission olives from a tree. The ripe black olives I packed into coarse salt (dry-cure). The green unripe olives I placed in a salt-brine. It’s now November and the black olives have cured (the salt has leached out the oleuropin compound that makes them bitter). The black olives are now shrunken and wrinkled. They will keep …

Calendula is a well-known medicinal herb and uplifting ornamental garden plant that has been used therapeutically, ceremonially, and as a dye and food plant for centuries. Most commonly known as for its topical use as a tea or infused oil for wounds and skin trauma, the bright orange or yellow flower contains many important constituents and can be taken internally …

The carrots you find at the grocer require 10-12 inches deep of loose soil, othewise they grow stunted. Your standard ground soil in Sunnyvale is clay. The solution is to select one of many varieties that are shorter. ‘Nantes’ is about 7 inches long. ‘Thumbelina’ is 4 inches long.

Bearss limes are a wonderful variety for Sunnyvale that produces fruit in the late fall or early winter. You can grow it in the ground or in a container. If you grow in a container, you normally will select a dwarf rootstock. This variety can also be grown indoors. If growing in the ground, I recommend the semi-dwarf rootstock (because …

Grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi ‘Oro Blanco’). Productive. Hardy. Long-lived (my tree is over 40 years old). Can be grown in container or small ground area (mine is in a 24-inch trench).   Family: Rutaceae (roo-TAY-see-ee) (Info) Genus: Citrus (SIT-rus) (Info) Species: x paradisi (par-ih-DEE-see) (Info) Cultivar: Oro Blanco   Category: Edible Fruits and Nuts, Trees, Tropicals and Tender Perennials   …

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. It was known to the Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness. Considered a tender perennial (USDA Zones 7-9), Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and …

Basil, Sweet Basil Recipe for Basil Pesto

The Washington Navel Orange is the go-to Sweet Orange.  It is famous for its winter fruits.  The seedless fruit is flavorful, juicy and peels easily.  They hold well on the tree, but will drop early in dry and hot climates. Source: Received as budwood from another Washington navel tree, Riverside, Calif., 1918.   Parentage/origins: Washington navel orange is also known …

The Meyer lemon, Citrus x meyeri, is a citrus fruit native to China thought to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or common orange. The Meyer lemon fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon. The skin is fragrant and thin. Meyer lemon fruits have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common …