Grow in Abundance

May 1

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Pick a Peck of Peppers

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! May 2023. Pick a Peck of Peppers When it comes to growing peppers in San Diego, there are...

Mar 1

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Edible Plants That Transition From Winter To Spring

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! March 2023. Edible Plants that Transition from Winter to Spring Early spring is a time of...

Jan 1

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Turn Your Garden Into An Earth Friendly Garden

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! January 2023. Turn Your Garden into an Earth Friendly Garden Our home gardens play a vital role...

Nov 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Grow Your Own Food with Style

By Sommer Cartier, for Let's talk Plants! November 2022. Grow Your Own Food with Style Who says vegetable gardens can’t be attractive?...

Sep 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Beat The Summer Gardening Slump

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants, September 2022. Beat The Summer Gardening Slump September can be a tricky time for gardeners in...

Jul 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Tips For Growing Heirloom Tomatoes

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! July 2022. Tips For Growing Heirloom Tomatoes Heirloom tomatoes are annual vegetable plants...

May 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Four Ways to Beat the Summer Heat

By Sommer Cartier, for Let's Talk Plants! May 2022. If you’ve ever cared for a garden during the late summer months in San Diego, you...

Mar 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Drink Your Greens

Drink Your Greens By Sommer Cartier for Let's Talk Plants! March 2022. Nothing beats fresh vegetable juice for its goodness, nourishment...

Jan 1, 2022

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Three Nutrient Rich Crops To Grow In Your Immunity Garden

By Sommer Cartier, for Let's Talk Plants! January 2022. The health benefits we receive from cultivating backyard gardens has never been...

Nov 1, 2021

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: How to Grow Potatoes in a Bag

By Sommer Cartier, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2021. Growing potatoes in a bag is a fun and resourceful way to produce a crop of...

Sep 1, 2021

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: A Few Favorite Seed Companies

By Sommer Cartier for Let's Talk Plants! September 2021. When purchasing seeds, it’s important to consider the varieties you’re choosing...

Jul 1, 2021

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: DIY Pest Hacks

By Sommer Cartier. Summer is here, and with it, those heat loving garden pests – and lots of them. When faced with a spider mite...

May 1, 2021

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: What To Plant In Your Summer Vegetable Garden

By Sommer Cartier. As San Diegans, we live in the perfect growing climate. We have an ideal combination of sunlight, heat, and an...

Mar 1, 2021

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Don’t Toss It, Plant It!

If you consider carrot tops or onion bottoms as waste to be discarded, you may be surprised to learn there are many common vegetables that c

Jan 1, 2021

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: How to Start a Balcony Garden

There is something really enjoyable about balcony gardening. It’s a place to commune with nature, decompress and let your creative juices fl

Nov 1, 2020

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Don’t Skip a Beet This Winter

I once read that growing beets is an exercise in faith. You spend months cultivating and nurturing these little beauties, hidden

Sep 1, 2020

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Fall - Perfect Time to Prepare Cool Season Gardens

In San Diego, we are fortunate to have a temperate Mediterranean climate that allows for growing vegetables all year long. As we transition

Jul 1, 2020

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Tips for Growing a Wellness Herb Garden

If there’s anything to be certain about in this time, it’s that COVID-19 is affecting every aspect of our lives. From telecommuting to dist

May 1, 2020

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Fast Growing, High Yielding, Money Saving Crops

Amidst the recent pandemic, the motivators behind the patriotic “victory gardens” of WWI and WWII are resurging. Short supply of staple foo

Mar 1, 2020

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Edible Weeds in the Garden

For many of us, weeds can be a garden scourge. You step away from the garden only to return to a fortress of dandelions, stinging nettle and

Jan 1, 2020

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Kale, Yeah!

If there was a king of the winter garden, it would be the mighty kale. It’s nutritious, incredibly hardy and produces a crop throughout the

Nov 1, 2019

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Intercropping.

Regardless the size of a garden, there never seems to be enough space for all that we would like to grow. We’ve all experienced that moment

Sep 1, 2019

GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Journal your garden.

By Sommer Cartier. A journal is a gardener’s greatest tool. It’s a place to store records and important observations, to track patterns,...

Jul 1, 2019

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Time Saving Tips for the Busy Gardener

By Sommer Cartier. As San Diegans, we enjoy the luxuries of living in a beautiful coastal city with almost ideal weather conditions...

May 1, 2019

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Farewell to Blossom-End Rot

By Sommer Cartier. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting all spring to harvest that first big, juicy, ripe tomato, only to turn...

Mar 1, 2019

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Tips for Starting Seeds

By Sommer Cartier. Spring is just around the corner and March is the perfect time to start your seeds. Planting a garden from seed can be...

Jan 1, 2019

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Laying Down Roots in a Healthy Winter Garden

By Sommer Cartier. Root crops are cool-season crops, cultivated for their underground edible harvest. Because their edible parts grow out...

Nov 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: A Cool Season Bean

By Sommer Cartier. As the days shorten with the arrival of fall and temperatures begin to drop, our fruiting warm season crops come to an...

Sep 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Summer Seed Saving For Future Harvests

By Sommer Cartier. Seed saving can be incredibly rewarding and satisfying. Not only does it reduce your gardening costs, but it also...

Jul 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Summer Garden Harvesting Tips

By Sommer Cartier. One of the joys of summer is eating sweet, juicy, homegrown veggies picked right from your own backyard garden....

May 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Crisp and Tender Summer Lettuce

By Sommer Cartier. Just when temperatures are heating up, a cool, fresh, crisp salad sounds like bliss. It can be incredibly...

Mar 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: More Peas, Please

By Sommer Cartier. Peas are a cool season crop, grown best in temperatures between 65-75 degrees. They thrive in rich, well-drained soil....

Jan 1, 2018

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Cauliflower Crop Perfection!

By Sommer Cartier. Cauliflower is a cool season crop widely loved for its beautiful, tight, white curds and its mild nutty flavor....

Nov 1, 2017

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Home Grown Veggies in Seven Days

By Sommer Cartier. If you’re new to urban gardening or lack sufficient growing space, microgreens are the perfect way to start developing...

Sep 1, 2017

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Blooming Tasty Edible Flowers in Your Vegetable Garden

By Sommer Cartier. Edible flowers are the new black for both gardeners and foodies. Not only do they make an edible garden pop with...

Jul 1, 2017

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Tomatoes 102

By Sommer Cartier. Summer’s here! The season we await so we can enjoy the pleasure of biting into a plump, juicy, vine-ripened, homegrown...

May 1, 2017

GROW WITH ABUNDANCE: Renters Put Down Roots

By Sommer Cartier. As far as living in San Diego goes, renting is always going to be a reality - whether it’s due to high cost of living,...