Under the Solano Sun

Like many of you, Mother's Day triggers many fond memories of my childhood and the deeper friendship that evolved with my Mom over the years once I got over my rebellious teen phase. I dearly miss my Mom, but also celebrate her spirit with the love I developed for gardening.

No one likes aphids or cucumber beetles. No one welcomes slugs to their daily feast.

The first plants that come to my mind when I hear nitrogen fixers, are beans and peas of the legume family. Their roots have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the soil that gathers nitrogen from the air and converts it into a form of nitrogen that plants can use.

Have you ever wondered how to respond to gardening myths? Have you ever been giving a Master Gardener presentation and encountered the odd questions about a myth or worse yet, been awkwardly obliged to explain that helpful hints from an audience member are quite unscientific?

It's the way things work. At a time like this pandemic, it is difficult for me to tell myself that this is part of the bigger picture of how the natural world works. Everything feels very unnatural.