I write down every crop: the variety, where I got it, when it went in, and how it did. Next year's plan comes from that, not from a seed packet written for somewhere hotter.
I've never trained in permaculture. I picked up vegetable growing from online guides and Pinterest, and I use the principles where they fit my beds.
I plant marigolds with my tomatoes as companion plants, to help keep pests away and bring in pollinators.
I grow flowers around my vegetables to attract pollinators. Cigar plant, monkey flower and magenta salvia bring them in, and my tomatoes produce well.
Principle names come from David Holmgren's twelve permaculture design principles (opens in a new tab).
For a bigger version of the same idea, visit Hidden Villa (opens in a new tab) in Los Altos Hills. Its organic farm keeps a pollinator garden, and the sunflowers below are from there.
Lettuce, spinach, peas, cilantro; fall is the best time to plant CA natives and shrubs
Garlic, shallots, fava beans (cover crop), spring bulbs, natives
Worked, mixed, or failed, and why.
Harvested Basil, Summer 2026. Harvested Sept 2026
Harvested Bitter Melon, Fall 2024. Harvested November 2024
Mixed Broccoli. Full-grown head not harvested on time; went to flower (year not recorded)
Failed Broccoli, Winter 2025. Eaten by rats
Harvested Broccoli, Summer 2026. First broccoli harvest. Aphids cleared by washing, neem oil, and snipping infected parts
Failed Cauliflower, Winter 2025. Eaten by rats
Harvested Red and yellow, Winter 2022. Harvested February 2022
Harvested Shishito Pepper, Fall 2024. Harvested November 2024
Harvested Shishito Pepper, Summer 2026. Harvested Sept 2026
Harvested Beefsteak, Summer 2021. Great yield; Amateur planter, grown with marigolds. Green fruit late July; harvested September 2021
Harvested Heirloom and cherry, Fall 2023. Harvested October 2023 with basil and parsley
Harvested Roma, Fall 2024. Harvested November 2024
Growing Beefsteak, Summer 2026. Too tall and not producing; topped and suckers removed July 2026, cuttings donated to the Arboretum
Growing Black Krim, Summer 2026. Too tall and not producing; topped and suckers removed July 2026, cuttings donated to the Arboretum
I once left a full-grown broccoli too long and it went to flower. Harvest the head while the buds are still tight.
Rats ate my broccoli and cauliflower in 2025.
When aphids got into my 2026 broccoli, I washed them off, sprayed neem oil, and snipped off the infected parts. It cleared up.
While the head is still tight. I left a full-grown one too long and it went to flower.
Rats got both of mine in 2025. They're the reason I lost that whole winter crop.
Wash them off with water, spray neem oil, and snip off the infested parts. That cleared mine in 2026 and I still got my first broccoli harvest.
For the pollinators. Cigar plant, monkey flower and magenta salvia bring them in, and my tomatoes produce well. I plant marigolds in with the tomatoes too.
I had a good apple tree in our yard. That's when Max learned to love apples. He started playing with the dropped ones like they were balls, bit into one one day, and loved it. After that he'd go get himself an apple whenever he wanted a snack.
Apricot harvests from June 2025 and June 2026.
This basket was one of the last plum harvests of 2025. A heat wave in February 2026 stressed the tree, and it isn't doing well this year.
