A home, a yard, a never-ending adventure

A home, a yard, a never-ending adventure

Why Your Succulents Look Dead Right Now (And Why You Should Leave Them Alone) FRESH PICKED Sonja sunflower

FRESH AT SAGE’S ACRE

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FRESH AT SAGE’S ACRE

HOME & GARDEN

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HOME & GARDEN

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PHOTO GALLERY

There’s always some strange, interesting, beautiful or fun going on here at the Acre, so I carry a camera. Just in case.

More Photos

PLANTS

I grow sub-tropicals, California natives, and lots of vegetables then share my experience and thoughts

More Plants

FOOD & RECIPES

More Recipes

FOOD & RECIPES

More Recipes

AROUND THE ACRE

Live Video Stream

What do chickens and ducks do when no one is watching? Find out with ChickenCam! Camera feed is live on weekends from 9AM to 4PM Pacific.
Visit the ChickenCam »

Make a live backyard or wildlife camera just like Chickencam It’s easy!

Weathercam

live weathercam

Live camera shot facing west toward the Pacific Ocean, about 7 miles away.

→ Live Camera →Wunderground

Running Projects @sagesacre

Sage’s Acre on Instagram

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For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
🚨 Before you water that "dying" succulent... read this. If your Aeoniums, Dudleyas, Blue Chalksticks, and other succulents suddenly look bare, shriveled, or almost dead... STOP. They're probably not dying at all. They're taking a summer nap. 😴🌵 During the hottest months, many succulents go dormant to survive the heat. They: 🌿 Drop their lower leaves 🌿 Curl into tight rosettes 🌿 Slow almost all growth 🌿 Turn beautiful shades of red and burgundy to protect themselves from the sun. The biggest mistake? Trying to "save" them with lots of water. Dormant roots aren't drinking, which means excess water can actually rot the plant. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your garden... is absolutely nothing. Read the full article on summer succulent care at the link in my bio. #succulent #succulentlove #succulentgarden #aeonium #dudleya #jade #gardentips #gardeningtips #xeriscape #waterwisegarden #southerncaliforniagardening #desertgarden #gardeninspiration #plantlover #plantsofinstagram #gardenlife #backyardgarden #lowwatergarden #organicgardening #zone9garden #socalgardening
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Just harvested your spring garlic and greens? Don’t pack away your gardening gloves just yet! ☀️ We’ve still got roughly 85 days of prime warm-weather growing left before autumn arrives. I'm sharing the exact heat-loving crops you can direct-sow right now for a massive second harvest, plus my favorite trick to keep the soil from baking. Tap the link in the bio to read the full mid-summer guide! 🌾✨ #SuburbanGardening #SouthwestGardens #Zone9Gardening #OrganicGarden #GrowYourOwnFood #SuccessionPlanting
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
From a single, forgotten pantry scrap to over 24 pounds of fresh, crisp red onions. 🧅✨ We’ve all been there: you reach into the onion bin only to find one has started growing its own green "hair." Before you toss it into the compost, plant it! That’s exactly how this entire 24-pound harvest started. I let that one sprouted onion flower, saved the seeds, and planted them around Christmas. Fast forward to May, and we’re looking at a $36 return on an investment that cost us absolutely nothing. The garden cycle never stops. We’ve already got yellow onion seedlings prepping in the greenhouse for an autumn harvest, and we’re eyeing the winter El Niño forecast to plan a super-sized spring crop next year. Want to know which grocery store scraps are actually worth your time (and space) in the dirt, and which ones you should skip? Head to the link in our bio for our full Grocery Store Gardening Guide! 🛠️🌱 #SageAcreInspiration #GroceryStoreGardening #SanDiegoGardening #UrbanHomestead #RegrowYourScraps #OrganicGardening #Zone9b #GrowYourOwnFood #BackyardBounty
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Bumper crop of summer squash? 💛 Don't panic, we've got you covered. Before you resort to leaving bags of yellow crooknecks on your neighbor's porch, try turning them into this Roasted Yellow Squash Hummus! By roasting the squash, we lock in a subtle sweetness that pairs perfectly with nutty tahini and smoky paprika. It’s vibrant, ultra-creamy, and packed with vitamins A & C. Plus, it’s naturally vegan and gluten-free (with a low-carb option on the blog too!). Tap the link in our bio for Terri's foolproof recipe! 🥙✨ #SagesAcre #SummerSquash #GardenToTable #OrganicGardening #HealthyRecipes #HummusLover #SanDiegoGardening #Zone9b #EatYourVeggies
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Stop paying $25+ a pound for store-bought beef jerky that's packed with artificial preservatives! 🤑❌ You can make your own incredibly flavorful, tender, real-smoked beef jerky right in your backyard for a fraction of the price (closer to $4/lb!). The secret isn't a complicated recipe or a thousand-dollar smoker—it’s just a 2-ingredient marinade and a quick session over real wood smoke on a simple charcoal grill before hitting the dehydrator. Want to learn how to stretch your grocery budget and level up your suburban homestead game this weekend? Tap the link in our bio for our foolproof, step-by-step guide! 🥩💨 #BeefJerky #HomemadeJerky #SuburbanHomestead #BackyardCooking #BudgetFriendly #DIYFood #SmokedMeat #OutdoorCooking #FoodPreservation
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
I love a good garden win, but let’s be real, sometimes the garden has its own plans. 🫠 This year, I set a goal for three successive sweet corn harvests. Round one? A total masterpiece. The Kandy Korn is towering at 8 feet with gorgeous red tassels, completely ignoring the May Gray. Round two? A complete disaster. Poor germination and eager insects left us with six sad little plants. But gardening is all about the pivot. If my backup seeds don't sprout this week, I'm tearing them out and trying a new variety. Because a failed crop isn't a failure, it's just data for next year. 📊✨ Click the link in my bio to read the full breakdown of why some corn varieties fail while others thrive in the Southwest, and how to know when it’s time to replant! How are your summer crops behaving right now? Are you celebrating or troubleshooting? Let me know! 👇 #SanDiegoGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone10b #Zone10 #SouthwestGardener #SweetCorn #HomegrownCorn #BackyardHomestead #OrganicGardening #GardeningFail #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanGardening #GardenTroubleshooting #SummerGarden #EdibleGarden
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
While everyone else is playing the "hurry up and wait" game with their summer garden, my pepper patch thinks it's mid-July. 🌶️✨ No heated greenhouse. No indoor grow closet since December. Just a little SoCal garden magic called overwintering. Because peppers are actually perennials, keeping last year’s plants alive through our mild winter gives them a massive, 2-month head start on spring. While new seedlings are using energy building roots, these seasoned veterans went straight to work pushing out blossoms and fruit. Want to harvest bell peppers, Italian frying peppers, and chilis in May next year? Tap the link in my bio to see exactly how it works and what you need to do before the season ends! 👩‍🌾👇 #sandiegogardening #socalgarden #overwinteringpeppers #organicgardening #backyardgardens #zone9b #zone10a #peppergrowing #growyourownfood
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Blackberries are early this year. Normally we would see them ripening in early June, but the unusually warm winter woke them up in February and had them blooming by March. Unfortunately, the bees weren't out in force yet so a lot of flowers went unpollinated. Probably won't harvest more than a pound or two so we won't be making blackberry jam this year. But, at least we have fresh berries for the next few weeks. #zone9 #californiagarden #sandiegogarden #blackberries #spring berries #ediblegarden
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Look what was hiding under the last of the winter veggies in the keyhole garden 🌱✨! Mid-spring and what's left of the late winter herbs and veggies are pretty much played out. Spinach, cilantro, peas, and lettuce have either all died out or bolted into their final stages. Clearing out the spent plants I was pleased to find several tomatillos in there quietly doing their thing. Now that they have some extra sun they're really starting to fruit and flower. I haven't actually planted any tomatillos in years, so these are volunteers from previous seasons. Because I let both purple and green varieties cross-breed, it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what each year's offspring will be. But once they start to fruit you can easily tell. Green varieties (the type used in salsa verde) have a light green husk with deep green veins. Purple ones, which are sweeter, have a green husk with purple veins. This year, as you can see in the photos, we have both. Fresh salsa is just a few weeks away! Are you a 'clean slate' gardener or do you let the volunteers take over like I do? Tell me the best surprise plant that’s ever popped up in your beds! #GardenToTable, #OrganicGardening, #GrowYourOwnFood, #Homegrown, #VegetableGarden, #SanDiegoGardening, #SoCalGarden, #SouthwestGardener, #Zone9, #CaliforniaGardening, #Tomatillos, #VolunteerPlants, #SalsaVerde, #EdibleGarden, #PurpleTomatillo, #SagesAcre, #GardenSurprises, #KitchenGarden, #UrbanFarming
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Is the #BentoGarden trend all it’s cracked up to be? 🍱 In #SanDiegoGardening, the answer is… complicated. Eight weeks ago, I planted a "Salsa Bento" in my keyhole bed. The dream? A perfectly partitioned, high-density #VegetableGarden. The reality? Our early spring heatwave turned it into a bit of a #GardenFail. 😅 Here’s the "Live and Learn" breakdown: 🌿 Our cilantro bolted and shaded out the peppers (oops). 🧅 The onion border dried up before it could even start. 🍅 BUT, the ‘Litt’l Bites’ are proving that #ContainerGardening varieties are the real MVPs for small spaces! Nature doesn’t always stay in the boxes we build for it, but that’s the beauty of #OrganicGardening. You pivot, you harvest some coriander seeds, and you wait for the tomatoes. Check the link in our bio for the full "Instagram vs. Reality" update! 🖥️✨ #SagesAcre #SmallSpaceGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone10b #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanGardening #GardenReality
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Chickens get the spotlight… but ducks are doing the real work. Slug control, orchard cleanup, and fertilizer you can use the same day. 👉 Full story at the link in bio. #OrganicGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone9Gardening #BackyardGarden #UrbanHomestead #GardenTips #GrowYourOwnFood #SustainableLiving #Compost #Permaculture #Homesteading #GardenLife
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Gaucho the Rooster passed around this time of year back in 2023. He was 15 years old, but every bit as spry as he was when he was just a chick. An accidental chicken (I sent the girls to the feed store to get laying hens, they came back with bantams), he was small in size only. His glossy feathers and elaborate dance moves made him a favorite of the ladies (like a tiny Antonio Banderas). He used to ride around in the wheelbarrow looking like a tiny orange emperor surveying his empire. Every so often I'll hear a banty crowing off in the distance and think of him. #chicken #rooster #backyardchickens #backyardpoultry #gauchothemagnificent
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Why Your Succulents Look Dead Right Now (And Why You Should Leave Them Alone) FRESH PICKED Sonja sunflower

FRESH AT SAGE’S ACRE

See More

FRESH AT SAGE’S ACRE

HOME & GARDEN

More Garden

HOME & GARDEN

More Garden

PHOTO GALLERY

There’s always some strange, interesting, beautiful or fun going on here at the Acre, so I carry a camera. Just in case.

More Photos

PLANTS

I grow sub-tropicals, California natives, and lots of vegetables then share my experience and thoughts

More Plants

FOOD & RECIPES

More Recipes

FOOD & RECIPES

More Recipes

AROUND THE ACRE

Live Video Stream

What do chickens and ducks do when no one is watching? Find out with ChickenCam! Camera feed is live on weekends from 9AM to 4PM Pacific.
Visit the ChickenCam »

Make a live backyard or wildlife camera just like Chickencam It’s easy!

Weathercam

live weathercam

Live camera shot facing west toward the Pacific Ocean, about 7 miles away.

→ Live Camera →Wunderground

Running Projects @sagesacre

Sage’s Acre on Instagram

For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
🚨 Before you water that "dying" succulent... read this. If your Aeoniums, Dudleyas, Blue Chalksticks, and other succulents suddenly look bare, shriveled, or almost dead... STOP. They're probably not dying at all. They're taking a summer nap. 😴🌵 During the hottest months, many succulents go dormant to survive the heat. They: 🌿 Drop their lower leaves 🌿 Curl into tight rosettes 🌿 Slow almost all growth 🌿 Turn beautiful shades of red and burgundy to protect themselves from the sun. The biggest mistake? Trying to "save" them with lots of water. Dormant roots aren't drinking, which means excess water can actually rot the plant. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your garden... is absolutely nothing. Read the full article on summer succulent care at the link in my bio. #succulent #succulentlove #succulentgarden #aeonium #dudleya #jade #gardentips #gardeningtips #xeriscape #waterwisegarden #southerncaliforniagardening #desertgarden #gardeninspiration #plantlover #plantsofinstagram #gardenlife #backyardgarden #lowwatergarden #organicgardening #zone9garden #socalgardening
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Just harvested your spring garlic and greens? Don’t pack away your gardening gloves just yet! ☀️ We’ve still got roughly 85 days of prime warm-weather growing left before autumn arrives. I'm sharing the exact heat-loving crops you can direct-sow right now for a massive second harvest, plus my favorite trick to keep the soil from baking. Tap the link in the bio to read the full mid-summer guide! 🌾✨ #SuburbanGardening #SouthwestGardens #Zone9Gardening #OrganicGarden #GrowYourOwnFood #SuccessionPlanting
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
From a single, forgotten pantry scrap to over 24 pounds of fresh, crisp red onions. 🧅✨ We’ve all been there: you reach into the onion bin only to find one has started growing its own green "hair." Before you toss it into the compost, plant it! That’s exactly how this entire 24-pound harvest started. I let that one sprouted onion flower, saved the seeds, and planted them around Christmas. Fast forward to May, and we’re looking at a $36 return on an investment that cost us absolutely nothing. The garden cycle never stops. We’ve already got yellow onion seedlings prepping in the greenhouse for an autumn harvest, and we’re eyeing the winter El Niño forecast to plan a super-sized spring crop next year. Want to know which grocery store scraps are actually worth your time (and space) in the dirt, and which ones you should skip? Head to the link in our bio for our full Grocery Store Gardening Guide! 🛠️🌱 #SageAcreInspiration #GroceryStoreGardening #SanDiegoGardening #UrbanHomestead #RegrowYourScraps #OrganicGardening #Zone9b #GrowYourOwnFood #BackyardBounty
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Bumper crop of summer squash? 💛 Don't panic, we've got you covered. Before you resort to leaving bags of yellow crooknecks on your neighbor's porch, try turning them into this Roasted Yellow Squash Hummus! By roasting the squash, we lock in a subtle sweetness that pairs perfectly with nutty tahini and smoky paprika. It’s vibrant, ultra-creamy, and packed with vitamins A & C. Plus, it’s naturally vegan and gluten-free (with a low-carb option on the blog too!). Tap the link in our bio for Terri's foolproof recipe! 🥙✨ #SagesAcre #SummerSquash #GardenToTable #OrganicGardening #HealthyRecipes #HummusLover #SanDiegoGardening #Zone9b #EatYourVeggies
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Stop paying $25+ a pound for store-bought beef jerky that's packed with artificial preservatives! 🤑❌ You can make your own incredibly flavorful, tender, real-smoked beef jerky right in your backyard for a fraction of the price (closer to $4/lb!). The secret isn't a complicated recipe or a thousand-dollar smoker—it’s just a 2-ingredient marinade and a quick session over real wood smoke on a simple charcoal grill before hitting the dehydrator. Want to learn how to stretch your grocery budget and level up your suburban homestead game this weekend? Tap the link in our bio for our foolproof, step-by-step guide! 🥩💨 #BeefJerky #HomemadeJerky #SuburbanHomestead #BackyardCooking #BudgetFriendly #DIYFood #SmokedMeat #OutdoorCooking #FoodPreservation
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
I love a good garden win, but let’s be real, sometimes the garden has its own plans. 🫠 This year, I set a goal for three successive sweet corn harvests. Round one? A total masterpiece. The Kandy Korn is towering at 8 feet with gorgeous red tassels, completely ignoring the May Gray. Round two? A complete disaster. Poor germination and eager insects left us with six sad little plants. But gardening is all about the pivot. If my backup seeds don't sprout this week, I'm tearing them out and trying a new variety. Because a failed crop isn't a failure, it's just data for next year. 📊✨ Click the link in my bio to read the full breakdown of why some corn varieties fail while others thrive in the Southwest, and how to know when it’s time to replant! How are your summer crops behaving right now? Are you celebrating or troubleshooting? Let me know! 👇 #SanDiegoGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone10b #Zone10 #SouthwestGardener #SweetCorn #HomegrownCorn #BackyardHomestead #OrganicGardening #GardeningFail #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanGardening #GardenTroubleshooting #SummerGarden #EdibleGarden
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
While everyone else is playing the "hurry up and wait" game with their summer garden, my pepper patch thinks it's mid-July. 🌶️✨ No heated greenhouse. No indoor grow closet since December. Just a little SoCal garden magic called overwintering. Because peppers are actually perennials, keeping last year’s plants alive through our mild winter gives them a massive, 2-month head start on spring. While new seedlings are using energy building roots, these seasoned veterans went straight to work pushing out blossoms and fruit. Want to harvest bell peppers, Italian frying peppers, and chilis in May next year? Tap the link in my bio to see exactly how it works and what you need to do before the season ends! 👩‍🌾👇 #sandiegogardening #socalgarden #overwinteringpeppers #organicgardening #backyardgardens #zone9b #zone10a #peppergrowing #growyourownfood
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Blackberries are early this year. Normally we would see them ripening in early June, but the unusually warm winter woke them up in February and had them blooming by March. Unfortunately, the bees weren't out in force yet so a lot of flowers went unpollinated. Probably won't harvest more than a pound or two so we won't be making blackberry jam this year. But, at least we have fresh berries for the next few weeks. #zone9 #californiagarden #sandiegogarden #blackberries #spring berries #ediblegarden
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Look what was hiding under the last of the winter veggies in the keyhole garden 🌱✨! Mid-spring and what's left of the late winter herbs and veggies are pretty much played out. Spinach, cilantro, peas, and lettuce have either all died out or bolted into their final stages. Clearing out the spent plants I was pleased to find several tomatillos in there quietly doing their thing. Now that they have some extra sun they're really starting to fruit and flower. I haven't actually planted any tomatillos in years, so these are volunteers from previous seasons. Because I let both purple and green varieties cross-breed, it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what each year's offspring will be. But once they start to fruit you can easily tell. Green varieties (the type used in salsa verde) have a light green husk with deep green veins. Purple ones, which are sweeter, have a green husk with purple veins. This year, as you can see in the photos, we have both. Fresh salsa is just a few weeks away! Are you a 'clean slate' gardener or do you let the volunteers take over like I do? Tell me the best surprise plant that’s ever popped up in your beds! #GardenToTable, #OrganicGardening, #GrowYourOwnFood, #Homegrown, #VegetableGarden, #SanDiegoGardening, #SoCalGarden, #SouthwestGardener, #Zone9, #CaliforniaGardening, #Tomatillos, #VolunteerPlants, #SalsaVerde, #EdibleGarden, #PurpleTomatillo, #SagesAcre, #GardenSurprises, #KitchenGarden, #UrbanFarming
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Is the #BentoGarden trend all it’s cracked up to be? 🍱 In #SanDiegoGardening, the answer is… complicated. Eight weeks ago, I planted a "Salsa Bento" in my keyhole bed. The dream? A perfectly partitioned, high-density #VegetableGarden. The reality? Our early spring heatwave turned it into a bit of a #GardenFail. 😅 Here’s the "Live and Learn" breakdown: 🌿 Our cilantro bolted and shaded out the peppers (oops). 🧅 The onion border dried up before it could even start. 🍅 BUT, the ‘Litt’l Bites’ are proving that #ContainerGardening varieties are the real MVPs for small spaces! Nature doesn’t always stay in the boxes we build for it, but that’s the beauty of #OrganicGardening. You pivot, you harvest some coriander seeds, and you wait for the tomatoes. Check the link in our bio for the full "Instagram vs. Reality" update! 🖥️✨ #SagesAcre #SmallSpaceGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone10b #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanGardening #GardenReality
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Chickens get the spotlight… but ducks are doing the real work. Slug control, orchard cleanup, and fertilizer you can use the same day. 👉 Full story at the link in bio. #OrganicGardening #SoCalGarden #Zone9Gardening #BackyardGarden #UrbanHomestead #GardenTips #GrowYourOwnFood #SustainableLiving #Compost #Permaculture #Homesteading #GardenLife
For privacy reasons Instagram needs your permission to be loaded.
Gaucho the Rooster passed around this time of year back in 2023. He was 15 years old, but every bit as spry as he was when he was just a chick. An accidental chicken (I sent the girls to the feed store to get laying hens, they came back with bantams), he was small in size only. His glossy feathers and elaborate dance moves made him a favorite of the ladies (like a tiny Antonio Banderas). He used to ride around in the wheelbarrow looking like a tiny orange emperor surveying his empire. Every so often I'll hear a banty crowing off in the distance and think of him. #chicken #rooster #backyardchickens #backyardpoultry #gauchothemagnificent
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