Annie Spiegelman
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Raised in the asphalt jungle of New York City, with a can of Raid in her hand, Annie Spiegelman moved to the Bay Area over ten years ago and became a passionate environmentalist and Master Gardener. She is the author of two previous books on gardening (and life). Annie’s Garden Journal: Some Thoughts on Roses, Life, Weeds, and Men (Carol Publishing, 1996) was a selected Borders Books title by promising new writers and her second, Growing Seasons: Half-baked Garden Tips, Cheap Advice on Marriage and Questionable Theories on Motherhood was published in 2003 by Avalon Publishing Group. As Booklist wrote in their review, “Readers will find the refreshingly zany writing to be compelling as Spiegelman muses on becoming a master gardener, and rides the turbulent yet joyful waves of first-time motherhood. Curl up and enjoy copious doses of humor . . . Spiegelman is a writer to watch.”

Her third book entitled Talking Dirt: The Dirt Diva’s Down to Earth Guide to Organic Gardening (Penguin Group, March 2010), an organic gardening how-to guide for the home gardener, is now available in bookstores nationally. Talking Dirt was a finalist in the 2010 'Books for a Better Life Awards' in the Green Category. (Visit www.dirtdiva.com)

Spiegelman writes a popular garden column called Dirt Diva in the Bay Area's Pacific Sun newspaper while also working in the film business as a First Assistant Director.

She claims she spends her days dodging bullets from the cutthroat publishing business, the maniacal movie industry and her teenage son. And rarely uses medication.

Become a fan on facebook at 'Talking Dirt'

Blog Entries by Annie Spiegelman

The 2012 Project: Women Wanted

(8) Comments | Posted May 18, 2012 | 4:00 PM

Last week, I interviewed Laurie Syms, co-director of Rachel's Network, an advocacy group that promotes women's leadership, both in the environmental community and government. I learned that women, overall and regardless of party, consistently vote more in favor of environmental protections and policies than their male counterparts in...

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This Mother's Day, Mother Earth Wants You

(3) Comments | Posted May 10, 2012 | 4:24 PM

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Photo Credit: Big Stock Photo

How did a girl raised and hardened on the streets of New York City become a passionate environmentalist, geeky master gardener and full-fledged compost queen? I read Rachel Carson's bestseller, Silent Spring. Carson, a marine biologist, wrote about...

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Queen Bees Are Demanding some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Fool!

(4) Comments | Posted May 2, 2012 | 9:20 AM

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Photo Courtesy of Annie's Annuals and Perennials

Though worldwide bee health has been on the decline since the 1990s, it wasn't until the fall of 2006 that beekeepers nationwide began noticing millions of bees vanishing from their hives. This syndrome,...

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Ten Ways to Occupy Your Garden

(0) Comments | Posted March 21, 2012 | 12:41 PM

2011-12-29-JEH_WP_Garden.jpgPhoto courtesy of www.Woollypockets.com. Grow a garden anywhere with these fabric squares made from recycled plastic bottles!


1.Grow Your Own

I grew up in NYC in an apartment building, yet somehow I can now grow organic fruits and vegetables. And so...

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Starwood Hotels and Resorts Donates 2300 Organic Apple Trees to Bay Area Schools

(3) Comments | Posted March 6, 2012 | 10:50 AM

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Photo Courtesy of Marin Organic (www.MarinOrganic.org)

Last month, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide held its 2012 annual sales conference in San Francisco, California. Over 2000 general managers and sales personnel from over 500 Starwood Hotels (Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, Le Meredien, W...

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The Spark Behind the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act of 2012

(64) Comments | Posted February 17, 2012 | 11:56 AM

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Photo courtesy of Lyndsay Stradtner at www.LifeinMotionPhotography.com

What, all run by gigantic corporations? Is that really the answer? I think not. That would be the absolute destruction of everything and the classic way of ensuring that there is no food in the future. Millions...

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Labels Matter! What's in Your Compost & Your Food?

(4) Comments | Posted December 20, 2011 | 4:03 PM

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Photo courtesy of Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma, California where compost is king and pasture raised animals smile.

On January 1, 2012 labeling of organic fertilizers also known as Organic Input Materials (OIMs), as defined under AB 856, takes effect in California. What...
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12 Holiday Gifts for Gardeners

(2) Comments | Posted December 16, 2011 | 4:15 PM

It's wintertime, but that doesn't stop us hortiholics from daydreaming about next spring's garden and everything flowery. This is the time we start planning on what we'll do different next year in our backyards to create a naturally sustaining and flourishing ecosystem. In other words; impress our neighbors. Here are...

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Botanists Up!

(3) Comments | Posted July 13, 2011 | 4:03 PM

One of the latest trends in gardening is to grow ornamental or edible plants vertically up a wall of a building or a backyard fence. Horizontal, low gardening on the ground, is so 20 minutes ago! If you want to be with the horticultural trendsetters you gotta get high.

Patrick...

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Pollan on Pollen

(0) Comments | Posted March 22, 2011 | 8:46 AM

2011-03-22-DSC_0010.jpg Photo:Annie Spiegelman

Cheap food is great, and we have to acknowledge that achievement, but we also have to acknowledge the cost of it. If you understand what it takes to make food cheap, you lose your appetite. -Michael Pollan, speaking last month on the...
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A Recovering (Sort of) Rose Addict Explains How to Prune your Rosebushes

(2) Comments | Posted February 9, 2011 | 10:30 AM

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Annie, Pickles and the organically grown, man-eating, fence-bending white Lady Banksai climbing rose. (Courtesy Bill Buzbuzian)

Excerpted from Talking Dirt: The Dirt Diva's Down-to-Earth Guide to Organic Gardening (Penguin Group) Author: Annie Spiegelman

Here in California, I usually prune my...

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Composting in California: Come Get your Bag O' Crap!

(1) Comments | Posted February 9, 2011 | 10:20 AM

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Photo courtesy of prcompostco.com


Well, now I can add "interviewed a crap farmer" to my esteemed resume, while checking it off my bucket list. My parents will be so proud. My parents will be so proud. This so totally surpasses...

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Send an Organic Bouquet This Valentine's Day

(6) Comments | Posted January 31, 2011 | 10:20 AM

2011-01-19-OrganicBouquet3708000002.jpgAmericans will purchase roughly 110 million roses for Valentine's Day gifts. Purchasing fresh flowers for our sweethearts while poisoning farmers and their families is so yesterday. Come on already! Today it's about purchasing flowers from a floral company that cares about environmental,...

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A Green New Year's Resolution: Quit the Pesticide Man

(3) Comments | Posted January 5, 2011 | 10:35 AM

Here in the Bay Area where I live, according to the EPA, all of our creeks are contaminated with significant levels of pesticides, especially diazinon, an insecticide that was banned for home use 10 years ago because of its toxicity to mammals. If a bunch of compost-loving, Prius-driving tree-huggers and...

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Beekeepers Ask EPA to Remove Bayer Pesticide Linked to Colony Collapse Disorder

(3) Comments | Posted December 8, 2010 | 2:31 PM

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Beekeeper Tom Theobald, courtesy of Barbara Theobald


Though worldwide honey bee health has been on the decline since the 1980's, it wasn't until the fall of 2006 that beekeepers nation wide began noticing honey bee colonies disappearing in large numbers without...

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Note to Parents: Get Pissed!

(0) Comments | Posted November 22, 2010 | 12:07 PM

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Last week Sarah Palin opened her mouth again and out belched super-sized, high-fructose corn-syrupy pearls of misguided logic and fool's gold wisdom. She was pontificating about the amount of sugary desserts being brought into schools. Palin thinks that parents should be...

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A Book About Escaping to Upstate N.Y. Is Just Like Walden, Only Campier!

(1) Comments | Posted November 16, 2010 | 1:15 PM

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Can a chic, overachieving doctor and a successful Manhattan advertising executive leave the Big Apple and survive on a historic farm in upstate New York? I doubt it, especially since most New Yorkers think Central Park is the vast wilderness... What...

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How to Live an Organic Life, Even in New York City

(1) Comments | Posted November 16, 2010 | 12:08 PM

Betty Louise, life coach and radio host at CoachBettyLive! claims we can all live a more organic life. She says we just need to simmer down. Something as simple as hiding from our computers and cell phones for a bit each day can be a great benefit. (Try it, fellow...

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Astrological Gardening: Voodoo or Cool?

(1) Comments | Posted November 8, 2010 | 6:46 PM

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Personally, I think it's very cool! Astrology has played an important role in gardening since our ancestors first began planting seeds in the soil to grow food, medicinal herbs and flowers. In ancient times the sun, moon and stars were critical...

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Living Downstream: Steingraber Documentary Puts Moral Imperative on Banning Cancer-Causing Chemicals

(7) Comments | Posted October 17, 2010 | 8:40 PM

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When I was invited to a private screening of Living Downstream, the new documentary about biologist, author and cancer survivor, Sandra Steingraber, I was a bit hesitant. The showing was sponsored by the Breast Cancer Fund and...

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