LA Garden

January's Garden

2012-01-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

Rain on a broccoli, the photographer and his camera. We are grateful for the rain - even this so-called 'negligible precipitation.' A drought is predicted, but since when have 'they' been right? One of the wonderful things of living in Southern California, this close to the Pacific Ocean is the delightful mild weather we enjoy.

Real Men Don’t Cry in Their Quiche

2011-10-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

(NB This is an essay from a few years ago I have dug out and rewritten. I guess, having finished the first major rewrite of my first book has left me with a yen to do more re-writing. I stumbled upon this while trying to find something else tonight and repost it with the sense that gardens matter more than just food or beauty. There is a healing that comes to us from gardens and we need a

The Food Movement: Its Power and Possibilities

2011-09-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

"The number of hungry people has soared to nearly 1 billion, despite strong global harvests. And for even more people, sustenance has become a health hazard—with the US diet implicated in four out of our top ten deadly diseases. Power over soil, seeds and food sales is ever more tightly held, and farmland in the global South is being snatched away from indigenous people by speculators

The Garden In September

2011-09-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

Lettuce is one of our winter crops in Los Angeles – this red lettuce, Merville des Quatres Saissons (Marvel of the Four Seasons) is more like Marvel of the Two Seasons here – our summers are way too hot to grow this lovely French belle, but in cooler months this is a true delight that is as tasty as it is beautiful – and it's really beautiful! Alongside it, not as gorgeous, but still a very good

Growing Food In Southern California: What to Do & When To Do It

2011-09-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

David King Teaches Gardening To Everyone! This Saturday, September 3rd, The Learning Garden presents: Growing food In Southern California with David King. This 9 to 12 workshop centers on what to do in the coming months as Southern California heads into our 'other Spring' and one of our best, and least understood, growing seasons! You'll learn what to plant and how to plant it, what

The Garden In August

2011-08-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

A pair of hands sifts through the harvest of Cannellini beans; 12 feet of row netted just shy of 10 pounds. I am thinking a family of four would use about 50 pounds in a year. But this is just one of the many things we are harvesting from the garden this month I used to think of August as nap time and in the heat of Southern California's summer, it sure is inviting! Grab a cool drink, a

The Gaden in July...

2011-07-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

...and the corn is as high as an elephants eye? Maybe not that high, but still stands tall in the garden promises good eating right around the corner. As a boy in Kansas, I knew my grandfather's goal every year was to harvest sweet ears by July 4th. He and his neighbors might bet hard earned money on who would harvest their crop first. Most years he was the surely the winner! Since corn takes

Goodbye My Amazon, Goodbye!

2011-07-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Amazon, I think you goofed badly. I don't know of any business model that suggests you terminate your very large sales force that worked hard for you for practically nothing and give them over to your competitors to work against you. And it's a sad thing because many of us were not wanting to switch, we wanted to keep working for you for next to nothing. But you forced our hands.

Starting Seed School

2011-06-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Starting Seed School Belle Star (the cute one on the left) and Bill McDorman, lead instructor, take our class through some thought provoking exercises for the evening. Late this afternoon, 20 some students met our instructors, in the Native Seed/SEARCH facility in north Tucson to meet and set our intention for the coming week. It was an interesting day in Tucson. First of all, the high

Grow More Farmers!

2011-05-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

In considering the recent spate of exploding watermelons in China, I realized that one of the challenges of the future, especially in first world countries, is the lack of farmers who understand the ramifications of farming in a way that is not currently framed in conventional farming education. We need to grow more farmers! Farmers who can farm organically and sustainably, to use modern catch

Creative Container Gardening Nourishes Ourselves And Our Earth

2011-04-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

(This is a reprint of an article that first appeared in LA Yoga magazine, June, 2009. It is still applicable.) NOTHING COMPARES WITH THE TASTE of freshly picked, vine-ripened, home-grown tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, delicious, colorful, bursting, it’s something special. Even the most organically grown, farm fresh produce isn’t quite the same as the loving care we take with growing our own food.

The Garden in April

2011-04-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

The summer garden's plants are in their little starter pots right now (vaguely reminiscent of training wheels on a bicycle) really begging to be transplanted into the earth. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, the stalwarts of our summer garden are almost ready to hit the big time. In some years, it's too cool until after your taxes are done, but in many others, heed their pleas and put them out

Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA)

2011-03-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Seed Library of Los Angeles meeting of a few months ago, David King presides. The Seed Library of Los Angeles has monthly meetings. The membership has control over how we spend our money and makes all major decisions. In addition to tending to this business, the Best Practices Committee presents a 15 minute lecture on saving seeds and answers questions on saving and storing seed for

Victory Gardening Series At The Learning Garden

2011-03-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your interest in the Victory Garden Classes at The Learning Garden. Below you will find the answers to most your questions. Please feel free to email me with questions if I failed to cover something of concern to you. Don't delay registering! We need a deposit for each person. Spaces are not considered occupied until we have a deposit. If you don't use PayPal, email me and we'll

The March Garden

2011-03-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

March. Baseball teams are in Spring Training in Florida and Arizona. Tomatoes are growing in a protected location with 'bottom heat' so they can be set out in the garden close to the end of April. We've all heard the old saying about March coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion, or is it coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb? Whatever the exact saying, it correctly alludes

The Garden In February,

2011-02-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

Summer's harvest from last year include these gorgeous peppers (what did I plant last year?) and San Marzano tomatoes. Both were prolific and delicious. When summer is over, I don't want to touch another tomato, but by February, I'm getting geared up for the first fresh BLT! The short days of winter are getting perceptibly longer. From the Winter Equinox, we are half way to the Spring Equinox

Blog Anniversary

2011-01-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

Who knew? This blog is now three years old having started the 29th of January 2008. To celebrate, I'm posting the bibliography and other things from the Essentials of Vegetable Seed Saving lecture at The Learning Garden, 10-3 on the 29th. A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers, Organic Seed Alliance © 2010 OSA This publication is a free download from the Organic Seed

Rhubarb Pie for the Masses

2010-12-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

David King's Most Delicious Rhubarb Pie The shot of the rhubarb pie shows a green filling rather than the accepted red of rhubarb. The green rhubarb comes from our typical lack of frost. Rhubarb, in cold climates, is revered as the first fresh thing a person can eat in those very early days of spring. Rhubarb shoots rise from the base of the plant a brilliant red after being frozen for the

Felco Pruners Are HERE!

2010-12-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

The initial stock of Felco pruners and Swiss Army Knives are in stock now! I have F-6's, 8's and 11's as well as the new composite handle pruners, 160S (for small hands) and 160L (for large hands - that's it in the photo). I have a couple of sharpeners, holsters (like the one I use) and a few Swiss Army knives for grafting. Contact me via my email address, or by phone to arrange a pick up time

Urban Agriculture Wishes

2010-11-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

A Venice High School student is proud of the cauliflower she grew in her garden class. Educating the coming generations about where food really comes from and showing them how to grow good, healthy food without pesticides, fertilizers and Monsanto will hold them in good stead as this world changes. I have been to a number of panels or seminars on “Urban Agriculture” lately and I'm impressed by

Month By Month Planting Guide for Southern California: A 'Cheat Sheet'

2010-11-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

These generalizations are for The Learning Garden, located in Sunset Zone 24, less than 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean in an alluvial plain that is just above sea level. Cold air from the surrounding hills drains into our area and we are reliably cooler than much of the surrounding areas. If you are growing inland from us, your temperatures fluctuate more than ours. As one gardens further

I HAD Never Been Stung Before...

2010-10-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Original Photo of the Hive, About 500 Bees When the call came Wednesday evening, I glanced at my watch. 5:30. That would give me enough time, I thought and I'd still make my 7:30 PM meeting. One of my former students had called about a few bees. He sent me a photo of some bees clustered on a wall – about 18 inches long, he said. I looked at the bees in the photo. It would be a

The Garden In October

2010-09-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Seedlings in terra cotta pots getting ready to be transplanted into slightly larger containers. On the left, broccoli and cabbages have two seed leaves while the two pots on the right must be onions or leeks because they only have one seed leaf each. In all the books from back east and England, you'll find fall as a season of 'going to rest,' 'putting the garden to bed' and other allusions

Pesto Madness Pesto: The Recipe

2010-09-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Basil in the field, lush and fulsome, just before picking time. As promised, this is the recipe we use to make our almost world-famous pesto. Remember, fresh and quality ingredients are the key! Make sure to cover the pesto tightly or store in an airtight container immediately after making it. The top layer will discolor faster than the rest you can keep a thin layer of oil on top to stop

Basil Season Is Almost Over - It's Time For Pesto

2010-09-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

It's time for the basil harvest, which, in my book, means it's time for pesto! Time to rummage around and find those taste buds and shine 'em up! Here comes pesto! I know this doesn't seem like it, but this is just one plant! Perhaps now is not the time to be telling you how to grow basil because it really is one of our summer crops, but at this time of year, as we begin to consider the

A Gardening Manifesto

2010-09-09T02:19:00.000-07:00

Patience may well be a virtue for the general populace, but for a gardener, it is essential. I have been a successful organic gardener in Southern California for the last twenty five years with a good deal of success on the mid-West plains before that. I have evolved a style of gardening that works well in Southern

Honey Bees In Peril Means Less Food For Us!

2010-09-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

A simple five frame bee box that beekeepers call a 'nuc' (the 'nucleus' of a hive can be established in this small box), is home to a swarm of feral bees that needed a place to stay. Situated near a plant in the Garden that attracts honey bees in mass,the box was a natural home for them to adopt. At the end of the old millennium, scientists believe that up to 95% of the feral bee population

Growing Organic Food and Summertime Garden To Do’s

2010-08-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Learning Garden was 'on the air!' This last Saturday, Gardenmaster David King was on the Cindy Dole show talking about August in the garden and some of our upcoming events in The Learning Garden. By clicking on the link (above, the blog title) you too can surf on over to Cindy Dole's website and hear the whole shebang! I'm going to - I was so excited to be on the air, I'm not sure what I

August In The Garden

2010-08-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

A pair of hands sifts through the harvest of Cannellini beans. This is just one of the many things we are harvesting from the garden this month I used to think of August as nap time in the heat of Southern California's summer, it is SO inviting! Grab a cool drink, find a hammock and get the Dodgers on the radio. Do I hear the muffled sounds of snoring? Ah, August! Not anymore! Not since I

Felco Pruner Dealership!

2010-07-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since the last post and for that I apologize. My left wrist, which had been healing nicely, got whacked around in late June/early July and ever since has felt as bad as when I first injured it in May! I have been trying to keep it under wraps since then and trying very hard to not do anything, even typing, that might stress the injury further. But, I've just been approved

Combating Hunger: A Growers' Bibliography

2010-06-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I was approached by a young woman wanting to learn how to teach others how to garden even though she feels she needs to learn more about it herself. Probably no other goal lends itself more to my passion and what I most love to teach. I have often dreamed I would run away from home and join the Peace Corps and go off to grow food in other parts of the world. I have fantasized about being

Urban Beekeeping Resource List

2010-05-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Books of Note: Beekeeping for Dummies, Blackiston, Howland © 2009 I have the first edition, but I see the second edition is co-authored by Kim Flottum who wrote one of the three books (below) that I feel are the basic top bar hive beekeeper library. I'll buy this and see if I like it. The following three books comprise my Basic Urban Beekeeping Library. Natural Beekeeping, Organic

What's The Buzz...

2010-05-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is the state of my first hive of bees when I first got it from Kirk. The outer cardboard box is pretty well shot, the five frames have wax, honey, brood and - gulp - live bees all over them! I have a little free time to write even if it is painful - I fell yesterday (playing with the dog!) and have either broken or badly strained my left wrist. I'll know later today, although the

Victory Gardens LA!

2010-05-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Victory Gardens LA! is now a group on Kitchen Gardeners International. Please hike on over there and sign up, add yourself to the group (and be my friend while you're there!). Also, The Learning Garden and I are both on Facebook - feel free to come by my pages and become friends there too! I loved our classes and can't wait for our first meetup on June 6th! Thank you for your enthusiasm and

The Garden In May

2010-05-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Tomato cages made of bamboo can keep your tomatoes off the ground and less available to pill bugs (AKA roly-poly bugs). I've always wanted to grow my own tomato cages and bamboo is one way to do it. Saplings of weed trees (like Chinese elm or pepper tree, two of the candidates growing at The Learning Garden) can be used the same way-- tied together with some garden twine. There are a host of

Sheet Mulching To Kill The Lawn

2010-04-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Learning Garden doesn't condone lawns, but this lawn has been planted, sadly, as a part of a UCLA Extension class - we in the Garden are amazed that planting lawn, in this day and age, can be considered good horticulture practice. We will probably not have to sheet mulch this to get rid of it, but believe me, once this class is over, this bit of lawn will be compost! Sheet mulching is a

A Short List of Seed Houses

2010-04-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is a completely revised seed list in an effort to avoid seed companies that carry Seminis (Monsanto) products. To my knowledge, none of the following companies carry GMO seeds. BAKER CREEK HEIRLOOM SEEDS; 2278 Baker Creek Road Mansfield, MO 65704; 417.924.8917 What a catalog! Beautiful pictures of the produce – vegetable porn for sure. I have never ordered from them, but I have heard good

Gardening Tools

2010-04-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

Just Starting Out or for Containers:Trowel*

Preparing the Soil for a Garden

2010-04-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

Doing a quick make-over of the soil - students dig in some compost into the top few inches of a garden before they begin to plant. Rushed for time, we didn't get to cover soil preparation as thoroughly as it needed to be done. First off, there are many competing theories about what comprises a good start on a garden. Some folks do double digging and some folks do no digging and a whole host

‘Greener Gardens’ at UCLA Extension

2010-04-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Orchid Black, shown from a recent tour of the Nature Conservancy's Rainwater Harvesting Demonstration site in Tucson, AZ. I’ll be teaching ‘Greener Gardens: Sustainable Garden Practise’ at UCLA Extension starting Monday, April 5 with co-instructor Orchid Black. This will be the third time I've taught this class, although this will be the first time it's being offered as a twelve week course

Towards A Sustainable Abundance

2010-03-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

The following is the written notes of a speech I gave the launch of The 50% Food Initiative of the 7th Congress of Southern California. The message was graciously and warmly received. I wish to thank C. Darren Butler and the 7th Congress for asking me to speak on such an important topic. This is what I intended to say, I am afraid some was left out and much was added - I tend to

The Garden in February, Part I

2010-02-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

Summer's harvest from two years ago include these gorgeous peppers (what did I plant?) and San Marzano tomatoes. Both were prolific and delicious. When summer is over, I don't want to touch another tomato, but by February, I'm getting geared up for a fresh BLT! The short days of winter are getting perceptibly longer. We are half way to the Spring Equinox, which is half way to the Summer Solstice.

Plants To Use for An Attractive Vegetable Garden and How To Use Them

2010-02-15T00:03:00.001-08:00

The Principles of A Food Garden Design

2010-02-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

When creating a food garden in the city, with buildings around and space at a premium, think of your garden through the following lenses: Consider Technicalities Sunlight Water Maximize the kitchen-garden relationship Near the kitchen is best Consider the bird’s eye view How will you view the garden - forget curb appeal (unless you're trying to sell!), but how will you see the garden

The Most Current Short List of Seed Houses

2010-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

Seed ordered from a seed catalog will be much fresher than seed in the rack at a local retailer. None of the following companies sell Monsanto/Seminis seeds as far as I can determine. Most of them have signed the 'Safe Seed Pledge' which forbids genetically modified seed. Others go farther and sell only organic or open-pollinated seed. Botanical Interests; 660 Compton Street, Broomfield,

Botanical Interests Provides A New Button

2010-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

From the seeds given to the Venice High School Horticulture program, I plucked this packet of eggplant to show you the beautiful art work on a Botanical Interests seed packet and to show the price of $1.59 which is a pretty good price for a gram of eggplant seed. Mind you, this packet might be from a previous year's production so eggplant seed might be slightly higher, but still a good deal by

It's Time To Stand Up And Be Counted Or Become Genetically Modified

2010-01-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Corn from The Learning Garden shows remarkable genetic variation from one planting. This genetic variation not only looks cool, but could provide the basis for important new corn varieties that might be needed in the coming global-climate-change decades. We cannot risk ruining the living material that makes these colorful kernels. I have a million things I need to do and I'm not really keen

Seeds With No Future

2009-12-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

Seeds from an open pollinated corn that have been purposefully crossed with others, provide a plethora of colors and sizes in last year's harvest of corn from my garden. They also provide an amazing diversity of genetic material that could prove crucial in the years ahead. What do we want in the seeds we sow? A future. We want a crop we will be able to eat, or to spin or heal us. In

The Year In Review: Part I, The Winter Garden

2009-12-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

Fava beans are not only a tasty addition to a diet, they grow in the cooler months (about the same time you would grow peas), and the flowers are lovely. Give 'em room -they are big plants! I grew up in NE Kansas and all through my childhood, spent winter months with the Burpee catalog. I would read all the descriptions of the vegetables and compare them over and over again. Grandpa, who

MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKPEAS & CHARD

2009-11-10T16:57:00.001-08:00

If you are at all like me, there are only so many meals one can take of sauteed or steamed Swiss chard. I like this dish because it is much more than just Swiss chard made limp and eaten. Much more! All ingredient amounts are flexible. This dish might seem to have daunting ingredient list. But don’t be put off; enough of the ingredients will already be lurking in your kitchen. And, if

The Garden in November

2009-11-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

I don't need a sign to tell me this is garlic, but I am grateful to tell everyone else it is. Can a fellow grow too much garlic? I don't think so.... On the coast, our winter plantings can continue right up through March. The only months that are really hard on winter veggies as close to the Pacific as we are in Zone 24 is July through September. In some years, October can be hard to

Someone Is Being A Little Optimistic!!

2009-10-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

Or, 'we were blowed around pretty hard this week!' We have palm fronds galore around the Garden. Three dumpsters have some fronds in each and there are these stacked on the compost pile. If we wanted to wait for five or more years, we might be able to get these things to break down (less if we chopped 'em up), but I have to admit, I'm not that much of an optimist! These would be quite a lot

Who Really Built The Learning Garden

2009-10-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have been a part of the Learning Garden for just over seven years, almost every month it has been in existence. I was not here at the beginning, but I have a credible amount of service in this Garden which makes me uniquely qualified having viewed the Garden's growth from almost the very beginning.. Over those years, a volunteer or two have come along and worked very hard on a facet here or

Bermuda Grass Root

2009-10-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

You think you have persistence and determination? Most gardeners do, but most gardeners feel a bit overwhelmed soon enough after fighting with Bermuda grass. Here is one of the reasons it can be so difficult to get a handle on! A Bermuda grass root has pierced this little bit of wood with apparent ease. The roots not only can grow through wood, they have been reported as deep as four

Every Monday Matters (And So Does Thursday!)

2009-10-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Every Monday Matters volunteers showed up (on a Thursday!) and worked very hard in the Garden. These hardworking volunteers are clowning around with an unplanted bulb of garlic. Such volunteers bless and uplift our project and many others through their light hearted humor and joyful hard work. The work they did in The Learning Garden this morning would have take the Gardenmaster about a week

The Garden in October, Part II

2009-10-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Lettuce from seed looks beautiful in the late winter sun! A romaine lettuce like this is easy to grow and will look good no matter where you plant it! Direct sowing of seeds gets far too much mystical billing. It’s easy. The hard part, in our busy world, is staying disciplined enough to keep them watered. Remember, the seed wants desperately to grow, that is its only “job.” If you

BlogLovin Wants Me to Say This

2009-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Fresh Mulch Daily!

2009-10-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, not daily, but we did have fresh compost/mulch delivered today (21 October) and expect another load next Wednesday! We get this from the city of Los Angeles. Though it smells as though it ought to have manure in it, that's just the smell of decomposition - this is nothing more than Los Angeles green can waste, sorted to remove trash and non-compostable items, ground up to a finer texture

Sheet Mulching

2009-10-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Cardboarding Pasadena Backyard © 2008 Orchid BlackAt times it is necessary to eliminate plants from a large area - in Los Angeles, this is most often grass - and sheet mulching is the way to do it. Here is a lovely post about ridding a Bermuda grass lawn - one of the most persistent weeds a garden can have. Without chemicals and without a lot of heavy sweating, any lawn can be

An Edible Gardening Bibliography

2009-10-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

The cover of William Woys Weaver's seminal work on heirloom vegetables displays the promise of some delicious reading to come. The book delivers. However, it is out of print as of this writing and, even as a used book, is no mean investment. It IS a good book! Designing and Maintaining your Edible Landscape Naturally, Kourick, Robert © 1986, Metamorphic Press, Santa Rosa, CA Probably the

The Garden in October, Part I

2009-10-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

The Garden In September, Part II

2009-10-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

These ARE the 'dog days' of summer. Baseball season is winding down and the playoffs loom just ahead. Fall seeds need to be ordered soon and planted. It's time to deal with the end of the summer produce and look into the cooler months ahead. This is my faithful friend, Casey, also known as 'the Gardenmascot,' a proud Scottish Terrier who is in his waning days as well. Sorry this post got put

Pesto Da y 2009

2009-09-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Our pesto sign hauled out of storage waits to be placed announcing our 7th Annual Pesto Day before we got it hung out on Saturday. (The only free time I had to take photos...)This year's Pesto Day was a success by many measures! First of all, it was the least stressful Pesto Day for everyone on my side of the serving line: we have gotten the plan down pretty well grooved and we had a superb

Pesto Day - Excellent Yumminess On Its Way!!

2009-09-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

It's not just basil and garlic, but that is the most important part of pesto - if you don't have spectacular basil and garlic, you won't have spectacular pesto. Our basil is Italian in origin, Genovesa Profutissimo and our garlic is an heirloom hardneck, usually Spanish Roja (if not, then we substitute Chesnok Red or Inchellium Red). Combine these ingredients with some good pine nuts, olive oil

Last Tuesday - It's Been Busy Around Here!

2009-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Tina Gruen (curly hair on the right) and teachers gather at one of our picnic tables in The Learning Garden to go over the scheduling and plans for the first term of CASAA (Culinary Arts and Sustainable Agriculture Academy) at Venice High School. This new academy, Tina's brainchild and baby, will take students through a regular high school curriculum but will emphasis our relationship to food

Corn!!

2009-09-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm very pleased to show this picture of corn from this year's harvest. A flat of unidentified corn plants had come to me needing the space to grow and I planted them out in June unsure of what I had on hand, except some vague mumblings from woman who gave them to me that she thought they might be some 'Indian corn.' Like there was some other kind? But I took it to mean she thought they were a

PTSA Teacher Welcome Back Brunch

2009-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Teachers in the Garden! It's the end of Summer for sure now - the Venice High School PTSA has their annual Back To School Brunch for the teachers out on our patio. Lot's of good food and the teachers all seem to be eager to be back. Many compliments on the Garden, like "never looked better." I am grateful to all the volunteers who have spent so many hours in this Garden over the summer months

Scoville Heat Units in Peppers

2009-09-08T11:00:00.001-07:00

A couple of Jalapenos (SHUs 3500) and a couple Sweet Bananas (SHUs about 1200), both of which I have enough to learn how to preserve by drying and pickling. There are still a lot more green peppers in the Garden - but all of them will have to be picked soon because the Venice High School students will be in the Garden learning to grow a whole new crop of edibles for winter!I've had a great crop

The Garden In September, Part I

2009-09-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Lettuce is one of our winter crops in Los Angeles – Merville des Quatres Saissons (Marvel of the Four Seasons) is more like Marvel of the Two Seasons here – our summers are way too hot to grow this lovely French belle, but in cooler months this is a true delight that is as tasty as it is beautiful – and it's really beautiful!!As the Summer crops begin to decline, we now get ready to see the

Let Us Experiment; Post 2

2009-09-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

It was just a couple of weeks ago I posted the cute little plants that comprise this summers' "Lettuce Experiment" tiny in their temporary six pack homes. A few weeks along and they look a lot more like lunch. Four of the five lettuces chosen for the project are happily growing on to size in our GardenIt hasn't turned out to be much of an experiment! This summer has been so darn cool that

Solar Oven Building Workshop, Cook Off And Party!!

2009-08-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 22POWERDOWN DAYat the Learning Garden at Venice High Schoolcorner of Venice Boulevard at Walgrove Avenue (Zip code is 90066) (Enter Garden on Walgrove)Build a Solar Cooker9:00am–noonMake a portable solar cooker with cardboard and foil with Joanne Poyourow of Environmental Changemakers. Please RSVP (learninggardenmaster@yahoo.com) if you would like to make a cooker. There are

A Pretty Flower/An Obnoxious Garden Weed

2009-08-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

It's not exactly a photographic gem, but this cute little white flower washes out too easily in sun (even on a cloudy day like today). This is Moonflower, Ipomoea alba and it is one of the most obnoxious weeds we have in our Garden. At least this honey bee has found it useful - I followed him through five different flowers before getting him to stay still long enough for my old camera to snap

Harvest Basket

2009-08-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Red and yellow tomatoes co-mingle with green, yellow and orange peppers that is just a glimpse of our harvest right now! An awesome year of production with tomatoes getting hauled out of the Garden every day! In addition, I have been collecting the yellow banana peppers getting ready to learn how to pickle them this coming Saturday. There are few red jalapenos that I'm going to slice up and dry

The Garden In August; Part IV: A Short List of Seed Houses

2009-08-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog called "The Learning Garden - Almost - Daily," and this photo of some lettuce seed trials appears in the very first post there. These are so-called 'summer lettuces' that we're trying to ascertain how well they will do in the Southern California summer heat.Following, I list a few of the seed houses I order from consistently. I tend to order most of my seeds from Pine

Summer Lettuce Experiment

2009-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lettuce is a fickle summer crop, usually refusing to grow into a decent sized plant before turning bitter and sending up a seed stalk. Seed catalogs always list a few lettuce varieties they describe as being 'heat resistant.' I always think, "yeah, 'heat-resistant' in northern Maine, but Southern California's heat is probably a different critter." To satisfy my curiosity, I started five

The Garden in August Part III: Some Suggested Varieties for the Fall/Winter Garden

2009-08-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Seeds of this onion will soon be harvested so we can sow them for onions next year's crop. We don't save seeds of everything and those we need to have for fall planting must be ordered now. Here are varieties I have used with success, but it shouldn't limit you! Plant as many varieties as you have space to allow! In some years one will do good and the next year not so good, so hedge your bets

The Garden in August; Part II

2009-08-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

It's not enough to grow the stuff, you also got to decide what to do with it! Six pounds of Sweet Banana Peppers and what to do? I think I can make some decent pepperoncinis with them - just need to find a recipe.At this time, a gardener also needs to keep the green and yellow beans picked (they can be pickled as well) or they’ll stop producing. Keep using the basil, continually pinch their

Book of The Moment: Animal Vegetable Miracle

2009-07-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

I would imagine that many of you are familiar with Sharon Astyk's writings (Casaubon’s Book; Sharon Astyk’s Ruminations on an Ambiguous Future). I am an avid reader and Sharon has recently commenced a daily blog entry on the books she suggests for our edification. The title of the posts are, "365 Books #___." Sharon is a prolific writer and a farmer in upstate New York. I cannot believe she

Trowel And Error; Resourcefulness and Sustainability

2009-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Trowel and Error, Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for the GardenerBy Sharon LovejoyPaperback , 336 pagesISBN: 9780761126324 (0761126325)Published by Workman Publishing$13.95(US) The only thing I have against Sharon Lovejoy is that she writes with the same breezy, humorous and informative style that I write and she got published first! Most of our lecture material dealing with pest control

The Garden in August; Part I

2009-07-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of handfuls of Cannellini beans show the beautifully dried beans ready to be bagged for storage away from critters that would like to eat them as much as I would! And this is just one of the many things we are harvesting from the garden this month! (This month I am experimenting with the idea of posting the monthly hand out in several segments. This is Part I - there will be several

Field Trip for 18 July 1:30 to 3:30

2009-07-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

This coming Saturday we are meeting at Pottery Manufacturing and Distributing, 18881 S. Hoover Street, Gardena, CA 90248. It is a little intimidating to find this place, I would look it up in Google maps and study it first. View Directions to `18881 S Hoover St, Gardena, CA‎ in a larger map It's not HARD to find, but it isn't in a straight line either. Please attempt to carpool if you can and

The Garden in July

2009-07-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Corn high in the garden promising good eating right around the corner. As a boy in Kansas, I knew my Grandfather's goal every year was to harvest sweet corn ears by July 4th. He might have even had money bet with a neighbor or two who would harvest corn first and I'm sure in most years he won! Corn takes a lot of room though, most of us will have to buy our corn at farmers' markets.July means

Class Syllabus: Container Gardening

2009-07-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

Instructor: David KingEmail: greenteach@roadrunner.comCOURSE TITLE AND NUMBER: Container Gardening: Patios, Balconies, and Beyond BIOLGY X 498.3There are no prerequisites for this course. We will meet from July 9th through July 30th for 6 meetings. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINAL MEETING IS ON JULY 30th and credit students will have an assignment due. All class meetings, except for two field

Grow Your Own

2009-07-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

( (c)2009 LA Yoga Magazine, used with permission; this article first appeared in LA Yoga Magazine's June 2009) Nothing compares with the taste of freshly picked, vine-ripened, home-grown tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, delicious, colorful, bursting, it’s something special. Even the most organically grown, farm fresh produce isn’t quite the same as the loving care we take with growing our own food. While

Vote for Your Favorite Farmers' Market!

2009-06-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

I voted for my local farmers' market, the Sunday West LA Farmers' Market on Sunday because they know that locally grown music is a part of the same wave as locally grown produce! My band, Lost 'n' Found, plays at the WLA market the first Sunday of almost every month. But even if we didn't play there, the management at this market work hard to make it a part of our neighborhood. But don't let me

The Garden in July

2009-06-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Garden in June

2009-06-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

These nectarines are only one of the fruits that are beginning to ripen in a coastal California garden this month. There are also peaches, apples and apricots. Close behind we will see ripe figs, avocados, plums and other peaches and apples. Not too shabby a reward for the little bit of work done back in January! The one in the middle was eaten about three minutes after this photograph was

John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona Our Last Field Trip

2009-05-04T14:38:00.001-07:00

This map is linked to Cal Poly Pomona; clicking on it will get you a map that is actually readable. Information about getting to Cal State Pomona's John T. Lyle Center fro Regenerative Studies from their website. Getting to the CenterFrom Orange County or the 60 Freeway (East or West): Take the 57 freeway North, exit at Temple Avenue and turn left (down the hill). Turn left on University Drive.

Water-Saving Plants Bibliography

2009-05-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

California Native Plants for the Garden, Bornstein, Carol et al ©2005 Cachuma Press, Of all the books here, this is the one that illustrates a drought tolerant beautiful garden. Not only does it show the plants in their glory, but there are suggestions on how to use them with authority. The lists at the back of the book are worth the price of admission alone. California Native Trees and Shrubs,

Vermiculture Links

2009-05-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Worm composters (worm bins) are available on eBay from $20, to this $90 model (pictured on right) to even $130. There used to be a listing for a cedar worm bin that I really liked (and only $79 plus s & h!, but I don't see them anymore. See below for links to build your own bins. Tonight I am bringing my worm bin. I will donate handfuls of worms to those of you who bring your own container

The Garden In May

2009-05-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tomato cages made of bamboo are one way to keep your tomatoes off the ground and less available to pill bugs (AKA roly-poly bugs). I've always wanted to grow my own tomato cages and bamboo is one way to do it. Saplings of weed trees (like Chinese elm or pepper tree, two of the candidates growing at The Learning Garden) can be used the same way, tied together with some garden twine. There are

Sustainable Water Strategies Resource List

2009-05-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

Mulch SuppliersSoil and Sod, Pacoima, 818-686-6445Foothill Soils, Sylmar, 661-254-0867Easiest gutter diverter for homeowner rainwater catchment applicationsTanksChoose tanks that ship from CA. Also sells first flush systems. Etanks is another option.Native plants that can be used as lawn:Carex praegracilis: Meadow Sedge, more runner, turf-formingCarex pansa: Dune Sedge, possibly sturdier/less

A Non-exhaustive Glossary of Drip Irrigation

2009-05-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

This chart, above, gives you a starter idea of the amount of drippers and kinds of drippers you would need with different types of plants. It is a starter idea - once you install your system, you will experiment to determine the number of drippers you find most successful. Below you will find some of the terms you'll run across if you decide to get into drip irrigation. Anti-siphon A device,

Field Trip 02 May 2009, 1 PM To Ocean View Farms

2009-04-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

From their Website:OVF is located at the intersection of Rose Avenue and Centinela in the community of Mar Vista, West Los Angeles, Over 500 garden plots and flower gardens occupy six acres of sunny, west facing, sloping land on the east side of Centinla opposite Santa Monica Airport. We share this hilltop location and parking with the very active North Venice Little League Baseball

Update on Field Trip

2009-04-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

The compost field trip to see the LA City Municipal Compost set up out in Sunland is still unconfirmed. I have already established an alternate field trip to the Ocean View Farm Community Garden to see and talk about their massive compost operation.So, the destination is still in doubt, but there will be a field trip for us on 02 May, 1:00 PM to 4:00 and of course, the confirmed field trip on 09

Principles of Permaculture

2009-04-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Through out the permaculture culture, you will see the following ideas presented over and over again with this or similar wording. Permaculture Design Principles1.Observe and interact – what is there? How is that a benefit, what can we find in that to further our project? 2.Catch and store energy – sun, water – grab what we can with as little effort as we can, in plant biomass, especially

Permaculture Bibliography

2009-04-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

This list and the list that follow are only introductory books and in no way should be considered to be exhaustive. Gaia's Garden, A Guide to Home-scale Permaculture, Hemenway, Toby, © 2000, Chelsea Green Publishing Probably no finer introductory book on permaculture is available. More easily digested than the others in this list, this is still a comprehensive guide and is easily one of the

Fukuoka Bibliography

2009-04-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

One Straw Revolution, An Introduction to Natural Farming, Fukuoka, Masanobu © 1978 – soon to be reissued in June, 2009. Fukuoka's first book on his extensive work in Japan. Decidedly with a Japanese bent (his main crop is rice and barley), he still presents a lovely description of his farming efforts that began as a reaction to the Western idea of agriculture and more that began to infiltrate

A Farm For the Future

2009-04-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

A Farm for the Future is a good introduction to some of the ramifications of peak oil and some of the potential of permaculture to meet these problems. This is a good introduction only - it barely scratches the surface of the problems and the solutions, but you can find a lot worse stuff on television to waste valuable time and resources on. I'd love to talk about this film in our coming class.

A Sustainable Biblography

2009-04-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

None of these books are required, but they represent a lot of the material I have read to come to where I am today in teaching this course. They are not, of course, any more than the tip of an iceberg, other bibliographies will be presented in class as well as individual books that crop up here and there.Deep Economy, The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, McKibben, Bill, ©2007 Times