Why do I care about seeds?
A fascination with little tiny objects – that’s probably how it started. I remember collecting seeds in my mother’s garden as a child. I’d gather minuscule flat honey-tan alyssum seeds. In my pocket linings I’d hoard round red-brown glossy seeds from a special…
Edible Gardens around Los Angeles
Some of my favorite Edible and Functional gardens around Los Angeles. All these gardens are open to the general public during selected hours (see their websites for hours and directions). in Westchester/LA 90045 … Community Garden at Holy Nativity –…
Crop rotations in So. Calif: When to change seasons
It’s autumn in Southern California. Or is it? The weather has changed. Wait, it’s changed back again… Contrary to what East Coast people say, Southern California does have its seasons. But there’s rarely a clear “cutoff” date. Add climate-change-driven Weather…
Fig ‘Black Jack’
Delicious black-skinned, ruby-throated fig, juicy with sweet flavor. Tree is a genetic dwarf, which means it is easily kept under 6-8 feet, and will never grow too big for your city garden. The Black Jack fig performs wonderfully here in…
Collards ‘L.A. Green Glaze’
Kale grabs the media spotlight, but did you know that collards are botanically the same plant? And they are heat-tolerant and crazy-easy to grow? When I started growing homegrown collards, it was like I had discovered a new vegetable. Homegrown…
Cut-and-come-again harvesting
Cut and what? Cut-and-come-again harvesting is the name for the technique we use at the Community Garden at Holy Nativity for harvesting all of our leafy greens. Chard, kale, collards, all are handled this way. Think of the little girl’s…
Amaranth ‘Westchester Red’
Amaranth is the star of our late summer gardens. Its dramatic burgundy spires are eye-catching, and never fail to have passers-by asking “what is that!?” It doesn’t mind the peak intensity of SoCal summer heat, and looks great when all…