Growing Sweet Potato from a Sweet Potato

sweet potato

Sweet Potatoes are one of those vegetables I never liked until I started growing it. Turns out, the orange and purple varieties are super nutritious due to high amounts of anti-oxidants. Eat your colors they say. “Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene […]

Gardening and Safety

garden tools

  Now that’s it officially springtime lets turn our attention to our gardens and all the work still to be done. Beds need to be amended, seeds need to be sown. At the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Health and Safety is the #1 priority. Please see the following articles from Thinking […]

Grow LA Victory Garden Classes Spring 2019

winter vegetable basket

The University of California Cooperative Extension is organizing workshops in various communities throughout Los Angeles County to teach residents how to grow fruits and vegetables in their own backyard. Where: Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills 905 Loma Vista Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 ** Entrance on Doheny Rd. When: Sunday, April 7, April 14, April […]

Indoor Seed Starting

seedlings

I’m buying seeds as we speak getting ready for the Spring. Being in Southern California I may be starting a little earlier than you, but with indoor growing you can be planting all year as well. If you have a window, or glass wall that faces south, you can grow anything indoors. The reason southern […]

Stages of the Monarch Butterfly

pupa

Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle. The four stages are: the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. At Hamilton High School the students have established a habitat for the Monarch butterfly by planting milkweed. The photo below was taken recently of a caterpillar that has attached itself to a Brussels Sprouts leaf. If […]

Saving Lettuce Seeds

lettuce bed

Lettuce has been around for centuries. According to Wikipedia, the Egyptians first cultivated lettuce as edible leaves as early as 2680BC. It then made its way to Greece and Italy where it flourished. Today, we see four main varieties of the species, Lactuca sativa, in our backyard or school garden. These include: ~ Crisphead or Iceberg, […]