Before digging in to spring planting, pay attention to building the soil, advises an article in the Los Angeles Times by Jeanette Marantos.
Marantos visited the Pasadena backyard garden of Yvonne Savio, the retired coordinator of the UC Master Gardener Program in Los Angeles County. Savio is the creator of the Gardening in LA blog, with new stories appearing "every other week or so."
“The old saying is, ‘Feed the soil, not the plant,'" Savio said. “When you...
Instead of recruiting gardeners interested in volunteering, Yvonne Savio decided to look for volunteers interested in gardening. The subtle change led to development of a UC Master Gardener program in Los Angeles County that is unique in the state of California, reported Jeff Spurrier in the LA Times.
UC Master Gardeners volunteer under the auspices of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). UC ANR Cooperative Extension offices in 50 California counties operate the volunteer gardening education program.
Savio has served as the UC Master Gardener coordinator in LA...
Many Americans fall short of the daily recommended doses of vitamins needed for optimal health. Bottled supplements can help, but it's better to fill the gap with a vitamin garden, reported Suzanne Sproul in the Los Angeles Daily News.
"In Southern California, we can indeed turn gardens into vitamin patches," said Kari Walker, a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener volunteer in LA County. "It is not hard and you don't need a lot of space for a garden."
A registered dietician quoted in the story says fruit and vegetables' vitamin levels will be at their highest when eaten raw immediately after harvest.
Who better to give advice on presents for gardeners but Master Gardeners certified by the University of California Cooperative Extension? asks Katherine Spiers this week in the KCET "In-Ground Gardens" blog.
The UC Master Gardener Program trains volunteers to extend research-based information to the public about home horticulture and pest management.
In the KCET story, a few UCCE Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County share their tips for excellent garden...
Sahara mustard, a resilient weed native to North Africa and the Mediterranean, is invading desert landscapes in the American Southwest, squeezing out beautiful wildflower displays that attract tourists and maintain the local ecology, reported the San Diego Union Tribune.
UC Cooperative Extension is testing methods of removing Sahara mustard, including hand weeding, hoes and herbicide. But these are only stopgap measures meant to keep the plant at bay in select spots.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to spray the herbicide across the entire Southwest,” said