Winter Gardening in L.A.
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Here are some photos I took last weekend when Kate and I were gardening. We’ve been having gorgeous weather — in the 70s and 80s all week. We planted lettuce, thyme, mint, dandelion, shallots, garlic, onion, peas, dill, and fennel.
I love growing all these herbs and lettuce in the backyard. It is so great just to step outside and grab a handful of parsley or sage. And soon I will have a ton of salad greens!
I’m most excited about the blood oranges and Meyer lemon. I bought those trees last spring and they are already bearing fruit! Nothing on the avocado or lime trees yet.
Click on a photo below to enlarge.
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18/01/2009 at 7:49 am Permalink
Hi Ann Marie,
How pretty. I am from right outside LA. I live in Texas now. I grow a few veggies and herbs on my patio too. I just love your blog. I have added you to my blog roll.
Hugs,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Quigley’s last blog post..Sunday Morning Waffles
18/01/2009 at 8:32 am Permalink
Looking at those fabulous photos on a cold snowy day in NY. Wish we were there!
18/01/2009 at 8:42 am Permalink
You are so fortunate. I would be in heaven to have a garden year round! Someday I hope for a greenhouse, to have fresh greens in the winter would be great!
Love the pics too, I bet the pumpkin did grow in your compost pile. Pumpkins and squash plants love a very rich environment like compost. Did you cut it open? I would!!
Erica’s last blog post..Weekly Wrap-Up
18/01/2009 at 8:44 am Permalink
Good for you! I am just waiting for my deck construction to be finished so I can put in raised boxes and some fruit trees.
18/01/2009 at 9:27 am Permalink
Erica –
I didn’t cut open the pumpkin. I actually forgot it out there. We got caught up in turning the compost.
I should go try to find it!
18/01/2009 at 9:32 am Permalink
Hi, Elizabeth! Where are you in Texas? I grew up in San Antonio and Dallas and went to school in Austin.
18/01/2009 at 10:46 am Permalink
Hi Ann Marie, If I only had the space. Vegetables are so expensive. This is the best way to go. It is great to just collect fresh vegetables from your backyard.
Ann Marie I know that you are well informed on gaps. I am looking to cut my food budget a bit. Do you think it would be a bad idea to cut out vegetables and focus on eggs, broth, meats, and a whole lots of good fats? Will this impair my healing?
thank you
kelly
18/01/2009 at 10:49 am Permalink
Love pictures of Kate in the garden – she probably has the gardening gene too!
18/01/2009 at 12:33 pm Permalink
Kelly – I do not think it will impair your healing. I would try to include onion and garlic and perhaps cilantro & parsley too. Those are very good for building your immune system.
18/01/2009 at 12:36 pm Permalink
Hi, Mom, yes I think she does have the gene.
She LOVES playing in the garden — pretends to dig right alongside me.
18/01/2009 at 5:16 pm Permalink
It looks so lovely! I’m still looking at a couple hundred inches of snow on my patio. The lemons are charming.
Jenny’s last blog post..Mix & Match Sunday Brunch
19/01/2009 at 6:11 am Permalink
Lucky! We couldn’t grow a thing if we wanted to… it’s been single digits in Chicago
.
That’s so great that your lemon and orange trees are responding so quickly! You must be sending them love
>
Enjoy!
Genevieve
19/01/2009 at 8:33 am Permalink
Great post, Ann Marie! I would enjoy seeing more of this.
I love “growing my own” as well – the backyard gets the orange, lemon and lime trees, herbs, scallions, some carrots, and one smal-fruit tomato plant. These are thing I want to have on hand for spur of the moment fixins. My comm. garden plot will be home to just about everything else – brussels sprouts, broccoli, more tomatoes, peppers, etc. Right now, it’s growing red shallots, onions, lemongrass, peas, and 3 types of garlic.
By the way – my son won’t touch carrots from the store or even the farmers’ market. But I can pull out any old carrot from my backard, even a scrawny, two-legged freak-looking carrot, trim and scrub it up, and he’ll DEVOUR it. Yay for backyard fresh!
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20/01/2009 at 3:33 am Permalink
Have you encountered these long-term homesteaders in Pasadena? Here is a link to their site. They have some wonderful youtube videos.
the blog:
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/
their home page:
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
20/01/2009 at 8:32 am Permalink
Hi, Rita!
How is your new year going so far?
I have seen that website — neat people. I have never visited the homestead though… Maybe one day!