Spring Starts in Exactly 1 Month: Is Your Garden Ready?

Okay, I am once again just putting a link to my Care2 Healthy Living post since I am trying to keep up with all of my work.

Since today is February 20, that means that the Spring Equinox will be here in a month. I not only have visions of completing my book by the April 30 deadline, but also of being able to finally get back out into my garden. I really miss it and am looking forward to growing some more food in my micro-farm so that I can really be LA Farm Girl.

Here's some tips to get you started in the garden. First thing you need to do is clean up. Read on for what comes next 5 Simple Ways Get Your Garden Ready For Spring.

My garden last summer after I had already started the book, even then it was sparse!

Give Somebody A Gardening Gift for VD

As the deadline for my book draws ever closer, I find that I have been neglecting this blog (along with other places that I normally write).

So, I am once again, just going to direct my readers (how many of you might actually be left) to my post for Care2 this week. It is all about giving garden related gifts Giving Gardens of Love. For a change, I reminded people that they can actually give a loved one a garden instead of just giving them something from their garden. And if they really want to give a long-lasting gift, maintain it for someone too!

Check it out and let me know if you have any other ideas that garden lovers would like.

The beautiful Getty Center Garden, one of my favorite places in the world!

Why Should You Grow Your Own Food?

The New Year always makes me think about my gardening resolutions and what I want to grow. For those who are on the fence about growing some of your own food, check out my Care2 Green Living post "7 Reasons Why You Should Grown Your Own Food. It is an "oldie" but it might give you just the reason you need to start growing your own!


 Here's some of my lettuce that I still have in my garden due to our very warm and dry winter 

 I also have chamomile coming in huge quantities, it has reseeded itself and is like a weed but it keeps the cats out of my garden bed and I can dry it and make some tea.

Food Stories of 2011

As we come to the end of 2011, for my Care2 Healthy Living post this week, I wrote about the big food issue of the year, namely food safety and how it has dominated the news and remains one of the biggest food issues to consumers Top Food Stories of the Year.

Here's to hoping that we finally start getting it in 2012 and make a commitment to supporting and encouraging the development of local, sustainable food!

Make Your Holidays Sustainable!!

Santa Paula Christmas Tree Farm

Here is my Care2 Healthy & Green post for this week. From the tree to the food, yes, you can have a sustainable holiday and here are some tips on how to do that:
4 Easy Ways For A Sustainable Holiday Season

From Fighting To Farming

In honor of Veteran's Day I updated my Fighters to Farmers story I did a couple of years ago about the wonderful work that the Farmer-Veteran Coalition does. They help our veterans heal and also work towards building a healthy and sustainable food system.

UPDATE 11/11:Tom T. Ishibashi Farm Misc. Equipment & Supplies For Sale

Those of you who follow LA Farm Girl regularly know that not only has it been ages since I have posted, but that I have written much about the wonderful Tom T. Ishibashi Farm @ Torrance Airport and that sadly, Tom passed away in May and his family is finishing out the season since he planned/planted for it.
Tom T. Ishibashi’s farm stand and farm is located at Torrance Airport and is the last farm in Torrance. He was the last farmer from a Japanese American family that has farmed in the South Bay, since the early 1900s mostly on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in Torrance, the Ishibashi’s have been farming the area at the Torrance Airport for the past 60 years and sadly, with his death, the end of an era and the farm comes.

This means that all of the equipment, etc. has to be sold or disposed of. So, I have offered to help spread the word for them.

UPDATE: The farm is now closed. So, if you are interested in any of the following items they have made an email address available for people interested in finding out more info. tomtfarm@yahoo.com.

Address: 24955 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance, CA

Here’s a list of some of what they have (looking for best offer on most things):

Lug Boxes - They have about 1,000 of them. For those who buy a lot of them, they are asking $5 a box; or if you only want a few, then they are asking for $10 box.

Lug Box

Strawberry Baskets – There are 34 cases of clear plastic type, (Pactiv Brand item # 92519) 4 1/8 x 4 1/8, and are asking $100 per case (1200 in a case).

Clear Strawberry Basket

Tomato Trays – They have about 200 of these

Strawberry Trays - They have about 200 of these

Fruit Trees – They have a Japanese persimmon, 3 olive trees all in ground, and 9-12 fig trees, green figs, not sure of variety but they are all in the ground.

Miscellaneous Farm Equipment & Trucks – They have tractors and trucks that are all different and all different ages, some very old and some not so old.

Tomato Stakes – 5 feet each, they have several hundred of these.

5 Foot Tomato Stakes

Irrigation Pipes - They have narrow ones that are 20 feet in length, and wider ones 10 feet. They also have fittings plus working sprinkler heads.