HOMEGROWN LA

I am not one of those people who was blessed with a green thumb. In fact, quite the opposite. I have such a hard time not killing plants. Now, admittedly, the driveway of my apartment, is not the best garden spot, but it's all I have right now, so I have been trying to make due.

So, despite not being born with a green thumb, I am determined to get one. My first step was to take a class (or two). Yesterday, I spent the morning with Marta Teegan of Homegrown LA learning about container gardening and then about growing tomatoes. On a rooftop in downtown LA, Marta has an amazing garden overlooking the city. She has lettuces, artichokes, chard, dandelion greens and tomatoes just to name a few of her crops. The class was two hours with the first part Marta talking about gardening basics-something I desperately needed. She explained about soil, watering, sun and different types of vegetables that we might be able to grow. Then we moved into the garden where she supplied the soil and the plants and we planted our own salad garden! I was so excited, I came home found a great spot for my garden and plotted my future planting endeavors.

I truly was surprised at how much I learned in two hours. Marta has such a laid back demeanor, she clearly presented the material in a way that made sense but wasn't overwhelming and she sent us on our way with handouts in case we forgot the lessons she taught. I am so excited to start planting on my days off this week and look forward to harvesting my own vegetables! More photos to come as the garden grows.

I would like to point out that the third picture from the top is my little salad garden. Can't wait to eat it!