Ten years ago, the spot of land at Carmona Avenue and Boden Street was hardscrabble, unused and unsightly. So there was much to celebrate about the changes in the last decade, because that land is now a vibrant and productive teaching garden called LA Green Grounds.

Supporters and gardeners from 2016 to the present celebrated last month with a party. Guests ate and looked around at the favas, rosemary, sweet potatoes, greens, and beets, and the fig, pomegranate and loquat trees – among so much more living in the 5400-square-foot space.

“An edible garden can also be a beautiful garden,” said Florence Nishida, one of the founders and board chair of the nonprofit garden. “I hope you’ll agree with me.”

Garden neighbor Chris Mitchell agrees.

“It’s so appealing. I may not be a gardener – I’m a mechanic,” said Mitchell, who watches over the garden when it’s not staffed. Anyone can wander in and look around – there’s no fence. Mitchell said he doesn’t mind that “as long as they don’t mess it up.”

Nishida is always enthusiastic about LA Green Grounds, and relishes the chance to take visitors around for as long as they’ll stay. Or show them the pictures that document the garden’s history. She has devoted untold hours to the pesticide-free all-volunteer garden.

Steven Meeks, the manager of the Good Earth Community Garden that’s adjacent to LAGG, and worked with LA Green Grounds from the start, telling Nishida about the vacant land adjacent to the community garden he runs.

“If it weren’t for Steven, this garden would not be here,” Nishida said.

“It’s a little jewel in the neighborhood,” Meeks said, adding that Nishida is “the person I go to for answers,” and loves the often-long , scholarly replies.

On Jan. 2, 2016, Nishida and other volunteers took to the ground with pickaxes and shovels and wheelbarrows. They cleared the plot and then covered it a foot deep with city-supplied compost.

“You don’t need money” to start a garden like this one, Nishida said. “You need muscle power and you need friends.” And it doesn’t hurt to be able to plant year-round in sunny Southern California.

In the last decade, LA Green Grounds has held many beginner gardener classes and seminars on such topics as fermentation and butterflies.

Several mushrooms appeared in our LAGG vegetable and fruit garden. One of our Garden Keeper volunteers found the one pictured above.

We have had an abundance of rain this winter, so it’s a fine mushroom year.

All the mushrooms have been non-poisonous, a few are decent edibles. All are saprophytic (decomposers), which means they are helping our garden by breaking down larger organic material, mostly plant material: mulch, leaves, twigs. That helps restore helpful and healthy compounds to our soil.

Unless you live in an oak or pine forest, you are unlikely to find seriously poisonous mushrooms or the choice ones in your garden. Those are mycorrhizal mushrooms, which have a direct connection through their hyphae to the plant roots. This connection and partnership which is a symbiosis benefits both the fungus and the plant. Chanterelles, morels, giant puffballs, truffles are all mycorrhizal.

The cap appearance of the mushroom, gill color, spore color and the volva (end of the stem in the ground) are useful in identifying mushrooms.

This was really delicious!

Here's a quick, tasty bacon-based dish with Asian mustard greens (purple Mizuna) and mustard spinach.

Wash, cut, and brown bacon.

Then toss in the greens and heat.

Dinner in 8-10 minutes! 

Very good combination of veggies - and bacon for added flavor. You could replace that with sesame oil and seeds if you want to go vegetarian.

Florence's garden produced some monster zucchinis so she stuffed them for our volunteers. 

Using leftover sauce from a baked fish, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, Greek oregano, mushrooms, and olives. She scooped out the seeds and soft pulp, and mixed some cooked rice and some of the sauce together.  She then put the mixture into the zucchini, and poured the rest of the sauce over it.  Added grated cheese. Baked at 350° for about 15 min.

Everyone liked it!  

This delicious dessert was a huge hit at the 8th Teaching Garden Anniversary party!  Marika generously shared her recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. glutenous rice flour (aka sweet rice flour/mochiko)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cans coconut milk (13.5 fluid oz each)
• 4 oz butter, melted

This is a great “clean out fridge“ dish.

So, use what you have...

INGREDIENT SUGGESTIONS:

• Japanese fish broth (you can substitute with vegetable or chicken stock)
• yard long beans
• cherry tomatoes (you can substitute with regular tomatoes, cut up)
• malabar spinach
• kamaboko
• bits of beef
• leftover corn
• udon noodles
• a dash of soy sauce
• ginger (optional) 
• 1 Tb butter
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 Tb Harissa
• 2 Tb mint

The 2023 Earth Day observance was a big success, lots of fun, and very informative.

Sam brought very personable hens - and again they were a hit with both children and adults. Maybe if more people wore feathers and were slightly peckish, they'd be popular?

Shalimar and Mary (and Naba helping out) were culinary hits -- a dynamic duo who showed everyone how to make really delicious food with vegetables — one of the ways all of us can help the earth by putting less pressure on resources and reduce carbon emissions. If EVERYONE did meatless meals even one day a week – it would make a difference. Shalimar's richly colorful and tasty greens (and orange), including with our garden veggies, was refreshing and fresh-tasting. Mary made an impressive pesto with carrot greens (which impressed all) and lightly candied dried lemon peels. Lots of questions about how to make all these - a sign of true interest. You can find the pesto recipe here.

Denise brought some unusual items to reduce waste and save resources - especially bamboo - which grows and replaces itself quickly - so it's a great renewable resource: bamboo eating utensils, including chopsticks, a straw and a tiny brush to clean it out. All fit into a nearly pocket fitting compact kit. Great to keep in your purse or in the car.

I talked about the value of native plants for supporting the environment, including wildlife (and even people). I brought some samples - placed in vases - to show people they are as beautiful as any fancy rose. Go hiking in the next few weeks - local mountains are filled with these CA native plants - all in bloom, smelling fragrant and announcing Spring.

Grace and Beth grew a variety of seedlings (cilantro, broccoli), and I brought peppers, tomatoes, basil from friend Steve List at Sylmar High School. People were delighted to carry home vegetables/herbs to plant.

Jennifer made and gave away the cutest “earth” seed balls. Can’t wait to drop them before the next rainfall.

At the Good Earth Community Garden/LA Green Ground's Earth Day 2023 event, Mary MacVean gave a demo, "Eating Your Scraps". She explained how you can use parts of vegetables that are often thrown away.

A few people asked that her tasty carrot top pesto recipe be added to our LA Green Grounds website. 

You ask. You get!

At the end of February, garden keepers planted just 6 sprouted potato buds. By The end of March, we had lush green plants. And by the end of May, Florence advised us that it was time to harvest our potatoes.

GROWING HINTS:

• plant potato buds deep
• cover potato buds with mounds of dirt and hay as they grow

In June, the old potato bed was dug up and compost added to plant squash there next. Found a few more potatoes! Good finds!

That was a good place to plant them - and people really took care to water that bed.

HARVEST HINTS:

• Keep the potatoes out of sunlight
• It only takes 15 minutes exposure for that green skin to develop, which is toxic to eat
• Peel off the green part and still eat the potato
• Don't leave potatoes out on the bed to "cure" - you bring them into shade right away

Contributed by Naba, Grace and Florence

A garden in winter. We imagine it to be resting, regrouping for the burst of spring and summer. And for some plants, that does mean something of a retreat. But at LA Green Grounds, there is plenty of flowering beauty in the middle of January. Enjoy.