09/15

How To Manage Your Own Backyard Veggie Garden

When it comes to my fruits and veggies, I like them as fresh and organic as possible. One way to ensure this is to have access to the way they are being planted and treated. I knew when I moved into my new home that I wanted to have my own garden but I just didn’t know where to start.

That’s where Tricia Mazur from Garden Of Seeden’ came in. With her wealth of knowledge, I have successfully planted my own backyard garden that I hope to enjoy for years to come! Not only is it beautiful to look at but also the feeling of being able to taste and enjoy the “fruits of your labor” (literally!) is such a great feeling.

Since I’m not a gardening “pro” by any means (I’m still learning!) I wanted to get some information from Tricia to share with you.

What are the benefits of having a garden?

Gardening is a magical endeavor and a beautiful learning experience. It teaches you how vegetables grow as well as how to eat seasonally. It teaches you that a bounty of nourishment can grow right in your own backyard. It teaches you about variety. There are some super beautiful and tasty varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, and greens that you can and should experiment with.

What are some of your top tips for managing your own garden?

• Start Small: Try a few things that are relatively easy to grow. For summer gardens, start with a few cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs such as basil, parsley, chives, and thyme. In the fall start with kales, Swiss chard, arugula, and lettuce. Have a good drip watering system installed and start with good soil and great compost.
• Fruit Trees: Fruit is another way to add food and beauty to your landscape. Citrus is a great gateway fruit tree, as they adore the warm climate (especially of Los Angeles!) Apples, pomegranates, plums and blueberries also produce well.
• Research, Research, Research: I started gardening after spending two weeks at a raw food institute in Puerto Rico. After consuming highly nutritious greens during that I felt amazing and I had to learn how food grew. So I did and I fell in love with it. Now I install and take care of gardens throughout Los Angeles from Los Feliz to Brentwood and all the way up to Palo Alto. They range in size from small kitchen gardens to a half-acre ranch up in Malibu with chickens and over a hundred and fifty fruit trees. Gardens can be of any size!

Since fall is around the corner, here are some of the best nutritious greens to plant this season:

• Spinach
• Arugula
• Heirloom Lettuce
• Mustard Greens
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts (only if in a climate that has really cool temperatures, our climate it’s rare to have a success story especially when the Santa Ana winds roll in)
• Cauliflower
• Beets
• Carrots
• Swiss Chard
• Cabbage
• Radish
• Kohlrabi
• Turnips
• Bok Choy
• Kale

For more information on starting your own garden or setting one up, contact Tricia Mazure at trishmazure@gmail.com.