Ventura County Star
By Marjorie Hernandez
Posted August 3, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.

Randall Smalls smiled as he carefully cut slits in a small packet of potable soil and inserted a handful of seeds.

“It’s going to be a Chinese garden,” Randall, 9, said as he gently pushed the seeds of Chinese chives jiu cai and gau choy into the soil. “When they grow, you will get to see how pretty they get. I’m excited.”

On a recent Thursday at the Port Hueneme Youth Center at Naval Base Ventura County, about 20 second- and third-graders learned some basic skills to start their own vegetable gardens during a visit by Susan Gloeckler, the Ventura County 4-H youth development supervisor.

The...