http://ucanr.org/blogs/losangelesagriculture/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed History, current information, and human interest stories about agriculture in Los Angeles County en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:39 PST Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:39 PST With more than 10 million residents, and a climate conducive to year-round growing, Los Angeles County is a gardener's paradise.  Gardening has always been popular in Los Angeles but recently has become an even greater passion.  This trend is evident nationally, with a 19% increase in Americans growing their own food, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Gardening Association.  In the current economic situation, gardening is an important strategy to help families improve their......
]]> Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2420&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2420 I’m enjoying “Sending Flowers to America:  Stories of the Los Angeles Flower Market and the People who Built an American Floral Industry”, by Peggi Ridgway and Jan Works.  It tells the story of flower production in the Los Angeles area and the genesis of what is now the “largest wholesale flower district in the United States”. Residents of early Los Angeles found the climate of Los Angeles perfect for growing countless crops, including many kinds of flowers.  According to the authors, “By......
]]> Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:35:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2298&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2298 The highlight of my week was visiting Farm Advisor Andre Biscaro at our Antelope Valley office in Lancaster.  I went with Andre to visit one of his field trials.  He is testing numerous varieties of alfalfa to see what works best in the hot, windy high desert.  Alfalfa has historically been an important crop in Los Angeles County.  A 1940 Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce publication referred to alfalfa as "Green Gold", because it was considered very profitable, and listed the Antelope Valley,......
]]> Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:30:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1935&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1935 I often see and find inspiration in the links between current events around Los Angeles and our county's agricultural heritage.  This week my "ahah" moment came at the Compton Creek Symposium, an event put on jointly by my organization, UC Cooperative Extension, and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council.  This was a two-day event that brought together community, staff of government agencies, city officials and local non-profits to discuss the Compton Creek watershed and its......
]]> Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:50:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1775&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1775 For a brief period each spring, cherries are available at several pick-your-own farms in Los Angeles County's Antelope Valley, mostly in the community of Leona Valley. Leona Valley is approximately nine miles west of Palmdale, and about 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Quite a few varieties of cherries are available, including Bings, Rainiers, Brooks and Black Tartarians. Cherry picking is currently underway, and it's a great family outing. This coming weekend, June 20th and 21st, is......
]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:14:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1401&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1401 The Baldwin Park Community Garden sits in the shadow of the San Bernardino Freeway in Eastern Los Angeles County. As the cars rush by, an effective and innovative community garden grows. I was delighted to be a guest of students and their teachers recently. I was impressed with the public-private partnership which made this garden possible to benefit the community and local children. The garden, which is approximately a quarter acre in size, has both school and community plots. The land and......
]]> Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:36:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1374&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1374 Nothing heralds the coming of summer in Los Angeles quite like the bloom of our jacaranda trees. Jacarandas produce loads of incredible purple flowers in May and June, with trees lining entire streets in some parts of town. Our in-house tree expert at UC Cooperative Extension, Environmental Horticulture Advisor Donald Hodel, considers this year’s LA jacarandas to look “especially handsome and floriferous”. Don is the author of several books on trees, including......
]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:28:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1362&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1362 ]]> Tue, 26 May 2009 08:51:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1318&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1318 ]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 16:41:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1304&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1304 A resident of Pasadena recently contacted me with a “sticky” problem. Bees had created a colony inside the walls of her condo and she wondered what to do. I don’t have any expertise in entomology beyond a few college classes, but I made a few phone calls to see what I could find out. My first stop was the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. My organization, UC Cooperative Extension, dispenses gardening advice and information on integrated pest......
]]> Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:33:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1047&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1047 ]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:25:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1029&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1029 ]]> Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:57:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1020&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1020 One of our talented Master Gardeners, Judi Gerber, is also a historian who has recently published the book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay from the Arcadia Press “Images of America” Series. The book is loaded with photos of Torrance and surrounding communities from the days, not so long ago, when LA County’s South Bay was home to major agriculture, including flower farms, hay and bean production, dairies and much more. Judi shares great information: for example, I......
]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:05:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=969&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=969 ]]> Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:04:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=942&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=942 I’ve heard many people, including my parents, talk about having received an orange every year in their Christmas stocking. Apparently, this custom dates back many years. I remember reading a Laura Ingalls Wilder book as a child in which Laura was thrilled to receive an orange for Christmas. It was a special treat, at a time when oranges were rare and expensive. During my holiday break, I read an interesting book called “Orange Empire: California and the fruits of Eden”, by......
]]> Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:57:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=924&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=924 ]]> Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:51:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=899&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=899