Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Master Gardeners, February 26


The UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners will be at the Green Tent from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 26, giving away what you need to get your spring garden going and to answer your gardening questions. We're hoping for a sunny Sunday, but light rain will not deter the Master Gardeners. 

Hand planted with love by the MGs expressly for the Mar Vista community, this month they’re bringing these organic seedlings (PS: please recycle your used plastic “pony packs” with the MGs so they can keep planting future seedlings for you.):

Heirloom Broccoli Raab (aka Rapini) is commonly featured in Italian and Chinese cuisines. It has more in common with turnip than broccoli, but has turnip-like leaves, and dispersed buds that resemble thin, leggy broccoli stalks.

Tuscan Baby Kale - everyone loves this, MGs included!

Baby leaf lettuce mix - for those wonderful spring and summer salads

Bloomsdale spinach - the king of all spinach - the one with the curly edges

Cilantro - you either love it or hate it!

Snow peas - especially great with the broccoli raab if you make a stir fry

Gourmet greens -  eat them raw or add them to your smoothies

Mache -  Also called lamb’s lettuce, it’s been cultivated in France since the 17th century, a tiny dark green plant that grows close to the ground and has a sweet, nutty flavor that some people compare to the taste of corn.


ALERT!!! The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is asking all residents to look closely at their citrus trees. This is a long document with important links for you to find out more about this disease that is decimating citrus in states across the US and has now been identified in California.

May 8, 2016
UC asks citrus residents to inspect their citrus trees for Asian citrus psyllid
Jeannette Warnert jewarnert@ucdavis.edu, (559) 240-9850
California citrus - both on farms and in home landscapes - face a very real threat from a disease that is spread by Asian citrus psyllid. Florida and Texas citrus is already suffering terribly. California may be able to avoid the same fate, if all residents and farmers do their part to combat the pest. We hope you'll help us spread the word.
Here are some resources: A video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhqwUQm0zpk&feature=youtu.be)-feel free to share on your website or social media, high-resolution photos (http://ucanr.edu/News/ACP-HLB/).
Spring in California is time to inspect citrus trees for Asian citrus psyllid
A tell-tale sign of spring in California is a flush of new leaf growth on citrus trees. Because the feathery light green leaves are particularly attractive to Asian citrus psyllids (ACP), the leaves' emergence marks a critical time to determine whether the pest has infested trees.
"We encourage home citrus growers and farmers to go out with a magnifying glass or hand lens and look closely at the new growth," said Beth Grafton-CardwellUC Agriculture and Natural Resources (http://ucanr.edu/) citrus entomologist. "Look for the various stages of the psyllid – small yellow eggs, sesame-seed sized yellow ACP young with curly white tubules, or aphid-like adults that perch with their hind quarters angled up."
Pictures of the Asian citrus psyllids and its life stages are on the UC ANR website (http://ucanr.edu/acp). If you find signs of the insect, call the California Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Exotic Pest Hotline at (800) 491-1899.
Asian citrus psyllids are feared because they can spread huanglongbing (HLB) disease, an incurable condition that first causes yellow mottling on the leaves and later sour, misshapen fruit before killing the tree. ACP, native of Pakistan, Afghanistan and other tropical and subtropics regions of Asian, was first detected in California in 2008. Everywhere Asian citrus psyllids have appeared – including Florida and Texas – the pests have found and spread the disease. A few HLB-infected trees have been located in urban Los Angeles County. They were quickly removed by CDFA officials.
"In California, we are working hard to keep the population of ACP as low as possible until researchers can find a cure for the disease," Grafton-Cardwell said. "We need the help of citrus farmers and home gardeners."
Grafton-Cardwell has spearheaded the development of the UC ANR ACP website (http://ucanr.edu/sites/acp/) for citrus growers and citrus homeowners that provides help in finding the pest and what to do next. The site has an interactive map tool to locate residences and farms that are in areas where the psyllid has already become established, and areas where they are posing a risk to the citrus industry and must be aggressively treated by county officials.
The website outlines biological control efforts that are underway, and directions for insecticidal control, if it is needed. An online calculator on the website allows farmers and homeowners to determine their potential costs for using insecticides.
There are additional measures that can be taken to support the fight against ACP and HLB in California:
  • When planting new citrus trees, only purchase the trees from reputable nurseries. Do not accept tree cuttings or budwood from friends or relatives. 
  • After pruning or cutting down a citrus tree, dry out the green waste or double bag it to make sure that live psyllids won't ride into another region on the foliage. 
  • Control ants in and near citrus trees with bait stations. Scientists have released natural enemies of ACP in Southern California to help keep the pest in check. However, ants will protect ACP from the natural enemies. Ants favor the presence of ACP because the psyllid produces honeydew, a food source for ants. 
  • Learn more about the Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease by reading the detailed pest note on UC ANR's Statewide Integrated Pest Management website (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74155.html).
  • Assist in the control of ACP by supporting CDFA insecticide treatments of your citrus or treating the citrus yourself when psyllids are present. 
  • Support the removal of HLB-infected trees.  

Friday, February 17, 2017

Mar Vista Art Walk, February 19

Sun is predicted for Sunday!

Stop by the Green Tent and learn about the upcoming Mar Vista Art Walk: First Thursday, March 2, 2017, 6-10 p.m.

Created as a means of improving the walkability of our neighborhood, The Mar Vista ArtWalk is a fun, FREE celebration of all the arts.  More walking = fewer cars + less greenhouse gas + better health! 


Designated one of Mayor Garcetti’s “Great Streets”, the 1-mile stretch of Venice Blvd between Inglewood Bl – Beethoven St. will be transformed by the theme, VOICES.  Originally inspired by the relationship between poetry/spoken word and music (60s folk rock, hip hop and lyric-heavy indie), given the challenging tone of our times, the theme has naturally expanded to allow everyone to come share their VOICE with peace, love and positivity.


There'll be interactive poetry/spoken word stations, four live music stages, live painting, art installations, experimental video and a Silent Auction to benefit the community. 


The Mar Vista Art Walk is a joint effort of environmental nonprofit Green Communications Initiative (GCI) and the community of local artists curated by Mitchelito Orquiola, with the enthusiastic support of CD-11 councilmember Mike Bonin, the Mar Vista Neighborhood Council, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Great Streets” Initiative, the Department of Cultural Affairs Arts Activation Fund, Community Partners, Michelle Pine Rappoport-KW Realty, KW Realty-Silicon Beach, Earthstar Creation Center and the M & R Vest Foundation, Gravlax Restaurant and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Friday, February 10, 2017

SMC Sustainable Technologies Program, February 12

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES IN MAR VISTA!

Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday and meet Stuart Cooley, Professor of Renewable Energies at Santa Monica College. 

See demonstrations of a solar-battery driving a "floating magnetic earth," LED lighting and virtual reality viewers! Get your questions answered on solar energy, energy efficiency, battery storage and EVs. Learn more about the Sustainable Technologies program.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Garden School Foundation, February 5

This Sunday at The Green Tent, the Garden School Foundation will be making seed bombs — the perfect way to spread the love this fall! Bring the kiddos by to cultivate a new generation of guerrilla gardeners and teach the little ones that you can garden anywhere!

The Garden School Foundation stands as the premier model of garden-based education in Los Angeles. After 7 years at the 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams, they’ve developed not only a thriving, organized, beautiful, and sustainable garden classroom but a comprehensive curriculum that speaks to the particular needs of schools in under-served communities. Since 2003, they’ve been turning asphalt into ecosystems, working to create a healthy, educated and aware future generation that care for their bodies and for the earth. GSF’s Seed To Table (S2T) program, which is comprised of K-5 year-round curriculum, operates in six Title I elementary schools and their new Greenhouse Program teaches vocation-based curriculum to students with developmental disabilities at Widney Career and Transition Center. 

GSF holds Community Garden Days every month at their various sites, providing a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and volunteer in one of their school gardens. Please visit their website if you are interested in participating on a Community Garden Day. You will also find details for their Greenhouse Seedling CSA Program, and news on their amazing expansion into 10 new schools providing teacher training workshops! Check out their website for more exciting things happening at The Garden School Foundation.