This is one of my favorite times of the year. Spring is a time of bounty and endless
possibilities. It's the time of year when we enjoy some of the most wonderful of holidays and of course it's the time of year when I start my vegetable garden.
I used to have a garden as a kid, but for many years as a young adult my living situation would not permit having one. I have had a spring vegetable garden now for many years and I always look forward to it with great anticipation. Among other things it put
s an
exclamation point on Spring.
If you don't have a huge yard or intense sun light, don't worry. There are many ways you can have a satisfying garden with limited sunlight and space. You don't need to be a "flat-lander" either. As seen in this picture, you can have a successful garden on a steep hillside, on a terraced slope and even on a patio.
There are so many varieties of fruits and vegetables you can grow. As a rule I try to grow things that taste notably better than their counterparts in the markets For example:
tomatoes, corn, beans, squash and
melons (space permitting) and did I say
tomatoes???
Homegrown tomatoes are the best! They're fun and easy to grow, usually disease resistant and taste so much better than the
tomatoes you typically find at the market. And these days you can find hund
reds of varieties for sale at your local nurseries and/or in online or mail order seed catalogs.
Their are in fact so many varieties that it can be a little daunting as to which plants to select. I like the heirloom
tomatoes because they're unique, they have such exceptional flavor and at prices of up to $6.
00 a pound in the local markets they're very cost-effective to grow.
A little background on heirloom
tomatoes:
Heirloom
tomatoes are grown from seeds that have been handed down within in a family from generation to generation over these many, many years, like a family heirloom. They are prized for their unique shapes, colors and above all- TASTE!
Here are my five favorite tomato pics:
1. Sun Gold- in my opinion this is the sweetest tomato of all. Literally sweet as sugar. They are large cherry-type
tomatoes about the size of, (but a little smaller than) a ping pong ball. They are a light orange color and they grow in clusters like a grape vine.
2. Striped German- a very large, slightly flattened tomato with blotches of red, orange and
yellow inside and out. Great tomato taste with a kick, great for sandwiches.
3. Yellow
Brandywine- similar to the classic
Brandywine tomato, similarly large in size but with a slightly mellow-er flavor. Also great for sandwiches.
4.
Moskvich- a Russian tomato that has a very robust flavor. It is a medium size tomato with a uniform, deep orange-red color. Great for salads, sandwiches and
capreses!
5. Cherokee Purple- a
plum-shaped tomato with a deep brick red color with purple-brown shoulders. They have a mild tomato flavor, not quite as juicy as some of the other
tomatoes listed here, but that makes them a good paste tomato.
Honorable mention-
Pineapple, Great White, Green Marble,
Moramoto and Rose.
Let me know,
what's your favorite variety of tomatoe? If you want to check out a great event where you can buy tomato plants and more visit Tomato Mania at
Tapia Brothers farms in
Encino from March 27
th through March 29
th and in Beverly Hills April 18
th. Click here for more information about
TomatoMania and other event locations and dates. For on line seed sales I've always had success with
Johnny Seeds and their are many other resources on line as well. Just search
Google and above all:
get out there, plant your garden and have fun! 
What most impressed me about this home is its expansive sense of openness, combined with a feeling of privacy, a rare combination. The house is perfectly placed on the property, with great outlooks from nearly every room and the back yard is very well planned, both landscape and hard scape. A very pleasant breeze was rising up over the bluff when I visited the home.
For showings or more information please contact Mickey Kessler of Coldwell Banker at 310-442-1398 or Mkessler@verizon.net, or the listing agents: Jana Jones Duffy and Fred Holley of Coldwell Banker at 310-285-7535 or 310-285-751.
