The Homegrown Mailbox: How and Where Do I Get My Soil Tested?

...a lab is much more accurate. To find a lab in the US, the best place to start is with your local Cooperative Extension Service. Find yours via this link. Some offer free or low cost soil testing. Here in Los Angeles the Extension Service does not offer testing, but they were nice enough to provide a list of local labs. The lab I talked to, Wallace Laboratories, offered tests at $75 a sample–see their price list for specifics. Before you send a sa...

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California Agriculture Journal Online

...iculture online for convenient downloading at californiaagriculture.ucanr.org. There’s plenty of detailed (peer reviewed!) nuggets for the home gardener between the pages of this scientific journal. Make sure to check out the article and video of UC Berkeley entomologist Gordon Frankie explaining what kinds of plants are best for attracting bees in your urban garden. Thanks to Los Angeles County Master Gardener Coordinator Yvonne Savio for the tip...

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Rubber Sidewalks Rescue Trees

...ing we just need more of here in Southern California. I used to work at an urban forestry non-profit, TreePeople. So I am familiar with the challenges of the tree/sidewalk interface. I have fielded calls from people frantically trying to save trees that are being ripped out because they are lifting the sidewalk. I have also received calls from people eager to remove trees for the same reason. Sadly, I have also heard from people that would call ju...

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On Living in Los Angeles Without a Car: A Debate

...formal car share arrangements. I know someone, who lives downtown, who is part of such a program. Maybe we should look into creating a car share program in our neighborhood. Kelly: Well, yes, that is a possibility, but is it a likelihood? Are we going to actually get down to the legalities of setting up that system, finding partners, finding a car, committing to the time it would take to maintain such a project and really making it happen, or are...

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