A juicy tomato, still warm from the sun, packs a nutritional punch for sure, but thetaste is so exquisite a person can be forgiven if they forget that it’sactually healthier. An eggplant, withits striking purple or lavender color is prettier than a Spring bouquet,especially to those who plan on having it for dinner tonight. A lot of folksare looking back to the past where many fruits and vegetables were grown tosupplement the groceries in hard times. I’m thinking something like a VictoryGarden here. And I am not alone.

Gardeningcourses are springing up throughout the southland to ease people into thegarden experience and helping get beginner gardeners off to a good start. TheLearning Garden, on the campus of Venice High School is offering their ownvictory garden course on how to grow your own fresh vegetables, called “What ToDo and When To Do It; A Primer to Gardening in Southern California.” Theclasses will run the first Saturday of each month, starting on March 7th, from9 to noon. Priced at $25, the three hoursession will be taught in a garden where techniques will be demonstrated andstudents will learn the real nuts and bolts of growing a garden. Email learninggardenmaster@yahoo.comfor more information.

Nomatter where you learn to garden, there is no better – or more appropriate -time than now to get started. Knowinghow to take a $3.00 pack of seeds and turn that into a few pounds of the besttasting tomatoes you’ve ever had is a thrill as much as taking on your firstsolo and not blowing it (too badly).

Whilemany LA city officials and a growing group of budget-conscious homeowners areagreeing that lawns should not be a part of the Southern Californianexperience, it isn’t essential to remove your lawn to enjoy your own freshveggies. Vegetables can even be grown in pots, although if you did remove yourlawn and put in tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, corn, beans and a few otherplants, you would use less water than you had for the lawn and your littlegarden would help feed you.

Home grownfood isn’t only tastier (proven), it is also more nutritious (also proven) andyou know what was used to make it grow. This is like getting taught how to fish, if you remember the old adage,”give a person a fish and you feed him once, teach him to fish and you feed himuntil he can’t stand fish anymore!” There is a lot more variety in plant food!

Askanyone who has grown a little of their food and they’ll join with me in singingthe praises.

Ormaybe a guitar solo in key of D.

Grandson of a Great Plainsfarmer, David King is the GardenMaster at the Learning Garden, on the campus of Venice High School. He shares his love of the land and musicthrough teaching, writing and playing in a folk/country band. Contact greenteach@gmail.com