Have a Green(er) Halloween!

Halloween Dalmatians! The costume on the right was homemade with old socks (for the ears), an old white T-shirt and a pant found at a thrift store. Only the cap (reusable) and the black spots were new.

Halloween is a wonderful holiday that most of us love to celebrate, but it needs a Green Makeover. There is altogether too much sugar and plastic involved and so we’ll be offering alternative ideas for costumes, treats and decorations.

Take a step in the Green direction this Halloween! Sunday, October 3rd, join local moms and bloggers Annie Barnes (of Inspire the Change and The Mar Vista School Green Dolphins), Charlotte Neve, from Beethoven Elementary School and Sarah Auerswald of Mar Vista Mom at the MVCC Green Booth at the Mar Vista Farmers Market.   

The amount of toxic plastic generated by this holiday is the scariest part of Halloween.  Come to the Green Booth this Sunday and find out how you can still have Tricks and Treats without "digging your own grave".

Re-using, recycling and getting downright creative are easy and affordable ways to make Halloween costumes and decorations this year, and there will be great examples on display.

Treats with less sugar and fewer unpronounceable ingredients are much easier to come by than you might think – and we’ll have examples of those on display as well, including some sweet treats donated by Rainbow Acres.

Important note – plan your route to the market on Sunday without crossing Venice Blvd! See the street closures for the L.A. Triathlon here.

The Master Gardeners return!

The LA County Master Gardener program will be back at the MVCC Green booth this weekend! Stop by this Sunday, Sept 26th for free seeds and seedlings.

You are also welcome to join us for the MVCC Green Committee meeting on Sunday at 9:30. The agenda is posted here. We have lot's going on and welcome you to join us! Learn about the Wise Power Use Expo that we are planning for November 3rd.

Since 1978, UC Cooperative Extension's Common Ground Program has made gardening possible for many Los Angeles County residents, particularly low-income and traditionally underrepresented families. The program goals are to improve nutrition; increase access to fresh, low-cost produce; offer gardening education; build bridges between neighbors and communities; help create employment opportunities; and encourage a cleaner, greener Los Angeles.


Families learn how to garden, grow their own food and prepare it in a healthful manner. In addition, the program trains community volunteers and Master Gardeners, who in turn, volunteer their time to community and school gardens.


This is a wonderful program - you may even want to explore signing up for the Master Gardener volunteer training program!

Kids Can Compost!

Wen-Chia Tsai Parker -  author and illustrator of “Kids Can Compost” - will be sharing her book and enthusiasm for composting with her Marvista Neighbors. There will be a batch of finished compost as well as plenty of red wiggler composting worms in a bin for everyone to touch, feel smell and experience.  

Composting is a fun and easy way for grown ups and children alike to do something good for our environment.  Composting reuses and recycles our resources and reduces waste.  See Wen-Chia interviewed about Kids Can Compost on CNN!

Wen-Chia started the composting program at Beethoven Elementary School in 2009 and was inspired by the students and her children to write and illustrate Kids Can Compost to further share the joy and benefits of composting with others.  Wen-Chia also volunteers at the Venice Learning Garden and will be helping other local schools start their composting programs.  She encourages everyone to compost and strive to preserve, re-use and recycle our resources so that it can be shared with all our generations of children to come.  

Biodynamics for the Home Gardener!

Denise with Bu - her favorite girl!

Sunday from 9 to 2 we’ll be sharing the best kept secret in farming and winemaking to use in our home gardens at the Mar Vista Farmers Market MVCC Green Booth!

Any and all gardeners (either practicing or dreaming of practicing!) should come see how each and every one of us can truly help save this planet by healing our sub-soil with Biodynamics. Gardeners with potted plants that are having problems are encouraged to bring them for a dose of tea!

Denise DeGarmo Ritchie of Malibu Compost discovered the benefits of biodynamics through her interest in sustainable landscaping and soil conservation. This Sunday she will be focusing on Biodynamics for the Home Gardener. The morning will be taught by her partner Colum Riley and he will be focusing on how to make and use Bu's Blend Biodynamic compost tea. There will be a hands on demo learning how to create a vortex stir and applications.

Denise will be arriving by eleven and bringing with her Oscar Carmona, a noted horticulturist, biodynamic grower and builder of biodynamic farms in home yards. We will spend the rest of the day with demonstrations that cover how to fix your soil with biodynamics ...hands on demo transforming hardpan soil into rich, biodynamic humus.

Attracted by an article in a wine magazine about the Benziger Family Winery vineyards and their biodynamic model, Denise visited the vineyard and had extensive conversations about their system of soil enhancement and water conservation.

Research led Denise to Rudolf Steiner’s writings and his belief in the interconnectedness of species that benefit all life forms. Of specific importance in reference to the soil was the central role played by the dairy cow.

Denise has taken Steiner’s respect for the dairy cow and his formula for compost to two different fronts:

 1 ) Organically fed dairy cow manure is the basis for the biodynamic compost company she has created

2 ) She is creating a sanctuary for dairy cows, those that have given so much, to allow them to live beyond their milking days, not sold for slaughter, to be cared for until their natural death.

With the mantra “heal the soil, heal the soul,” Denise works with 900 school gardens in LA and Ventura County, assisting teachers in amending the soil for their edible schoolyards.   Read more about Denise in this LA Times article.

Oscar Carmona owner and operator of Healing Grounds Nursery has spent the last twenty five years helping connect people, plants and the planet. His log line is : "Healing the planet with Biodynamics one urban farm at a time."