

Grow Food Safely in Urban Gardens
The Issue

Information that UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County and UC Riverside developed and extended has enabled community and home gardeners to grow food with confidence in an urban setting, assured that the food they produce is safe and wholesome.
What Has ANR Done?
UC DANR has surveyed soil and food plant tissue for the presence of potentially harmful trace elements at several community gardens in Los Angeles. In nearly all cases there was no cause for alarm. In a few areas where some trace elements were higher than expected, we provided information on how gardeners can minimize the risk these elements posed.We have also held meetings with community gardeners and developed an on-line publication that discusses the nature of trace elements, what they are, how to prevent their entry into garden sites, and how to reduce any hazard they might pose.
The Payoff
UC ANR Promotes Healthy Gardens
Information that UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County and UC Riverside developed and extended has enabled community and home food gardeners to mitigate potential problems with trace elements in the soil and grow food with confidence in an urban setting, assured that the food they eat is safe and wholesome.Contact
Supporting Unit:
Los Angeles CountyDonald R. Hodel Environmental Horticulturist University of California Cooperative Extension 4800 E. Casar Chavez Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90022 (323) 260-3405