The Ventura County Sheriff's Department announced this morning they have busted up a large marijuana growing operation set up in the Los Padres National Forest, north of Ojai. The raid netted 68,488 pot plants, with an estimated street value of $205,464,000, making this the largest single cultivation in Ventura County's history. more ›

About 20 people were detained and the 10 freeway shut down for hours Saturday when police found 3,000 marijuana plants at an illegal pot clinic south of downtown Los Angeles. Officers serving a search warrant discovered a dangerous and extensive lab with "thousands upon thousands" of plants in a warehouse on the 1000 block of Santa Fe Avenue, reports KTLA. more ›

Officials in Santa Ana are calling the marijuana growing operation they busted yesterday "the largest and most high-tech" they've ever encountered, according to the OC Register. In a facility of 6,000 square feet, the warehouse in the southeast part of the city had been "capable of producing more than $120,000 worth of marijuana every six weeks." more ›

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Tonight local noise-infused rock act No Age (LAist Review, #2, #3), Mika Miko (LAist Review) will be performing at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock with none other than Brooklyn-by-way-of-Olympia ambient outfit Growing. Wasilla-bred indie rockers Portugal. The Man are poised to perform for free at Space 15 Twenty in Hollyweird, touring in support of their sixth full-length endeavor—2010's American Ghetto. And, lastly, LA-based indie rock troubadours Nico Stai will be taking on the Bootleg Theater with Shadow Shadow Shade (formerly known as the Afternoons) in tow. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Troubadour to catch Long Beach/Los Alamitos natives and recent Sub Pop signees Avi Buffalo (LAist Interview, Review), who will be ringing in their hotly anticipated self-titled debut. Local ambient rockers Voices Voices and Brooklyn-based indie rock act the Wailing Wall are slated to kick things off. more ›

Earlier this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared National Farmers Market Week, during which Americans were urged to try to put a visit to an area market into their routine in order to support local farmers and hopefully enrich their diets with fresh, locally sourced, healthy produce. On the heels of those eating and consumer focused efforts, Vilsack shifted his focus one step back in the chain and declared August 23-29 National Community Garden Week. more ›

I’m not going to wait until one of you gets your compost together to ask me an important question. I’m not going to hear the 4th query on “why do I suck at gardening?” (A: worms hate you). This column needs to be responsive, sure… but let me ask a question that you should be asking: Why do my dahlias have jock itch? more ›

This upcoming Saturday, April 26th, marks the 4th Annual Green Gardens Tour, which gives attendees a backstage pass to see six home gardens on the Westside that "demonstrate sustainable designs, practices, and technologies." With conservation issues a hot-topic in the Los Angeles area--and all over the world--the tour is a wonderful hands-on opportunity to see what some people have done in their own yards to pitch in to save our precious resources while creating beautiful and inviting landscapes. All of the gardens are professionally designed, but not only will attendees get to take home the Green Sourcebook that's loaded with valuable information (like plant lists!), they can hear lectures and demos on the tour all focused on this year's theme, which is Gardening With Intent. more ›

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