Though LA hasn't had to cope with the brutal winter storms that slammed most of the Eastern Seaboard, Angelenos are starting to sniff spring in the air. And nothing says Spring like vegetables and flowers poking through the ground, especially following the research of Pollan and Kingsolver. You might live in an apartment and winter might be ideal planting time, but the magic of LA is that you can still manage to grow your own mini-crops. It's not the victory garden of the '50s or the back-to-the-land of the '70s, this is the broke-as-a-joke, fresh-food-loving, earth-friendly garden of today.

Start by figuring out how much space you have to work with. If you have a whole balcony, think tomatoes and beans and strawberries. If you have a windowsill, imagine a mini herb garden. You can pick up seeds at farmers' markets, at gardening stores, or online. If you ask nicely, you may even score a cutting or some awesome free seeds from a neighbor with a green thumb. Remember, if you're eating something fresh and it has some sort of seed or pit, you already have the secret of (plant) life in your hands.

Get creative with your planting container. You can buy traditional terracotta planters or brightly colored plastic planters in different sizes. Or recycle by using old gallon milk jugs with the tops cut off, big plastic storage bins, old buckets, kitty litter containers, or a garbage can. You never know what you may find in your garage or being thrown out at the neighbors'. Whatever you decide to use, make sure there are enough holes in the bottom. Accidentally drowning your fledgling plants sucks.

Next, acquire some dirt. There is always plenty of free dirt on offer on Craigslist, but buying a bag is literally dirt cheap (sorry, couldn't resist). Depending on the soil you get and the specific needs of your plants, you may need to add some fertilizer. Since it turns out rinsed out egg shells and old coffee grounds are pretty healthy for the soil, you may even get to recycle/reuse and take out the trash less often.

Here's the fun part...you get to plant! Since you already figured out what it is you want to plant, use a spoon or a trowel if you have one handy, and make a home for your photosynthesizing progeny. Don't dig too deep or too shallow. In the tradition of Goldilocks, do some research to find out what is just right.

Although waking up to find delicious produce growing by the window is not just a one, two, three, four...voila! process, breaking gardening down into manageable steps is the best way to start. There are tons of great gardening sites with helpful hints and supportive communities ready to answer specific questions. The follow is a short list of a few sites we liked; add your personal favorites to the list. Happy gardening!

Backyard Gardener
California Native Plant Society *not totally relevant but cool
Container Gardening Tomatoes
Vegetable Gardens
Victory Garden
An Angeleno who has been blogging about her experience: Summer Bowen's Blog