David King is a master gardener at the Learning Center Garden in Venice, California. According to King, there are two big shifts in Southern California gardening: one is at the end of September-beginning of October (fall/winter crops), the second shift is at the end of February-beginning of March (heat loving crops of summer).
Mr. King gardens about three miles inland of the Pacific Ocean just above sea level. He has written a month by month planting guide for Southern California which I have found to be quite useful. While Lakewood is a little warmer than Coastal California, his "cheat Sheet" provides a nice guide as to when to plant certain vegetables in southern California.
David King's "Cheat Sheet" Planting Guide For Southern California:
http://www.lagardenblog.com/2013/07/the-southern-california-cheat-sheet.html
Link to David's Blog:
