For a time many years back, I would become nervous every time I went out to my garden to weed. The weeds were so few that I feared something was wrong with the soil.

LOS ANGELES — What does it take to elevate the common ant from picnic pest to household pet?

Ready. Set. Go. Growing seedlings indoors seems almost like a race. Of course, it has a staggered start, with onions already growing strongly and tomatoes not yet sown.

While a student in the 1970s, I was faced with caring for a project where black plastic was laid over an old lawn and the whole thing covered with bark as a low-maintenance, water-conserving yard alternative.

People new to gardening ask the darndest questions: about how seeds work, about growing the perfect tomato, about waging war with insects (many of them beneficial).

Arizonans may finally get a break this year from what has been a perennial debate over two high-profile issues.

Joe Wright's ambitious, technically dazzling adaptation of "Anna Karenina," set almost entirely within the confines of a decaying 19th-century theater, inspires this week's list: five movies that are so super-stylized, their artifice is part of the art.

State health officials are implementing parts of a controversial abortion law even as one section is being challenged in court.

Arizona women had fewer babies in 2011 for the fifth straight year, due in large part to tighter wallets, social changes, lower teen pregnancy rates and departures among the Hispanic population.

It can’t be stated enough—parents play a critical role in the prevention of their child’s sexual risk-taking and teen pregnancy. However, it’s estimated that fewer than 15 percent of children receive a meaningful sex education from their parents.

Arizona women had fewer babies in 2011 for the fifth straight year, due in large part to tighter wallets, social changes, lower teen pregnancy rates and departures among the Hispanic population.

Did you know that every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer? Do you think breast cancer affects women only? Think again. Men are not exempt from breast cancer. Many breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. Although there are numerous reasons why women predominantly experience estrogen dominance (use of birth control, menopause and pregnancy), both men and women are increasingly affected by estrogen dominance.

Teenage girls may prefer the pill, the patch or even wishful thinking, but their doctors should be recommending IUDs or hormonal implants — long-lasting and more effective birth control that you don’t have to remember to use every time, the nation’s leading gynecologists group said on Sept. 20.

As the state’s fastest-growing demographic group, Hispanics also are the fastest-growing market for Arizona businesses.

The “papers please’’ provision of Arizona’s SB 1070 is now in effect.

Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?

When watching a fantasy film, you suspend disbelief and become part of an impossible happening. High-tech special effects can fool the brain into accepting a whole different reality. When my practiced eye was fooled by the new artificial turf, I knew it had finally come of age.

When you see the photo of Ann Patchett on the book jacket of her latest book, “State of Wonder,” it’s hard to believe someone so lovely and feminine could write a book describing some horrific images. I guess that is the power of imagination and skillful writing which she has proven in her previous books, most notably “Bel Canto” (2001 Winner of PEN/Faulkner Award).

Water is one of the most important nutrients and often overlooked for detoxification, losing body fat, and optimal health. Your body is approximately 70 percent water, your brain tissue approximately 75 percent water, and your blood is 83 percent water.

Mesa Unified School District is inviting parents to learn more about the district’s sexuality curriculum during two meetings this month.