Kosher Dill Pickle Recipe
by Joyce Peters On my way home from school on the Lower East Side of New York City I would sometimes stop for a dill pickle from the pickle shops on Essex Street. A vendor would fish one out of a real wooden barrel, hand it to me and I would walk away munching. I...Continue reading→
Important Black Fig Fly Warning
by Marla Koss ACTION ITEM! Please read this UCANR article, and pass on to anyone you know with a fig tree! One Saturday morning in June 2025, members of Farm2Market’s orchard crew were arriving and assembling their tools when I heard happy shouts of “Mae!” through the trees. And suddenly our friend and mentor, longtime...Continue reading→
Water and Climate Change Presentation
On Sunday, June 7, 2026, Alameda County Master Gardeners Irene Beebe and Max Fairbee, in cooperation with ABG, presented a workshop on Water and Climate Change at REAP Climate Center’s well-appointed outdoor classroom. The main points to take away from their slide show and talk were: Compost holds water and nourishes the soil. Mulch cools,...Continue reading→
EBMUD’s Community Water Academy Report
by Sarah Miller In April I participated in the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Community Water Academy. Over 4 evenings and one full day, we got a behind-the-scenes look at how our region’s drinking water travels from the Sierra Nevada all the way to our taps—an intricate, carefully managed journey that depends on both natural...Continue reading→
Environmental Working Group Shopper’s Guide 2026
by Joyce Peters As food costs climb, let’s take a hard look at the higher cost of organic produce vs. conventionally grown. Whether or not you believe that the health and environmental benefits of organically-grown fruits and vegetables are a certainty, it is good to know which crops are grown commercially with heavy pesticide use....Continue reading→
Tomato Care Workshop
On Saturday, June 13, 2026, Ploughshares Nursery General Manager Jordan Taylor gave a comprehensive talk on the ins and outs of caring for our backyard tomatoes throughout the season. Though most everybody has some experience growing tomatoes, access to a nursery professional like Jordan helps fill in the various knowledge gaps we all have (plus,...Continue reading→
Stir Fried Broccoli with Garlic Sauce
by Joyce Peters When I was growing up in New York City, ages ago, my Chinese- American family did not eat much broccoli. It just wasn’t available in our neighborhood stores. When we did have it, my grandfather would discard the florets and slice the stems for his stir fries. Broccoli is not a Chinese...Continue reading→
Massaged Kale
by Joyce Peters Kale has been the “it” vegetable for a while – cooks add kale to smoothies, soups or roast them into chips for flavor and a nutrition boost. It is a powerhouse vegetable, loaded with vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate, fiber, carotenoids and manganese. Salad is the ideal way to serve kale....Continue reading→
Rooted Connections: Exploring Plantcestors and Ancestral Wisdom
WHEN: Saturday February 28th, 10 – 11:30AM WHERE: On Zoom PRESENTER: Danièle Fogel, PhD, founder of Yervika, an organization fostering connection and belonging through herbs. How does orienting to plants as our ancestors—our ‘plantcestors’—change the way we relate to and interact with our environment, our ancestral lineages, our relationship with ourselves and others? What happens...Continue reading→
Rooted in Alameda
Rooted in Alameda: Free Seed Libraries Celebrate a Record 2025 and Look Toward Spring by Kristen Smeal and Birgitt Evans What a truly remarkable year it has been for the Alameda Backyard Growers’ Free Seed Libraries. Thanks to the unwavering support of the ABG Board, our dedicated donors, and our tireless community volunteers, we have...Continue reading→