with Birgitt Evans
Starting vegetables from seed can save money and will give you access to thousands of vegetable varieties not available as transplants. And with three Free Seed Libraries in Alameda in 2021, you are going to want to know how to care for your seeds. This year’s class has – of course – gone virtual, but with a twist. Birgitt will alternate an online talk with two “how to” videos that will walk you through the process of starting seeds as well as growing and transplanting seedlings. After the videos, she will answer questions.
We will cover which seeds are best planted directly in the ground and how and when to start them. We will move on to seeds that are best started indoors and how to plant them. The discussion and videos will address the importance of cleanliness, seed starting mixes, which containers you can use, how many seeds to plant and how deeply, seed viability and hybrid vs. open pollinated seeds, watering, fertilizing, providing light and heat for your seedlings and hardening off seedlings before transplanting them out into the garden.
About the Speaker: Birgitt Evans has grown her own food on a large scale for the past 30 years and created a successful garden and nursery business. She is passionate about growing and raising food and seeks to encourage and educate others so they can also share the benefits of fresh, healthy, homegrown food. She grows vegetables in four different Alameda County gardens and starts 90% of her plants from seed. She has been an Alameda County Master Gardener since 1999 and was on the advisory board for 14 years, including three terms as president. She has served on the board of Alameda Backyard Growers since its inception and is currently the Treasurer.
Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting! Following are some takeaways that you will hopefully find useful.
Questions from the Meeting:
- What type of seed starter mix should I use?
You can use a homemade seed starter mix by using this recipe: 2 parts cocoa coir or peat moss + 1 part vermiculite or perlite You may check the local nurseries for a sterile seed starting mix. Make sure to hydrate it before planting. You’ll want the soil to stick together when you squeeze it, but not be soaking. - What types of seeds should I soak before planting?
You may soak bigger seeds, like peas, but do not soak them overnight as that will restrict the oxygen flow to the embryo and lessen the chance of germination. - How do I keep slugs away from my seedlings?
You may use an iron phosphate slug bait like Sluggo. Check here for more tips on keeping snails and slugs away. - How do I read a fertilizer container?
See Birgitt’s January talk (video, minute 43:10).
Check out these videos on our ABG Video Resources page:
- Growing Cool Weather Crops
- Seed Starting 101
Also, please read these seed starting articles for additional information:
- Growing Vegetables from Seed by Birgitt Evans
- Growing Vegetables and Herbs from Seed by Birgitt Evans
- Growing Seeds Outside by Linda Carloni
- Growing Vegetables from Seed in April by Birgitt Evans
Sheet mulching is an easy and efficient technique for saving water, recycling resources, suppressing weeds and building healthy soil. Please join Lori Caldwell as she discusses the steps for this process as well as her own tips and tricks for how to sheet mulch. Please bring all your questions!
Lori Caldwell is an Alameda County Master Composter, self taught edible gardener and residential sheet mulch maven. Her mission is to “connect people to the soil and all that it provides”. She has been happily teaching sustainable gardening classes and transforming yards in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2007.
Francis Mendoza with Carla Muñoz, Tribal Chairwoman of the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe)
with Francis Mendoza
Naturalist, interpreter and environmental educator, Francis Mendoza will talk to us about the history of the Chochenyo land that we inhabit. He will also focus on horticultural and medicinal ways Ohlone peoples use to take from and give back to the land.
The Indigenous peoples of the area now known as the Oakland Bay Area have talked story, lived sustainably and protected their land from invaders since time immemorial. As we acknowledge the land we live on, it’s also increasingly necessary to learn the true history of invasion, subjugation and trauma that native peoples have endured and continue to endure to this day. Through discussion and demonstration, Naturalist Francis Mendoza will present a holistic view of native people in the bay, one based on culture, language, food and land management. He will focus on TEK or Traditional Ecological Knowledge having come from the Philippines, where traditional Indigenous knowledge is also valued and shares a similar history of colonization by first, Spanish Colonizers, and later, American Imperialism.
Francis Mendoza (he/hey/sila) is a naturalist, environmental educator and JEDAI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion) Consultant with more than thirty years experience serving marginalized communities at the intersection of race, gender, culture and nature. He is the JEDAI Section Director for NAI (National Association for Interpretation) and a Certified Interpretive Guide and California Naturalist. He can be reached on Instagram as @roving_ranger.
Here is a list of resources provided by Francis Mendoza:
- Ohlone Curriculum with Bay Miwok Content and Introduciton to Delta Yokuts by Dr. Berverly Ortiz, EBRPD, download at www.ebparks.org, 2015
- Native Peoples of the East Bay by Dr. Beverly Ortiz et al., EBRPD
- Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda, Heyday Books, 2012
- An American Genocide by Benjamin Madley, Yale University Press, 2016
- The Ohlone Past and Present: Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Region, compiled and edited by Lowell John Bean, Ballena Press Anthropological Papers; No. 42, 1994
- Tending the Wild, by M. Kat Anderson, University of California Press, 2013
- Indian Summer: Traditional Life Among the Chiomumne Indians of California’s San Joaquin Valley by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield, California Historical Sociaety, 1993
- The Way We Lived: California Indian Reminiscences, Stories and Songs, eidted and with commentary by Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books, 1992
- The Ohlone Way by Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books, 1978
The Alameda Free Library invites you to attend Edible Garden Basics, an exciting virtual gardening program.
UC Master Gardener Susan Fritz will review the importance of selecting a planting site for sun/shade, improving and preparing your soil, watering, mulching, fertilizing, deciding what to plant, and keeping pests at an acceptable level. Making the right decisions about all of these items will lead to a plentiful harvest! Join our fun gardening event and learn the essentials to be a successful vegetable gardener.
Susan became a Master Gardener in May 2014, and has led the Speaker’s Bureau for five years. She enjoys teaching the public about gardening and how they can improve the methods they use to make their gardens more sustainable.
The event will be hosted by the Alameda Free Library via Zoom. A brief Q&A will follow the presentation.
WHAT: Edible Garden Basics, an exciting virtual gardening program
WHERE: Zoom!
WHEN: June 26, 11:00 am
HOW: Register online before the event to receive a link to the event
Please contact Jenny Gillette at refdesk@alamedaca.gov with any questions. For more information about library programs, please visit www.alamedafree.org/Events-directory/Calendar or contact the Main Library at 510-747-7740 during Library Takeout hours, Monday 2:00pm-7:00pm and Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm-5:00pm.
Join Alameda Backyard Growers as we work and learn at Farm2Market, one of our favorite Alameda places. Farm2Market (2600 Barbers Point Road) is a great place to learn innovative and sustainable techniques for growing fruit and vegetables. Lots of different tasks will be available – at least one should fit your interests and abilities! Have fun, gain some gardening know how and enjoy the company of other food growers while helping out a valuable Alameda non-profit.
Farm2Market is a small, diversified working urban farm and a social enterprise of Alameda Point Collaborative. The farm employs APC residents to work with staff and volunteers to produce delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies, raw honey and beautiful flowers. Proceeds from its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program are used to help sustain APC’s supportive housing community.
COVID precautions: If you are fully vaccinated, you are not required to wear a mask. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must wear a mask whenever you are within six feet of another person.
Bring along your garden gloves, water bottle, sunscreen, your favorite hand tools, and whatever else you’d like to make your gardening work comfortable – knee pad, stool, kneeler, etc. Be sure to wear sturdy closed toe shoes!
Volunteers will help weed, sheet mulch, weed whack, compost, etc. After the work party tours of the farm and neighboring MakerFarm will be available.
After you get your ticket, we’ll contact you so you can sign the APC waiver, which is required in order for you to volunteer at this work party.
Questions? Email info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org and put WORK PARTY in the subject of your email.
Mano Tondre of DIG Cooperative
with Mano Tondre Owner and Designer, DIG Cooperative
Water conservation and water stewardship are vital now in our second year of severe drought. It is time to look for other sources of water to keep our gardens alive. Join us and learn about harvesting and using Greywater, Rainwater Catchment and groundwater systems such as Rain Gardens and Swales for keeping water in your soil. These systems can help save significant amounts of water and help wean us from our hoses.
Mano Tondre is the Owner and co-founder of DIG Cooperative. During California’s drought conditions of 2005, a group of builders and ecologists founded DIG Cooperative Inc. and built the first permitted residential constructed wetland for greywater treatment in California. The greywater wetland is located at the Berkeley Ecology Center’s EcoHouse. He continues to pioneer permitted greywater reuse and rainwater catchment systems across the greater Bay Area, including large scale projects at Chabot Space & Science Center, the San Francisco Zen Center and Skyline High School as well as smaller residential systems.
Enjoy a video of Mano’s presentation by clicking here.
We are excited to announce our
2nd Annual Plant Swap Event!
Alameda Backyard Growers is inviting you to a socially-distanced, outdoor plant swap.
- Masks must be worn and a distance of 6ft or more maintained.
- Everyone must use provided hand sanitizer prior to entering the plant swap area.
- Attendees must bring at least one plant to donate to the swap.
- Make sure plants are clearly labeled. Plants should be in good health and in healthy soil, to minimize the possible spread of garden pathogens.
- Other garden-related items are also welcome: books, magazines, tools in good working order, bulbs and seeds. These will be placed on our FREE table.
Location is outdoors in West Alameda and will be announced 48 hours prior via email reminder. Please be sure to register with a valid email address that you are able to check.
You can have a beautiful native plant garden that attracts amazing birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Learn about the benefits of local, native plants and some of the wonderful birds that are drawn to this place and to these plants. We will discuss what migrating and resident birds need and how to provide what the birds are seeking. While there are hundreds of bird species that have been observed in Alameda County, learn which native plants attract which bird species and why they are attracted to them. This presentation will cover what to think about in designing your backyard and when to plant. This will inspire you to have an awesome variety of native plants for birds. Golden Gate Audubon and the California Native Plant Society have partnered on Plants for Birds which promotes several local native plants that attract local birds and are available at local nurseries. The Plants for Birds program is all about local and each year more plants are added so that you can grow your garden while increasing biodiversity.
Bios: Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden are both active volunteers with the Golden Gate Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. Eddie is President of the Yerba Buena chapter of CNPS and the Farallones Islands Foundation. He is an avian researcher and instructor for the California Academy of Sciences and Golden Gate Audubon. Noreen Weeden was formerly Volunteer Director with Golden Gate Audubon and is currently project managing a habitat restoration project. She is on the board of Yerba Buena CNPS. Both Eddie and Noreen regularly lead natural history field trips. They can regularly be seen in California’s natural areas birding, removing weeds and tending native plants.
Watch a recording of this presentation here:
Seed Saving Class
Sunday, November 14, 11am
Healing Gardens (Taylor/Webster) in West Alameda
Class Description: Civilization began when humans began to save and plant seeds. Come and learn about the seeds of common food plants we eat today. We will talk about the history of seeds, explore the different sizes and shapes of seeds and how to grow plants for seed, harvest for viable seeds and collect those seeds, focusing on five seeds that are easily saved by the home gardener. The talk will be followed by a hands-on exercise where participants will collect the seeds from different plant materials and package them up for both themselves and the seed library.
Birgitt BIO: Birgitt Evans has grown her own food on a large scale for the past 30 years and created a successful garden and nursery business. She is passionate about growing and raising food and seeks to encourage and educate others so they can also share the benefits of fresh, healthy, homegrown food. She grows vegetables in four different Alameda County gardens and starts 90% of her plants from seed. She has been an Alameda County Master Gardener since 1999 and was on the advisory board for 14 years. She has been on the board of Alameda Backyard Growers since its inception and is currently the Treasurer.
Kristen BIO:
Kristen Smeal (she/her) volunteers and serves on the Board of Alameda Backyard Growers. In her role as the Garden Science teacher at St. Philip Neri School in Alameda, she is passionate about teaching children how to grow food and to care for the Earth and each other.
February 15, 2022 7:00 pm via Zoom
With Joan Sarlatte, Alameda County Master Gardener
We resume our Zoom meetings in February with a great presentation on ergonomics in gardening.
Want to protect your body while gardening, which can be hard work on a body? Ergonomics is using your body the way it’s meant to be used for safe protection of muscles and joints. Learn good body mechanics in order to spare wear and tear on your body. The goal? Garden as long as you can as you move through time!
Joan is an Alameda County Master Gardener and frequently presents on ergonomics as applied to gardening.
View a recording of this meeting below:
