Calendar

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.

Register by clicking here.

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:

ABG’s Annual Plant Sale – Saturday, April 23, 2022

This year we will celebrate Earth Day and hold our Plant Sale at Alameda’s West End Healing Garden at the corner of Taylor and Webster Streets (across from Nation’s). From 10 am to 1 pm (or until we run out) we’ll have a variety of heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid varieties of tomato, veggie, herb and flower starts we grew from seed especially for Alameda’s mild & quirky summer climate.

For the youngsters, there will also be a wildflower seed-ball-making table. So come visit ABG, grab those unusual tomato varieties that ABG is famous for, and celebrate Spring, gardening and Mother Earth! It’ll be only a handful of blocks away from the Saturday Farmer’s Market on Haight St.

California Rare Fruit Growers and Growing Rare Fruit in a Mild Bay Area Climate.

Brian Lavin is a biologist who does molecular work and herpetology among other things. Having picked up growing plants as a hobby, he decided to concentrate on fruiting plants. He has traveled around California looking at what can grow here and has experimented with growing various species from both seeds and plants. He has been chapter chair for the Golden Gate Chapter of the CRFG since early 2019.

Brian will talk about the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) organization, its goals and how to participate in and benefit from it. He will also give examples of “rare” fruit you can grow, or attempt to grow, in a mild climate like Alameda.

Here’s a recording of Brian Lavin’s presentation:

As a member of Alameda Backyard Growers, you are already protecting the climate by preventing food waste through gleaning produce for the Alameda Food Bank, and by reducing food mileage by growing your own food. What else can one person do in such a huge crisis to make a difference? A LOT! Climate change affects our everyday lives with drought, food supply problems, sea level rise, fires and the general survival of nature. This presentation will cover the crisis, solutions and 70 surprisingly simple things individuals can do about it including how to influence others to protect the climate.

Joyce Mercado Bio: Speaker Joyce Mercado earned her Bachelor of Science in Physics at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She completed Climate Reality Project Leadership training led by Al Gore and joins thousands of other Climate Reality Leaders to give climate protection and sustainability presentations. She is an active member of a local climate protection non-profit, Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, where she writes a monthly column on Climate Protection for the Alameda Sun and created a Climate Protection Checklist.

ABG Monthly Meeting on Zoom with Paige Benveniste

Join us for a behind the scenes talk on the organic food label. We’ll be discussing the history of the organic label, how it’s regulated, and what it means to buy organic (hint: it’s more than the absence of pesticides/herbicides). We will also discuss the current state of organics, why some people think the organic label doesn’t do enough, and the emergence of “add-on” labels like The Real Organic Project and the Regenerative Organic Certification.

About Our Speaker: Paige Benveniste is an International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) certified crop and processing inspector. She currently works as an organic inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). As an organic inspector, she travels throughout the Bay Area inspecting a wide variety of farms and food manufacturers. Prior to becoming an organic inspector, she worked on an organic farm and was a local food buyer/educator at a tech campus in San Francisco.

View the recording below.

Because of our chilly weather earlier in the season, many of Alameda’s fruit trees have already gotten their winter’s worth of chill hours; well over 400 as of January 27. As a result, many are ready to bud out ahead of schedule and need to get pruned soon!

Marla Koss, one of ABG’s fruit tree pruning experts, will demonstrate winter dormant and citrus pruning and you’ll get to try it out on your own with help from experienced pruners, and help Ploughshares at the same time.

Wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes (preferably hiking or work boots). If we have a sunny day, you might want to bring a sun hat and/or sunscreen. A water bottle is also highly recommended. Also helpful: eye protection (clear safety goggles/glasses).

Equipment to bring, if you have it:

• bypass pruning shears
• gardening/work gloves
• other pruning equipment such as a pruning saw or loppers

Adults only. We know that interest will exceed the space available and will keep a waiting list. If you register and are unable to attend, we need you to cancel at least 3 days in advance so that we can offer your space to someone else. Please cancel by emailing abg.grow.food@gmail.com.

Ploughshares Nursery is a social enterprise that is part of Alameda Point Collaborative. APC works to end homelessness by providing housing and services to create communities where formerly homeless families and individuals can flourish.

Here are some photos from this event: