Calendar


Apr
23
Sat
2022
ABG Spring Plant Sale @ Healing Garden
Apr 23 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

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.

ABG Spring Plant Sale 2022

Jun
26
Sun
2022
Tour of the REAP Center in Alameda
Jun 26 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Alameda Backyard Growers is excited to invite you to a very special field trip Sunday, June 26 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. We’ll be visiting and touring REAP, Alameda’s new Center for Regeneration, Education, Aquaculture, and Permaculture. Now about 40% complete, it’s a half-mile-long outdoor training and science center focused on biodiversity in soil. With a biomimicry-based focus, REAP’s staff and volunteers teach and demonstrate climate competence to empower the ability to grow food, practice urban forestry, and build resilience. The Center demonstrates how healthy microbes in soil enhance nutrition and carbon sequestration at scale, yielding cooler and healthier communities.

Truly a work in progress, REAP is becoming an edible park with a sculpture garden, interactive soil labs, community composting, a permaculture community garden with a free farmstand, and a maker space serving youth through Ph.D.- level curiosity. The exhibits, already underway, will provide materials and tools to green and restore the site and the region at large. REAP will also be whimsical with a Worm World, Fermentation Station, Fungi Hut, Microbe Mine, Biome Boutique, and Hydrology House. These elements, along with beehives, bioswales, and sheep will further maximize the greening of the 4.26 acres.

In its first year REAP created 200 tons of compost with vigorous green waste reclamation efforts. Additionally, the Center created or enhanced over 600 feet of bioswales, spillways, retention basins and water tanks, while managing over 1.5M gallons of water.

For more information about REAP go to: https://www.reapcenter.org/news/annual-update-2022

Tour space on June 26 is Limited, so REGISTER here NOW. REAP’s location, in Alameda, will be provided upon registration.

Tour the REAP Center in Alameda

Aug
20
Sat
2022
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop @ Farm2Market
Aug 20 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop

led by AC Master Gardener Sarah Miller, Asst. Manager at Farm2Market, & Marla Koss, Farm2Market Orchard Volunteer

August is a great time to perform summer pruning on plums, or annual pruning on apricots*. Citrus can be pruned virtually year-round in our area, but now is as good a time as any to lighten up the densely-crowded and twiggy interior of a semi-dwarf Meyer lemon tree for better aesthetic value in the landscape as well as its overall health.

After a quick tour around Farm2Market‘s orchard, we will focus on pruning citrus (Meyer lemon) and stone fruit (plum and apricot).

Wear sturdy, close-toed shoes (preferably hiking or work boots); stickers abound and will quickly turn mesh athletic shoes into pin cushions). 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: bypass pruning shears*, gardening/work gloves, other pruning equipment such as a pruning saw or loppers if you have them.

*The difference between the pruning needs of apricots and other stone fruit will be explained at the workshop and in an accompanying handout.

ABG fruit tree pruning workshop at Farm2Market

Oct
2
Sun
2022
ABG’s 3rd Annual Plant Swap
Oct 2 @ 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm

Please join us!

 – Bring at least one plant to donate to the swap.
 – Plants should be clearly labeled, in good health and in healthy soil.
 – Other garden related items welcome: books, magazines, tools in good working order and clearly identified seeds or bulbs. These will be placed on our FREE table.
 – Bring a small box or box lid to carry home any plants or items you select from the swap.

Masks are optional, but social distancing will be strongly encouraged.

Epilobium

Registration is required – click here.
Location to be announced 48 hours prior to event via email reminder to those who have registered. Please be sure to register with a valid email address that you are able to check.

Some new rule changes in 2022:

Please bring nothing larger than 5-gallon container size.

No cuttings.

Please keep track of any plants or items you bring, because at the end of the event you’ll be asked to take back with you anything you brought that is not claimed by another attendee.

Nov
12
Sat
2022
Hands-On Composting Workshop @ Farm2Market
Nov 12 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
ABG Compost Workshop

Photo credit: Lori Eanes

With both the cost of food and concerns about global warming rising, it is easy to feel powerless and unable to contribute to the solution. But there are things you can do to make a difference and making compost is a great one. Compost is easy to make, using your own kitchen scraps, fall leaves and garden debris. Home composting keeps materials out of the waste stream, improves soil for healthier crops, conserves soil moisture and can save a considerable amount of money every year.

In this workshop, you will learn the fundamental principals of making compost, including its benefits and uses, the different composting systems available, what materials to use (and what to leave out) and how to troubleshoot problems. Then you will get to see a farm-scale composting system in action and, finally, you will help build a compost pile. By the end of the class, we hope that you will feel confident enough to start your own composting system at home.

This class is being co-hosted by Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) and StopWaste and is being taught by three graduates of the StopWaste Environmental Educator Training (SWEET) on Soil Health and Compost Science.

Sarah Miller is an ABG board member, Alameda County Master Gardener and the Assistant Manager: Operation Specialist at Alameda Point Collaborative’s Farm2Market farm.

Oliver Stouffer is the Compost Site Supervisor at Alameda Point Collaborative’s Farm2Market and produces most of the compost used on the farm.

Birgitt Evans is an ABG board member, Alameda County Master Gardener and environmental educator.

All three are passionate about composting and the difference it can make in creating healthy soil, growing healthy vegetables and reducing carbon emissions.

Dec
4
Sun
2022
Holiday Wreath Making Workshop
Dec 4 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Thank you to everyone who participated in ABG’s fun, outdoor, in-Alameda wreath-making workshop on Sunday, December 4. We used gathered and purchased items to craft beautiful wreaths. ABG provided instruction, wreath backings, floral wire, glue and light refreshments.

Check out photos from our workshop!

Jan
22
Sun
2023
Seed Packing Party
Jan 22 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Seed Packing Party

2022 was another huge year for ABG’s Free Seed Libraries! With your help, we gave away close to 17,000 packets of seasonal seeds. Food inflation in 2022 was 11.8% so those seeds had the potential to help many households with their food budgets.

We are getting ready to reopen our network of seed libraries at the end of January and need help packing up seeds to go in the libraries. We will be hosting our first Seed Packing Party on January 22nd from noon – 2PM at an outdoor, but covered location on the East End.

There will be both space for social distancing and the opportunity to socialize while doing something meaningful for a finite amount of time. Past parties have left us able to stock the libraries for months.

Seed packing qualifies for Community Service hours for the student in your household. (We do ask that students younger than 16 be accompanied by an adult.)

We will have hot mulled cider and light snacks.

The weather is forecast to be sunny with a high of 57 degrees.

Please join us to get the Alameda Free Seed Libraries off to a strong start in 2023. Reply to this email to let us know if you will be able to attend.

Feb
18
Sat
2023
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop @ Ploughshares Nursury
Feb 18 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop @ Ploughshares Nursury | Alameda | California | United States

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:

Mar
12
Sun
2023
Bonsai for Beginners – NEW DATE @ Bonsai Gardens Lake Merritt
Mar 12 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Rescheduled Event!

This is a special-for-ABG introductory class on the facets of Bonsai – the art of growing trees in pots. It includes a brief history, the horticulture and the artistry of bonsai. The class will be led by Tom Colby, one of the East Bay Bonsai Society’s best instructors. Colby is a long-time member and artist. Participants may bring a tree for the instructor to review and, given time, he will lead a tour through a bonsai garden.

Tickets for this event are $5, (proceeds will be shared with the Society).

Register here.

Tom Colby Bonsai instructor

Class participants are encouraged to bring questions as this always makes for a fun and rewarding experience.

We have space for a maximum of 25 participants (adults only). We know that interest will be high for this event so we will have a waiting list. If you register and are unable to attend, please cancel at least 3 days in advance so that we can offer your space to someone else.

The event is at an Oakland location, and carpooling is encouraged. Location directions will be sent to registrants. The classroom is under a roof but is open to the air. Parking is plentiful, for a $5/car parking fee.

A bathroom is available onsite.

Please direct any questions to info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org

Bonsai for Beginners

May
7
Sun
2023
Pollinator Paradise!
May 7 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Learn to Create a Beautiful Garden by Starting Pollinator-Friendly Plants!
with Birgitt Evans

Sunday, May 7th, 11AM - 1PM, Alameda location will be provided to registrants.

$5 materials fee.

Bees, butterflies and other pollinators have been struggling because there are not enough food plants for them. Learn how to start seeds and plant beautiful, butterfly and bee attractive plants, including California Natives, to create your own Pollinator Paradise! The plants we will start will be free of insecticidal neonicotiniods common in nursery plants so you can be confident that you will be feeding, rather than poisoning the pollinators you are trying to attract and nourish.

In this class, we will learn how to start seeds of Sunflowers, Cosmos, Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower), Nigella, Yarrow, Columbine and other flowers that will attract and feed pollinators and other insects. Participants will leave with seeded 6-packs of beautiful, insect-safe plants to raise and grow in their own gardens. And your new, seed starting knowledge can be used to grow other plants, including vegetables.

Presenter: Birgitt Evans

Birgitt Evans has grown her own food on a large scale for the past 35 years and created a successful garden and nursery business. She is passionate about growing and raising food and creating healthy, self-sustaining ecosystems with food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. She gardens in four different Alameda County locations and starts 90% of her plants from seed. She has been an Alameda County Master Gardener since 1999 and has taught classes on a variety of topics for the MGACs for over 20 years now, both to the public and for the master gardener training class. She has also been on the board of Alameda Backyard Growers since 2013 and is currently the Volunteer Coordinator.

Advance registration required. Spaces going fast! REGISTER HERE.

Seed starting and planting for pollinators