with Jonathan Draper, Alameda County Master Gardener
While some insects attack our vegetables, others are a great help in the garden. Come find out how to get and keep the insects you want. Alameda County Master Gardener Jonathan Draper will introduce us to beneficial insects and their use in organic gardening. He will cover a variety of his favorite “good-guy” insects and some of the “bad guys” that they eat or attack. Learn what plants you can integrate into your garden to bring in the good guys and what you can do to keep them around.
Soil, with Dolores Morrison, Alameda County Master Gardener
The next FREE Plant Exchange is Saturday, March 25th from 11am to 4pm at 4500 Lincoln Ave. in Oakland. Join us for this fun free semi-annual event where gardeners, landscapers, urban farmers, and beginners come to exchange plants, tools, equipment and information about ways to make our urban environment more sustainable, aesthetic, and healthy. The event will feature a live band, food trucks, gardening demos, advice from The Alameda County Master Gardeners, raffle prizes, and more. This year’s events will have additional special activities planned as part of our 10 Year Anniversary!
Join Alameda Backyard Growers and the Alameda Free Library for a free screening of the Award Winning Documentary, ‘The Starfish Throwers’.
When: Sunday, April 2nd at 1:30 PM
Where: Community Meeting Room at the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street.
We will have light refreshments and information tables with food-oriented community organizations.
About The Starfish Throwers
Worlds apart, a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired schoolteacher discover how their individual efforts to feed the poor ignite a movement in the fight against hunger.
Award-winning chef Narayanan Krishnan, fighting against the caste system in India, quits his job to begin a life of cooking and hand-delivering fresh meals to hundreds of people in his hometown. Katie Stagliano’s planting of a single cabbage seedling when she was nine years old blossoms into Katie’s Krops, a non-profit with 73 gardens dedicated to ending hunger. Retired middle school teacher Mr. Law battles personal health issues as he hand delivers more than a thousand sandwiches nightly to the hungry in Minneapolis.
This documentary tells the tale of these remarkable individuals and the unexpected challenges they face. Despite being constantly reminded that hunger is far too big for one person to solve, they persevere and see their impact ripple further than their individual actions.
You can watch a trailer of the documentary here.
Alameda Backyard Growers will have a booth at this event, and volunteers who can help answer questions about growing your own food!
Join us for the Alameda ‘Living Color’ Garden Tour and Charity Plant Sale.
Saturday, May 6 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Alameda Support Foundation sponsors the tour and all proceeds go to the animals at FAAS.
See more than 10 spectacular climate-friendly gardens.
Tickets are $20. Purchase in advance, starting April 17th at:
Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter
1590 Fortmann Way, Alameda, CA 94501
Tel. 510-337-8565
www.alamedaanimalshelter.org
or via Eventbrite here.
Each ticket lists the fist garden where you’ll receive a map to all the other showplaces as well as the location of the Charity Plant Sale.
Alameda Backyard Growers will have docents at one of the gardens.