Many fruit trees grow well in Alameda, and winter is a great time to plant a new fruit tree. Join us as Marla Koss and Birgitt Evans share their extensive knowledge and experience in raising fruit trees in Alameda. They’ll demystify which trees work well here, which don’t, and why; why root stock is important; size considerations; and how to understand and work with chill hour requirements; and more.
About our Speakers:
Birgitt Evans has grown her own food on a large scale for the past 25 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 is an Alameda County Master Gardener and is presently the Alameda Backyard Growers president.
Marla Koss has thirty-plus years of backyard mistakes and triumphs in Alameda and deep knowledge of fruit tree growing in Alameda. In 2016 Marla helped design and implement Project Tree in partnership with The Alameda Sun, and continues to help shape its mission to plant more trees in Alameda.
Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) is growing and we need your help to keep up with our success! Formed in 2010 and incorporated in 2013, ABG is a community of gardeners who enjoy growing our own food, sharing it with our neighbors and helping others learn how to grow and preserve their own food.
Please Join Us at our Special Volunteer Event: Come Grow With Us! Find out more about our volunteer opportunities, please join our mailing list and attend our Volunteer Orientation.
WHEN: Thursday November 15th at 7PM
WHERE: Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave, Alameda, CA 94501, USA
To reserved your space at this FREE event, click here.
As a part of our mission, we harvest and donate to the Alameda Food Bank backyard fruit that would otherwise go to waste, more than 12 tons to date! We also host monthly classes, workshops and film screenings to educate, inform and strengthen our community of growers and pickers. We have developed special projects such as Project Tree, in which we provide subsidized trees to Alameda residents and schools and the Stop Food Waste Challenge where we help households save both money and the planet by reducing household food waste.
People love what we are doing. The Alameda Food Bank loves what we are doing. We’d like you to join with us to meet the need! By joining with us, you will meet wonderful people, grow community and grow yourself as well.
We have volunteer opportunities for all. Whether you want to get up in front of a room full of people, glean fruit or work from home (or something in between!), we have opportunities for you to contribute to ABG and help us grow stronger and reach more people.
Find a task that meets your time and interests. Come Grow With Us!
With Natalie Kilmer of the mini-farm consulting business The Little Acre. Natalie leads hands-on workshops with Greywater Action.
Note: This meeting is one week later than our normal meeting schedule.
Want to see rainwater and greywater systems in real life in Alameda? ABG has organized a tour of four Alameda sites that use rainwater and/or greywater to irrigate their gardens on Saturday December 1, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. Register for the tour to receive the address of the sites. Hope to see you there!
No ABG meeting in December.
Join Alameda Backyard Growers as we present the movie ‘Modified’.
WHEN: January 11, 2019
WHERE: Rhythmix Cultural Works from 6:30 – 9PM
In the award-winning new documentary ‘Modified’, the filmmaker and her mother embark on a very personal and poignant investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Interweaving the personal and the political, the film is anchored in the filmmaker’s relationship to her mom, a gardener and food activist who battled cancer during the film’s production. Their intimate mother-daughter quest for answers, fuelled by a shared love of food, reveals the extent to which the agribusiness industry controls our food policies, making a strong case for a more transparent and sustainable food system. A visual celebration of family legacy and the love of food, cooking, and gardening. An official selection at over 40 international film festivals. Winner of 11 awards, including 4 Audience Favorite Awards.
Here is a link to the trailer.
Phase 2 – Starts January 26, 2019
Winter is a great time to plant a tree, and we want to help you plant one. In Project Tree Phase 2, the Alameda Sun and Alameda Backyard Growers have teamed up to offer Alameda residents training on tree planting and care, together with a coupon good for $25 off the price of a tree purchased at Encinal Nursery or Ploughshares Nursery.
Coupons can be picked up at the next Project Tree workshop, on Saturday January 26, 10:30 AM to Noon at Rhythmix Cultural Works. Coupons are valid from January 26 to June 30, 2019. Proof of City of Alameda residency will be required (a recent utility bill, driver’s license, car registration, property tax receipt, posted mail or bank statement with name and address of the applicant). The supply of coupons is limited to one coupon per Alameda resident. Restrictions and limitations apply as stated on the coupon. The workshop will provide information on choosing a tree, proper tree placement, planting and general care. Online tree care information will also be available for free downloading. For more information email us at info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org with “Project Tree” in the subject line.
Thank you to the Alameda Sun for helping make this possible.
What do zucchini, almonds and guavas have in common? They all need pollinators.
Without pollinators, the world would be a less colorful, less tasty and less well-balanced place: all the more reason to learn how to create a garden that will naturally attract bees, butterflies and other major pollinators. Although the best-known pollinators are domesticated honey bees, there are other pollinators that are also important, including bees and other insects that are native to California.
The presenters have been working for some years to build and maintain a pollinator garden at Lake Merritt, and will share the knowledge they have. Topics to be discussed include:
- The goals of the pollinator garden at Lake Merritt,
- The importance of native bees,
- Why you might wish to create a pollinator garden of your own, and
- How to start a pollinator garden, including optimal growth conditions (sun,soil, and water needs), and plant grouping to attract the maximum number of pollinators. The presenters will also discuss site selection, plant selection, soil amendment and care for your pollinator garden.
Presenters: Sally Hughes, Alameda County Master Gardener, 2006, Co-manager of the Lake Merritt Pollinator Garden; Jennifer Cardoza, Alameda County Master Gardener, 2012, Co-manager of the Lake Merritt Pollinator Garden, Sarah Phelan, Nature Journalis
Winter is a great time to plant a tree, and we want to help you plant one. In Project Tree, the Alameda Sun newspaper and Alameda Backyard Growers have teamed up to offer Alameda residents training on tree planting and care, together with a coupon good for $25 off the price of a tree purchased at Encinal Nursery or Ploughshares Nursery.
Coupons can be picked up at the next Project Tree workshop, on Sunday, March 3, 1:00 – 3:00 PM at Rhythmix Cultural Works. We will discuss the best trees for Alameda, and how to plant and care for them.
Coupons are valid to June 30, 2019. Proof of City of Alameda residency will be required (a recent utility bill, driver’s license, car registration, property tax receipt, posted mail or bank statement with name and address of the applicant). The supply of coupons is limited to one coupon per Alameda resident, and we only have 20 coupons left. They will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
Restrictions and limitations apply as stated on the coupon. The workshop will provide information on choosing a tree, proper tree placement, planting and general care. Online tree care information will also be available for free downloading. For more information email us at info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org with “Project Tree” in the subject line.
Thank you to the Alameda Sun for helping make this possible.
Panel discussion with Birgitt Evans, Marla Koss and Damian Mason
The term “Carbon Sequestration” is the turning up everywhere in the fight against global warming. It may sound intimidating or difficult, something to be done by governments or on a large scale, but it’s not. Come learn how you can sequester carbon in your own garden soil by composting and mulching with the plant materials in your yard and the leaves that fall in our streets and learn about keeping carbon in your soil with no til methods of growing. In addition, we will cover the more advanced topics of Biochar and Hugelkultur to help make long term deposits of carbon to our soil. Birgitt, Marla and Damian will make the topic accessible to local gardeners .