Calendar

Photo: Eve Holguin

Join Master Gardener Guy Duran to learn how to turn your kitchen scraps into Black Gold! Vermiculture is the process of maintaining composting worms to create your own worm castings. Worm castings are pricey to purchase, but actually cheap to make. A small initial investment can return a payoff for years. Free at Farm2Market at Alameda Point (2600 Barber’s Point Road, Alameda, CA 94501).

After discussing the basics of vermiculture, there will be a ‘gather round’ presentation where Guy will bring his ‘4 stage’ active worm bin to demonstrate the stage by stage progression of worm activity. We will also fabricate a similar worm farm as the one being demonstrated.

• Rain or shine  (pop up tents available).
• Families are welcome.
• Porta Potty available.
• Wear comfortable shoes.
• Bring water, sunscreen and a hat.

Marcus Carini, founder of Newfound Foodscapes and board member of Alameda Backyard Growers, lead a hands-on Family Seed starting Workshop designed to empower families to grow their own food and cultivate a lifelong connection with nature. This interactive session demystified the seed-starting process, and provided practical tips and techniques for creating thriving gardens, even in small spaces. Participants learned the basics of seed selection, proper soil preparation, planting depth, watering techniques, and how to nurture seedlings until they are ready for the garden or patio. Participants left with tips and tricks for seed starting and will prepare their own seed trays to take home and watch grow.

This workshop was for families of all experience levels who wanted to enjoy the benefits of fresh, homegrown food and a deeper connection to the natural world. 

What Families Learned & Did:

• Get hands-on experience in seed starting.
• Started seeds during the workshop to take home and grow in your own garden or patio.
• Learned tips and tricks to grow healthy, thriving plants throughout every season.

WHERE: Stafford Meeting Room, Alameda Main Library, 1550 Oak St., Alameda CA

Learn the basics of composting and how to turn your food scraps into rich soil for your garden – because compost happens! Lori Caldwell of StopWaste will be doing a hands-on demonstration at Ploughshares Nursery.

Learn:

• How easy it is to transform yard and food waste into gardener’s gold
• The benefits of composting
• How to make, harvest and use composted soil
• Hot and cold composting, Hugelkultur and worm composting.

Join us and have fun!