Calendar


Oct
20
Tue
2020
Carbon Farming at Home
Oct 20 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Carbon Farming at Home

Thank you to those who joined us on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom for our presentation: Carbon Farming for Home Gardeners, with Trevor Probert of StopWaste.

Trevor explained how home gardeners can make use of carbon farming practices to build healthy soil and protect the health of the climate. He will share lessons learned from local urban farms, resources for residents to make sense of soil health and carbon farming at home, and tips for how residents can support carbon farming in their cities.

Trevor Probert is an outreach coordinator for composting and carbon farming at StopWaste. He manages StopWaste’s partnerships with urban farms and tests their soil to measure carbon sequestration and soil health. He is a garden educator, a home gardener, and a resident of Alameda.

Click here for a link to Trevor’s presentation (PDF) which includes his speaker’s notes.

Here’s a link to information from StopWaste on building healthy soil.

Or view the presentation below:

 

Oct
25
Sun
2020
ABG Plant Swap
Oct 25 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

October Plant Swap

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Alameda Backyard Growers is inviting you to a socially-distanced, outdoor plant swap.

Please arrive at 1pm.

  1. Masks must be worn and a distance of 6ft or more maintained.
  2. Everyone must use provided hand sanitizer prior to entering the plant swap area.
  3. Attendees must bring at least one plant to donate to the swap.
  4. Make sure plants are clearly labeled. Plants should be in good health and in healthy soil, to minimize the possible spread of garden pathogens.

The location for this event is 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.

You may also bring other garden related items: books, magazines, tools (no broken tools), and seeds to place on our FREE table.

Tickets for this event are limited. Click here to register.

ABG October Plant Swap

Dec
3
Thu
2020
The Politics of Food and Agriculture
Dec 3 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Please join us for a presentation on
The Politics of Food and Agriculture

with Twilight Greenaway
Thursday, December 3 at 7:00 pm

Register by clicking here.

Please bring your questions on food systems, organics, climate and food, agricultural labor and technology, food safety and seafood. 

Twilight Greenaway is a writer and editor focused on food and agriculture, and the senior editor of Civil Eats. Her work has appeared in a number of media outlets including the New York Times, The Salt (NPR’s food blog), the Guardian, Food & Wine, Slate, Mother Jones, Eater, and on Grist.org, where she served as food editor. She lives in Oakland.

Civil Eats editor Twilight Greenaway

Jan
19
Tue
2021
Happy New Gardening Year
Jan 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Happy New Gardening Year

Happy New Gardening Year!

January 19 at 7:00 pm on Zoom

Meeting Details: 

Thinking about starting a garden for the first time or just want to see some friendly faces? Please join Alameda Backyard Growers for Happy New Gardening Year. In this hour-long Zoom meeting we will talk about how to prepare for the new gardening year. 

We will discuss some of our favorite tools as well as how to clean, store, and sharpen them. Wondering when to prune fruit trees? We’ll tell you. Wondering how to take care of your most important asset – your soil – in January? We’ll discuss that too. Whether you’re a new gardener or a seasoned expert, there will be something for everyone in this meeting. 

Please pre-submit any gardening questions to info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org prior to January 15. 

Speakers: ABG Board Members Alison Limoges, Marla Koss, Birgitt Evans, and Kristen Smeal

To register in advance for this meeting click here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You will also receive a follow-up email closer to the event.

Feb
16
Tue
2021
Growing Vegetables from Seed
Feb 16 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Growing Vegetables from Seed

with Birgitt Evans

Starting vegetables from seed can save money and will give you access to thousands of vegetable varieties not available as transplants. And with three Free Seed Libraries in Alameda in 2021, you are going to want to know how to care for your seeds. This year’s class has – of course – gone virtual, but with a twist. Birgitt will alternate an online talk with two “how to” videos that will walk you through the process of starting seeds as well as growing and transplanting seedlings. After the videos, she will answer questions.

We will cover which seeds are best planted directly in the ground and how and when to start them. We will move on to seeds that are best started indoors and how to plant them. The discussion and videos will address the importance of cleanliness, seed starting mixes, which containers you can use, how many seeds to plant and how deeply, seed viability and hybrid vs. open pollinated seeds, watering, fertilizing, providing light and heat for your seedlings and hardening off seedlings before transplanting them out into the garden.

About the Speaker: 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, including three terms as president. She has served on the board of Alameda Backyard Growers since its inception and is currently the Treasurer.

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting! Following are some takeaways that you will hopefully find useful.

Questions from the Meeting:

  • What type of seed starter mix should I use?
    You can use a homemade seed starter mix by using this recipe: 2 parts cocoa coir or peat moss + 1 part vermiculite or perlite You may check the local nurseries for a sterile seed starting mix. Make sure to hydrate it before planting. You’ll want the soil to stick together when you squeeze it, but not be soaking.
  • What types of seeds should I soak before planting?
    You may soak bigger seeds, like peas, but do not soak them overnight as that will restrict the oxygen flow to the embryo and lessen the chance of germination.
  • How do I keep slugs away from my seedlings?
    You may use an iron phosphate slug bait like Sluggo. Check here for more tips on keeping snails and slugs away.
  • How do I read a fertilizer container?
    See Birgitt’s January talk (video, minute 43:10).

Check out these videos on our ABG Video Resources page:

  • Growing Cool Weather Crops
  • Seed Starting 101

Also, please read these seed starting articles for additional information:

Apr
20
Tue
2021
Build Healthy Soil by Sheet Mulching
Apr 20 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Lori Caldwell

Sheet mulching is an easy and efficient technique for saving water, recycling resources, suppressing weeds and building healthy soil. Please join Lori Caldwell as she discusses the steps for this process as well as her own tips and tricks for how to sheet mulch. Please bring all your questions!

Lori Caldwell is an Alameda County Master Composter, self taught edible gardener and residential sheet mulch maven. Her mission is to “connect people to the soil and all that it provides”. She has been happily teaching sustainable gardening classes and transforming yards in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2007.

Register on Eventbrite

Apr
25
Sun
2021
ABG’s 2nd Annual Socially Distanced Plant Sale
Apr 25 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Registration will begin in April and we will send the link in early April.

On April 25th, we will host our 2nd annual plant sale at a private residence featuring our “Alameda Famous Tomatoes”, 19 carefully curated varieties packed with flavor and designed to do well here in Alameda. We will also have a selection of Winter Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Basil, Peppers and Loofas for sale. And we will have some pollinator friendly flowers available to help make your 2021 garden a great success.

Register here!

ABG Plant Sale

May
18
Tue
2021
The History of Indigenous Chochenyo Land in the East Bay
May 18 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Guest speaker Francis Mendoza

Francis Mendoza with Carla Muñoz, Tribal Chairwoman of the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe)

with Francis Mendoza

Naturalist, interpreter and environmental educator, Francis Mendoza will talk to us about the history of the Chochenyo land that we inhabit. He will also focus on horticultural and medicinal ways Ohlone peoples use to take from and give back to the land.

The Indigenous peoples of the area now known as the Oakland Bay Area have talked story, lived sustainably and protected their land from invaders since time immemorial. As we acknowledge the land we live on, it’s also increasingly necessary to learn the true history of invasion, subjugation and trauma that native peoples have endured and continue to endure to this day. Through discussion and demonstration, Naturalist Francis Mendoza will present a holistic view of native people in the bay, one based on culture, language, food and land management. He will focus on TEK or Traditional Ecological Knowledge having come from the Philippines, where traditional Indigenous knowledge is also valued and shares a similar history of colonization by first, Spanish Colonizers, and later, American Imperialism.

Francis Mendoza (he/hey/sila) is a naturalist, environmental educator and JEDAI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion) Consultant with more than thirty years experience serving marginalized communities at the intersection of race, gender, culture and nature. He is the JEDAI Section Director for NAI (National Association for Interpretation) and a Certified Interpretive Guide and California Naturalist. He can be reached on Instagram as @roving_ranger. 

 

Here is a list of resources provided by Francis Mendoza:

Jul
11
Sun
2021
Volunteer Work Party at Farm2Market @ Farm2Market
Jul 11 @ 9:00 am – 11:30 am

Join Alameda Backyard Growers as we work and learn at Farm2Market, one of our favorite Alameda places. Farm2Market (2600 Barbers Point Road) is a great place to learn innovative and sustainable techniques for growing fruit and vegetables. Lots of different tasks will be available – at least one should fit your interests and abilities! Have fun, gain some gardening know how and enjoy the company of other food growers while helping out a valuable Alameda non-profit.

Farm2Market is a small, diversified working urban farm and a social enterprise of Alameda Point Collaborative. The farm employs APC residents to work with staff and volunteers to produce delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies, raw honey and beautiful flowers. Proceeds from its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program are used to help sustain APC’s supportive housing community.

COVID precautions: If you are fully vaccinated, you are not required to wear a mask. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must wear a mask whenever you are within six feet of another person.

Bring along your garden gloves, water bottle, sunscreen, your favorite hand tools, and whatever else you’d like to make your gardening work comfortable – knee pad, stool, kneeler, etc. Be sure to wear sturdy closed toe shoes!

Volunteers will help weed, sheet mulch, weed whack, compost, etc. After the work party tours of the farm and neighboring MakerFarm will be available.

After you get your ticket, we’ll contact you so you can sign the APC waiver, which is required in order for you to volunteer at this work party.

Questions? Email info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org and put WORK PARTY in the subject of your email.

Farm2Market Work Party

Aug
17
Tue
2021
Greywater, Rainwater Catchment & Groundwater Systems Workshop
Aug 17 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Mano Tondre

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.