Tora Rocha, co-founder of Pollinator Posse and formerly Parks Supervisor for the City of Oakland, will lead a tour of the various pollinator habitats at the Gardens of Lake Merritt and help us learn how to keep a healthy ecosystem thriving in our own gardens.
The Pollinator Garden is located next to the Bonsai Garden, just northwest by a few steps. On Google Maps, it’s labeled “Bee Hotel Garden.”
There is a fee for parking.
This event is hosted by the Master Gardeners of Alameda County.
![Alameda Food Bank Tour & Volunteer Work Project @ Alameda Food Bank | Alameda | California | United States](https://alamedabackyardgrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Logo-Alameda-Food-Bank-web.jpg)
Join us for a tour and work party with our partner, the Alameda Food Bank!
Since 2011, to feed our neighbors and reduce food waste, Alameda Backyard Growers has encouraged local fruit tree owners to request that our volunteers pick their excess fruit. In those 13 years, ABG volunteers have gleaned and delivered more than 66,000 pounds of fresh fruit to the Alameda Food Bank. This ongoing, mutual collaboration between these two not-for-profits remains strong to this day. Together, we still reduce food insecurity and food waste. If you’ve never had the chance to visit the Alameda Food Bank or volunteer for them, here is your chance to do just that.
We will learn how the AFB operates, who is eligible to receive food there, how to volunteer, etc. We’ll do miscellaneous chores including cleaning shelves, restocking food, sorting food, etc.
Wear warm, comfortable clothes and closed-toed shoes.
Restrooms, drinking water, camaraderie are available.
Space is limited to 20, so sign up here!
After this work project event, you are welcome to remain at Alameda Point to socialize with your fellow volunteers at the nearby Firebrand Bread, Almanac Beer Co., etc. on West Tower Avenue.
From the UC Master Gardener Program of Alameda County:
Learn how to water your vegetable garden, landscape plantings and containers using gardener-friendly drip irrigation. Master Gardener David Blood will walk you through the how-tos and answer your questions. FREE; no registration required. The garden is located in the Gardens of Lake Merritt, at Lakeside Park, 666 Bellevue Avenue in Oakland. Enter at Gate 4, across from the Boathouse. There is a fee for parking.
ABG’s June Program is a FREE Tour of Ploughshares and a presentation by its manager, Jordan Taylor, on How to Care For Your Tomato Plants. This informative session will be held Saturday, June 29 from 1:00–3:00 pm. Learn lots more about how to grow tomatoes and pick up your current plant supply needs while there.
Born and raised in New York City, Jordan Taylor never imagined a world covered in dirt, happy insects, and happier plants. Since 2019, Jordan has spent countless hours of hands-on research and trial error to become an avid gardener and an advocate for food sovereignty. Beginning as a novice on the nursery sales floor, Jordan is a true testament to how falling in love with gardening can propel a person into a more fruitful life.
During our tomato workshop we will cover tomato nutrient needs, favorable conditions, common pests, and helpful tips to get the most out of your tomato harvest.
To join us, register now!
![Ploughshares Nursery](https://alamedabackyardgrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ploughshares.jpg)
Ploughshares Nursery
We are very pleased to announce that, once again, Alameda Backyard Growers will march in Alameda’s July 4th Parade, and you are invited to walk, bicycle, scooter, rollerskate, or skateboard with us! Feel free to dress up in a costume, or not! We will provide signs to carry, if you wish. We will drive ABG’s Project Pick van in the parade – to offer water and a walking break, should you need it. We will march near the Alameda Food Bank in this historic, and famously long, parade.
The Parade begins at 10:00 a.m., but marchers should join us no later than 9:00 am. We will provide some tailgate refreshments. Bring some water, wear comfortable clothes, shoes, a hat and sunscreen.
Sign up here NOW, so we know who is coming! On July 3 we will email all registrants info about ABG’s numbered place in line.
![Getting Started with Native Plant Propagation @ The Gardens at Lake Merritt | Oakland | California | United States](https://alamedabackyardgrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-Started.png)
This talk, which will be given by Master Gardener Laura Cornett, will cover propagating with seeds as well as vegetative propagation via cuttings and division. Preparation of propagules will be covered as well as after care for seedlings. Cornett has been an Alameda County Master Gardener since 2020. She is also part-time faculty as the Curriculum Coordinator and Laboratory Technician in the Horticulture Department at Las Positas College in Livermore. She is involved in the Native Plant Resource Team which is a division of the “Bringing Back the Natives Tour.” Her yard has been on this Tour three times, including this year.
No registration is required. The Master Gardeners’ Trials Garden is located in the Gardens of Lake Merritt, at Lakeside Park, 666 Bellevue Avenue in Oakland. Enter at Gate 4 across from the Boathouse. There is a fee for parking.
![Summer Stone Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop](https://alamedabackyardgrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pruning-stone-fruit-300x224.jpg)
Here in the SF Bay Area, annual pruning of Apricot and Cherry trees is carried out in July or August rather than in the winter. This protects these varieties from a specific fungal infection that may occur if pruning cuts are made in cold, wet weather. August is also an excellent time to prune back excess, leggy growth on Plum and Pluot trees. Refresh your pruning skills or learn the fundamentals of Summer Stone Fruit Tree pruning. Marla Koss, our pruning teacher extraordinaire, will lead another great, FREE, hands-on, how-to pruning session in Alameda.
Thank you to everyone who attended!
Civilization began when humans began to save and plant seeds. Come and learn about the seeds of common food plants we eat today. We will talk about the history of seeds, explore the different sizes and shapes of seeds and how to grow plants for seed, harvest for viable seeds and collect those seeds, focusing on five seeds that are easily saved by the home gardener – Beans, Peas, Lettuce, Tomatoes and Peppers.
The talk will be followed by a hands-on exercise where participants will extract the seeds from a variety of different plant materials and package them up for both themselves and the seed library at the Alameda Free Library. SPACE IS LIMITED TO 50 PARTICIPANTS
Birgitt Evans has grown her own food on a large scale for the past 40 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 three different Alameda County gardens and starts 90% of her plants from seed. She has been an Alameda County Master Gardener since 1999 and served on the board of Alameda Backyard Growers for 10 years.
Kristen Smeal (she/her) is a Master Gardener (2018) and volunteer for the Alameda Backyard Growers. In her role as the Garden Science teacher at St. Philip Neri School in Alameda, she is passionate about teaching children how to grow food and to care for the Earth and each other.