by Birgitt Evans, Master Gardener and ABG Board Member Trees are the largest living organisms in the landscape and the most important. Trees take carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in their roots and tissues, they cool the ground and reduce the heat island effect, they slow, sink […]
by Margie Siegal One of the (few) positive side effects of the current pandemic is a renewed interest in self sufficiency. One way to become more self-sufficient is to learn to preserve food. By preserving, you take food that is easily available in large quantities for short periods (for example, […]
Alameda Sun – Wednesday, August 11, 2021 by Alison Limoges, Board member of Alameda Backyard Growers and Master Gardener When I was growing up in New York state, my brothers and I spent more than a few summer hours picking hundreds of hungry, non-native beetles off of our few fruit […]
by Linda Carloni, Master Gardener and ABG Board Member Your full-size tomatoes have started to ripen. Your cherry tomatoes may be ready to eat now. Nothing tastes like a tomato from the garden! But while tomatoes are one of the most popular foods to grow in your garden, they are […]
with Mano Tondre Owner and Designer, DIG Cooperative Tuesday, August 17, 2021 on Zoom 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 […]
Are you interested in gardening but don’t have the space, or would like a garden but don’t want to do the upkeep? Shared Earth is a website on which, whether you are a homeowner or a gardener, you can post your address, contact information, and details. You can note if, […]
by Margie Siegal Here it is, not even the Fourth of July. Isn’t it a mite early to be planning the fall and winter garden? Actually not. As the sun dips and the air chills, plants grow much more slowly. The trick to growing many vegetables for a winter harvest […]
by Marla Koss, Alameda Backyard Growers Board member After gardening in the same backyard for years, I thought I’d seen everything I was ever going to see. I’ve had peanut plants come up in my garden thanks to a squirrel; I’ve been visited by the most beautiful bee – a […]
Alameda Sun – Wednesday, June 9, 2021 by Birgitt Evans, Board member of Alameda Backyard Growers and Master Gardener It’s June now and the garden is planted and beginning to take off. Also taking off are those organisms people identify as “pests.” Contrary to most articles, this one is not […]
Alameda Sun – Wednesday, May 12, 2021 by Kristen Smeal, Board member of Alameda Backyard Growers, Master Gardener and Garden Science teacher at St. Philip Neri School in Alameda The past few weeks of Spring enthusiasm have certainly activated the sense of sight. Bright, bold, blooming flowers and trees present […]
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener You may not realize that California is in the second year of a fairly severe drought, well, because no one is talking about it. As of this writing, we have received 7.6 inches of rain, a fraction of the 20 inches […]
by Margie Siegal If you travel on Interstate 5 through the Central Valley, you will see signs along the highway “IS GROWING FOOD WASTING WATER?” The answer is – it can be! If a farmer does not make the best use of the water that is available, the farmer is […]
Part One Alameda Sun – Thursday, April 8, 2021 by Linda Carloni, ABG Board member and Master Gardener The birds of North America are disappearing. A 2019 study led by Cornell Lab of Ornithology found that since 1970, we’ve lost 2.9 billion breeding adult birds throughout North America, spread from […]
Virtual Meeting: Apr 20 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm 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 […]
Alameda Sun – Wednesday, March 10, 2021 by Holly Johnson, ABG Board member In addition to growing vegetables from seeds or plant starts, there is a fun, easy method to try without needing to buy or acquire anything extra. Many types of food are very easy to grow from scraps […]
Alameda Sun – Tuesday, March 2, 2021 by Kristen Smeal, ABG Board member When Girl Scout Leader Jill Proffitt learned of the Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) Free Seed Library, she saw an opportunity for the Girl Scouts to help. Girl Scout Troop #33373 of Alameda, which includes eighth-graders Jennifer Proffitt, […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, February 11, 2021 by Marla Koss, ABG Board member As 2020 marked a resurgence in gardening, let 2021 be the year for upping one’s game. Now is an ideal time to think about what to plant in this year’s vegetable garden. First on the list: tomatoes! Spending […]
by Margie Siegal Root crops are not that exciting – no one I know ever gushes about heirloom rutabagas – but they have a lot going for them. While vine ripe tomatoes are only around for two to three months out of the year, in our climate, you can grow […]
Book Review by Marla Koss You only have to google the title ‘Epic Tomatoes’ to see how heartily the gardening world and hordes of readers have embraced this award-winning book. Author Craig LeHoullier, tomato advisor for Seed Savers Exchange, has won the confidence of tomato-growers everywhere, charmed readers by sharing […]
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 […]
Girl Scout Troop 33373 of Alameda and Alameda Backyard Growers teamed up to place two new ABG Free Seed Libraries in Alameda. The Girl Scouts have finished building, painting, and installing the two boxes for gracious homeowners in the West End of Alameda and on Bay Farm Island. Project advisor […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, January 14, 2021 by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Butterflies are perennial favorites for young and old alike. People love to watch them flutter past and feed from flowers. With the near total collapse of the Western Monarch Migration, many people want to know […]
by Margie Siegal The holidays are over, but the pandemic is still here. It’s cold and wet outside. There’s no place to go. A depressing prospect… but if you buy mail order seeds, you are not sad and depressed. You are eagerly awaiting the year’s delivery of SEED CATALOGS. Seed […]
by Linda Carloni, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Fruit trees are a valuable part of the food garden, and many fruit trees grow well in Alameda. Fruit trees can be planted in fall, winter or spring (summer is tricky because new trees need to be kept well-watered the first […]
by Alison Limoges, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Your beloved tree is too tall, too dense, too wide, or too misshapen so you want/need to prune it. Here are some basic dos, don’ts and rules to follow when pruning your tree or shrub. First and foremost, wait until the […]
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 […]
It’s definitely Winter in the garden, even though it’s not yet the Solstice. This newsletter is dedicated to recipes for the meals of winter, featuring the sturdy produce still locally available, greens and cole crops you may have in your garden now, and breads to satisfy the soul. Just the […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, December 10, 2020 by Marla Koss, ABG Board member When the first day of winter is not long off, gardeners in harsh-winter areas may get a guilt-free pass to ignore the yard in favor of the cozy indoors, but those who grow backyard vegetables and fruit in […]
by Linda Carloni, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Cover cropping may sound like an advanced practice, but it can be pretty simple and it’s really good for your soil and for the environment. Cover cropping for food gardeners is planting a non-food crop, generally legumes and cereals, and allowing […]
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener It’s November and the daylight is waning. When we hit December and January, plant growth will slow dramatically as the daylight hours dip below 10. Plants need 10 hours of daylight to continue growing and on December 21st, we get about […]
by Kristen Smeal, ABG board member and Master Gardener Frittatas are a perfect way to use up leftovers in the fridge. They can be prepared ahead for a weekend brunch or on-the-go workdays. They can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Here is a […]
by Linda Carloni, ABG Board member and Master Gardener No one wants to waste the hard work or the money spent in obtaining the food they’ve grown or bought. Knowing the optimal way to store produce can really prolong its life before you need to turn to drying, freezing or […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, October 8, 2020 by Alison Limoges, ABG Board member and Master Gardener It’s officially autumn now and while some people persist in blowing away the falling leaves, it’s so much healthier to use, not remove, them. In addition to the annoying and unhealthy noise, dust, and air […]
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener When my future husband and I rented a house in Alameda 30 years ago, I suddenly had more sunny land than I had ever imagined. And I went hog wild, planting every inch of it with dozens of tomato and cucumber […]
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 […]
by Birgitt Evans By now you have heard about our Free Seed Library and possibly availed yourself of some of the more than 1,100 packets of seeds that we have distributed. Now that you have seeds though, what do you do with them? You have two choices. You can plant […]
by Linda Carloni You have seeds from our Free Seed Library, the nursery, a catalog or a website. Now it’s time to plant seeds for your fall and winter garden. Birgitt Evans (article author and star of our seed planting video) and Kristen Smeal (videographer) cover planting seeds in containers […]
by Birgitt Evans, Master Gardener It’s dry out there in the garden now. And hot. The heat lovers like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil, corn and melons are loving it. As long as they get enough water, they will shine, producing generous crops. This time of bounty is an opportunity to […]
by Linda Carloni Harvesting and planting may be more glamorous, but pest management is just as crucial to your garden, be it summer or fall. Ideas for managing some issues your garden may be experiencing now: Tomatoes – hornworms One of the most frustrating tomato pests is the hornworm. The […]
by Sarah Miller, Master Gardener The process of worm composting (or vermiculture) can be a mutually beneficial undertaking. Your child learns about worm biology, decomposition and waste reduction, and the worms create black gold for your garden, also known as worm castings or worm poop. To get started you’ll need […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, August 13, 2020 by Birgitt Evans Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) was founded 10 years ago by Amanda MacLean Bruemmer and Janice Edwards in response to the economic meltdown as a way to build community, learn about growing food and give back to those in the community in […]
by Margie Siegal Zucchini plants are prolific and very forgiving. Planted in a sunny spot, given a reasonable amount of water and some fertilizer now and again, zucchini plants will grow and produce big bright yellow flowers. The flowers attract a wide variety of pollinating insects. Once pollinated, the flowers […]
by Fey Adelstein Like many people this spring, I was inspired to upgrade my garden. I started with the construction of raised beds 2ft in height (to alleviate my concerns about unknown soil conditions). The sides of the beds are framed, creating strength from which to anchor a trellis. Before […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Brightly colored fruits and vegetables not only add a pop of color to the table, they also add an abundance of nutrients and fun. Summertime yields a colorful palate of vegetables and fruits: red, yellow and purple tomatoes; green and yellow cucumbers; navy blueberries and […]
Understanding Systemic Insecticides and Their Potential Impacts in Urban Ecosystems Topic: Understanding Systemic Insecticides and Their Potential Impacts in Urban Ecosystems Date: July 21, 2020 at 7PM Speaker: Dr. Andrew Sutherland To attend, please sign up on Eventbrite Meeting description: Systemic insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, are commonly used to protect […]
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Ever since I started growing food at 13, I have been fascinated by the miracle of seeds. You can take a tiny round object, place it in the ground and a plant will emerge from that spot. And if it is […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, June 11, 2020 by Birgitt Evans As if there isn’t enough to worry about in 2020, the Bay Area is in the grip of another drought year, having received only 40 percent of the average annual rainfall. Wait! Don’t run away. There is actually something gardeners can […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, May 14, 2020 by Marla Koss In a time of food insecurity, what could be more inviting than a tree covered in fruit? The again, sometimes the gods can be too kind. Overly generous fruit loads have a way of breaking branches and yielding small, poor-quality fruit […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Lavender is a drought tolerant plant that can grow in poor soil and full sun, so it grows in abundance in the Bay Area. There are 450 different varieties of lavender, all edible, but one more than the others. The most common lavender used in […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Seed tape is a biodegradable tape that helps with plant spacing in the garden. It is beneficial for planting small seeds that normally require thinning (a gardeners dreaded task) like carrots, lettuces, herbs, and greens (collards, kale, spinach). This can be especially important for children, […]
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