Pollinators


Resources for Planting for Pollinators

On May 17, 2023, Alameda Backyard Growers’ Birgitt Evans held a pollinator plant starting workshop. Participants learned how to start seeds and plant beautiful, butterfly and bee attractive plants, including California Natives, to create a Pollinator Paradise! Bees, butterflies and other pollinators have been struggling because there are not enough […]

Seed starting and planting for pollinators

Cabbageworm butterflies on kale

Broccoli and Bok Choy in October

by Linda Carloni, ABG Board Member Many experts recommend that broccoli and bok choy (as well as other cruciferous vegetables) be planted in the inner East Bay in February/March or from July through September. But I plant mine from seedlings in October. Planting in October risks slow growth if the […]


Gardening for Birds with California Native Plants

October 19, 2021 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm on Zoom You can have a beautiful native plant garden that attracts amazing birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Learn about the benefits of local, native plants and some of the wonderful birds that are drawn to this place and to these […]

CA fuchia with hummingbird

CA native snowberry

Planting Natives

by Linda Carloni, Master Gardener and ABG Board Member Plants that are native to California are becoming more and more popular, both as part of an established garden or as a replacement for a lawn. There are lots of good reasons for the increasing interest in native plants. Why Plant […]


Creating a Sustainable Ecosystem in Your Garden

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 […]

Ceanothus with pollinators

Attracting Butterflies to the Urban Garden

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 […]


July 21 – Understanding Systemic Insecticides

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 […]

Dr. Andrew Sullivan

ABG Saving Monarchs in Alameda

Helping Monarchs in Alameda

Last Thanksgiving, only 28,429 monarchs were counted in their wintering colonies compared to a historic population of about 10 million in the Western Monarch Migration. Today’s monarchs face several challenges, the most intractable being a lack of Milkweed (Asclepias spp.), where females typically lay their eggs, as well as a […]


Creating A Pollinator Garden

Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding, Alameda 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 […]


Tips to Create Gardens That Will Benefit Bees

by Alison Limoges Alameda Sun – Thursday, September 13, 2018 According to “The Super Bowl of Beekeeping” an article by Jaime Lowe in the Aug. 9, New York Times Magazine, “About one in every three mouthfuls of food we eat wouldn’t exist without bee pollination.” While local gardeners may not […]


Bees and Beekeeping – Feb. 20, 2018

with Lori Slicton, Old Schoolhouse Raw Honey  February 20, 2018, 7 to 8:30 pm Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Avenue, Alameda Join us for an introduction to the wonderful world of bees and beekeeping.  We’ll learn about the importance of bees and beekeeping and why the urban food farmer might want to […]