by Margie Siegal A friend was turning green over my productive tomato patch. We discussed what I might be doing right – and then I remembered that I had dug out my compost bin at the beginning of the year, sifted the contents and dumped a large portion of the […]
ABG has long promoted composting to improve soil and to keep organics out of the solid waste stream. Adding just 1-2 inches of compost to your soil can do wonders for your plants – it helps your soil retain moisture, improves its structure, and helps your plants access nutrients. Where […]
by Linda Carloni, Master Gardener and ABG Board Member As the summer vegetables finish, it’s time to think about your garden next season. Many gardeners plant cool season veggies in late summer or early fall and harvest in late fall, winter or even next spring. If you do replace your […]
by Margie Siegal Mulch can be a lot of different things, from straw to high tech plastics, but basically, it is anything you put on top of the soil your plants are growing in to help them along. There are almost as many reasons to mulch as there are kinds […]
Pick up free compost for your gardens at Alameda Point. Big shout out to Farm2Market and Makerfarm for all their hard work in getting the compost hub started. Important information – please read everything below: Access to the Compost Hub is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 AM – […]
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 […]
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, 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 […]
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 Margie Siegal In order to have happy, healthy plants, you need to start with healthy soil. Think of your garden as a welcoming home for your seeds and plants. You want to give them the best possible start, so they will grow big and tall for you, and produce […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, April 9, 2020 by Birgitt Evans In March 2010, Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) held its first meeting. Formed in response to the financial crisis in 2008, we created educational programming and set up Project Pick to help our community grow and donate food. Exactly 10 years later, […]
Alameda Sun, Thursday, January 9, 2020 by Marla Koss Communities all over the world have love and pride for where they live and Californians are no different. There are places here for everyone: mountains and coastlines, grasslands and forests, even a backyard garden or a city park. No matter the […]
On Monday, January 13, at 7 PM ABG will present a movie night at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave. ,Alameda , co-hosted by StopWaste! Free popcorn! Please bring your own container for water to reduce waste. Trevor Probert of StopWaste will lead a Carbon Farming discussion after the movie. […]
by Margie Siegal, Alameda Backyard Growers Originally published in the Alameda Sun, April 11, 2019 Many people don’t think too often about the dirt beneath their feet, but the dirt that covers most of the Earth’s dry land makes growing things possible. For those of us who want to have […]
Soil – What It Is and How to Make It Better with Dolores Morrison, Alameda County Master Gardener Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave, Alameda It’s time to be starting that spring/summer vegetable garden. So join us for a session on one of your […]
Saturday, September 13, 20142:00 – 3:00pm FREE event open to the public presented by Rob Bennaton Alameda Main Library Here is a link to Rob Bennaton’s talk on Improving your Soil Quality. Here is a PDF on Soil Fertility Management for Organic Crops (PDF).
