The Intricate Dance of Aphids, Ladybugs and Ants
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 large, fluffy, all-golden male carpenter...Continue reading→
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 going to focus on how...Continue reading→
Sensory Gardens Heighten Engagement with Nature
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 on every street of Alameda,...Continue reading→
Eight Ways to Save Water & Have a Fabulous Garden in a Drought
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 we usually receive in a...Continue reading→
Irrigation Systems
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 wasting water. The same is...Continue reading→
Gardening to Benefit Birds
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 coast to coast and in...Continue reading→
Build Healthy Soil by Sheet Mulching
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 how to sheet mulch. Please...Continue reading→
Growing Food from Food
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 not otherwise used. A gardener...Continue reading→
Two More Seed Libraries Grace the Island City
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, Meadow Mihok and Alice Onderwater,...Continue reading→
Kristen’s Garden of Hope
by Kristen Smeal, Garden Science teacher at Saint Philip Neri and ABG Board member Last March, just a week before the Shelter-in-place orders, students at St. Philip Neri were busy planting radishes, snap peas, kale, broccoli, and lettuce in the school garden. Some plants were started in cups and pots, and some directly in one...Continue reading→