Lavender Shortbread
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 cooking are varieties of English...Continue reading→
How to Make Seed Tape
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, who have more limited dexterity...Continue reading→
Keeping It All Alive, Tips and Tricks for a Healthy, Productive Vegetable Garden
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener It’s late May and most of the garden has been planted out. The next step is to keep everything alive and growing. There are two parts to this. First, it is important not to let other plants grow over everything and compete with the vegetables for...Continue reading→
The Starts or Seeds are Planted. Now What?
by Linda Carloni, ABG Board member and Master Gardener Make Sure Your Plants are Getting Enough Water As your plants get larger and the weather gets warmer, keep an eagle eye on the water needs of your veggie plants. While you still have seeds sprouting or very small seedlings, the surface of the soil and...Continue reading→
Kale Pesto Pasta with Edible Flower Garnish
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener This recipe was created by Sarah Ortega of Alameda, teacher, chef, and mom of three. She created this recipe for a garden to table cooking class so the students could experience harvesting the kale, lemon, garlic, and edible flowers from the garden and incorporate them into a dish in the...Continue reading→
Succession Planting to Maximize Your Garden Yield
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener I have a friend who lives outside of Toronto. Like me, she grows and puts up a great deal of food from a smallish garden. She, however, has a two week window in which to plant her entire summer garden if she wants to harvest before...Continue reading→
Gardening 101 – Soil Preparation
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 great vegetables. Plants absorb nutrients...Continue reading→
Beginner’s Guide to Planting Victory Gardens
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, we are pleased to be...Continue reading→
Permaculture in Backyard Gardens
Our 1st Zoom Meeting Was a Great Success! Thank you to our presenters (bios below) who introduced the concept of permaculture, and how to apply permaculture principles into regenerative backyard design and local food production. We had a wonderful dialogue about these topics in the context of COVID-19 and the climate crisis. The presenters covered...Continue reading→
Growing Vegetables from Seeds in April
by Birgitt Evans, ABG Board member and Master Gardener What a wild ride March was! Lives were turned upside down. We traded security for uncertainty. While many people ran for toilet paper, the rest of us surveyed our options and decided that we preferred home food security. And then we discovered that that too was...Continue reading→