Winter Dormant Pruning – The Time is Now!
by Marla Koss By the time this newsletter reaches your inbox, Alameda will have accumulated over 600 chill hours* since November 1. This means all the following deciduous fruit trees should have their dormant (winter) pruning done by the next week or two (or ideally, already have had it), depending on variety (presented here roughly... Continue reading→
Oak Root Fungus
by Margie Siegal I came back from a short trip and did a tour around the back yard. The Gala apple tree was drooping. I knew what it was – oak root fungus. I started soaking the tree with fungicide and clearing out the ground around the roots, but it didn’t work. A few weeks... Continue reading→
Early Winter Resource Roundup
by Linda Carloni, Master Gardener and ABG Board Member The calendar is turned, and we’ve started turning the pages in our seed catalogs (or clicking online). January can be a busy month for the gardener. Two major tasks for food gardens are planning the spring and summer garden and selecting and planting bare root fruit... Continue reading→
Planning for the Year on Your Urban Farm
by Birgitt Evans Master Gardener and ABG Board Member When we first moved to Alameda, we rented a house with a huge garden and I began my lifelong experiment with growing as much of our food as I possibly could. In those days, I was wildly experimental, growing six colors of Hopi flour corn and... Continue reading→
School Gardens Bridge the Gap Between School and Community
Alameda Sun – Wednesday, November 23, 2022 by Kristen Smeal, Co-President of Alameda Backyard Growers During World War I, school gardens materialized as an effort to utilize idle land on urban and suburban school properties. Food was grown at schools for local community food security, to increase nutritional awareness, and to increase youth civic engagement.... Continue reading→
Apple Cake
Contributed by Linda Carloni This recipe is adapted from the version handed down to me from my late mother-in-law, Lillian Carloni. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine in large bowl and beat until creamy (hand mixer is good): ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 3 eggs Add to egg mixture and beat until... Continue reading→
Halupki Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Contributed by Kristen Smeal This (plant based) recipe is adapted from the one my grandmother used to make, which she called “pigs in a blanket,” a Pennsylvania coal-country adaptation of a traditional Eastern European food, Halupki. They are commonly served around the holidays, at weddings, and at the county fair. Ingredients: 1 pound plant-based ground... Continue reading→
Hastbullar (Quick Buns)
Contributed by Birgitt Evans Makes 12 – 15 buns This recipe comes from “Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break” by Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall. The English have ‘tea time’ and we Swedes have our “Fika” (pronounced “fee-ka”) which is coffee plus a sweet treat and time to pause, often with friends, and... Continue reading→
Greens, Polenta and Cheese
Contributed by Margie Siegal (for 1 person, double or triple as needed) This is an inexpensive but tasty dinner or lunch, especially if you grow your own. Kale, chard and mustard greens grow year round in our climate, and are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. Kale is often badly mistreated. People insist on... Continue reading→
Cranberry Apple Crisp
Contributed by Marla Koss (Adapted from Marion Cunningham’s WILLIE’S CRISP recipe from her long-ago San Francisco Chronicle column) Fruit Filling: 5 to 6 cups apples, peeled, in medium-sized chunks or slices 12-oz. package fresh or frozen cranberries 1 to 1 ½ cups sugar, depending on tartness of apples 4 tbsp. flour 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon... Continue reading→