Pruning Fruit Trees in the Winter
by Margie Siegal People have grown fruit trees for thousands of years. In that time, careful farmers have developed techniques to help each tree be the best tree it can be. That means appropriate watering, control of bad bugs and plant diseases, adding fertilizer as appropriate, and – pruning. Pruning is important: it removes diseased...Continue reading→
Can I Start Veggies in February?
by Linda Carloni February can seem like a pretty dismal month for the gardener. Sometimes (thank goodness) it rains a lot, and the ground is really soaked. Sometimes it’s very chilly. And always, the days are short, at least at the beginning of the month. But for the flexible gardener, you can still plant! Indoors...Continue reading→
Early Winter Garden Tasks
by Linda Carloni January can be such a rainy month (if we’re fortunate), as well as dark and chilly. But when you can find a dry day, there are many garden tasks to be done outdoors. Peach leaf curl – Dormant spraying Last spring and summer, peach leaf curl was a major issue; for a...Continue reading→
What To Do With Green Tomatoes
by Margie Siegal At the end of the summer, gardeners and farmers from many different cultures faced a similar problem: tomatoes that got started too late and never ripened. Gardeners and farmers around the world share two traits: first, they never throw anything away if they can help it and second, they are ingenious people....Continue reading→
Apple Quiz
Can You Identify These Apple Pests, Diseases or Conditions? by Marla Koss, October 26, 2023 Let’s take a quiz! (Answers are listed at the bottom of this quiz.) 1. A tell-tale sign of this serious disease afflicting many rose family trees and plants – including pome fruits – is the “shepherd’s crook.” The Callery Pear...Continue reading→
Succession Planting
by Margie Siegal We had a cold start to the year, and the fava beans were loving it, as were the radishes. The squash and tomatoes were cowering and shivering. By the middle of June, the favas and radishes were finally done, and I was going through my seed packets, figuring out what to plant...Continue reading→
Tips for Autumn and into Winter
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 summer veggies with a fall...Continue reading→
Notes on Pruning Fruit Trees
On August 5, 2023, Marla Koss, one of ABG’s fruit tree pruning experts, demonstrated winter dormant and citrus pruning which also helped Farm2Market in Alameda at the same time. She discussed the best methods for keeping your stone fruit trees in good shape via summer pruning and other tree care tips. The focus in this...Continue reading→
Irrigation Tips from Alameda County Master Gardeners
On July 22, 2023 ABG members and other participants attended a demonstration and talk on irrigation by two Alameda County Master Gardeners, who focused on saving water and still meet the needs of plants! For an information sheet on what was discussed at this demonstration click here. Our speakers provided an explanation of the drip...Continue reading→
Seed Packing Party Aug. 17, 2023
Saturday, August 27 at Noon at an East End Location 2023 is turning out to be another big year for ABG’s Free Seed Libraries. With your help, we packed and have given out close to 10,000 packets of seeds so far this year. As summer comes to an end, we are getting ready to move...Continue reading→