Class Descriptions 2012
Urban
Gardening
listed alphabetically
GREEN means GO These classes Are open for registration
RED means STOP,THIS CLASS IS FULL contact us to get on the waiting list
GREY means NOT YET OPEN FOR REGISTRATION, please check back later.
Pre-registration is required and exact location is given once you have registered.
TO START YOUR REGISTRATION PROCESS PROCEED TO HOW TO REGISTER
Many classes will repeat if there is enough interest. If a class is past or you do not get in on time,
please contact us and we will let you know if another session is forming.
Classes are for age 12 and up unless otherwise
indicated.
Agricultural Tool Care.
Saturday May 19, 10am-12:30pm
Instructor: Grant Marcoux
Location: Alameda
Cost: $35-65
Tired of garden tools that bend and break? This course will introduce the urban farmer to the proper selection, use and care of agricultural hand tools such as shears, axes, shovels, machetes, hoes and garden forks. Students will learn about tool construction, proper use and care of tools and the use of tool maintenance equipment such as sharpening files, stones and lubricants. The goal is to provide you the knowledge to select and maintain tools commonly used in small-plot agriculture. Students should bring at least one tool to sharpen. Purchasing a tool file (about $10) and a "Canoe Stone" (about $10) is very helpful, but not mandatory(we’ll send information on where to purchase before the class)
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Container and Raised Bed Gardening: Edibles Saturday April 21 10am-2pm Instructor: Kitty Sharkey Lcation: East Oakland Cost: $35-65 Growing edible plants in containers has many advantages for the urban gardener. Whether you have limited space, poor soil, or problems with gophers and other pests, container gardening may be a alternative solution to planting directly in the ground. In this class we will explore different types of planting containers including ones you can make yourself, growing vertically, soils and amendments, what types of plants to grow including annual and perennial fruits and vegetables, and caring for container plants. Seeds or starts will be available for you to take home and try in your own garden. |
Dormant Season Fruit Tree Grafting
Sunday January 29 1pm-3:30pm
Instructor: Asa Bradman
Location: Berkeley
$25-45 plus $10 supply fee
Grafting is a wonderful way to make more from less in a small urban orchard and begin to explore the joy of variety in fruiting plants. In this class we will learn and practice methods which may be used for grafting dormant scion (cuttings) onto both rootstock and mature trees. You will gain an understanding of plant propagation and the role of grafting, the basic science of grafting, which fruits which are compatible, which take to grafting more readily and tools needed. We will then get hands on practice and each participant will go home with at least two grafted apple trees.
Floral Bounty: Useful Flowers and How to Grow Them
April 21st 2-4:30 pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
North Oakland
$35-60
This class will focus you on the usefulness of native and horticultural flowering plants and how to select and grow them. Beyond their enhancement of the beauty of our urban food gardens, flowering plants can also be used as edibles, medicinals and insectaries to draw beneficial insects and deter pests. This class will give you the basics of flower cultivation including selection for sun and shade, drought tolerance, annuals vs perennials, edible flowers for food and medicine and how to create a native pollinator garden. We’ll discuss best flowers and cultivation methods for our area
Kitchen Medcine: Growing & Using Culinary Herbs
Sunday June 3, 2-6pm
Instructor:Frieda Kipar
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $35-65 plus $10 supply fee to be paid on day of workshop
In many cultures the herbs and spices used on food are not only delicious, but are powerful tonics for keeping the people who prepare and eat the food in good health. In this class we’ll learn to work with several common kitchen herbs to prepare food that both tastes good and is good for you. After a short primer on the best and easiest way to grow, harvest, dry and store your spring herbs, we’ll learn about their tonifying aspects, constituents and uses. Using this knowledge, we’ll make an herbal gomasio (sprinkle), syrup, and vinegar for each participant to take home.
Mushroom Cultivation Homestead-Style
Sunday July 8 2-6pm
Instructor: Patty $ Ray Lanier, The Mushroom Maestros
Location: West Oakland
Cost: $40-70 plus $12 supply fee in cash on day of class
Dive into the magical world of Fungi. They are deliscious, nutritious--they might even save the world! Mushrooms are known for their healing properties both as medicine for humans but also for the planet. They help plants uptake nutrients, clean-up toxic waste, compost entire clear cuts as have a host of other uses. In this class we'll focus on growing mushrooms, homestead-style! We'll see a working, off-the -grid inner city mushroom cultivation set-up. Then we'll learn which mushroom can be most easily cultivated at home both indoors and out, the difference between spores and spawn and what materials different mushrooms thrive on. We'll explore growing mushrooms on straw or sawdust or on cardboard as a means for innoculating wood chips in garden beds. Then we'll learn methods to prepare these substrates including heat pasteurization, fermentation, and soap techniques. We'll also cover wood chip spawn, log plugs and how to use spent mushroom kits in compost to get another "flush" while aiding the composting process.. Working with either oyster, shitake or king stropheria mycellium, students will then make a starter kits to take home.
Organic Gardening 101
Saturday March 31st 10am -3pm
Saturday May 5, 10am-3pm
Saturday June 23, 10am-3pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $50-80
This day long course will introduce you to the essentials and foolproof basics of organic gardening. In the first part of the day we'll learn about dirt, including soil types, tilling and amending,options for composting and sheet mulching, cover crops and more. In the second half of the class we will focus on plants: seeds and satrts, sun and shade, water, weeds and garden planning. There will be lots to touch and feel, garden tour, and break out exercises including hands-on work in the garden. Bring your questions and get your hands dirty!
This class is for beginning gardeners and those wanting to learn
more about organic perspectives and techniques
Organic Gardening 101 for Late Summer & Fall
Saturday August 11th, 10am -3pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $45-75
This class will introduce you to gardening basics with a focus on what is happening in the garden from August through the following spring. We will talk about basic soil amending, sheet mulching, Fall and winter garden crops, Bay Area watering issues for summer and Fall and more. hands-on projects. Everyone will go home with couple 6-packs of early season seed.
Propagate! How to MakeMore Plants For Free
Saturday June 2, 10am-3pm
Instructor: Anders Vidstrand with K.Ruby Blume
Location Emeryville
Cost: $65-95
Crash course in propagation. Nursery prices got you down? Is your plant habit breaking the bank? Now is the time to cut the ties and never look back ! In this class you will learn how to easily multiply plants in your own backyard, just like the pros.. We’ll take you step-by-step through best methods for seed saving and starting, cuttings, divisions, grafting, layering and everything else in between. We’ll cover timing, seasonality and materials needed and give you a handy list of crop to try.. We’ll break it up with hands on practice and you will take some plants and cuttings home with you.
Urban Berry Patch
Saturday May 12, 10am-12noon
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $25-50
For many people fresh berries are a manna from heaven. If you like them from the store, you are going to be even more enthusiastic when you pick them right from your own berry plants, warmed by the sun! And lucky for us, many berries thrive in our area! This course will cover selection, planting and care of the major berries for our area. We will talk about Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Huckleberries and Mulberries as well as some lesser known berries.
The Urban Homestead Design Lab
Saturday May 19, 2-5pm
Instructor: Rachel Kaplan
Location: Oakland Temescal
Cost: $35-65
Eager to start homesteading in your urban or suburban lot? Wondering how to begin and how to fit it all in? This workshop is an opportunity to learn about the different elements that make up an urban homestead and how to put them together in whatever space you have. Ask questions about the limitations and opportunities of both your land and your lifestyle, and start putting the design elements together. This workshop will offer some basics in permaculture design, as well as some common sense how-to projects for the urban homestead. This workshop is experiential--come with your questions and ideas and expect to experiment with a variety of homesteading options.
Urban Orchard: Care and Pruning of Backyard Fruit Trees
Sunday September 23, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Molly Bolt
Location: South Berkeley
Cost: $50-80
Do you want to get the most out of your yard? Are you thinking of adding fruit trees, or do you want to take better care of the ones you have? This class is for you! This full-day workshop will offer a comprehensive look at caring for your backyard orchard. Participants will learn basic tree identification, nursery specimen selection, desirable structure for mature trees, how to train young trees, pruning techniques, when in the year to prune each species, and how to diagnose and treat the most common conditions affecting orchards. Integrated pest management strategies will be covered, with a focus on preserving beneficial insects. We'll evaluate tree placement in the yard and discuss strategies for effective irrigation and fertilization. Participants are encouraged to come with pictures of their trees or drawings of their yards as examples to analyze. A large portion of the day will be hands-on practice doing mid-season structural pruning on plums and apples. Other species discussed may include citrus, olive, pomegranate, fig, apricot, persimmon and almond. Please bring hand pruners and a wood saw if available; instructor has extras if necessary.
Urban Orchard Care: Winter Pruning
Saturday January 28 10am-1pm
Instructor: Molly Bolt
Location: South Berkeley
Cost: $40—65
This hands-on class will cover the basics of reconstruction, aesthetic and fruit tree pruning. Participants will practice assessment and pruning skills, as well as some common insect and disease identification. We will also discuss seasons for pruning, tree anatomy, and best installment practices. Bring hand tools if you have them. Class is outdoors. Raindate: Same time following weekend.
Urban Permaculture Crash Course
Saturday June 16, 10am-4pm
Instructors: Patricia Algara & Giancarlo Muscardini
Location: West Berkeley
Cost:$75-105
Have you ever wanted to know more about permaculture, but can’t afford the time or money for a two week design course? This one day crash course will introduce you to the ethics and principles of permaculture and give you a taste of what it is all about. Contrary to popular belief, permaculture is not just about sustainable agrticulture. It stands for “permanent culture” and is a collection of three intersecting ethics and sixteen principles that can be applied to any system to close the loop and make it more self-sustaining. At its core Permaculture is about caring for and improving our world: leaving it in better shape than it was when we arrived, so to speak. Mixing it up with lecture, discussion, break-out groups, observation exercises and dynamic leadership, we’ll take you through the core concepts of permaculture using the Algarden and adjoining urban farm to observe permaculture put to practice. We’ll learn about stacking functions, slow and small solutions, urban food forests,, plant guilds and how to harness the power of nature to work less and produce more in our efforts to create a world of beauty and abundance..
Winter Gardening Essentials
Saturday January 14, 10am-4pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $60-85
In the cold time of year time when the soil and plants are resting, there are still many important tasks to be accomplished in the garden to prepare for a spring and summer bounty. This class will cover winter gardening essentials including garden planning, bed preparation, seed selection & seed starting, bare root fruit selection & planting, dormant season care of perrenial fruit & shrubs, basic pruning, cover cropping, composting and basic mushroom cultivation. The class will include a tour of the winter garden, lecture & hands-on..