Classes
Additions and changes in RED. Classes in GREY not yet open for registration.
Pre-registration is required and exact location is given once you have registered.
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 other wise indicated.
Urban Gardening
Seed Starting: Growing Your Own Vegetables From Seed
Sunday March 7, 10am-1pm
Instructor: Birgitt Evans
Location: Alameda, High Street
Cost: $30-50 plus $10 supply fee to be paid on day of workshop
Starting vegetables from seed can save money and give you access to thousands of vegetable varieties not available as transplants. We will start with a discussion of the history of seed saving and then learn which seeds are best planted directly in the ground and how and when to start them. Then we will move on to talk about seed that are best started indoors, including the importance of cleanliness, viability, seed starting mixes, containers, how many seeds to plant and how deeply, watering, fertilizing and providing light and heat for your seedlings. We will discuss hardening off seedlings and how to transplant them into the garden. Together we will mix up a seed plating medium and participants will plant several 6-packs of seeds to take home. A resource list will be provided
Organic Gardening 101
Saturday March 27, 10am -3pm CLASS FULL
Saturday April 10, 10am-3pm CLASS ADDED!
Sunday June 6, 10am-3pm DATE CHANGE
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $50-75
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.
Backyard Mushroom Cultivation
Saturday April 17, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Ken Litchfield
Location: North Oakland
Cost $50-75 there may be a small supply fee TBA
This course will introduce you to the world of fungi and give you some understanding of their modes of livelihood in the natural environment, so you can invite them to join you in your garden where they can provide aesthetics, soil building, mycoremediation, food, medicine, dyes, fibers, and other herbal uses. We'll learn about designs and techniques to integrate mushrooms with differing lifestyles into the plants and animals that already share your garden. Then we will create mother beds and mycelial mats, plug logs, dip hydrogen peroxided mulch materials,learn how to add mushrooms to your veggie beds, sling slurry and see how to quickly and easily turn your kitchen into a mushroom cultivation laboratory! This class will overflow you with information and inspiration to get started with a fungal family of your own. You are welcome to bring any mushrooms to be identified and find out their favorite methods of culture, and you can take home some cultures to get you started.
Urban Berry Patch
Saturday April 24, 10:30-1pm
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.
Introduction to Urban Homesteading
Saturday, April 24 3-6pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $25-50
What is Urban Homesteading? Is it possible that urban homesteading can save the world? Or even just save us some money? What is the relationship between homesteading and permaculture? Some of these questions and more will be addressed in a fantastic slideshow showing what is possible followed by a walking tour of several urban homesteads. You will see greywater systems, urban food forests, animals, beehives, rainwater catchment and more. Hold a bunny! Poop in a real composting toilet! There will be opportunities to taste home grown goodies and time allowing, to participate in a small hands-on project.
Open House & Garden FREE
Sunday May 16, 1-6pm
Information & location will go out in our May newsletter.
Please sign up for our newsletter to receive an invite.
Come enjoy the garden and get a tour of the plants animals and greywater features. This years open house will also feature mini-workshops:
Quick Bread Baking with Lee Sonko
Micro-farming: Quail with K.Ruby Blume
Making Homemade Goat Ice Cream with Jeannie & Frankie of Backyard Chickens
Herbal Kitchen: Growing & Using Culinary Herbs
Sunday June 13, 6-9:30pm
Instructrr: Kait Singley
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $30-50 plus $10 supply fee to be paid on day of workshop
In this class we will learn about the culinary and medicinal uses of beautiful, easy to grow herbs. Beginning in the garden, we'll discuss how to grow, harvest, dry and store the herbs, before moving into the kitchen to transform them into a variety of healthy and delectable dishes. Join Kait on a journey that will spark new ideas for working with a variety of herbs to optimize their flavor and medicinal benefits. “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food” ~Hippocrates
Gardening 101 for Late Summer & Fall
Sunday July 18, 10am-2pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $45 -60
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.
Seed Saving
Sunday August 22nd 3-6pm
instructor: Chris Schein
Location: South Berkeley
Cost :$30-50
In this era of total consumerisation and corporate control over food, its time to take back our 12,000 year people’s history of seed saving and adapting our own seeds for our local micro-climates and soils. Learn basic botany as it applies to seed saving, what types of vegetables are self-pollinators and which are cross pollinators, and how to save both types. Learn how to select plant characteristics of your own choosing and advantage. Learn what is a hybrid and what is open pollinated and why it matters. Learn about plant selection, seed saving, seed processing, seed storage, and local seed swaps. There will be seeds to take home.
Urban Orchard: Care and Pruning of Backyard Fruit Trees
Sunday August 22, 10am -4pm
Instructor: Molly Bolt
Location: South Berkeley
Cost: $50-75
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.