We had a great work party yesterday and planted California Natives along the fence facing Mt. Diablo Blvd. We also planted a native garden, a tea garden, an herb garden and a butterfly and humming bird garden. Next year is going to be grand!
Don’t miss this one!
September 29 3 – 5pm Winter Gardens
There is as much happening in your garden over winter as there is in summer…even if you don’t plant anything. Did you know tomato horn worm grubs could be hibernating in your soil? Or that you may be promoting the growth of various wilts by composting your tomato plants? Join Nanette Heffernan in a lively discussion on how to prepare your garden for winter to ensure you have a healthy spring. We will also be discussing winter edibles that do well in Contra Costa County: Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Collard Greens…the list goes on and on. You will even take home some seedlings to plant!
Sign up here
Kale!
Lafayette Farmers’ Market reopens on Sunday, June 10 in a new location – South Bart Parking Lot. Please support the market. You will be glad you did.
Classes begin Saturday, June 2 and you can register here. But if you were at the Garden yesterday around 6:00 PM you would have been treated to quite an acting class.
According to naturalist Jules Evens, “a killdeer is one one of our most vociferous and citified shorebirds. They can nest in very urban environments, and often chose rather high-traffic areas. The don’t build a nest, but put a “scrape” in a loose gravelly area, often on the shoulder of a road or path where the eggs are cryptically colored. When a potential predator approaches, like you, they try to distract it and draw it away from the nest by calling loudly, and if you get too close, they feign injury (“broken wing display”) in an effort to lure you away from the nest or their ridiculously cute chicks.”
Check it out!
[wpvideo 41WGxjU3]Saturday, May 26, there will be a work party at the garden from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
We’ll be building a short bamboo fence around the large oaks (to discourage
folks from walking in an area which still has some poison oak.) And we need to attach
the newly installed rabbit fence to the main fence with small pieces of wire. Leah may
need help building some wooden beds in the southeast corner. And we continue to need folks to pick up the asphalt that is spread
throughout the site.
Please bring water, a hat, gloves if you have them, and sunscreen.
We are pleased to introduce Leah Ingram, our Garden Manager. Leah has gardened most of her life. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Cal Poly with minor degrees in land rehabilitation, soils science and sustainable environments. During college she worked on the Cal Poly organic farm and performed small scale design and residential landscape installation in San Luis Obispo. Following graduation, as an AmeriCorps volunteer, she assisted in conservation management of a forest preserve, restoring native plants in Hawaii. She has also taught fourth graders
Leah Ingram - Garden Manager
in Alameda County about local creek ecosystems and watershed awareness.
Now with agreements agreed and permits permitted, the fun begins at the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center. First, we want to share some updated design ideas.
[slideshow]A special Joint Meeting of the Lafayette City Council, Planning Commission, and Design Review Commission is scheduled for Monday, February 27, 2012 at 7:00 PM. Approval of the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center is on the Agenda as item 9.6. In fact, if you click on item 9.6, you can read the 39-page Lafayette Staff Report recommending that City Council approve our garden project.
Tomorrow is going to be a great day for Lafayette’s next great civic improvement!
2012 is starting fast. Check out the latest ideas for the design of the Lafayette Community Garden & Outdoor Learning Center below. And stay tuned for some exciting news about our new Garden manager!
Imagining the Lafayette Community Garden & Outdoor Learning Center
The SF Chronicle has a great article about Bob Klein’s effort to get pasta made from local whole grain wheat.
Five years ago, Oliveto restaurant in Oakland already had a menu full of local produce, meat and fish, but owner Bob Klein wanted the pasta to be local, too. He brought wheat seeds back from Italy and found nearby farmers to grow them.
He discovered, however, that the cost of cleaning and milling the grain on such a small scale was prohibitive. Local flour would be much more difficult to access than lettuce or eggs.
“As it turns out, grain is way more complicated than anything else,” said Klein. Still, he became so committed to locally grown wheat that he created Community Grains, a line of whole-grain dried pasta…..
Read more
Pasta from California-grown heirloom wheat and grains
.