The turn out for Saturday’s class, Plan(t) Ahead, was a great! Kids and parents learned that it takes a little planning to grow things. We look forward to seeing pictures of their pumpkins as they grow in these months leading up to Halloween.
A big THANK YOU goes out to Dena Hollowood of the Lafayette Library for coming out for this special storytime and activity.
Growing Tomatoes on May 7 | 3:00 – 4:30PM
WE NEVER LET A LITTLE RAIN STOP US, SO WHY SHOULD YOU?
Do you have questions about your garden? UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County will be offering a plant clinic at the Lafayette Community Garden TODAY from 10:00AM to 11:00AM to answer your gardening questions and help you to troubleshoot your plants FREE OF CHARGE!
And later, from 3:00PM to 4:30, join Helen Erickson, Master Gardener for a presentation about tomato growing best practices. Helen will be demonstrating planting techniques and will be available answer your questions.
We’ll have tents up to keep you as dry as we can. Dress warmly and enjoy the fresh air! You know we will.
Register now for her informative class, Growing Tomatoes.
One of the many benefits of our climate is being able to garden year-round!! Fall/Winter is still a great time to grow edibles and improve your landscape.
Join us Sunday, September 13, 2015 from 3:00 to 4:30PM for Gardening All Year: Prepping Your Garden for Fall plus a special bonus: Beginners’ Lesson on Seed Saving.
Lori Caldwell, aka CompostGal, will go over techniques to help transitioning your garden for Fall: seed saving, crop rotation, soil amending, cool-weather edible crops, sheet mulching and planting natives.
Participants: To practice techniques of seed saving, please bring seed heads, pods, fruit, etc. to prepare and trade with others for a simple seed swap. In the interest of diversity, please bring only heirloom and/or open pollinated seed varieties.
Interested? Register here.
The Lafayette Community Garden is pleased to host a composting workshop with the Central Contra Costa Waste Authority. Come to this FREE lecture-style workshop covering the basics of backyard composting, including, hot/cold composting, mulching, grasscycling and Vermicomposting (worms!), with plenty of time for Q&A and troubleshooting.
Saturday, August 8, 2015 | 3:00–4:30PM
Lafayette Community Garden and outdoor Learning Center
3942 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA
Reservations for the workshop is required! For questions, or to register by phone, call (925) 906-1801 x306.
For a limited time you can watch Symphony of the Soil for free from their website. Highly recommended. Also check out the UN International Year of Soils website.
for more information and resources.
Dudley Braun
The 2015 Outdoor Learning Programming kicked off the year on Sunday with more than 50 members and visitors. The opening program from our own Dudley Braun offered the basics in constructing raised beds from Redwood. The follow on program from perennial favorite, Lori Caldwell, offered tips on getting your garden ready for planting. If you would like to attend one of our Outdoor Learning Events, check out the “Events List” just to the right of this post and check back often for new listings.
Lori Caldwell
It has been a wonderful break, but we’re all itching for the Lafayette Community Garden to reopen. Members will be kicking off the season on Saturday, March 14, 2015 and the garden gates will swing wide open on Sunday, March 15, 2015 to welcome the community to two new and exciting classes:
Building of the first beds in 2012
From 1:00 – 1:30PM, joinDudley Braun and the Construction Team from the Community Garden for our first class of the season: BUILDING RAISED BEDS.Dudley and crew have had three years of practice and have now perfected the art of building raised beds. They will show you what they have learned and send you home with a simple handout so you can build one of your own.
Following this informative session, you can then get your garden ready for a new season of growing at Prepping Your Edible Garden For Spring from 1:30PM to 3:00PM. Bay Friendly Landscape Professional, Master Composter and Garden Educator Lori Caldwell will teach you the basics of preparing a productive, healthy vegetable garden. Topics will include: healthy soil building, seeds versus starts, crop rotation, transitioning from a fall garden or starting from scratch, plant choice by season and non-toxic pest control. This is a great class for beginning and intermediate gardeners.
Sign up for these classes and put it on your calendar!
Hey kids! The Lafayette Community Garden will be hosting its second Our Secret Garden series.
Beginning June 30, Eli Chan will offer children a chance to get personal about ecology. On Monday and Thursday mornings from 9am to 10am, kids (and their caregivers) will head outside and connect with nature through stories, physical activity and garden-related crafts. They will be armed with the tools to make good food and lifestyle choices. Caregivers will learn how to nurture our next generation to be enthusiastic about their bodies, the environment and our community.
Together, we will become caring human beings who are part of an interconnected natural world. Join us in the garden and get ready to dig deeper than before!
Sign up now to become a first-class community leader.
