April 26: Gardening 101: Get Your Hands Dirty *(90 minute workshop: 12:00-1:30)

Join us at this hands-on workshop for beginning and limited-experience gardeners. You will plant seeds, transplant seedlings, work with compost and soil in preparation for planting in the ground or a container, and learn how to plan your garden space. There will be handouts on seed starting, composting, planting recommendations and more. There will be time for questions so you learn what you need to know to get off to a successful start.

Master Gardeners Sam Foushee and David Blood, co-coordinators of the Lake Merritt Trials Garden, will lead a team of experienced Master Gardeners to guide you through the basics.

May 10: Growing Great Summer Vegetables

May is a good time to get your summer vegetables into the ground. This talk will build upon what was learned in Gardening 101 last month but focusing more on what varieties work best in our climate and when and how to plant.  Big spaces or small, containers or in the ground, you will learn which vegetables should provide a bountiful yield this summer.

Master Gardener Ann Naffziger has created a “food forest” in her Alameda front and back yards. She grows everything from apples and asparagus to dried beans and zucchini. She’s got bees and chickens too!

June 14: Edible Landscaping: Making it Beautiful and Delicious

Edible Landscaping is about adding attractive food crops into the design of your existing or new landscape. We will discuss herbs, edible flowers, fruit and nut trees, and vegetables that can be grown among ornamental plantings in your yard or in containers. Whether your space is large or small, shaded or in full sun, cement, a staircase, window box or fertile ground, growing edibles can immediately become part of your landscaped environment.

Master Gardeners Jennifer Cardozo, Nancy Litton and Kitty Mindel were all trained in how to create a  successful edible landscape and will share what they have learned with you.

July 12: Managing Pests in your Garden Safely

Want to learn more about what is eating your vegetables? Or what virus killed your tomato plants? And where to find out more when you do have a pest problem in your yard? This is the talk for you. Dennis will help you learn how to identify your bugs and manage them in the least toxic manner. Bring leaf & bug samples!

Master Gardener Dennis Brown will help you see your way through aphids, ants, snails and slugs as you learn about common pests and diseases.

August 9: Planning and Planting a Great Winter Vegetable Garden

Why should you consider growing vegetables in the fall and winter? Learn about the benefits and the wide array of vegetables you can grow in the cooler months. Learn what you need to know to be successful.

Master Gardener Sam Foushee grows beautiful vegetables during all seasons in 2 local community gardens.

Sept. 13: Fall Gardening in the Garden: cover crops, mulching, planting and more

Tips for how to put your garden to bed for winter: cleanup, composting, feeding, planting, etc. Learn how to plant and integrate a cover crop. Both vegetable and perennial gardens benefit from these practices.

Master Gardener David Blood will share knowledge gained from years of careful winter preparation in his home garden in Oakland as well as in the community gardens he has tended.

The Alameda County Master Gardeners will hold their 9th  annual “Practical Gardening: Sustainability From the Ground Up” seminar  Saturday, October 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Lakeside Park Garden Center and the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

This very popular Fall/Winter Seminar moves this year to the Garden Center from Merritt College to accommodate a greater number of seminar participants. In addition, the Garden Center is adjacent to the Master Gardener Trials Gardens, allowing hands-on demonstrations. The Garden Center’s commercial kitchen also will be utilized to offer jam,  pickling and canning workshops.

” This new venue promises even more to eagerly awaiting Bay area gardeners – more space, more topics, more on site information and materials.”  

Participants will each attend three seminars/workshops presented by specialists in their areas of focus. This year we have another outstanding lineup of speakers for you.  Returning experts include Susan Handjian (Maintaining Your Garden), Wendy Johnson (and colleague Henry Wallace, Designing a Sustainable Garden), Rosemary Loveall Sale (Herbs), Pam Peirce (Pests in the Vegetable Garden IPM), and John Valenzuela (Fruit Stories).

 New speakers include our own Gail Durkin, ’06, with Body Mechanics, as well as Rachel Kaplan (Urban Homesteading), Grant Marcoux (Tools), and Rebecca Newburn (Seed Saving).  The kitchen at the Garden Center at Lake Merritt allows us to offer food preservation workshops in Jam Making, Pickle Making, and Mustards & Condiments lead by El Dorado Master Canners.  Certain to be popular and with kitchen space limitations, we may have to limit participation to only one of these workshops per attendee and on a first come basis.

Further details will be available as the time draws near.  For now, save the date on your calendar and don’t forget to sign up early for first-come selection of classes.

“Practical Gardening: Sustainability From the Ground Up”, ACMG 9^th Annual Fall/Winter Gardening Seminar

Date: Saturday, October 29, 2011

Time: 8:30am to 3:00pm

Location:The Garden Center at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland

Cost:$45 for the day including mid-morning coffee and refreshments. Bring your own lunch or pre-order a box lunch when you sign up.

Signups begin AUGUST 31, 2011 at www.acmg.ucdavis.edu  (Right here!) or sign up to be notified when registration is open click here.

Saturday, May 21, 9:00-noon : An important call to all volunteers.

 Please join us on May 21 for a big push of TLC in the Gardens for all to see June 4-5  at our special annual event –Art and Music in the Gardens.  We will be showing off the Gardens to our community and region during this weekend of art, music, poetry, food, children’s activities, gardening demonstrations and family fun.

Saturday May 28, noon – “Growing Food In Containers,” a special talk for the community by David Blood, Master. Meet in the Master Gardener Trial Gardens located in the Edible Garden.

Special Note: the Sensory Garden is hosting volunteer work parties every Tuesday evening during the summer months; 5:00-7:00.  A lovely way to unwind on a summer evening surrounded by nature and friends.