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Open 2701 Main St. |
Upcoming Events | |||||||||
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All
of
our
events
are
free!
Donations
for educational workshops are greatly appreciated to help cover the
cost of supplies. All events are located at Ploughshares
Nursery 2701 Main Street Alameda
unless otherwise noted. Bay-Friendly Advisory Table Bay-Friendly Edible Garden Workshop Bay-Friendly Bay
Area Garden Tour *To sign up for the
complete Bay-Friendly Garden Tour which includes stops at over 40
public and private gardens, register at the Bay-Friendly
website by April 16. Bring Back
the Natives Super Sale! Children's Day/Garden Crafts for Children Let the little ones play too! For those of us with children, a garden is an exciting playground with thousands of learning opportunities. There will be activities from flower pressing to pot painting, face painting to bug chasing, plant planting to treasure hunting, and more! Feel free to bring your own picnic lunch; healthy snacks will be provided. For the adults we'll be having a 10 percent off vegetable plants sale and a free strawberry plant to every family. Growing, Harvesting, and Preserving Herbs In this workshop we’ll cover ways to harvest and preserve various herbs for later use, decorations, or even thoughtful gifts. We’ll include a mix of culinary and medicinal plants and cover many of their respective uses. Most of the supplies will be available at the nursery but bring a decorative bottle with a rubber stopper and we will even make herb cooking oils from our herbs here at the nursery! Lovely Lavender
Crafting with lavender extravaganza! There are millions of uses and applications for lavender; lavender wands and satchels are two of the small projects we will cover in this workshop. Most of the necessary materials will be available at the nursery but please bring your favorite slender ribbons, pretty scraps of fabric, clippers, etc. for more variety and fun. You may also bring your own lavender flowers that you trimmed up in the morning (just make sure the stems are at least 8” long). Gourd Carving Gourds are incredible natural canvases for art. Many cultures around the world have used decorative gourds for hundreds of years as water vessels, musical instruments, ceremonial masks, jewelry, and bowls. This introductory workshop covers basic curing, cleaning, decoration and carving techniques. We'll apply the skills to make a birdhouse, musical shaker, or bowl for you to take home. Most materials will be provided but stay tuned for any that you might or need to bring. Building Rustic Garden Art
What
more can you do with the extra branches, twigs and vines pruned in your
garden? Creating things with natural
materials is a wonderful way to make use of that excess debris! A coat rack, trellis, musical instrument, or
vegetable baskets are just a few of the items that can be crafted from
your
yard waste or other found items. In this
workshop we’ll cover a few simple and entertaining garden projects that
might
turn you into a passionate garden artist! You
don’t need to be an experienced woodworker to do the projects, just
bring a little passion and patience and your creativity will come alive! Flashy Flowerpots
Terracotta
flowerpots are one of the most useful, inexpensive and widely available
containers but they can become bland and monotonous. In
this
workshop
we’ll
learn
ways
of
modifying and beautifying ordinary terracotta into something much more
than a
just container for holding plants. You’ll
have a chance to create something personal and tailored to your tastes
with the
satisfaction of knowing that you made it yourself. No
prior
experience
necessary,
just
come
and
have a good time! We have many pots
available for you to use, or bring in an old one.
Materials will be provided
but feel free to bring in old paintbrushes, sponges, stencils or
anything else
you can think of that might aid in the experience.
10am-Noon
The idea that certain plants can benefit
others when
planted next to, or close to, one another is the general basis of
companion
planting. Practicing this form of gardening
benefits plants by giving them pest control and fertilization naturally
without
the need to use chemicals. In many cases
companion planting can give a higher crop yield. In
this
workshop
we’ll
discuss
the
basics of
companion planting as well as do some hands on “gettin’ dirty” work. Be sure to wear grubby clothes, gloves and a
pair of clippers.
Date: TBD
Some folks get discouraged when living in
an urban area
where personal garden space is limited. But even
the smallest patio or porch can boast a crop of vegetables or a
garden of flowers when planting in containers. In this informative
workshop
you'll learn how to select containers, how to choose a good potting mix
or make
your own, how to plant and care for your container gardens, which
plants are
best for containers, and more! We’ll be doing
hands-on work so please wear appropriate gardening clothes and
accoutrements. Slow Food Date: TBD
Why compost? Because recycling
organic waste allows us to
return desperately needed organic matter to the soil. Why
compost
with
worms? Because it’s super cool and
efficient! Worm composting is a method for
recycling
food waste into a rich, dark soil conditioner. The great
advantage of worm composting is that it can be done indoors and
outdoors,
allowing for small space year round composting. There will be a
demonstration with some hands-on worm coddling,
information on where to find worms and their houses, and
worm-composting
starter kits for sale. Welcoming Micki of Bay Tomato Time Date: TBD
Date: TBD 10am-Noon
We
welcome you to Alameda Point Collaborative’s new state of the art
commercial kitchen where
we will introduce easy food preservation techniques and
recipes featuring locally grown ingredients. This
is
an
essential
basic
workshop
for those who seek healthy food that
retains
nutritional value all year round. Supplies
to bring are to be announced. Workshop located
at Alameda Point Collaborative's main office, 677 W. Ranger Rd Designing a Native and Drought Tolerant Garden Date: TBD 10am-Noon
Since there is
a limited amount of water that can be
used before significant environmental consequences impact us all, it is
sensible to use plants that are native to our region or from a climate
that is
very similar. Drought tolerant, Date: TBD 10am-Noon
Fill your garden with things covered in recycled pieces of broken china and tile. Create colorful garden art from objects like shovels, tables, bricks, pavers, and terra-cotta pots. Mosaics are great fun to do and require only simple and inexpensive household items! This workshop covers the basics of turning random objects into fine mosaic pieces. Bring your old china, tile, mirrors, as well as any object that you would like to decorate (make sure it is inflexible) and we’ll provide the rest. Bamboo Trellises and Other Structures Date: TBD 10am-Noon
Bamboo is a wonderfully versatile building
material and
one of the world’s most renewable resources. It’s lightweight, strong,
and
flexible, and it looks at home in most garden settings. At Ploughshares
we have
bamboo to spare and we need help putting this useful material to
good use. Learn bamboo-building basics
including simple designs and lashing techniques while creating your own
trellis
for pennies on the dollar! Bring a sharp
set of clippers, loppers, and
we’ll provide the rest.
10am-Noon
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