Grafted tomatoes just arrived from Sweetwater Organic Nursery.  Grafted tomatoes are simply varieties of tomato attached to a supporting related root system resulting in a more disease tolerant, more productive and more cold tolerant tomato.  Somebody attached these tomatoes to rootstock so yes… they are more expensive.  But when you consider the less than ideal…

Small Space Food Garden FREE WORKSHOP March 5, 2019 12-2pm Learn how to get the most from your small-space food garden. Drawing on her many years of Bay Area gardening experience, Pam Peirce will share information on year-round garden planning, choosing the best crops and varieties for a small garden, growing edible flowers, planting flowers…

….and more coming soon!

Now is a good time to sow seeds in these inexpensive seed start kits.  Buy a seed packet and for an additional $10.99 you get a flat of six packs with soil and grow dome to get your seed off to a good start.  Each kit grows out 36 plants or more.

Without pollinators, the world would be a less colorful, less tasty and less well-balanced place: all the more reason to learn how to create a garden that will naturally attract bees, butterflies and other major pollinators. Although the best-known pollinators are domesticated honey bees, there are other pollinators that are also important, including bees and…

West Coast Monarch populations declined 86% last year and this vital insect may disappear entirely from California soon.   Unfortunately the preferred plant favored by Monarchs in California is the ugliest and hardest to come by milkweed:  Asclepias californica.   We can’t afford the rare and expensive seed to propagate this plant in mass at Ploughshares…

Project Tree is about helping restore the City of Alameda’s treescape. Learn more here, ..and here. Attend the January 26th Project Tree meeting with Alameda Backyard Growers at Rythmix Cultural Center and drive over to Ploughshares afterwards for a workshop about pruning with the excellent Jeremy Watts of Edible Ecology!

Fruit Tree Pruning and Care with Jeremy Watts January 26th 12-1:30  We can increase the production, appearance, and overall health of our fruit trees with dormant-season pruning.   Learn how and when to cut back your trees for optimum production, as well as the basics of planting, pest management, tool maintenance, and grafting for diversity and…

Wild Birds of Alameda FREE PRESENTATION Saturday January 19, 12-1:30pm Wondering why there are so many birds on the bay shore now?  And what are all those birds with the long legs?  What’s that bird with the yellow rump that wasn’t here last month? Learn the answers to these questions and many more.  Join Linda…

Plant these now …

Use Cloud Cover Spray to prevent Christmas Tree drying out.  Cloud Cover imitates plant’s own waxy covering, locking in moisture and reducing the speed by which your Christmas tree becomes dry, brittle and a fire danger.  Just spray all over the tree and let dry for three hours before hanging lights and ornaments. Cloud Cover…

Manzano Red Pepper is a perennial frost resistant pepper from Bolivia with a pre-Inca history of use as food and medicine.   If you are getting ready to make llajwa you absolutely require one for your garden.  Plant in a container and bring inside to a brightly lit area of the house when there is danger…

It’s time again to sow wildflower seeds in the garden.  You can broadcast these mixes of native and pollinator friendly seeds in a base of potting soil and sand.  Or you might choose to prepare small areas bare of established plantings with a nice potting soil, disperse the seed and cover over with a half…

edible viola’s for salad, garnish or desert 4″ pot $3.99 each

Celeriac is a type of Celery grown for it’s delicious root.  Give 10″ between each start and harvest in 90-120 days! Celeriac is high in vitamins C and K, and various B vitamins such as, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), and vitamin B6. It is rich with calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese,…

6 packs of Sweet Peas for trellis, good in pots or the ground: $4.99 each

Wild Birds of Alameda FREE PRESENTATION Saturday November 17, 12-1:30pm   Wondering why there are so many birds on the bay shore now?  And what are all those birds with the long legs?  What’s that bird with the yellow rump that wasn’t here last month? Learn the answers to these questions and many more.  Join…

Plants with a rich history of use by native people of California which represent a unique heritage benefiting our society and environment. September 2018 Rubus spectabilis SALMON BERRY This berry producing bramble inhabits riparian corridors from Alaska to California and can be found East as far as Idaho.  Salmon Berry also does well in any…