February Garden notes: upcoming dates and garden education resources

February's garden notes:

I'm sure you've noticed the signs of spring everywhere. In our gardens the tulips, daffodils, irises, and hyacinth are all open. That means it's not too early to think about planting- let nature water your garden for you and take advantage of establishing early season plantings.  The February crop list includes arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collard greens, fava beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, onion seeds and sets, peas, radish, spinach, strawberries, & turnips. We continue to visit the gardens for plot checks and to distribute compost. Coming up: 3/14- West Washington, 3/21- South Baker Beach, 3/28-MacArthur... all from 2-4pm.

Please come out and work with us in the gardens! Weekend hours:
Ft. Scott February Volunteer Program Saturday 2/25, 10am-noon (please RSVP)
MacArthur compost and mulch: Saturday 2/25, 1:30-3:30pm
South Baker Beach compost: Saturday 3/11, 10am-noon
Baker Beach compost: Saturday 3/11, 1-5pm
West Washington compost: Saturday 3/25, 10am-noon
Portola compost: Saturday 3/25, 1:30-3:30pm

Our Spring Equinox Pizza Potluck is on March 20-RSVP here

In case you didn't know, we have a great resource for gardening in San Francisco right in the Inner Sunset-Garden for the Environment has been teaching SF to garden and compost for 20 years! A full list of their spring workshops can be found later in this post. Click to read more about GFE and other places to learn about growing veggies in San Francisco:

Garden for the Environment is SF's teaching garden, and we have some GREAT Saturday workshops coming up this spring. Our workshops cover a wide range of topics, from basic gardening skills, composting, and raised bed construction to bouquet making, container gardening, and cooking! I've attached our full workshop schedule for January - March and April - June and you can get more information at www.gardenfortheenvironment.org/workshops/.

This Saturday (which has SUN in the forecast!), Carey Craddock will be leading "The Edible Garden in February" workshop. This workshop will focus on preparing your garden for spring with a tour of what's growing in the GFE garden right now. You'll learn what to seed, transplant, and grow this month in your garden. Spots are still open - register here: http://bit.ly/GFE-EGfeb2017. 

As many of you know, Garden for the Environment is a demonstration and education garden in the Inner Sunset that hosts hands-on workshops to teach the San Francisco Bay Area to garden sustainably. Each week folks come to learn how to grow food, conserve water with native and drought-tolerant plants, and build soil with compost. Our workshops are applicable to brand new and experienced gardeners from all parts of the Bay Area.

Hope to see you in the garden!

Thank you,

Adam Long

Education Manager

Garden for the Environment

www.gardenfortheenvironment.org

7th Avenue and Lawton Street | San Francisco, CA

(415) 558-8246

February – March Workshops at the Garden

Saturdays from 10am – Noon

• The Edible Garden in February: February 11 ($25)
• Green Gardens with Graywater: February 18 ($10)
• How to Grow a Beneficial Garden for Pollinators: February 25 ($10)
• Urban Composting: March 4 (FREE!)
• The Edible Garden in March: March 11 ($25)
• Gardening the San Francisco Way: March 18 ($10)
• Sustainable Edibles: March 25 ($10)
• Planting Calendar & Crop Rotation: March 25
• Planting Your Edible Garden: April 1
• Care & Harvest of Your Backyard Garden: April 8
• Raised Bed Construction: March 4
• Growing Healthy Soil: March 11
• DIY Drip Irrigation: March 18

Dig In! Program

Workshops are $30 each or $144 for all six (20% savings)

Do you want to get your hands dirty? Learn how to garden this Spring! Take one, a few,

or all six workshops in this series and learn everything you need to know to build your

own backyard vegetable garden. All workshops are on Saturdays from 10am – noon.

at Garden for the Environment. Register at gardenfortheenvironment.org

Raised Bed Construction, March 4

Growing Healthy Soil, March 11

DIY Drip Irrigation, March 18

Planting Calendar & Crop Rotation, March 25

Planting Your Edible Garden, April 1

Care & Harvest of Your Backyard Garden, April 8

Work and learn at Alemany Community Farm: 

Upcoming regularly scheduled community work days. Get your hands dirty, make some friends, and bring home some veggies:

Saturday, Feb 11, Noon - 5pm

Monday, Feb 13, 1 - 5pm
Sunday, Feb 19, Noon - 5pm
Monday, Feb 20, 1 - 5pm
Saturday, Feb 25, Noon - 5pm
Monday, Feb 27, 1 - 5p

For more information about visiting the farm and joining our community workdays, see our Get Involved page.

Thank you for your support and involvement throughout 2016.  We look forward to working with you in the new year.
The Farm Team

alemanyfarm.org

700 Alemany Boulevard, SF, CA

 Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Join The Plant Exchange and Jeff Bridge of Ploughshares Nursery on Sat., Feb. 11th, from 2-4pm for Gardening 101.

Learn how to grow edible and ornamental plants from seed and cuttings. This is a hands-on workshop will be demonstrating techniques and best practices so grab your gardening gloves! Jeff will discuss choosing soil, watering your plants, how to avoid common mistakes, and the basics of fertilization. Bring your questions and garden conundrums for Jeff to answer after the demonstration. Gardening is fun and interesting. Come away with everything you need to start your own small garden!

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://theplantexchange.com/sustainable-urban-gardening-speaker-series/

I wanted to share some views of our Ft. Scott Community Garden

fava beans getting taller

the first daffodil flowering