Calendar

Events on our event calendar fall into one of four general categories: gardening/farming, food preservation, sustainable living, or seed saving, and consist of things like classes, talks, plant sales, seed exchanges, fairs and festivals, movies, and special events.

Mar
18
Wed
Silicon Valley Clean Water – Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour @ Silicon Valley Clean Water
Mar 18 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Silicon Valley Clean Water - Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour @ Silicon Valley Clean Water | Redwood City | California | United States

A tour of our local wastewater treatment plant – Silicon Valley Clean Water (SVCW) – located at 1400 Radio Road in Redwood Shores. Take the opportunity to visit the plant that is in the midst of a an over $700 million Capital Improvement Program to update aging infrastructure originally built back in 1982. The plant is a regional facility that serves Belmont, Redwood City, San Carlos and West Bay Sanitary District.

Tour features:

  • Secondary treatment and advanced filtration
  • Recycled water facility
  • Cogeneration of energy from methane gas
  • Biosolids production used for composting and farming
  • On-site use of recycled water

Please note that no children under the age of 11 are permitted on this tour.

Mar
20
Fri
New South Bay Seed Library @ Almaden Branch Library
Mar 20 all-day
New South Bay Seed Library @ Almaden Branch Library | San Jose | California | United States

Please come and join us for the opening of a brand new south bay seed library located at the San José Almaden Branch Library. The grand opening takes place just in time for area gardeners to get their hands on some seed for their spring planting. The Almaden Seed Library will offer a wide selection of seasonal seeds year round for patrons to take home and grow. We ask that in return, gardeners consider becoming a Seed Guardian and letting one of the specific varieties of seed on our annual seed guardianship list go to seed, so that that seed can be returned to us for processing and placement back into the south bay seed library system.

Season appropriate seeds made available at the Almaden seed library are offered to patrons on on a first come, first served basis.

Keeping seeds freely available within the public commons makes them more accessible for everyone, but it especially eases the way to growing food for first-time and lower-income gardeners. A small section of a typical backyard, with the addition of sunlight (which is free) and water (also free, if you use a rain barrel) can produce a substantial amount of healthy food — a boon for people on tight budgets.

If you’re not sure how to harvest seeds, we here at Silicon Valley Seeds can show you. It’s not hard. And if you take seeds but don’t get around to saving some this time around, that’s OK. Just try to make it to one of our seed saving classes.

Are you an experienced gardener? Would you like to become one? Do you want to interest a child in gardening? Whoever you are, we hope you’ll welcome spring by using your new seed library!

See our complete list of south bay libraries which offer free seed to gardeners

Mar
21
Sat
Build Your Soil (Gilroy) @ The Board Room in St. Louise Hospital Teaching & Demonstration Garden
Mar 21 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Build Your Soil (Gilroy) @ The Board Room in St. Louise Hospital Teaching & Demonstration Garden | Gilroy | California | United States

Build your soil, a Master Gardener talk in Gilroy.

This class will attempt to do three things:

  • explain what soil is
  • what you can do and cannot do with it, and
  • how to “build” it into a rich, plant-friendly medium

You will learn why the Santa Clara Valley clay soil is really a gardening gold mine. We will also talk about fertilizers, both organic and inorganic, and about creating our own compost.

Presenter: UC Master Gardener Glenn Lattig

Warm Season Vegetable Gardening (San Jose) @ Martial Cottle Park at the UC Master Gardener Parcel in our Pavilion
Mar 21 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Warm Season Vegetable Gardening (San Jose) @ Martial Cottle Park at the UC Master Gardener Parcel in our Pavilion | San Jose | California | United States

Warm season vegetable gardening, a Master Gardener talk in San Jose.

Spring is here, the weather is getting warmer, seed catalogs have sprouted in your mailbox, and the home centers have Tomato, Pepper, and Squash plants on sale – it must be time to plant a garden! But where do you start? Here at a Master Gardener class teaching folks all about warm season veggie gardening, of course!

Join Laura Westley on Saturday, March 21st when she talks about Warm Season Vegetable Gardening. She will discuss where and when to plant your garden, soil preparation, plant selection, seeds or six-packs, irrigation, fertilizing, pest control (IPM, or “Integrated Pest Management”), and harvesting. Attending this talk will help you to grow your best vegetables yet, and to do it with gusto!

Participants should wear closed-toed shoes, layered clothing, and a hat, as the class is held outdoors in our Pavilion. A refillable water bottle, notebook and writing implements are recommended. Please arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to park and sign in.

Please note: the park charges $6.00 for parking, or you can park on Chynoweth Avenue near Vauxhall Circle for free.

Link: Vegetable Planting Chart

Presenter: UC Master Gardener Laura Westley

Vertebrate Pest Control (San Jose) @ Berryessa Library
Mar 21 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Vertebrate Pest Control (San Jose) @ Berryessa Library | San Jose | California | United States

Vertebrate pest control in the home garden, a Master Gardener talk in San Jose.

Ever wonder what to do about vertebrate pests in the garden? Those cute squirrels, raccoons, rats, and their kin that wreak havoc and destroy crops? How to identify crop/landscape plant damage?

What can be done legally to mitigate the effects of these pests, keep your neighborhood and garden safe, and the environment healthy?

Come join us for more information and demonstration of the tools that can be used.

Presenter: UC Master Gardener Hank Morales

Mar
24
Tue
Deciduous Fruit Trees: Pome, Stone, Figs and Persimmons (Saratoga) @ Saratoga Library Community Room
Mar 24 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Deciduous Fruit Trees: Pome, Stone, Figs and Persimmons (Saratoga) @ Saratoga Library Community Room | Saratoga | California | United States

Deciduous Fruit Trees: Pome, Stone, Figs, and Persimmons. A Master Gardener talk in Saratoga.

The talk will focus on growing fruit from deciduous trees beginning with selecting cultivars for our climate, how to plant a bare root tree, harvesting tree-ripened fruit from May through December, pruning for fruit production, and caring for your trees.

Presenter: UC Master Gardener Yeffi

Mar
25
Wed
Growing Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplants in Your Garden (Los Altos) @ Los Altos Library
Mar 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Growing Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplants in Your Garden (Los Altos) @ Los Altos Library | Los Altos | California | United States

Growing Tomatoes Peppers and Eggplants, a Master Gardener talk in Los Altos.

It’s time to start planning for the stars of the summer garden – tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. With proper care and a few special gardeners’ tricks, these vegetables will supply your kitchen for months. Basic requirements of these crops, including planting conditions, using containers, irrigation, fertilization, pest and disease management, and harvesting tips, will be covered.

Presenter: UC Master Gardener Candace Simpson

Mar
26
Thu
Silicon Valley Seeds Table at the Library @ West Valley Branch Library
Mar 26 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Silicon Valley Seeds Table at the Library @ West Valley Branch Library | San Jose | California | United States

A monthly Silicon Valley Seeds information/help table presence at the West Valley Branch Library. Stop on over to chat a bit, learn what’s happening at the seed library, or get help with whatever challenges you’re running into at your garden sight.

Silicon Valley Seeds Table at the Library @ Santa Clara Central Park Library
Mar 26 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Silicon Valley Seeds Table at the Library @ Santa Clara Central Park Library | Santa Clara | California | United States

A monthly Silicon Valley Seeds information/help table presence at the Central Park Branch Library. Stop on over to chat a bit, learn what’s happening at the seed library, or get help with whatever challenges you’re running into at your garden sight.

Mar
28
Sat
Garden Work Day: Volunteer Morning at SVS Demonstration Garden @ First Presbyterian Church of Santa Clara
Mar 28 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Garden Work Day: Volunteer Morning at SVS Demonstration Garden @ First Presbyterian Church of Santa Clara | Santa Clara | California | United States

Garden work day!

You are invited to join us every month for a morning spent working outside in the Silicon Valley Seeds Demonstration Garden, located at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Clara. All ages and gardening abilities welcome. Tools and instruction provided.

Activities may include planting, weeding, building raised beds, composting, and other special projects.

Please wear garden-appropriate attire, such as close-toed shoes, and bring sun protection (hats, long sleeves, etc), snacks for yourself or to share, and work gloves if you have a pair you like.

The Silicon Valley Seeds Demonstration Garden is designed to provide a contextual demonstration of organic gardening being done within an urban setting. In addition to raising vegetable produce, the garden also acts as a provider of seed for our south bay seed libraries, serves as a means of increasing a sense of local community ownership and stewardship, fosters appreciation for the beauty that a garden space brings to a well traveled corridor within the city of Santa Clara, and brings people together from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests who wish to learn more about organic gardening. Demonstration gardens like ours showcase plants that grow well in our area and sustainable gardening techniques appropriate to Santa Clara County. The garden acts as a resource for learning opportunities offered to home gardeners on a wide range of subjects, including design, planting, garden maintenance, and seasonal growing cycles.

Hope to see you in the garden…