Calendar

Container gardening for all seasons. A Master Gardener class given in Cupertino.

Do you live in an apartment, condo or townhouse? Would you love to grow your own vegetables or flowers but think you just don’t have space? Learn to make use of your limited space by using container gardening for all seasons!

In this two-night course, Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County will show how you can grow a wide variety of plants on a patio or balcony. Soil, water, pest control, fertilizers, and various containers will be discussed and demonstrated. Learn how to have a year-round garden that provides food and beauty in your small space.

Unlike many Master Gardener presentations, this two day (four hour) class is not free, and class space is limited. Visit the event registration page to reserve a spot in this in this class. If you don’t have a lot of space or think you can’t grow fresh veggies using the space that you do have, attend this class to be proven wrong. You can grow food in your limited space!

This is part one of a two part class; part two takes place on April 27th, at the same time.

Presenter: UC Master Gardeners

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.

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.

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…

Hidden Villa Homesteader’s Fair, an event designed to celebrate the practice of sustainability and self-reliance through home-scale agriculture and the cultivation of culinary and craft skills. A day featuring live music, locally sourced food, demonstrations, and info booths focused on a bevy of homesteading topics (such as gardening, beekeeping, livestock care, food preservation and wine making).

Hidden Villa features educational programs designed to inspire people of all ages to be proper stewards and caretakers of the environment, people that recognize and appreciate the diversity and interconnected nature of the world we live in. Students are made to understand their role within the amazingly intricate ecosystem which supports life. Using the operations of a small-scale organic farm, students learn what it takes to produce healthful, sustainable food. The food produced feeds members of the local community, supports vital educational programs, and demonstrates the quality which results from employing responsible organic growing methods.

The Hidden Villa Homesteader’s Fair works to

• model methods and educate the community about regenerative and sustainable practices
• facilitate farm-to-table awareness that connects people to their food
• host conversations that demystify the nuances of the local food system
• act as a conduit in the value exchanged between food producers and food consumers

It does this by offering

• Informational booths dedicated to a broad spectrum of small-scale agriculture, food, and craft topics, including beekeeping, cheesemaking, winemaking, fermented foods and beverages, and more
• A full schedule of demonstrations and presentations, including beer brewing, fruit tree maintenance, backyard chicken care, and pickling
• An exciting selection of local food & farm businesses sharing small-batch products crafted with love
• An opportunity to get to know some incredible food and farm-based organizations from around the Bay
• A keynote speech from award-winning author and edible garden enthusiast, Rosalind Creasy
• Food trucks and live music to keep the festivities going!

Farm visitors are invited to participate more broadly in Silicon Valley’s regenerative food system and are encouraged to move towards value-driven food choices for people of all ages.

Container gardening for all seasons, part 2. A Master Gardener class given in Cupertino.

Do you live in an apartment, condo or townhouse? Would you love to grow your own vegetables or flowers but think you just don’t have space? Learn to make use of your limited space by using container gardening for all seasons (part 2)!

In this two-night course, Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County will show how you can grow a wide variety of plants on a patio or balcony. Soil, water, pest control, fertilizers, and various containers will be discussed and demonstrated. Learn how to have a year-round garden that provides food and beauty in your small space.

Unlike many Master Gardener presentations, this two day (four hour) class is not free, and class space is limited. Visit the event registration page to reserve a spot in this in this class. If you don’t have a lot of space or think you can’t grow fresh veggies using the space that you do have, attend this class to be proven wrong. You can grow food in your limited space!

This is part two of a two part class; part one took place on April 20th, at the same time.

Presenter: UC Master Gardeners

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.

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…

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.