Garden for the Environment will offer the following classes in November and December of 2012. All classes will be offered at Garden for the Environment, San Francisco’s organic demonstration garden at 7th and Lawton Street. Since its founding in 1990, the garden has operated as a demonstration site for small-scale urban ecological food production, organic gardening, compost education and low water-use landscaping. For more information, call (415) 731-5627, or go to www.gardenfortheenvironment.org.
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD
Organic Vegetable Gardening in November
Date: Saturday, November 10th, 2012
Time: 10AM - 12PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco Instructor: Carey Craddock, Organic Gardening Instructor
Cost: $25 or $15 for GFE Members
Year-round gardening is one of our favorite things about the Bay Area and now, as we find ourselves squarely in Fall, it's time to think about your winter vegetable garden. Join us for this class which we offer on the 2nd Saturday of every month for seasonal-specific instruction for year-round vegetable gardening.
This month we'll cover:
- Vegetables to plant and what to harvest in Fall and Winter- Fall & Winter Plant Care
- Soil Fertility and Cover Cropping
- Weeds, weeds, weeds! What to do about them.
WATER WISE GARDENING
Date: Saturday, November 10th, 2012
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco Instructor: Hilary Gordon, GFE's Sustainable Education Landscape Manager
Cost: FREE! Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Water is vital to garden health. But, when is enough, enough? Join us to learn earth-friendly ways to water the garden and the most efficient practices for the Bay Area’s Mediterranean climate.
Topics covered include:
- Hand watering and automatic sprinklers
- Year-round schedules that conserve
- Hand watering—is it efficient?
- Eliminating runoff
- Spray vs. Drip irrigation
- What kind of plants are you watering?
- Sprinkler lifetime and care
AVOIDING LEAD EXPOSURE FROM GARDENING
Date: Saturday, November 17th, 2012
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Instructor: Instructors from the San Francisco Childhood Lead Prevention Program at the SF Department of Public Health
Cost: FREE (Sponsored by the SF Department of Public Health)
Human and childhood exposure to lead is a well-documented and preventable environmental health problem. In the context of urban gardens, exposure to lead is most likely to come from contaminated soil. In this accessible and practical 2-hour class you will learn how to reduce the health risks for you and your family from exposure to lead through from urban gardening. (Image: BayCitizen)
You will learn:
- How and why lead exposure occurs in soil
- Best practices to reduce the risk of lead exposure through gardening
- How to assess the risk of lead exposure to you and your family
- How to have your soil tested for lead
- How to remediate lead paint and soil hazards
URBAN COMPOSTING
Date: Saturday, December 1st, 2012
Time: 10AM - 12PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: FREE (Sponsored by the SF Department of the Environment)
Fall can be a great time to start a new compost pile as you tidy up the leftovers of the summer’s bounty! Join GFE as we discover how to turn those leftovers, either from the garden or the kitchen, into “black gold”. This fun, hands-on workshop teaches methods for both backyard and worm composting for all seeking to enrich the bounty of their garden and reduce their ecological footprint. Come learn what you can do to improve your garden and prevent organic waste from ending up in the landfill! Rot on!
INTRODUCTION TO RAINWATER HARVESTING
Date: Saturday, December 8th, 2012
Time: 10an - 12noon
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Instructor: Tara Hui, Instructor with Greywater Action
Cost: Free! Sponsored by the SFPUC
Interested in rainwater harvesting? Thinking of setting-up a rainwater harvesting system? Now is the perfect time to start planning in preparation for our fall and winter rains. Join Tara Hui, Instructor with Greywater Action for this free, hands-on class sponsored by the SFPUC. You’ll learn what to consider and where to start for systems as simple as a single barrel under a downspout, or as complicated as an indoor plumbing system for toilet flushing.