Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Looky Here! New Pages!

Blogger (AKA Blogspot) has a new feature!  They now allow 'pages' in addition to the blog.  You can see what that means in very real terms at the top of this page.  There you see "Home," "About The Learning Garden" and "Calendar at The Learning Garden ."  "Home" refers to this page, the page with the blog on it.  "About..." is a quick introduction to The Learning Garden and the "Calendar..." is our Google based calendar of events.  The Google calendar doesn't allow for a lot of room for event descriptions, but you can check back here - leave a post comment even - to see what we've said about upcoming events.  Once we get The Learning Garden's website completely functional again, these pages should be incorporated there as well.

In the meantime, if you have some idea that would help The Learning Garden communicate better with you, leave us a comment!  

david 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Wow! It's Like 80° Today, Man!

Ms. Turtle (several different groups of students have named her and I can never remember any of the names so to me she is simply, 'Ms. Turtle') has returned to the sunlight.  She is out sunning herself in the 80° heat we are experiencing today.  

Every fall/winter, Ms. Turtle causes a little bit of a freak out because she disappears quite suddenly.  She goes into hibernation, something we didn't know to begin with.  Slowly we have learned to respect her annual cycle, soon we'll find her out in the Garden trying to lay eggs.  Casey used to find her in different places.  He never tried to hurt her, but he would bark with a 'look-what-I-found' bark to alert us to something different in the Garden.

I was given a new straw hat last night and how convenient!  A fellow needs a new straw hat to be comfortable in this unseasonably warm day.  

Rain is forecast for the weekend, so this is not likely to last, it has however, totally pissed off the broccoli and they are bolting no matter how big or how small.  Yet, as I sit here on the shade of the Chi Patio, I am grateful for the warmth for a minute or two.  Guess you can figure out that the broccoli wasn't going to be the only thing available to eat for a time...  

david

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Quick Mark Your Calendars!

Upcoming In The Garden
February 6th – 1:00 to 3:00 PM – First Annual Seed Swap, in conjunction with Environmental Change Makers, The Learning Garden will host a seeds swap!
Swap out those seeds you didn’t use last year for something new and different! The Learning Garden will sponsor our first seed swap on our patio February 6th. Email the Gardenmaster, greenteach@gmail.com, if you have questions.
February 6th (again!) - 2:00 to 3:00 PM – Introduction to New Volunteers with David King, Gardenmaster. Tour the Garden, learn some about gardening and get on board with The Learning Garden events and happenings! We need volunteers all the time, your service will be rewarded! Free.
February 13th – 9 AM to Noon The new year's first What To Do and When To Do It comes along just in time to help you plan your summer garden. Want the best ever tomato that wins the taste test on your block? Come on down and we'll get you started. (The Gardenmaster grew the first and second place tomatoes at a Tomato Tasting this last year, he knows what he's doing with tomatoes!) Still only $25 for one class, $100 for five...  (Note that this is a week later than our usual class meeting due to scheduling conflicts - in March, we'll be back on the first Saturday of the month!)

February 13th – 1:00 to 2:30 – At Ocean View Farms, the Gardenmaster will speak about The Beautiful Food Garden to members of that community garden, the public is invited as well. Free.
February 27th – 9:00 to 4:30 PM, Small Space Gardening Think you can’t grow your own veggies, fruit and herbs because of lack of space? Think again! In this class designed specifically for apartment, condominium, and other urban dwellers without land, gardening expert Darren Butler will demonstrate how easy it is to grow edibles in spaces as big as a porch or as small as a windowsill. Contact Darren Butler at butlercdarren@gmail.com for registration information.
Ongoing In The Garden
Friday --12:30 PM, The Garden Feast, a potluck with staff and volunteers (and anyone else who show up with a good attitude) at our picnic tables.  The food is always fresh, delicious and abundant.  It is the essence of the SLOW Food Movement, so come prepared  with a tasty bite, a healthy appetite for the bounty of others  and a desire for eclectic conversation. And yes, we continue to meet throughout the season - unless the weather doesn't permit, which means, if you have to put on a coat, the weather isn't permitting that day!
Sunday --10 AM Seth Leon has an informal Harmony Style Qigong practice on our Chi Patio. It is free.
david