Monday, March 15, 2010

Pssst... Wanna Play Gardenmaster for An Hour or Two?


Saturday Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
March 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28
10:00:00 AM
Vidya
Vidya Vera Julie Vidya
11:00:00 AM
Vidya
Vidya Vera Julie Vidya
Noon



Vera Julie
Julie
01:00:00 PM


Emi Emi Vera
Julie
02:00:00 PM


Emi Emi Vera
Julie
03:00:00 PM


Emi Emi Vera
Julie
04:00:00 PM






Julie









Top of each cell represents the start of each hour listed. If you are only able to be there for a portion of an hour, draw a line and indicated. At the beginning of each 'shift' please check the seedlings in the greenhouse for adequate water. Check the pond for adequate water daily as well.

This is our coverage schedule for the days David is on vacation.  See those blank squares?  Those need to have names - your name would look good here.  Get in touch with the Gardenmaster (learninggardenmaster(at)yahoo.com)  if you would like to get to play Gardenmaster for a couple of hours!

david

The Learning Garden And CASAA at The Farmers' Market

Marianne Brown, Master Garden, (on right) and David King Gardenmaster (center, seated with dog) worked with Venice High School students at Mar Vista Farmer's Market on Sunday, March 14th.  

Mar Vista Farmers' Market generously allowed CASAA students to have the both in the market. 

All the students participating are enrolled in CASAA - Culinary Arts Sustainable Agriculture Academy - and were selling started plants to help defray expenses that will be incurred with the upcoming Earth Day (April 22nd) festivals. From left to right the students are:  Jose Chisim, Vanity Guerrero, Valerie De la Cerda, Berenice Correa and Fernando Aguirre.  Thank you for all your help!

david

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Found, But Who Lost 'em?

These glasses were found in the Garden late yesterday.  If you can describe them to me, they must be yours....

david

Neither Rain Nor Sleet...

Intrepid students pause with their instructor, the Gardenmaster, in the morning lesson this last Saturday in the What To Do & When To Do It series in the Garden.  

Class started at 9:00 and the rain started at 10.  We moved to the small protected area in the greenhouse and kept right on keeping on!  It didn't rain long, but we kept right on and the weather cleared for the rest of the weekend.  Sunday's class (and potluck!) was in cool, but dry conditions.  

Since then, it's been windy, cool (sometimes cold) and dry.  Time to water again even though we were running and ducking from rain just a few days ago!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Quick Mark Your Calendars For March!

Baby oak leaves (Quercus agrifolia) in the Garden emerge with a lovely pink overblush indicating the hope of Spring and Southern California's second growing season.  Lot's going on, take a second 'off concrete' and join us!

March 5th - 10 AM - 2 PM with the potluck in the Garden! Medicinal Keyhole Garden Building! Thanks to the vision of Camille Harris, construction has been proceeding along on a 'keyhole garden' to hold medicinal herbs from many cultures and display them in an elegant garden setting. The work has gone well, with many participants, throughout this new year. Thank you to all that have participated so far and we look forward to seeing you again at each of our Garden Keyhole Work Days.

March 6th – 9 AM to Noon The ongoing, fabulously received, What To Do and When To Do It continues getting you ready for your best summer garden ever. We'll be planting peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, basil, zucchini and other summer staples! Still only $25 for one class, $100 for five... Plants and other things available too!


March 6thNoon to 3:00 PMsummer seedlings on salecome and see what we have available for you. All our plants are appropriate to be planted now. $1 and up!

March 7th – 10 to 11 AM – The Lost 'n' Found Band (the Garden's own!) on stage at the Westside Farmer's Market's Bandstand playing originals and more! Acoustic guitars and harmony on the Americana homefront. And free - get a cup o' joe, your veggies for the week and listen to the tunes!

March 12th10 AM - 2 PM with the potluck in the Garden! Medicinal Keyhole Garden Building Continued Thanks to the vision of Camille Harris, construction has been proceeding along on a 'keyhole garden' to hold medicinal herbs from many cultures and display them in an elegant garden setting.


March 12th – 8:00 PMFire Meditation Circle email Camille Harris for more information.

March 13th10 AM to 1 PM Medicinal Keyhole Garden Building Continued Thanks to the vision of Camille Harris, construction has been proceeding along on a 'keyhole garden' to hold medicinal herbs from many cultures and display them in an elegant garden setting.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, 13325 Beach Avenue, Marina del Rey map
Free event, Refreshments will be served
 

March 21st10 AM to 2 PM Medicinal Keyhole Garden Building Continued Thanks to the vision of Camille Harris, construction has been proceeding along on a 'keyhole garden' to hold medicinal herbs from many cultures and display them in an elegant garden setting.

March 21stMedicinal Salve Making Workshop - Postponed - look for a new date in an upcoming fresh news.

April 3rd   –  9 AM to Noon The next installment of What To Do and When To Do It  April is THE time to get all our summer garden planted – you won't want to miss this class because if you miss April, you will be behind the rest of the year! Still only $25 for one class, $100 for five... Plants and other things available too! Look for the possibility of a seed swap reappearing at Noon! 


April 4th 10 to 11 AM – The Lost 'n' Found Band (the Garden's own!) on stage at the Westside Farmer's Market's Bandstand playing originals and more! Acoustic guitars and harmony on the Americana homefront andfree!! Get a cup o' joe, your veggies for the week and listen to the tunes - what else are you doing on Sunday morning.  OK, other than that...

April 5th6:30 to 9:30 PM UCLA Extension class 'Greener Gardens: Sustainable Garden Practices' starts at UCLA. An elective class in both the Gardening and Horticulture Certification Program as well as in the Certificate in Global Sustainability Concentration, taught by David King, The Learning Garden's Gardenmaster and Orchid Black, owner of Pitcher Sage Design, co-instructors. Sustainability is today's buzzword and many people seek to create a lifestyle with a more favorable impact on the environment. Topics include composting, irrigation, water harvesting, water wise plants, eating and growing local produce, recycling, and moving away from a consumptive, non-sustainable lifestyle when choosing materials and tools.

April 11th1 PM to 4 PM – Victory Garden Circle  Master Gardener volunteers will organize and lead low-cost Victory Garden Circles and teach the basics of gardening. The Learning Garden's gardening circle will meet beginning April 11th and the following three Sunday's. These classes of instruction and hands-on activities will introduce gardeners to the basics of growing your own food. You can attend one or all, but by attending all four classes, participants will become UC-certified Victory Gardeners. More information above in the Gardenmaster's Report.

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 heavy 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.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Mu Dan Who?

Mu Dan Pi (Paeonia suffruticosa) is a peony in our Traditional Chinese Herb Garden.  Every year, usually a little later than now, it puts on an eye-popping show that can knock your socks clear off! Tiare White, a student at Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine took this picture just the other day and we are happy to share it with everyone! 

Now mind you, I've a love/hate relationship with this plant.  I love the blooms - it is really a show stopper, but when it was planted here, with all my horticultural knowledge, I said, "It won't grow here."  And it grew.  I then retreated to the next line of defense, "It won't flower here."  Now in its third or fourth year of flowering I have a bit of a resentment at the plant that made me a liar.  But this is the state of horticulture - no one can know everything and no one can be right all the time and even if one WAS that smart, some plant would come along and make a liar out of you anyway.  

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), according to another student's notes (thank you, Jessica!), Mu Dan Pi is:
Category: Heat clearing and blood coolin
Channels: heart, liver and Kidney
“Think of as analgesic and anti-inflammatory...” 

Me, with my traditional gardener sense will just say it looks smashingly beautiful and I am very pleased to see it blooming every year, despite the deleterious effect it has had on my reputation.

david 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A Successful Morning for The Learning Garden (And Tre'!)

Tre' grabs a kiss from Olivia Wilde, star of many works and currently on the TV show 'House.'  Also in the picture, Kathy Kellogg Johnson and David King, The Learning Garden's Gardenmaster.  

Olivia and Kathy were out to The Learning Garden Friday, February 26th celebrating the gift of pallets of Kellogg's Garden Products (potting soil, cactus and palm mix, and various soil amendments) plus a donation of $1000 for the Venice High School students in the gardening and horticulture classes.  

Kathy and one of her company's representatives joined the Learning Garden community's potluck lunch at 12:30 - learning about the history of the Kellogg company was fascinating - and we hope they all come back for another visit soon to see how her company's products were used to grow food and teach the high school students the beauty of gardening.  

Guys, you can shake Tre's paw for a tax-deductible $5 donation!  

david