Events Upcoming at The Learning Garden

Events upcoming at The Learning Garden - Please mark your calendars!! The picture shows our 'booth' at the recent Homegrown Culver City.  You could have been there; it was a lovely day in the park with a lot of very wonderful people!

13 November – Westside Produce, drop off at 9:00, sorting and repackaging begins at noon with pick up and distribution at 1:00. Excess produce exchange. We are in the quarantine zone for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly – if you live outside of the quarantine area, please do not participate in the exchange to allow the quarantine to be most effective. A quarantine is one of the most ecological ways to deal with destructive pests and The learning Garden fully supports the quarantine.

25 November – Thanksgiving 11:30 AM to whenever we are sufficiently past full. For the 6^th year in a row The Learning Garden extends an invitation to the clients and staff of Program for Torture Victims to enjoy this quintessential American holiday on our patio. We do this potluck style, so please bring whatever dish you feel is the very embodiment of Thanksgiving. We have the turkey lined up as well as mashed potatoes – everything else is open for anyone to bring. You can't have too much of anything on Thanksgiving! In keeping with our ecological policies, please bring your own plates and service ware.

04 December – 9:00 AM to Noon – Growing Food in Southern California On our patio, David King, Gardenmaster, will teach growing food in our unique climate – all the up to date information you'll need to enable your garden to the best ever! What do you do in December and January in a climate that doesn't freeze? Here's where to find out and get tips from a successful gardener with over 40 years experience of doing it organically. $25 and the best $25 you can spend on your garden in LA. More information?  Email the Gardenmaster. 

04 December – 1:00 to 2:00 PM - New Volunteers Orientation on the patio. Reserve your space with Sheri Powell-Wolf at her email address: sheri(at)compostteana(dot)com.

04 December – 2:00 to 3:30 PM – The initial planning meeting for the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA). We will meet on the patio or in a campus room if weather forces us indoors to begin the plan for SLOLA, laying the groundwork for a viable seed source for all of Los Angeles that defies the insidious nature of copyrighted genetic material and keeps food in the hands of people, not corporations. If you have in interest in this, join us in making the seed library the best one in the country for all of us in Los Angeles. More info from the Gardenmaster.

21 December – 6:30 to 9:30 PM Winter Solstice Celebration A stress free celebration in December! It's almost sacrilege, but that's what we have. With Camille Harris as our Mistress of Ceremonies, we say good bye to 2010, letting go of all of it and prepare ourselves to embrace 2011. A free and peaceful, stress free observance of the changing of the seasons with a fire and a bit of ritual affirming our willingness to join with nature.

01 January 2011 – Welcome to the New Year – no Growing Food Class – wait till February!

29 January – 10 AM to 3 PM – Seed Saving Seminar with Gardenmaster David King. With all the interest in avoiding Monsanto and Genetically Modified Organisms, the only one certain way to do it, is to grow your own and save your own seeds for planting next year – like our forefathers and foremothers did. To be able to sow last year's crop of seed next year, you have to save them. This seminar will cover that as well as breeding plants and why this information is vitally important today. $40 registration if you register before January 22, $45 thereafter. You may register at the door if space allows, however, we do expect this to be a well attended seminar. A simple, yet substantial, vegetarian lunch is included. More information from the Gardenmaster.

david

August Things In The Garden In August!

I am so grateful I was talked out of calling this blog "The Learning Garden Daily..."  even at "Almost Daily" it's tough to justify my lack of posting. I admit to taking a bit of a breather and I haven't done a lot of posting this last month - call it "Ice Cream Burn Out."  We're looking forward to some rock'n'roll times in August and if I don't get this out now, it may never get out, so here goes.

AUGUST

7th - 9-12 - the very best three hour gardening workshop in Los Angeles.  You'll laugh till you cry and come out the other side thinking, 'by golly, I learned a lot!'  The first Saturday of each month I do a class called "What To Do And When To Do It" and it is just like that - what DO you plant in August?  What else do you do in August?  OK, besides go on vacation.  This is the class that answers all your questions about gardening - if you don't get your questions answered, you didn't ask it!  $25 per class - discount if you purchase four at once.  We have coffee and tea - bring your own cup and whatever you put in your coffee or tea.  Dress to get dirty because we go out into the Garden and actually garden! 

7th - 1:00 to 2:30  our first Volunteer Orientation - starting this month, all volunteers will be asked to attend an orientation - this gets everyone on the same page and allows volunteers to get to know one another and we have a system to get everyone online all at once - and everyone gets to know the Garden, its mission and can learn how they can fit in the whole thing.

7th - 4:00 - 8:00 PM - The Spirit of Medicine Festival / Adopt-A-Plant Day Redux designed to display the full scope of Chinese Medical practice in a non-professional setting

Schedule of Events - 4:30 - 5:30 Robert Newman leads a plant walk and explains the therapeutic benefits of various species in the garden. Immediately after Robert's talk, over 30 different species of plants will be available for adoption or by donation. 5:30 - 6:30 Christine Chang lectures on cosmology, cooking and the secret to radiant health. 6:30 - 7:30 Lorraine Wilcox explains the Power of Mugwort Fire and discusses how to make Moxa from Artemisia argyii. Various species of Artemisia will be available for adoption. We will raffle various items by local artisans! 7:30 - 8:00 Qichen Guo demonstrates the vital energy cultivating practice of Chen Style Tai Ji Chuan.  8:00 - Sit by the fire and celebrate a wonderful day! 13th - 8:00 PM Fire Meditation - on the Patio - email or call for more details.   We have more events over this horizon, but I wanted to make sure you had the chance to get these on your calendar!   More later soon! david

Quick Mark Your Calendars!

Upcoming In The Garden

February 6^th – 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 6^th (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 13^th – 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 13^th – 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 27^th – 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