Ahoy there. I just joined the community, and I've finally decided to drum up some habitat on my second-storey balcony here in Alameda ( Read more... )

We recently purchased a home on the Emeryville/Oakland border, and I'm really interested in growing more vegetables around our house. I'm really new to gardening, so have been reading a lot of books and websites ( Read more... )

Just checking to see if everyone else has their cover crops planted yet! I sowed some yesterday, just before today's rain, and am hoping to get more in next week if it dries out a little. Wish I'd been more on the ball - my neighbor got his in just before the October rain, so it's already 3 inches high. But if I get seed in before Thanksgiving ( Read more... )

Someone sent this to our local freecycle list. Eep."While I love free plants, I feel it is my duty to point out that Freecycle folks have to be really careful because of the quarantine imposed on many Bay Area counties due to the Light Brown Apple Moth landing here. We cannot take this quarantine seriously enough. This moth and its larvae live on ( Read more... )

hey! so, I am embarking upon a largish garden project that involves constructing a bunch of paths. I want to be able to walk on the paths in the winter (In my dark wet yard) so i plan to line the paths with..? rocks? bark? mulch? anyway, i'm trying to figure out wher ein the San Francisco Area (ie, not east bay) I can get such things at the ( Read more... )

This is going to sound really stupid, but I think I'm in zone 11...lost the link to the zone map I'd originally used and used the one on userinfo here. Can anyone confirm that Concord is indeed in zone 11? I'm tryin' ta make some decisions for FINALLY working on my garden! (rather than just fighting to keep the present plants alive)

Thanks!

Did anyone go to the Bay Friendly garden tour this weekend? It was my first time ever and it was really interesting to see what people have done to their yards - a LOT of great gardens in the East Bay! There was a guy in Fremont that actually grows bananas that give fruit, as well as Macadamia Nuts... wow. Here is a picture of a cactus that someone ( Read more... )

Where can I get some manure near Palo Alto? I'm not really sure yet what exactly I want to have, but preferably something that doesn't need to be aged much, or is already aged long enough. Isn't cow manure ok without being aged too long?

Thanks.

I'd like to find organic (if possible) starts for watermelon and cantaloupe, peas, scarlet runner beans, and corn in the east bay. I'd rather not drive more than 10 miles or so from San Lorenzo to get them, as I'm trying to grow my own food to reduce our footprint, but I'm having a hard time finding what I want in our nearby OSH and similar places ( Read more... )

Sorry for the stupid newbie question ( Read more... )