Community Gardens Blog

UC Davis News & Information :: New Kellogg Foundation endowment targets healthy food for kids

mike — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:45:35 +0000

A gift of nearly $1.6 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the University of California, Davis, will support a national network that will focus on improving children’s access to healthy food.

The $1.57 million gift creates an endowment that will be managed by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis to support in perpetuity the Inter-institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability, a network of scholars from 14 universities. A primary goal of the network will be to improve food-system sustainability to advance the health of people, society and the natural environment. The Kellogg funds will enable the network to nurture a diverse corps of scholars in the early stages of their careers who will lead initiatives to address food-system challenges.

“This gift recognizes the work of leaders from across the United States, and I am gratified that my colleagues in the network have endorsed the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute as the network’s host,” said Tom Tomich, the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at UC Davis and director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute. “We also are grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for supporting such important work,” Tomich said.

Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, also emphasized the gift’s importance. “UC Davis is recognized globally for its agricultural and environmental research and is a leader in scientific study of sustainability,” he said. “This investment by the Kellogg Foundation will allow us to work nationally with colleagues to identify the most critical issues in agricultural and food-system sustainability and to provide solutions toward sustainable food systems for everyone.”

The network includes scholars from Iowa State University and its Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Minnesota, University of New Hampshire, University of New Mexico, University of Vermont, University of Wisconsin and Washington State University. Additional institutions and scholars will be added in the future.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Established in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Its grants are concentrated in the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean and southern Africa. More information about the foundation is available online at: http://www.wkkf.org.

About the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis

UC Davis’ Agricultural Sustainability Institute, founded in 2006, is committed to helping ensure access to healthy food and promoting the vitality of agriculture today and for future generations by coordinating integrative research, education and communication efforts. It includes the UC statewide Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), the UC Davis Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility and the UC Davis Student Farm. More information from the institute is available online at: http://www.asi.ucdavis.edu.

via news.ucdavis.edu

This is welcome news from the U.C. Davis website. Let’s hope some of that funding winds up in our local school system!

UC Davis News & Information :: New Kellogg Foundation endowment targets healthy food for kids is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Starting new school gardens

mike — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:21:50 +0000

Camarillo Community Garden members, staff and parent from La Mariposa School, and the Ventura County Master Gardeners led a huge work party / educational event Saturday July 31st. The school provided materials and eager students to build a dozen new 8′ x 4′ x 1′ raised garden beds. The master Gardeners led the educational portion of the day while we provided guidance to build the beds. A special thanks to Karl for his never-ending enthusiasm and sense of civic duty.

The kids at the school turned out in force. Some of them worked all day and out-lasted their dads. It was a great experience for them to do so much of the work, from digging up sprinkler heads and filling the holes back in, to building the boxes and filling them.

Check out the video of the day’s doings…

[See post to watch Flash video]

Starting new school gardens is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Second Season Garden

mike — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:59:07 +0000

I just received Renee’s Garden July Newsletter, and I had to share it with you. It has a main topic of ‘second season’ gardens – what veggies are appropriate for this time of year. I’m sorry I didn’t get the photos with the text. You can subscribe to her newsletter on this page (on the left side-bar) July 2010

Time to Plant a Second Season Garden

Mid to late summer months are a perfect for sowing seeds of short season varieties which tolerate cooler nights and shorter days and provide tasty fall harvests. We call this “Second Season Gardening”. Read this month’s feature article Gardening for a Second Season for planting information to extend your garden’s production this year. For fall planting suggestions, also refer to our Kitchen Garden Plans for both short and long season areas.

Vegetables and Herbs for Second Season Planting:

Herbs	Vegetables
Arugula	Beets	Lettuces
Borage	Broccoli Raab	Mache
Chervil	Broccoli	Mesclun Mixes
Chives	Carrots	Pak Choi
Cilantro	Chard	Peas
Dill	Fennel	Radishes
Bronze Fennel	Kale	Scallions
Parsley	Leeks	Spinach

Cut and Come Again Mesclun Lettuce

“Neon Glow” Chard

2009 1st place winner:
“Super Bush Tomatoes”
Katie Neumann, Woodland, CA

Enter our 7th Annual Photo Contest

So many people write to tell us about their success with our seeds that we’d like to see your results. We invite you to enter your favorite photo that includes a Renee’s Garden variety in our 2010 photo contest. The grand prize is a $50 gift certificate. There is a separate Kid’s Garden Photo Contest witha prize of a Children’s Garden Collection for gardeners under age 16. All entries will receive a complimentary packet of seeds, (one per person) so don’t delay! Deadline for entries is September 15, 2010. We will feature the winning photos on our website in October.

Please include no more than three photos with your entry. Include your full name, mailing address, email, the Renee’s Garden seed variety pictured and any additional descriptive comments.

TO ENTER: Email your photo and info to: photocontest@reneesgarden.com

July in the Trial Garden – by Lindsay Del Carlo, Trial Garden Manager

Our California Trial Garden is in full production. The calendula trial sown earlier this spring are flowering in a bright shades of yellow, orange and auburn. These easy to grow flowers are quick to germinate and bloom in huge abundance. We are growing out 5 different varieties of Calendula to compare to our current Renee’s Garden variety,”Flashback ” because we are always looking for new cultivars that may be better in some way. However, in this trial, we came to the conclusion that we really prefer our Flashback best; it’s sturdy flower stems don’t flop over once they reach full height because plants grow a bit shorter than the classic, tall cut flower types of calendula. We also appreciate Flashback’s wonderful range of colors and forms and the fact that the seeds are selected and propagated by a small organic family farm in Oregon.

Another gorgeous new flower variety is Snapdragon ‘Chantilly Orange and Bronze’ from one of our favorite Japanese seed vendors. These deep shades complement the pastel combo of Chantilly snapdragons we already carry. Chantilly is very quick to grow from seed, taking only 3 months to become full blooming plants. They make outstanding cut flowers and rebloom nicely after the primary stalks are cut.

Among the vibrant flowers blooming now is our Renee’s Garden ‘Falling In Love’ Shirley poppies. These were sown last fall and we’ve had such cool weather that they are just finishing their bloom. The satin-cupped blossoms are a magnet for honey bees, easy to grow, fuss free and so pretty they make you happy just looking at them.

Herbs have also been a strong focus in the trial garden this season, especially grown in containers. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine just finished a photo shoot in our trial garden on growing and cooking with herbs. The photo editor and his talented photographers spent a few days here organizing and taking multiple photos of many different herbs including: Sage, Parsley, Cilantro, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Dill, Chives, Mint, and Lavender. Renee is just finishing up the photos and graphics for our new Container Garden Herb Collection for 2011 which will feature many of the same herbs, so we had lots of pretty planted pots and window boxes for them to feature.

Recipe of the Month
From Renee’s upcoming new cookbook:
Summer Squash with Chunky Fresh Tomato Sauce

The Mediterranean-style sauce needs no cooking and adds real pizzazz to all summer squash. Serve over rice or polenta or with crusty bread for a satisfying hot day meal.

On Renee’s Blog

Sarah Renfro, our Business Manager, shares the transformation of her neglected lawn in “Creating My Edible Front Yard“
Click Here to view

Come Visit Often!

Please visit our website to view all of our monthly feature articles and online catalog. Ordering is quick, easy and secure. We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Wishes,

Renee’s Garden has over 2000 Facebook Fans!
Enter our seed giveaway contest to celebrate:

Become a Facebook fan and tell us what is growing in your containers, and you’ll get a chance to win three packets of container-friendly seed packets. This week’s theme is Container Vegetables. Three winners will be picked at random on July 16. The Week Two giveaway, ending July 23, is Container Herbs and Week Three, ending July 30, is Container Flowers. Thank you for your support and gardening stories, and we look forward to many more as your garden grows.

Become a Fan on Facebook

Join Our Community
Exchange experiences, photos, recipes and garden ideas at
Renee’s Community Garden

Renee’s Garden sends seasonal messages, including information on our new varieties, Renee’s articles and topics of interest, to our customers. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add us to your address book. We respect your privacy and don’t share or sell our customer list.

Renee’s Garden Seeds, 6060A Graham Hill Rd., Felton, CA 95018 customerservice@reneesgarden.com

Forward this newsletter
This email was sent to mike@racers.zzn.com by gardening@reneesgarden.com. Update Profile/Email Address \| Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ \| Privacy Policy.	Email Marketing by
Renee’s Garden Seeds \| 6060 Graham Hill Rd. Suite A \| Felton \| CA \| 95018

Second Season Garden is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Camarillo Community Garden In the News

mike — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:40:09 +0000

This last week was amazing. We had a very nice piece written about us in the Ventura County Star. Not only were we in the first section on page A-3, but we also got a headline blurb on the Masthead directing people to the article. That is Star treatment! If you missed the article in the paper, you can read the article here: An Idea to Grow On

This was a great article showcasing a number of the gardeners who were interviewed on site. It also kicked off the rest of the week. It led immediately to a surprise call from Ami from KCAL News asking for permission to visit us at the garden. When I arrived, there was a satellite trunk parked in front of the garden, and a reporter and cameraman/video editor working the crowd. They went live at 12:30 and gave us a wonderful segment seen all over California! If you missed the broadcasts (we were on at noon, 2:00 and 4:00) you can see it on-line here: Our Field of Dreams.

The next day I was asked to go on the radio with “Two Moms and a Mic” on KKZZ Radio 1400. Sandy and Kim (the 2 Moms) are rated as #1 in California for “Positive Talk Radio” – a very refreshing change from the negative, inflammatory ‘news’ programs on TV and radio. The ladies were delightful, and interested enough to walk the garden prior to the show. They gave me a chance to talk about our garden, the new garden, and several programs relating to school and community gardens.

In a moment of Kismet, Sandy’s kids attend La Mariposa School here in Camarillo, the same site where the Master Gardeners will be holding a school and community garden building class at the end of July (you can read more about this program on sustainabe-landscaping.net.

Ans one more article featuring us is now on the news stands (that is such an antiquated term) in “805 Living” Magazine. I have not seen it yet (going to get a copy today – go get yours!), but I did a peek at an early draft of the article and it looks like we are the lead off to Billy Goodnick’s article. Check it out!

This exposure has been a boon – we have had a constant stream of inquiries, sign-ups for information and a BUNCH of new gardeners are now on our waiting list. This is good publicity (and much easier to take than Lindsey Lohan’s jail time!).

Camarillo Community Garden In the News is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Free Training for Volunteers

mike — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:52:14 +0000

School / Community Garden Training

Presented by the Ventura County Master Gardeners

The “Community and School Gardening Class” is a new, hands-on training program to train volunteers who are willing to create more community and school gardens. This free course is provided by the Ventura County Master Gardeners. The course will train YOU and other volunteers and give you all the basic knowledge required to successfully start a new community or school garden.

The programs will be given in a live situation – you will work with the Master Gardeners and create new garden plots at La Mariposa School. At the end of the day, there should be a cadre of trained volunteers who will continue to build more gardens in more schools and neighborhoods. This school was chosen because of it’s HUGE commitment to teaching about food, and for their dedication of food plots to aid the hungry.

Our first training class will be held on July 31st, starting at 9:30 at La Mariposa School in Camarillo, 4800 Corte Olivas, Camarillo; a map to the training site is below.

Watch this video to learn more about the training. Then enter your name and e-mail in the box at the Sustainable-Landscaping.net to join the training session. Make sure to enter your e-mail correctly as reminders and information regarding the course will be sent there.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Go to Sustainable-Landscaping.net to sign-up for this free, ‘hands-on’ course. Information, schedules, maps and news will be sent to this address. Until then, here is the map to the garden training site! Be sure to add your name to the list!

You can do this! Sign up here for this free class!

4800 Corte Olivas

Free Training for Volunteers is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Recognizing Volunteers

mike — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:32:00 +0000

Gardening Programs Run on Volunteers

We appreciate all our volunteers for all the time, money and effort spent to make our projects come alive. The ‘Antonio’ video celebrates the hard work and dedication of the volunteers and sponsors who built the Antonio Garden.

The Master Gardeners also celebrate their volunteers. For those of you who don’t already know, the Master Gardeners are University trained volunteers. They are the public face of the program, and have the classroom and field experience they need to help you find the answers to your gardening questions.

Each Master Gardener accepts an both educational and volunteer obligations along with the training. They provide training for the home gardener, man a telephone helpline (645-1455) to answer your gardening questions and provide you with research and resources. They train and operate from the Hansen Agricultural Center, maintain gardens at the Camarillo House, work the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, provide public speakers, are active in wetland restoration and work on university research projects.

I created the video below for the Master Gardener’s Volunteer Recognition dinner. Watch it and get to know your new gardening friends. If you have bandwidth issues and the video stalls, you can switch to lo-res mode on the player control bar.

If you are interested in learning more about the Master Gardener program, just click the link at the end of the video!

Recognizing Volunteers is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Asian Citrus Psyllid

mike — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:33:38 +0000

The Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) is a small insect, smaller than aphids, and capable of wiping out our 26,000 acres of commercial citrus. We are also in danger of losing all out backyard citrus trees as well, and there are more of those home trees than in commercial production.

This tiny insect, and the disease it carries, have cost Florida half its citrus acreage in just 5 years. The disease has yet to reach us, but the insect is at our door, and it may be here on the next east wind.

Without the public’s help and careful observation, we can all say good bye to orange juice. And lemons. And I hope you like your beer without lime…

Here is Dr. De Soto’s message to us delivered during our EarthDay Camarillo celebration. I apologize in advance for the sound and picture quality.

Please visit website to view premium content

(NOTE: If this video is slow to load, try the lighter version below)

Please visit website to view premium content

For more information on the ACP, please visit the Ventura County Master Gardener’s website.

Here is a video showing how to identify this pest. UC citrus entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell, Ph.D., explains how to monitor citrus trees for Asian citrus psyllid. Suspected infestations of Asian citrus psyllid should be reported immediately by calling the county agriculture commissioner or the CDFA hotline at (800) 491-1899.

This movie, “Excluding a Bad Citrus Pest“, shows the effects in Florida and warns of the effect we will suffer if the pest is established.

Asian Citrus Psyllid is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Matilija Poppy Festival

mike — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:41:21 +0000

Sandy from the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden has sent out an invitation to the Matilija Poppy Festival on May 2, 2010. The Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens are 33 acres of unique terrain in Thousand Oaks offering panoramic views of the Conejo Valley and abundant opportunities for education, conservation and recreation.

While a significant portion of the Garden’s acreage is reserved to provide a natural habitat for birds and small animals, the developed area of the Garden includes displays of water-conserving plants from California, the Mediterranean, and Australia as well as several specialty gardens.

The event will provide activities for children, garden tours, and introduction to the ‘California All-Stars’, a selection of worthy but under-utilized native plants – all star performers.

This event will be held at the gardens. For information on the event, the garden, and directions, please visit the Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens website.

Here is the event flier (click for a full size pdf copy):

Matilija Poppy Festival is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

Earth Day Celebration

mike — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:07:11 +0000

Camarillo Community Gardens is hosting an earth Day celebration! This will be Camarillo’s first Earth Day. For more information, see our new Earth Day Camarillo blog! The blog is now is live and will be growing… You can leave your e-mail on the blog to get involved with the Earth Day planning…

How can you help?

Lots of ways… How about submitting a graphic for our Logo? The best submission will be used as our Earth Day logo. Your art work should reflect the theme “Growing Healthy Families”

Earth Day Celebration is a post from: Community Gardens Blog

When to Plant Vegetables

mike — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:01:48 +0000

“When to Plant Vegetables” is a really complex question. In California alone, there are 27 different climate zones, from tide pools to frozen rocky crags. In between the extremes, there are many combinations of long season (mild winter) and short season (short, hot summers and cold winters).
There is a web site I found with good information on when you can plant different types of garden veggies. the site lists plants and planting dates for many veggies with dates given for both long and short seasons. With spring coming I thought I would share this link with you: When to Plant Vegetables
With the wide variety of climates in the world, local information is always best. Check with your gardening neighbors, your local extension service or your local Master Gardeners.
As an alternative, there is some cool software that helps you adjust your starting, growing and harvesting dates. Check out GroVeg, the on-line garden planner. There is a good write-up on it on this vegetable garden design software review page.

When to Plant Vegetables is a post from: Community Gardens Blog