Month: February 2012

Dear Farm Friends:

The unseasonable sunshine and nice temperatures have us feeling like bastardizing the classic Mark Twain quote about Bay Area weather and turning it into: “The warmest summer I had ever was the winter I spent in San Francisco.”

Springtime seems to have arrived early. And while we’d just as soon have more rain, the lovely days make for perfect gardening at Alemany Farm. We’ve wrapped up most of our dormant season tree care and are now looking forward to starting our greenhouse sowings.

We’re very excited to announce that this year we are partnering with the wonderful folks at SF’s Free Farm to do our propagation. We will be sharing the greenhouse at the Free Farm for starting our early season lettuces, kale, collards, chard, along with our tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash.

If you’d like to learn more about seed starting and greenhouse management, please join us these days at the Free Farm:

Saturday, February 25, 10 AM to 2 PM at the Free Farm. Eddy @ Gough in the Western Addition.
Saturday, March 3, 10 AM to 2 PM at the Free Farm.
Saturday, March 10, 10 AM to 2 PM at the Free Farm.

These special greenhouse days are IN ADDITION to our regularly scheduled workdays at Alemany Farm:

Sunday, Feb 19, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, Feb 20, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, Feb 25, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, Feb 27, 1 PM to 5 PM
Sunday, March 4, Noon to 5 PM

And last but not least: We are still taking applications for our 2012 Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, an 11-month course that offers participants an overview of organic gardening methods. To learn more about the class, and to download an application, please visit www.alemanyfarm.org. Applications must be returned to ecologicalhorticulture@gmail.com by March 1.

Thanks, as always, for all of your work to make SF more food secure.

Dear Farm Friends:

We’re excited to announce that for the fourth year in a row Alemany Farm will offer an Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture for people looking to learn more about becoming their own food producer.

The 11-month course takes participants through each of the seasons and covers all the basics of organic gardening, including:

• Overview of bio-intensive crop production and permaculture principles
• Evaluating your soil type and measuring soil fertility
• Building compost
• Seed starting and greenhouse practices
• Water-wise irrigation methods
• Integrated pest and disease management
• Basic botany and plant identification
• Crop planning
• Summer and winter tree care

The class meets the Third Saturday of every month, from 10 AM to 5 PM. The class begins in March and will wrap up in January, 2013 as we follow the horticultural calender through Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

There is a morning skill share from instructors Jason Mark and Antonio Roman-Alcala, followed by a potluck lunch, an afternoon garden and orchard work session, and then a collective harvest of fruits and vegetables.

If you’re interested in applying, please complete this application [word doc, pdf] and return it to ecologicalhorticulture@gmail.com. The application deadline is March 1, and the first class will take place on Saturday, March 17.

There is a suggested $125 donation that helps to cover material costs at Alemany Farm. But no one is turned away for lack of funds. We look forward to receiving your application.

Thanks so much for helping to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team.

PS: Don’t forget these upcoming Alemany Farm Workdays!
Sunday, Feb 5
Monday, Feb 6
Saturday, Feb 11
Monday, Feb 13