For home gardeners looking to improve their backyard's bounty, spring is the time to get started. Brush up on your gardening skills and get some fresh ideas at a Spring Gardening Workshop on Sunday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UC Santa Cruz Farm.
UCSC's Alan Chadwick Garden manager Orin Martin and gardening instructor Trish Hildinger will lead this lecture and demonstration workshop. The focus will be on spring and early summer crops, including peas, lettuces, spinach, carrots, salad mix, beets, and potatoes, and the instructors will offer tips on how to time your spring planting to get the best results. They'll also discuss varieties that thrive in the local area, and there will be plenty of time for questions.
The workshop will also cover how to prepare beds for planting and how to direct seed and transplant seedlings to the garden.
Cost of the workshop is $15 for members of the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, and $20 for non-members, payable the day of the workshop. No pre-registration is necessary. Dress for the outdoors; heavy rain cancels.
Sponsored by the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and the Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden, the workshop will be valuable for novice gardeners and pros, too. Proceeds from the event will benefit the education and scholarship work of the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, a community support group dedicated to promoting organic gardening and farming, and sustainable food systems.
More information is available at (831) 459-3240, email casfs@ucsc.edu or see casfs.ucsc.edu
To reach the UCSC Farm, enter campus at Bay Avenue and High Street (Bay Avenue becomes Coolidge Drive on campus), continue uphill. Turn right at the first stoplight (Ranch View Road), and park in the Campus Facilities parking lot (parking is free on weekends). Walk across Coolidge Drive, then up the gravel path that parallels the paved bike path to reach the UCSC Farm.
