Home gardeners, school garden teachers, urban agriculture leaders, take note: a comprehensive organic gardening course is being offered this summer and fall by the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden at the historic Alan Chadwick Garden and UCSC Farm on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
Designed to accommodate busy work-week schedules, the “Garden Cruz: Organic Matters” course begins Wednesday, August 29 and takes place on eight consecutive Saturdays from 8:30 am–4 pm and five Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 pm, with the last class meeting on Saturday, October 27
The course is taught by staff and graduates of the renowned UCSC Farm & Garden Apprenticeship Program, along with invited experts. The series of classes provide a solid foundation to further your lifelong study, enjoyment, and practice of organic gardening and is timed to take advantage of the late summer and fall gardening season. Through lectures and hand-on practice in the gardens, orchards, and greenhouses of the Chadwick Garden and UCSC Farm, this intensive organic gardening course will immerse you in the basic skills and knowledge you need to develop your own organic garden “from the ground up.”
Topics will range from compost preparation, soil analysis, bed preparation and planting, to sexual and asexual propagation, irrigation, pest and disease control, and fruit tree care, and will include workshops on individual crops, backyard chicken and duck raising, bee keeping, botany for gardeners, and more. See http://casfs.ucsc.edu/gardencruz for a list of classes.
Garden Cruz is ideal for community members and students involved in campus and community gardens, or looking to enhance their ability to grow food and flowers at home and develop their urban homesteading skills.
Cost of the course is $1,200, with a $100 discount for Friends of the Farm & Garden members. Sign up by August 10 and receive an additional $50 “early bird” discount. Enrollment is limited to ensure a high-quality learning experience.
To register, please contact Amy Bolton at 831-459-3240 or casfs@ucsc.edu. A $300 deposit is required to hold your place in the class, with the balance due by August 24. Please send deposit checks made payable to UC Regents to: UCSC Farm & Garden, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, Attn: Amy Bolton.
Please see http://casfs.ucsc.edu/gardencruz for additional details and a link to the online payment site.
