Gardening workshops July 29 are part of UC Santa Cruz celebration of 50 years of organic farming

The public is invited to attend an afternoon of gardening workshops on Saturday, July 29, as part of the "First 50 Celebration" of the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden.

The festivities highlight a year-long celebration to recognize 50 years of UC Santa Cruz leadership in organic farming and sustainable agriculture.

Workshop topics include pollinators in the garden; drawing in the garden; integrating blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries into the garden; youth empowerment and working with teens in the garden, and more.

Workshops begin at 2 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., and will take place at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and the Alan Chadwick Garden. Instructors include staff of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, as well as graduates of the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture. The cost is $30 ($20 for members of the Friends of the Farm & Garden); the fee covers both of the afternoon time slots. Advance registration is recommended.

Highlights appear below, with the full workshop schedule available online; pricing and registration information for the full weekend of events is also available online.

2 p.m. workshops at the Alan Chadwick Garden

• Tour of the Garden with Chadwick Garden Manager Orin Martin
• Drawing in the Garden with Laura Vollset, graduate of the apprenticeship, scientific illustrator, and owner of Field Sketch Farm
• Pollinators in the Garden with faculty member Stacy Philpott and apprenticeship graduate Hamutahl Cohen

3:45 p.m. workshops at the UC Santa Cruz Farm

• Fruit Trees of the UC Santa Cruz Farm with Chadwick Garden Manager Orin Martin
• Integrating Small Fruit Production (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) into Diversified Systems with Farm Garden manager and instructor Christof Bernau
• Youth Empowerment and Working with Teens in the Garden with Doron Comerchero founder of FoodWhat?!
• Marketing Your Top Product with Matthew Raiford, owner of Gilliard Farm and The Farmer & The Larder
• Making Beautiful Bouquets with Chadwick Garden Assistant Sky DeMuro, flower grower Zoe Hitchner of Front Porch Farm, and vegetable production manager Eliza Milio of Front Porch Farm
• Seed Saving and Sovereignty with UC Santa Cruz Farm instructor Sarah Cousins

These public workshops are part of the "First 50" celebration of UC Santa Cruz's leadership in organic farming and gardening. What began in 1967 as a modest organic garden on a steep hillside above Stevenson College has blossomed into an internationally acclaimed, hands-on learning and research program under the auspices of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. More than 1,500 people have graduated from the apprenticeship, and a growing number of UC Santa Cruz undergraduates are taking advantage of learning opportunities at the Farm & Garden; the Center's research program has led to breakthroughs in the organic production of key crops, including strawberries, artichokes, and apples.

Sponsors of the First 50 Celebration include Earthbound Farms, Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, Sun Ridge Farms, Veritable Vegetable, Clif Bar and Company, Heath and Lejeune, Kingbird Farm, Lakeside Organics, Organic Valley, Simply Organics, Tend, and United Natural Foods (UNFI).

It's not too early to mark you calendar for the annual Harvest Festival on October 1 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UC Santa Cruz Farm.