Tickets to the Good Life now available

Wanted to pass this along. Tickets are now available for these wonderful-sounding Backyard Edible Gardening classes at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science's UC Davis Good Life Garden! Whew... that's a mouthful.

For more information and tickets: www.goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu/event_list
Contact: Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412; kdodonnell@ucdavis.edu

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Backyard Edible Gardening
Presented by the UC Davis Good Life Garden
Saturday, April 25 and Saturday, May 23, 2009

Interest in the establishment of backyard edible gardens has increased significantly as food and gasoline prices skyrocket and consumers become increasingly concerned about food safety, freshness and quality. A rising demand for organic produce and honest, home-grown flavors are also important contributing factors in the backyard gardening movement. All these elements, notes Charlie Nardozzi, senior horticulturist at the National Gardening Association in Burlington, Vermont, are setting the stage for “a perfect storm for vegetable gardening.”

Gardening organizations, seed wholesalers, and local nurseries are all reporting hikes in the number of consumers purchasing vegetable seeds and starter plants and trees. But do consumers have the information they need to establish a functioning and successful garden? The UC Davis Good Life Garden will offer two in-depth seminars, designed as an overview on how to establish, maintain, and utilize the many benefits of a productive backyard edible garden.

The seminars will be taught by University of California master gardeners, farm advisors and respected gardening experts. Offered on Saturdays, the seminars will run from 9am to 2pm, and cost $35 with box lunch included ($25 with no box lunch). They will be held in UC Davis’ Good Life Garden and the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science sensory theatre. For more information, visit the UC Davis Good Life Garden website at www.goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

Growing a Successful Vegetable Garden
Saturday, April 25, 2009

This in-depth class will focus on growing vegetables successfully all year.
Subjects addressed include:

• planning your garden
• vegetable varieties
• the importance of climate
• seed saving
• when and how to plant
• pest and weed management
• harvesting and storage

Participants should have a basic working knowledge of growing a garden with a desire to learn how to create a highly productive garden. Instructor Robert Norris is a UC Davis Plant Science emeritus professor, and has been teaching UC Master Gardener trainees the craft of vegetable gardening for 29 years. Also instructing will be Terry Allan of Seeds of Change, whose mission is to help preserve biodiversity and promote sustainable, organic agriculture. Seeds of Change cultivates and disseminates an extensive range of open-pollinated, organically grown, heirloom and traditional vegetable, flower and herb seeds.

All About Fruits, Nuts and Berries
Saturday, May 23, 2009

A backyard garden can be much more than simply a vegetable plot. In this information-packed seminar, we explore ways to plant, train, grow and enjoy fruit and nut trees and berry bushes.

Subjects addressed will include:

• planning and planting your orchard
• variety selection
• space requirements
• growing fruit in small spaces
• fertilization, irrigation, weeding, and thinning
• training and pruning
• pest management

Participants should have a basic working knowledge of gardening, with a desire to learn how to create a highly productive backyard orchard. Instructors for this unique and informative class will be Chuck Ingles, Sacramento County Farm Advisor; and Ed Laivo of the Dave Wilson Nursery.