Richmond Homestead: timeless skills for new times

Thanks to all the hosts who opened their homesteads to us, and thanks to all the wonderful interested visitors who asked great questions, shared information and resources, and made it a lively and enjoyable day!

If you visited any gardens today, I would really appreciate it if you would take the 2010 Survey.  Go ahead and do it right now while it's all fresh in your mind.  Thank you!

Gopher Gulch Gardens will have more talks!  Clark Meremeyer will discuss mushroom growing, brewing and fermenting, drying and canning.

On a different note:  I just found out that Alberto and Christine will need to be away during the tour, so their backyard will not be available.  However, the front yard is still worth seeing, and it is near several other gardens, so stop by (and don't forget to sign in at

Information for those who missed the online registration is posted on the registration page now.

I closed online registration so I can get the list of registrants to each host.

Thanks to everyone who registered on time.  You will be getting an email message from me soon, with printable maps and a list of addresses.  Also check the map link because there are some changes.

Cheers and see you Sunday!

If you use a wheelchair or walker or need to limit your walking to flat even surfaces, check out the list of gardens which you can easily observe from sidewalks or driveways.  Go to the Accessibility page.

I'm sorry to announce that Villa Sobrante will not be on the tour this year.  Conditions on their property make it unsafe for them to have visitors at this time (we don't want anyone falling into a trench!).  I hope you will have an opportunity to visit V.S. some time if you haven't already.  Check in on their blog for updates.

On a positive note, I just finally added pictures to Wildcat Garden, the school garden at East Bay Waldorf School.

Also, we have need of some volunteers to be greeters at a couple of wonderful, large gardens.  More than 120 people have registered for the tour, so if you can devote an hour or two to helping out at a garden, please let me know.  It will be greatly appreciated, and I think it will be enjoyable too.

Check out the table of garden features.

I've also started some lists of "Themes" if you want to see gardens with a particular feature.  Let me know what themes you'd like me to feature next.

Check out the new Talks and Demos page showing when and where there will be special events.

Maria and Christopher, who would have been our only El Cerrito garden on the tour, have had to withdraw because they are caught in the middle of the Great El Cerrito Chicken Debate.

It is currently legal to keep birds only if they are less than 1/2 lb each.  (For those who haven’t held a chicken lately, even a bantam—miniature chicken—will weigh more than a pound at maturity.)  It looks like this was written specifically to exclude chickens.

If a person wants to have chickens beyond their infancy (that is, over a half pound), one needs to apply for a Use Permit.  The application requires a $1000 fee which will not be returned if the application is denied!  Here is the municipal code.

Fortunately, some folks have drafted a new, more rational  and household-poultry-friendly ordinance. This would allow El Cerrito residents to have up to 4 hens on a property of at least 5000 square feet, so long as their pen/coop is at least 20 feet from a dwelling.

Here is the proposed animal ordinance


If you want to voice your support for reasonable urban hen-keeping, feel free to contact the following folks:  Karen Pinkos, Assistant City Manager, El Cerrito: 215-4302, [email protected].  Planning Manager, Jennifer Carman: 215-4330, [email protected].

 

 

I've just posted pictures of Gaza Garden.  While visiting, I was lucky enough to chat with a neighbor who has a bed in the garden.  She moved to North Richmond in 1943 from Arkansas with her parents and has seen all kinds of changes here.  It's a friendly neighborhood, and I know the garden will thrive.  When I visited, some of the beds were empty except for cardboard lining the bottom as a base mulch layer, and a big pile of wood chips was waiting to be spread.  If you are interested in seeing how gardens transform and are shaped by neighborhoods, visit the Gaza Garden now, and check back in the future.

I've also posted pictures of Scott Donahue's sculpture at the Peace Garden.

I've added pictures to the Peace Garden page and a better description.  I will try to get a picture of the scupture there and post it soon.  Go take a gander!