To heck with rain, let spring begin!
But seriously please can we have more rain? Here at Beegrrl Gardens I am reworking my drip system to get the water to roots as efficiently as possible and grimacing as I run my irrigation system far earlier than usual. Hurry up and graft those apples and pears…(we’ve already missed the moment to graft onto most plums). The daffodils are nearly done, but the freesias are coming on strong. Rose bushes are leafing out getting ready to pop with fabulous sights and smells. Blueberry bushes are loaded, bunnies are escaping into each others cages to do what bunnies do , egg laying has ramped up, hops are poking up from the ground, bees are preparing to swarm and oh joy of joys! The days are getting longer….it's coming, Spring!

Seed Starting
The warm days make us want to get gardening and yes it is time. But dear people…you must resist the urge to buy those perky hothouse tomato and pepper starts and put them in the ground just yet. The nights are still too cold for them. Instead think about cleaning up you old six packs and seed flats. Seeds need five things: cleanliness, heat, light, moisture and time. A good seed mix has fine particles , good drainage and yet retains moisture. Buy one prepared or mix 4 parts coconut coir, 1 part perlite, 1 part earthworm castings or sifted compost. Sow your seeds 1-2 times as deep as they are large. Keep moist. Cool weather crops like kale broccoli and peas will come up just fine with normal daylight. Warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers and cucumber will benefit from bottom heat provided by a seed mat or the use of a cold frame or seed dome.

Swarm season
Do I write this every year? Well it never gets old. Swarm season is on it;s way. Soon the bees crowded in their homes will gorge on honey and force the queen to take them on a journey to find a new home. Swarms are not angry bee-mobs. To the contrary, a swarming bee is so full of honey it is nearly impossible for her to sting and since they have neither food nor brood to defend in their temporary homeless state they are only interested in finding a new spot and getting to the work of spring. Back in the parent hive those bees raise a new queen from a young larvae. While conventional beekeeping tell us swarming os bad, natural beekeepers look at the increase as positive and life affirming. Whether in flight or land, the swarm is a thing to behold. See a landed swarm? Let us know, this is the best time for a beekeeper to collect them. We'll head on over or let another good beekeeper know. But hurry it up! The bees don't stay long. The decide on their new location within 24-48 hours and off they fly. Pictured below swarms in flight and swarms clumped

Yelp Review Raffle
Thank you everyone who posted a review- for your time and for your kind words. It really helps…and the winner is…..Jennifer M.!!
Jennifer just contact jus when you are ready to claim your prize (any of our standard 3 hour classes in the $40-70 range).

Get your classes here
There is still room in our once a year mosaic intensive! Please join us March 7 & 8. You will learn everything you need to know about adhesives, substrates, tile materials and grout and will go home with a finished mosaic of your own design. We'll also offer our much loved Cheesemaking 101 class mid-month. The last weekend of the month we'll kick off the 2015 season with Organic Gardening 101 and Natural Beekeeping back-to-back. Please note our beekeeping class has 2 follow up classes which focus on spring and fall management. These can taken in conjunction with the intro or as great refresher courses for those of you who are still somewhat new to beekeeping.

Welcome Corinne Sykes!
Corinne is on board with our three spring Internship this year. She will be helping run the school behind the scenes and you may meet her representing the school at classes and events. Corrinne is a singer, musician and aspiring homesteader. She has been working with the goats at PineHeaven Farm for several years (Backyard Chickens Teacher, Jeannie MacKenzie) and has helped with the animals here at Beegrrl Gardens. Corrinne would like you to know she is desperately seeking her missing dog, Nushka, who has been roaming the east bay hills since January, Please keep your eyes out and bring Nushka home.

Please Please Please
Still seeking just a few more farm tour sites
We need leads on people raising food in West Oakland East Oakland and Walnut Creek - Concord. We are especially interested in representing farmers of color, but are curious to meet anyone doing interesting things with their backyard!