Hello Urban Love Warriors!

I am back in the saddle and getting my garden back in shape after a summer of neglect. Just tossed my garlic in the ground along with some cold season crops: beets, broccoli, arugula, lettuce, peas and kale. With a rainy warm winter predicted I am hopeful for some winter greens! I am distributing rabbit manure onto fallow beds, cutting back my spent perennials and building compost piles to take advantage of the (hopefully) coming rain.

We've got just a few more weeks of classes here this season and there are some really great ones, so register today and don't delay! For winter cheer we've got two brewing classes. The Bitter Truth teaches you about making and mixing homemade bitters with herbalist and ethno-botanist Tanya Stiller. Making Mead and Melomels focuses on the ease and simplicity of making wine with Honey and fruit. We are also offering one last Cheesemaking Intensive for the year and have an added session of Every Day Nut Milks and Cheeses. Sadly our Olive class was canceled due the the second year in a row of failed olive crop.

Fall colors and hopeful for rain.

Coming Up!
Do mark your calendars for our Winter Open House: Saturday and Sunday, December 12 & 13 12noon to 4pm. We'll send out the address and details December 1. After that we'll take our Winter break the second half of December and the month of January. Our winter session runs February & March this year. The classes are tentatively scheduled but not yet open for registration--we'll be finalizing that and opening registration December 1.

In the Garden: Winter Berry Care
Fall is the best time to tend to your berries for an abundant spring crop.
Strawberries: Dig up, amend beds and replant now to re-establish by spring. All dead leaves and spent fruit stems should be cut off, roots can be trimmed, runners cut for runner type strawberries and clumps divided for clumping type strawberries. Then replant and top dress with compost.
Raspberries: Cut last years canes down to the ground and this years spring canes to shoulder height, keeping only 2-3 of the strongest canes from each crown. Knock of spurs and side branches. Top dress with compost and mulch.
Blueberries: These will start to flower again in January so do any pruning in the next month. Only bushes 3 years and older will need pruning. Simply cut off any dead or dying stems and thin sparingly.
Blackberries: Cut last years canes down to the ground and this years canes to head height. Trim laterals to 2 feet.

Holiday Season Gift Certificates
Are you interested in gifting 2016 classes? Our 2016 main season will not be posted until February 15, 2015. and we cannot sell classes that are not yet posted on our calendar. You may however purchase any of our Winter Season classes after December 1 using our regular registration system. For other classes we encourage you to purchase a gift certificate. Gift certificates allow the recipient to choose the class of their choice (or you can specify a class of your choice if you wish--include this in special instructions from the buyer) and are redeemed at the top of our sliding scale to allow for the extra work it takes us to issue and administer the certificate. This little extra is a boon to our organization and we thank you for choosing this option. Gift Certificates are good for 18 months after purchase. More details and buy it now button for gift certificates can be found HERE.

2016 BeeRepair Beekeeping Mentorships
Learn to Keep bees naturally! The BeeRepair philosphy is "Trust the Bees." We promote all natural, treatment-free, sugar water-free beekeeping based on the belief that bees are elegant, highly evoved and resiliant organisms who don't actually need human interference to survive and adapt. The mentorship is intended to support you through your first year of beekeeping, however anyone in their first 3 years may apply. The focus is on alternative hive systems such as the Top Bar or Warre hive, however people wishing to keep bees more naturally in the standard Langstroth system will be considered. We offer either a 10 month or a 16 month mentorship for the ridiculously low price of $50-75 per month (paid in lump sum or quarterly with post-dated checks). The 16 month option is recommended as it takes you through your first swarm season (if you are starting with a package or swarm in your first season you will not experience typical spring behavior of an established hive until the following spring). You must provide your own box, bees and equipment. Want to know more? Extended description is HERE. BeeRepair website still under construction HERE.

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF WINTER! HAPPY DAY OF THE DEAD!
these two pix taken in the North Bay this morning as we prepare to dig up and remove the garden
in keeping with the day, it is the end of an era and preparation for something new

Participate!
~ Seeking Teachers & Accepting Proposals for New Classes - Oakland and North Bay We are accepting proposals for our 2016 season from now through December 31. In the North Bay we are looking for experts in fencing for livestock and deer protection, small scale orchard installation and management and rural water systems. Other topics will also be considered. Please have a look at Teaching at IUH for details on how to make your class proposal.
~ Accepting Application for 2016 Internships ~ We are accepting applications for our annual 9 month internship program for 2016. Deadline to apply is February 15. See Volunteering at IUH.
~ Accepting Proposals & Leads for 2016 Urban Farm Tours. We are considering homescale sites in Berkeley, Vallejo & Benecia, community type farms in Berkeley and Oakland and small scale poultry operations in the Santa Rosa, Sebastopol area. Please include full name & contact info, a description of the site and features and photos if possible. Inquire by email iuh@sparkybeegirl.com.

squash harvest!