Last Saturday, February 23rd, a group of new and veteran gardeners gathered in Mar Vista to discuss one thing – soil. We talked dirty. Um – I mean, we talked about dirt. I’m talking about the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series.
In the first class, The Basics 1, we covered all the glorious components of what makes up good soil. We played in the garden, got dirt under our nails, and learned a little about composting to boot. Everyone took home a 1 gallon plastic bag full of spent coffee ground for their own gardens. Mary walked away with something else as the raffle winner for the day – a fabulous Gardenerd canvas grocery bag (the envy of all other grocery bags, let me tell you).
Among other things, we talked about where vermiculite comes from, where to find good, free mulch in Los Angeles, and how to tell when your plants need fertilizer. For many, the favorite part of the day was watching a compressed brick of coir (pronounced coy-yer) soak up water in a bucket and expand to form a peat-like substance. We squished it between our fingers and broke it up into a light, fluffy, water-retaining soil amendment. Then we dug it into a raised bed along with compost, vermiculite, coffee grounds, soil and fertilizer. It was a thing of beauty.
The next class is this coming Saturday, March 1st. The Basics 2 covers Small Space and Container Gardening. We noticed today that the class is listed in Datebook in the Home Section of the Los Angeles Times. You can still join us for the class or the rest of the series. Just visit the Gardenerd Website if you’d like to come along for the ride.
Yes, I was the winner of that fabulous Gardenerd tote! Perfect for carrying tools around the garden and..emm..in my case, shopping of course! The first class was great, second was even better. I would definitely recommend bringing a close friend along, my boyfriend and I signed up for all 4 sessions. Christy is awesome at offering tips and answering all of our questions(well, my boyfriend’s never ending questions..a difficult task, trust me). The best part is, of course, getting your hands dirty 🙂