Our garden club members grow healthy organic veggies and fruit in their backyards, patios, and community gardens, save their seeds, and have compost bins. We visited seven different gardens, nurseries, and farms during the year. The tours were educational and our members enjoyed them. We carpooled to all of our tours and had free admission. We are looking forward to more fun tours in 2022.

 The Ventura Botanical Garden Tour took place on March 19, 2021 in Ventura.  We had a wonderful sunny day with gorgeous ocean views. We hiked a hilly trail through native, Chilean, and South African plants and trees! It was lovely to discover all the plants we can grow in our backyards.

A Tour of member Michael Wittman’s Backyard Fruit and Veggie Garden in Thousand Oaks, April 14, was attended by 31 members and guests and was enhanced with a workshop to create bokashi, an organic compost starter to add microbes and nutrients to fertilize our fruit and veggie garden soil. 

The Rose Garden Tour was at Otto and Sons’ Nursery in Fillmore on May 14th in their newly constructed garden. Our members had a terrific time with  delightful aromas, bird songs, and happy conversations! We experienced all varieties of roses in a lovely setting: climbing roses over arch trellises, floribunda roses, ground cover roses, grandiflora roses, rambling roses in obelisk trellis, and gorgeous hybrid tea roses.

 Apricot Lane Farm, made famous by the film, “The Biggest Little Farm” was the fourth of our tours, on June 19th, in all its late Spring splendor. We saw nasturtiums, marigolds, alyssums interplanted with squash and other veggies, gorgeous native flowers, avocado trees, and sweet blueberries, grown with biodynamic and regenerative organic techniques.

 Growing Works Nursery in Camarillo is a native plant nursery established to provide jobs and horticultural therapy to people with mental health challenges. Supervisor Linda Parks donated free native milkweed plants for attendees. We visited on July 31st and donated our plant to the Las Flores Community Garden Butterfly Habitat.

 The Rancho Sierra Vista Nursery, is a native plant nursery in the Santa Monica Mountains National Park in Newbury Park. On September 3rd, members enjoyed touring the nursery and volunteering with Antonio Sanchez, manager and native plant expert, transplanting native seedlings being grown for local restoration purposes. We took home native starter plants to attract pollinators to our backyards. 

 Every year we look forward to Ventura County Farm Day, where members enjoy a day of free tours and activities with members of the county’s diverse agricultural community in several different locations and learn about the agriculture in our own backyard! On November 6th, we toured the Ventura County Organic Senior Nutrition Garden on 2 acres of fruits and veggies. It is maintained by volunteers for needy seniors. 

At Driscoll’s Berry  Farm, Organic Garden Club members toured the farm on a wagon and learned from their agronomist about the different varieties and growing cycles of berries from the farmers that grow the crops. We were given containers of blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries to take home!