Past President of Organic Gardening Club of Ventura County, Bill Brandt, led apple grafting workshops at five high schools in early March. He went to Ventura High School, Santa Paula High School, Fillmore High School, and Camarillo High School in Ventura County, and Carpinteria High School in Santa Barbara county. Bill had previously delivered 100…
Tag: Organic Gardening
Dr. David White – Living Compost
Dr. David White, the Soil Doctor from Ojai, talked to the Organic Garden Club about soil care, composting, compost extracts and actively aerated compost teas. He said to use microscopy to test the quality of compost. Healthy soil should look like chocolate cottage cheese. Rich organic garden soil is alive with microorganisms, mycorrhizae, worms, and…
Grow Real Organic Food in Living Soil
We had an amazing meeting in January with Norma Ritchie, who talked about Growing Real Organic Food in Living Soil in the ground and in containers. We learned how microbes can purify our soil of toxic chemicals. She’s a Certified Soil Advisor and works with closed loop organic systems. She started at the Venice Community…
Pomegranate Taste Test
Organic Garden Club Members had a blast mingling during Paul Talley’s Pomegranate Taste Testing! We tried six different varieties, going from sweetest to more astringent: Sogdiana, Sirenevyi, Parfianka, Karakalinski, Syunt, Ariana. Every variety was delicious and rich in heart, brain, and digestive health properties. Many of our members are growing pomegranates in their backyards! Paul…
Organic Regenerative Agriculture in Camarillo
We had a fabulous Organic Garden Club meeting! Longtime local farmer, Phil McGrath, told us the history of his family and their 150 year old farms in Ventura County. They originally came from Ireland and started farming on the Oxnard Plain in 1871. They started out as sheep farmers. Phil’s great-grandfather had fourteen children. Around 1920,…
A Celebration of Heirloom Foods
Last week, September 10 – 12, 2024, was a celebration of Heirloom Foods at the National Heirloom Exposition, sponsored by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Ventura, CA. Table after table filled with gorgeous displays of hundreds of unique varieties of veggies and seeds. Showing just a few: Paul with his Greek Red Butternut Squash, petite…
Summer Seed Party
Eighteen Organic Garden Club members enjoyed planting cool season veggie seeds in Bill Brandt’s lovely garden. We planted six 6-packs on each flat with Michael Wittman’s special Blue Sky Living Soil! We used Baker Creek Heirloom seeds and Botanical Interests Organic seeds. We soaked the planted seeds in Michael’s rich mix of Blue Sky nutrients! We…
Michael Wittman – Brix Level Workshop
At the Organic Garden Club meeting, Michael Whitman, Blue Sky Biochar, spoke about BRIX testing for our plants. BRIX measures the sugar content of the plant or tree. The higher sugar levels create better nutrition density and creates a better immunity against insects. You should test the BRIX level in the early afternoon and test…
School Garden Fruit Tree Planting
What a great time Organic Garden Club members had planting seven fruit trees (4 avocados, 2 cherimoyas, and 1 lemon) and weeding the future herb garden at One Spark Academy for middle schoolers. We donated lots of compost and an apple tree! Fortunately, we had an electric auger to dig the holes. Organic school gardens…
It’s Organic Blueberry Season!
Organic Garden Club members enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at One Acre Farm in Santa Rosa Valley picking organic blueberries. Owner, Scott Bahler, gave us a terrific presentation at our Organic Garden Club meeting in April on growing organic blueberries at his One Acre Farm! Scott started One Acre Farm in 2017 with his friend…
Organic Garden Club of Ventura County 