Newsletter

  Indie tomato breeder Fred Hempel discusses his newest tomato varieties, Blush and Green Bee, at a talk and tasting called Blush and Green Bee: Unconventional Tomatoes Bred by Traditional Partnerships. “These are unconventional tomatoes bred by traditional partnerships,” says Hempel, who developed the new varieties in partnerships with his two kids. Alex helped with…

  Join this multicultural celebration of community building each Saturday, 9am–2pm at the corner of Shattuck Ave and 46th Street in the Temescal Business District. Now in its 8th year, the Freedom Farmers’ Marketplace is a multi-cultural market bringing Black farmers and other socially disadvantaged farmers to the Bay Area for a direct-to-consumer selling experience. On market…

  The pandemic led to a spike in single-use plastics, with the plastics industry stirring up fear about the safety of reusables. While their efforts succeeded in rolling back progress toward reducing disposable goods, it’s time to push back. To celebrate Plastic-free July, the Berkeley Ecology Center is offering a variety of events to teach…

Singer-songwriter Holly Tzeigon-Whitaker of Kalinders performed from the roof over Akshay Prabhu’s Bao House for the home-cooked-food restaurant’s soft opening on July 1.   Imagine strolling around a corner in your own residential neighborhood and ducking through a hidden gate to arrive at a tiny and distinctive restaurant venue. A folk-rock musician sings soulful originals…

  We recently found ourselves tossed back 10 years in time while driving among the apartment complexes and business parks near the Fremont BART station. Suddenly there was this soothing green growing island: lush rows of corn, thriving pepper, tomatillo, and tomato plants, and thick beds of sunflowers and cosmos. Was this heaven? Had we…

  We first got to know the Re-Up Refill Shop as one of several residents at O2 Artisans Aggregate (O2AA), a former industrial site in West Oakland run by artisans with interests in environmental activism, who also looked for ways to reduce, reuse, and repurpose their on-site generated waste. The Re-Up Refill Shop was a…

  Longtime readers of Edible East Bay may remember Willow Summer, founder of West Oakland’s City Slicker Farm and a leader with many other Bay Area urban farming projects. She grew up gardening with her dad in West Sonoma County, and returned there to farm with her husband Lew at their Three Springs Community Farm,…

  When drought conditions persist for long periods of time, it can significantly impact plant health in a number of ways. Lack of water limits a plant’s ability to produce food, and stressed plants are more prone to attract pests. Excessive heat can also accelerate the reproduction time of pests. But there are simple garden management…

  Join Chef Alison Mountford, founder of Ends + Stems, to learn about fermentation tools and techniques for making sauerkraut and kimchi from food scraps. Participants will leave class with a basic understanding of safe fermentation practices, a jar or two of sauerkraut and kimchi to let ferment, and a plan for creating a zero-waste…

  Get your hands in the dirt! Check out these in-depth in-person learning experiences offered at Gill Tract Farm in Albany this summer. Introduction to Urban Agroecology Learn about the farm’s agroecological practices, such as intercropping, composting, cover cropping, hedgerows, pollinator plants, and building seed banks. Multiple members of the farm community will give demonstrations,…