Year-Round Local Resources
Gardening is a safe way to stay active and healthy during the pandemic. The following lists can help you find compost, seeds, and get tips from other gardeners:
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Connect with StopWaste about Gardening
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StopWaste Gardening Resources
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Local Partner Nurseries
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Bulk Garden Suppliers
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Seed Catalogs
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Urban Farms and Community Gardens
Connect with StopWaste about Gardening
Check out the links below if you would like to connect with StopWaste about gardening.
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East Bay Garden Friends Facebook Group: This East Bay Garden Friends group is meant for new and experienced home and community gardeners in the East Bay, CA who focus on building healthy soil while also growing plants.
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StopWaste At Home E-Newsletter: Sign up to get tips for sustainable living in Alameda County, delivered to your inbox!
StopWaste Gardening Resources
Check out the downloadable tools below for tips to build healthy soil, grow a beautiful garden, and keep our communities healthy.
Tools for Building Healthy Soil
Learn more about building healthy soil and find tips to help you get started in your garden. This guide introduces soil building strategies including composting, sheet mulching and cover cropping.
Now That Your Lawn is Gone
Congratulations...you have transformed your lawn into a garden, but now what? This brochure covers how to maintain your garden after sheet mulching and includes a calendar of tasks so that you will be ready for every season.
Bay-Friendly Gardening Guide: From Your Backyard to the Bay
This 70+ page guide is written for the home gardener and provides how-to information, a design survey, profiles of East Bay gardens, and much more.
Healthy Soils Activity Guide
Wondering about the health of your soil? This interactive guide provides activities for you to engage and observe various aspects of your soil. Do just one activity or them all, at a pace that suits you.
Cover Crops: Plants with a Helpful Purpose
Growing cover crops is an excellent practice for all gardeners with an interest in building healthy soil, and especially for growing food. This handout covers the basics and gets you started with step-by-step guidance.
On-Farm Composting Toolkit
This in-depth guide can answer all of your compost questions. Whether you are an urban farmer, community gardener, or a backyard homesteader, this toolkit supports you in becoming an expert composter.
Webinar Resources
We encourage you to check out our Healthy Soils Webinar Series, which includes our Healthy Soils, Backyard Composting, and Worm Composting webinars, plus all of the soil building resources mentioned in the webinars.
Local Partner Nurseries:
Our partner nurseries stock diverse Bay-Friendly plants and supplies that can help make your garden succesful. Be sure to call before visiting as hours, inventory, and services may change.
Check out the Lawn to Garden Marketplace for a complete directory of Bay Area sources for bulk recycled compost, mulch, and sheet mulch materials and visit the FAQ section for tips for buying bulk compost.
Here are some of our partner vendors who carry great products for home gardeners:
Seed Catalogs:
Local Urban Farms and Community Partners
These partner organizations produce and distribute healthy food, provide essential services, community education, and resources, and are neighborhood models of carbon farming.
Planting with Compost
Give your plants a boost by adding compost when you plant.