A new intensive organic gardening course will be offered at the UCSC Farm & Alan Chadwick Garden starting Wednesday, September 7 (see registration information, below).

Designed to accommodate busy work-week schedules, this comprehensive course will take place on nine consecutive Saturdays and five Wednesday evenings, with the last class scheduled for Saturday, November 5. This is an ideal course for home gardeners, urban and community garden leaders, and school garden teachers seeking to learn new skills and enhance their gardening and homesteading knowledge.

Taught by staff and graduates of the CASFS Farm & Garden Apprenticeship, along with invited experts, the course combines lectures with hands-on instruction in the gardens, greenhouses, and orchards of the Chadwick Garden and UCSC Farm at UC Santa Cruz. Topics will range from compost preparation, soil analysis, bed preparation and planting, to sexual and asexual propagation, irrigation, pest and disease control, and fruit tree care, and will include workshops on individual crops, backyard chicken and duck raising, bee keeping, and more. Please see the attached flyer for a complete list of classes.

Cost of the 75-hour course is $1,200, with a $100 discount for Friends of the Farm & Garden members. (Note: If you are not currently a Friends of the Farm & Garden member, you can receive the discount by joining the Friends via our secure website). Support for qualified UCSC undergraduates is available through UCSC’s Measure 43 funding. Class size is limited to 20 to ensure a high quality learning experience.

A $300 deposit is required to hold your place in the class, with the balance due by August 24. Please send deposit checks made payable to UC Regents to: UCSC Farm & Garden, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, Attn: Amy Bolton. Please note that we cannot accept payment by credit card.

For additional information or to discuss a payment plan for the course, contact Amy Bolton at 831.459-3240 or by email.

Garden Cruz Course Instructors Include:
Orin Martin, Garden Manager, Alan Chadwick Garden
Matthew Sutton, founder of OrchardKeepers
Christof Bernau, Garden Manager, UCSC Farm
Liz Milazzo, Field Production Manager, UCSC Farm
Doug O’Brien, Cabrillo Horticulture Department
James Cook,  Faultline Farm owner and beekeeping expert
Thomas Wittman, founder and owner of Gophers Ltd.
Paul Glowaski, founder of Urban Eggs  
Darryl Wong, co-owner of Freewheelin’ Farm
Zea Sonnabend, Ecological Farming Association and seed saving expert
Mike Irving and Teresa Kurtak, founders of Fifth Crow Farm