Year-Round Local Resources

StopWaste Gardening Resources

Explore the tools below for tips on building healthy soil and growing a beautiful garden.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Bay-Friendly Plant Lists

Appropriately selected plants require less water, have greater pest resistance, and look great. Check out our Bay-Friendly Plant Lists for help selecting the right plant for the right place, 

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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.

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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.

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Kit de Herramientas Sobre El Compostaje En-Granja

El objetivo de este kit de herramientas es proporcionar un enfoque práctico paso a paso para los agricultores urbanos de cualquier escala para comenzar el compostaje en la granja agrícola, evaluar y mejorar el sistema existente, y convertirse en maestros compostadores.

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Gleaning Guide

After over a decade of gathering backyard fruit in Alameda and donating it to the Alameda Food Bank, Alameda Backyard Growers collaborated with StopWaste to produce this guide to starting a gleaning program in your community. 

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Webinar Resources

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.

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Gardening Videos on YouTube

View all of our instructional and educational gardening videos and comment with your questions. We’ll respond to the best of our ability!

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Compost Hubs are locations hosting a large, communal pile of free compost for residents and communities. 

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Learn by Doing – Volunteer with Urban Farms

Learn gardening skills and support your community by volunteering at local urban farms! Please note the following:

• Inquire and sign up, before you show up.
• Most organizations require you to complete a one-time waiver form.
• Be courteous, managing volunteers takes a lot of work!

Urban farm providing youth programming at Tassafaronga Park, growing and distributing produce to neighborhood families. Typically holds community workdays on the 1^st Saturday of the month. Variety of volunteer needs, including non-garden roles. Sign up to volunteer here.

Network of Alameda gardeners growing and donating produce to the Alameda Food Bank. ABG’s Project Pick is a volunteer-based gleaning group that collects excess fruit from backyard fruit trees. Volunteers must enter private backyards, so pre-training is provided. Sign up to volunteer here.

Farm park and community garden growing and distributing produce to neighborhood families. Also supports network of home gardens across West Oakland. Recently became part of Acta Non Verba's Farm Project, volunteer opportunities will be posted soon.

Production garden managed by the Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club, growing and donating produce to a variety of East Bay organizations. Located at St. Clare’s Episcopal Church. Community workdays are posted on the garden club’s calendar here. All are welcome and no sign up necessary.

Production garden managed by the Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club, growing and donating produce to a variety of Tri-Valley organizations. Located at Crosswinds Church, across the creek bridge. All are welcome, volunteers must first join the group’s mailing list here.

Educational garden and kitchen for students and families located at MLK Jr. Middle School. Volunteering requires RSVP. All are welcome, sign up to volunteer here.

Urban farm and social enterprise growing produce for CSA distribution and donation to the Alameda Food Bank. Also neighbors the Alameda Compost Hub. Sign up to volunteer here.

Urban farm growing and donating produce to a variety of Tri-Valley organizations. Also hosts the Livermore Compost Hub. Located at Asbury United Methodist Church. All are welcome, sign up to volunteer here.

Community garden and “Pocket Park” growing food for a variety of uses. Also manages backyard fruit tree gleaning programs and litter clean-up programs. Sign up to volunteer here.

Urban farming and research collaboration between an intentional community of farmers and UC Berkeley, growing produce for their farmstand and donation to a variety of East Bay organizations. Also hosts the Albany Compost Hub. Sign up to volunteer here.

Production and educational gardens growing and donating produce to a variety of Tri-City organizations. Provides community workshops and student programming on sustainable living and regenerative agriculture. Sign up to volunteer here.

Historical preservation and restoration organization that manages and curates Hagemann Ranch, including an operational horse stable and garden growing historical food staples. Neighbors Sunflower Hill Garden. Variety of volunteer needs, including non-garden roles. Inquire how to volunteer here.

Educational and production farm providing urban agriculture instruction to students at the Mills College Northeastern University campus. Distributes food through CSA to East Oakland residents, as well as to on-campus dining. Interested volunteers must first email farm manager Julia Dashe here.

Educational farm managed by the Alameda County Master Gardeners. Also hosts the Pleasanton Compost Hub. Volunteer opportunities will be announced at the above webpage as the farm site continues to develop.

Network of backyard farms growing and distributing produce through CSA and the Temescal Freedom Farmers’ Market. Pollinate Farms works with volunteers through the organization Farms to Grow. Sign up to volunteer here and indicate you would like to volunteer for the “Urban Garden Project” in the form.

Community garden managed by San Leandro 2050 growing and donating produce to the neighboring San Leandro Community Food Pantry. Located at Bethel Community Church. All are welcome, sign up to volunteer here.

Flower and production garden managed as an instructional and therapeutic space for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, growing and donating produce to a variety of Tri-Valley organizations. Located at Hagemann Ranch, neighbors the Livermore Heritage Guild. Sign up to volunteer here.

Our partner nurseries stock diverse Bay-Friendly plants and supplies that can help make your garden successful. Be sure to call before visiting as hours, inventory, and services may change.