The oaks of California host a dizzying diversity of galls, the majority of which are formed by wasps in the family Cynipidae. Learn more about oak gall wasps at an upcoming workshop. (Juan Francisco Moreno Gamez – Getty Images)
Santa Rosa
A guide to oak gall wasps: The California Native Plant Society presents a talk about the miniature world of gall wasps at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave.
The oaks of California host a dizzying diversity of galls, the majority of which are formed by wasps in the family Cynipidae. These ecosystem engineers, whose complex life cycle involves multiple generations every year, induce oaks to produce galls in a dazzling array of shapes, textures and colors. Recognizing these unique insects can aid with quercus identification and appreciating them is a point of access into the beautiful complexity of our local oak woodlands.
Habitat restorationist Sam Smith will share about gall wasp life cycle, identification and ecology as well as how community scientists can help to discover and document new species to science.
For details on attending, visit chapters.cnps.org/milobaker for zoom link
Santa Rosa
Planning your garden: January is the best time to plan out the garden for the year. Bees n Blooms hosts a workshop on garden planning from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at 3883 Petaluma Hill Road.
This session will introduce participants to several ideas to consider as you plan, including your goals for your garden, the timing of outdoor plantings and when to start seeds indoors, crop rotation to prevent disease and pests, and where to obtain the seeds. Seth Gowans from Sidekick Flowers will present information about growing flowers for cutting. This will be an indoor-only class.
Additional garden workshops on seed starting, soil testing, soil amending, organic pest management, irrigation and more are offered on Saturdays through March 28.
The cost is $85 per class. For details and to register, visit https://beesnblooms.com/garden-workshops-2/
Santa Rosa
Form, foliage and texture in landscape: Sonoma County Master Gardener Jani Weaver will discuss using design elements in the garden focused on form, foliage and texture at 1 p.m. Jan. 26 during a Santa Rosa Garden Club hosted program at the Luther Burbank Art & Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave.
She will be bringing plants to show examples of plantings utilizing these elements. This will also be instructional in terms of types of plants and their behaviors. Conifers and grasses will be showcased as a part of this lecture. Weaver will be selling the plants that she brings for the program.
For information, visit santarosagardenclub.com/upcoming-programs.html
Sonoma
Pick up some new native plants: Sonoma Ecology Center has a native plant sale from noon to 3 p.m. every Friday at Sonoma Garden Park, 19996 Seventh St. East.
The sale offers a variety of California native plants to help local gardeners create and maintain drought tolerant and pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes.
For information visit sonomaecologycenter.org/venue/sonoma-garden-park or email email the nursery manage at hannah@sonomaecologycenter.org.
Online
Want to learn to raise chickens?: Alchemist Farm of Sebastopol offers online classes on keeping chickens.
Participants will learn everything from setting up the brooders to managing a flock, trimming wings and working with broody hens. The cost is $97.
Alchemist Farm also offers a master hatching class along with monthly live chicken chats.
For information and to sign up, visit https://alchemistlife.com/farming/
Online
Start a beekeeping journey: Beekind of Sebastopol is offering a beginner-friendly six-part video series on the essentials of beekeeping.
Beekeeping 101 online video lecture by beekeeper Doug Vincent goes over the essentials of backyard beekeeping, equipment, terminology and must-know first steps.
For details, cost and to sign up for access, visit beekind.com/beekeeping-101.
Beekind is located at 921 Gravenstein Hwy. S. in Sebastopol. For information, call 707-824-2905.
Santa Rosa
Mushrooms of Sonoma County: Join Melina Kozanitas, biologist and mycology lecturer at Sonoma State University, to learn how to find, identify, and understand local mushrooms at Pepperwood Preserve from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 11.
This class will open with a brief lecture reviewing the essentials, and then Kozanitas will guide participants through environments in which fungi may thrive, such as mixed-hardwood forest and grassland. Participants will learn about the structures and defining features of various fungi species and practice identifying them. Bring a bring a bag lunch to conclude the day with a collective identification session of the specimens found.
This event includes a hike of up to 2 miles, with some easy to moderate inclines, over varied and uneven terrain. The route includes climbing over a 4-step ladder/fence-hopper. Bathrooms and water are available at the meeting location. This class is not a food foraging event, but an educational exploration to learn to identify and understand local fungi. For ecological conservation reasons, removing specimens from the reserve is not permitted.
Cost is $35 per person. Ages 12 and older are welcome. Pets are not allowed.
Participants should meet at the Dwight Center at Pepperwood Preserve, 2130 Pepperwood Preserve Road. Visit pepperwoodpreserve.org/?event=mushrooms-of-sonoma-county-2
Healdsburg
Wild mushroom foray: Relish Sonoma hosts a wild mushroom foray and lunch experience from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 10 at a yet to be announced location.
Join David Campbell and Julie Schreiber, who between them have over 80 years of wild mushroom experience, on a foray in the hills near Healdsburg.
Participants will learn the fundamentals of edible wild mushroom foraging, including what trees and terrain to look for, the most easily-recognizable edible mushrooms of our region, handling, safety and more. We’ll gather all of our found mushrooms, edible or not, to use as examples of identifying characteristics.
After the foray, there will be a wild mushroom lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. created by Chef Julie, who is also a trained chef and winemaker. Discussion will continue over lunch, including storing, handling and cooking a variety of fresh and dry wild mushrooms. We’ll cook up any edibles we find along with our amazing four-course mushroom lunch served with selected local wines.
Foray and lunch locations are within 20 minutes of downtown Healdsburg. Location and directions will be provided to registered guests a week before the event. Additional forays will be offered on Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and March 1.
Visit relishsonoma.com/classes to register.
(Send Home & Garden related events to Yovanna.Bieberich@pressdemocrat.com)
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