Resources

At various times in the season, The Learning Garden at Noyo Food Farm offers organically-grown seasonal produce and plant starts to the community. Items vary and supply is limited. (Our Online Farmstand will be back online soon.)

Community Gardens
Garden Friendly Community
South Lincoln Street Garden is now accepting volunteers and garden plot reservations, email gfcgardensfortbragg@gmail.com for more info
Caspar Community Garden 707-964-4997 or caspar@mcn.org

Gardens / Farms with Farm Stands / CSA – Mendocino Coast
Fortunate Farm • Mist Farm • NYE Ranch • Wavelength Farm

Farmers Markets – Mendocino Coast
Fort Bragg – Wednesdays 2-5pm (Year Round) • Mendocino – Fridays 12-2pm (Seasonal)

Food Access – Mendocino Coast
Fort Bragg Food Bank 707-964-9404 • 910 N Franklin Street • Kids boxes available Wednesdays 12-3pm
FBUSD School Meals FBUSD students have access to free school meals, including the Teen Lounge Supper program
Redwood Coast Senior Center 707-964-0443 • 490 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg

Garden Supplies
Dirt Cheap Landscape Supply
Mendo Mill
North Star Nursery
Rossi’s
Sakina’s Garden & Nursery

Gardening Education
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Gardening on the Mendocino Coast
Master Gardeners of Mendocino Coast
Victory Gardens for Peace

Grow People, Grow Soil, Grow Food: A Curriculum for Youth Garden Internships based on 10 years of programing in The Learning Garden. Written by Magnolia Barrett and Cornelia Reynolds
Teaching and learning are living processes. The garden teaches the us new things all the time. We learn and shift and are open to changing our thinking and our actions. We discover new information, or have new experiences with the garden or the interns.
 
Having committed the curriculum to print, we hope for it to be an inspiration rather than a blueprint. It’s a picture of a well-informed moment in time. But our experience keeps growing, as do our sources for more information. Click here to download the Curriculum

Bee Bold Mendocino – Learn about bees! Native bee friendly plants, managed honey bees, and more!

Victory Gardens for Peace Growing Guide – Garden Plan for Rapid Calories, Planting Calendars for Mendocino Coast, Close Plant Spacing, Companion Planting, and so much more!

This graphic is a simple little crash course in understanding the complex science of composting. In light of our times and the growing desire for food security, we’re all concerned with having nutritious soil for veggies as we plan our Spring gardens. The info here might answer a few of the basic questions one might have about the elements of a compost pile, and how to properly combine the elements in a traditional backyard compost bin or pile. Let these concepts inspire you to research, explore and build your own composting system at home!
This diagram does a great job of showing the basic relationships and circles that define an ecosystem. Remember that a garden is it’s own form of a human-modified ecosystem, and it follows the same basic rules seen here. Understanding the relationships between the living and non-living elements in your home garden environment will help you to make decisions that will benefit you, your garden and the ecosystems in which you are nested!
It’s a good idea to assess your home site and determine the directions that your outdoor spaces face before planning where to put spring veggies. Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s ideal to have your growing space be south-facing to maximize its exposure to the sun throughout the day. Sometimes it’s best to plant herbs, fruits and veggies in pots or containers and place them on the south side of your house, apartment building etc., rather than plant them in the ground in a perpetually shady area. Ultimately, the best way to figure out your sunny and shady areas is to pay attention throughout the day as the seasons change.
People often ask us what the “Food Forest” part of our name means. Here is a simple graphic that illustrates the various components of a food forest, and how they interact. Food forests are sustainably designed to be healthy, self-supporting ecosystems that provide high-nutrient foods both to people and animals that call a woodland environment home. Shade, growing structures, and companion plants are a few of the many features that help the various elements support each other. Just like a natural forest ecosystem, our own small food forest is constantly growing and evolving!