Third annual AGAF is in planning phase! YAY! Neighbors are volunteering yards, skills, and demonstration topics. Reach out if you’d like to highlight a skill you’ve learned or are well seasoned on and/or if you’d like to join the steering committee.
Seedling. Swap. Group.
2021 closed. Final swaps via centralized locations Sunday May 16th.
Hard to quantify how many seedlings we as a group swapped, but we had over 500 posts @ plants and 180 neighbors swapping.
Check out Avondale Gardeners Facebook group or contact AvondaleGardeners@gmail.com for more info.
Let’s get engaged!
You want TikTok? We got TikTok. You want Insta? We got Insta. We got FB; we’ve got a website that’s updated often; we’ve got an actual garden; we’ve got IRL (workshops, workdays, social social-distanced meet ups). Oh, snap… we’ve even got Slack. Join us. Watch us. Engage. Join us. avondalegardeners
The pandemic presented challenges in 2020! However, AGA has remained active throughout, hosting virtual events/lectures/zooms; some with socially distanced COVID-smart protocol in-person components. Most of our outreach and event planning has been posted on our Facebook Group. Recapping the year that was:
Gardening 101: Let’s Talk Basics 4/23
Let’s Talk Backyard Chickens! 4/30
Soil! The Most Important Part 5/7
How to Care For Your New Seedlings 5/14
Gardening 101: I Got Plants In Dirt. Now What? 5/21
Let’s Talk Rain Gardens! 5/28
Pests and Disease 6/4
Urban Pollinators: Call for Citizen Scientists! 6/6
Shade Garden Workshop 6/11
Pollinators! 6/18
Weeeeeds- How To Identify And Conquer Them 6/25
Fertilizer! When? How? What? 7/2
Beneficial Weeds- The Girl Scout Badge You Need 7/16
Become A Seed Saver! 7/23
AGA: Scheming for the Future 8/6
End of Season Gardening 9/17
AGA Planning Meeting 10/8
Let’s Talk Food Preservation! 10/22
Houseplant Bingo 12/20 (reoccurring)
Houseplant Repotting 101, by Rooted
Winter sowing with Betty! 1/21/21
Worm Composting! 2/11/21
Pruning 101 2/19/21
Seed starting chat 3/11/21
Seed Swap 2/23
Seedling Swap 5/17
Carter’s Natives For Dry Avondale Basements Giveaway! 6/21
Harvest Spirit Week 9/28
Pollinator Prairie Patch Natives sale 10/4
Houseplant Swap 12/18
2020: Weird and Kind of Wonderful
Seed Swap – Feb 23rd, 2020 – 12 – 3PM – Metropolitan Brewing, 3057 N Rockwell
A free seed swap, open to all! Bring store bought or self-saved seeds to trade or give away. If you’re interested in simply socializing, that’s alright, too! This event is dog and child friendly. Metropolitan Brewing is a beautiful location overlooking the Chicago River. They welcome outside food and non-alcoholic beverages.
**Wear your AGA shirt and get a free beer koozie!**
Soup and homemade bread available for a $5 donation.
Seed Swap Details:
-Ornamental and edible plants welcome.
-Bring clearly labeled seeds in envelopes or baggies. (Some envelopes will be available if you want to split them there.)
-Try to only trade viable seeds. Feel free to bring seeds that are older(seeds are usually viable for 2-4 years) or that you’re not sure about and leave them on the “free to take” pile.
-Hybrid harvested seeds will not grow to type.
Bloom, Booze, & Bake – December 15th, 2019 – 4 – 7pm – Pollen Floral Studio
The third annual Bloom, Booze, and Bake event will be at Pollen Floral studio at 2918 N Milwaukee Ave.
Bring baked goods and beverages of any kind to share! This social event is a warm and cozy gathering of neighbors. Mix and mingle with the local gardening-and-sustainability-inclined. We will have our free seed library available, so you’ll likely leave with more than just a buzz. Homemade goodies are welcome, but not required. This free event is open to all neighbors!
Pollen Floral Studio is a boutique floral studio that creates stunning and sophisticated floral arrangements from local sources and values sustainable practices.
The studio welcomes neighbors of all types, but asks that children of “touching lots of things” age please stay behind as there are lots of fragile vases around. Additionally, this is a gun-free facility.
2019 Harvest Social – September 22, 12-3pm, 3057 N Rockwell
As the season comes to a close, we come together to share what we’ve grown and made. Neighbors will bring soups, dips, salsas, pickles, and raw fruits and veggies to share.
Come empty handed and leave with a full belly or bring something to share. Either way we want to celebrate another season in the books!
If you have seeds to share, swap, or giveaway, this is a great time to do it!
**There will be a bake off! If you want to enter, just bring something to share. Winner gets a prize!**
2019 Avondale Gardening and Agriculture Fair – August 25th – 12-5PM – 3300 N Whipple/Various Locations
Come tour Avondale gardens and learn about all things urban agriculture and sustainability. Whether you’re an apartment dweller, a homeowner, or a small business, we’ve got something for you!
Things like:
Make your own non-toxic cleaning supplies; plan a hosta-free shade garden; attract birds and pollinators to your yard; learn homebrewing and growing; resurrect your houseplants; bake bread; grow a medicinal herb garden; raise mushrooms; learn beekeeping and much more!
It’s all happening Sunday, August 25th, from 12pm to 5pm in a walkable area of East Avondale. Meet your neighbors and join our support network for new and experienced “farmers” and makers.
A map of the sites along with information about what you will find at each location will be available a couple of days before the event. You will be able to get a copy of the map from this event page, from Avondale Coffee Club, or from Concordia Place. We will announce when they are ready!
RSVP on the Facebook Event: RSVP HERE FOR UPDATES
See ya soon!
#AGAF19 #AvondaleGardeningAlliance #AvondaleGardeners
(If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out! The Avondale Gardening Alliance is completely volunteer run and all time and funding is donated! We can always use more hands on deck.)
Veggie Bingo – August 7th – 5:30PM – Hideout Inn – 1354 W Wabansia Ave
Wednesday, August 7th, 5:30PM at 1354 w Wabansia Ave
Cards $4 each/3 for $10
Wednesdays in the summertime local celebrity callers to lead 2 hour bingo games while contestants compete for a fresh harvest of prizes. All proceeds from this event benefit Chicago community gardens through NeighborSpace.
August 7th, proceeds benefit the AGA! Donations help pay for things like:
Printing materials for events
Workshop materials
Maintenance costs of Mindful Living Garden
Seed starting material
The AGA is completely volunteer run and all donations go directly back to benefiting the community.
Summer Clean & Green – June 22nd -9:30AM – 3300 N Whipple St
Meet at Concordia place for coffee and snacks before breaking into groups to clean the neighborhood!
Avondale Gardening Alliance 