In the News

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Articles About Common Ground

Center Director helping Common Ground student & customer
Center Director helping Common Ground student & customer
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, A fruitful experience, June 25, 2010. A profile of Pam Scott, teacher of "Wisdom Shoes," a class for beginning gardeners at Common Ground on June 26, 2010. "One of the things I want to get across is that it really doesn't take that much space to grow a garden," she said. "I'd love to spark someone's imagination and help them realize that it's possible to grow a garden in almost any area or climate. I'm trying to make it as 'how-to' as possible."
  • Red Tricycle, Best Bay Area Gardening Stores for Kids., March 30, 2010. Classes on growing great tomatoes, starting a summer garden, and beekeeping are offered at Common Ground in Palto Alto, an organic garden supply and education center. With the motto "Creating Abundance in Community," their garden center's vision is to promote edible gardens in neighborhoods throughout the mid-Peninsula.
  • San Jose Mercury News, Amidst December storm, a lesson in rainwater harvesting., December 13, 2009. Rainwater Harvesting "is a great way of taking care of yourself and being in charge of your own water," said San Jose-based landscape architect Sherri D. Osaka during the class.
  • Stonecrest MANAGERS / Monthly news bulletin, Professional Profile: Common Ground, August, 2009. Over the years, Common Ground has grown in size and reputation as a non-profit organazation committed to earth friendly agriculture. Offering classes and supllies to help people grow edible gardens.
  • The Wave Magazine, Growing Organic, Keeping you and your plants happy and healthy., July, 2009, Volume 9, Issue 10. According to Patricia Becker, executive director of the Common Ground Organic Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto, "Healthy soil leads to healthy plants leads to healthy people. Pesticides are known to affect body systems including our immune system, our mood, even our memory."
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Gardening for the birds, May 15, 2009. Jim Howard's presentation, a partnership between the NRCS and Common Ground Supply and Education Center, is just one example of Howard's community outreach responsibilities as a direct conservationist, where he provides technical assistance to San Mateo County farmers, ranchers, private landowners, land-management partners and other individuals who want to do land-management conservation.
  • ABC News 7 KGO TV San Francisco, March 20th, 2009. The green is in the garden. Watch this newscast about how Common Ground is educating new gardeners to grow their own food!

  • San Jose Mercury News, 'Sustainable' is the word at San Francisco garden show, March 13,2009. Today, Weber is a garden consultant who focuses on sustainable design. So it's fitting that she and longtime friend Patricia Becker, who manages the eco-friendly Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto, are creating a garden for this year's San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. The show's theme is "Sustainable Spaces, Beautiful Places."
  • San Francisco Chronicle, Gardening: Spending time, save money, February 27,2009. Imagine stepping outside to freshen up a salad while saving dollars a day on grocery bills, said Patricia Becker, director of the Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center, the Palo Alto nonprofit that has sold seedlings and compost for decades while teaching novices how to grow food on the smallest of scales.
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Going green by growing green, January 2, 2009. Wondering how to start the new year off on a lighter carbon footprint? Perhaps the Edible Garden Series: From Design to Harvest class offered at Common Ground Garden Supply and Education Center will set gardeners on the right path.
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Brown is the new green., November 14, 2008. Common Ground Garden Supply and Education Center is teaching resource conserving ways to create beautiful landscapes. Plants adapted to our Mediterranean climate, such as native buckwheat, coffeeberry, western redbud, manzanita, sages, salvia, yarrow, deergrass, hummingbird favorite -- California fuchsia, butterfly favorite -- lantana,and penstemon margarita are strikingly beautiful and easy to maintain.
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Mission possible?, August 15, 2008. The leaves may be starting to fall soon, but autumn in California is the time to start your fall garden. With proper planning, a garden can easily continue to provide an abundanc of crops. Helping students understand how to sustain their gardens through the changing season will be the focus of " Starting Your Fall Garden" class on August 23 2008 at Common Ground Organic Garden and Education Center in Palo Alto.
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Gardens of edible delights, July 25, 2008. Meet Gary Bacon and his wife Carmen Gomez, who opened their Palo Alto organic garden to the public for the Edible Landscaping Tour on August 2, 2008. "People learn a lot from each other [by going on the tours] and you hear a lot of people say 'Hey, I'm going to do this in my backyard.' ... We wanted to show people the little we know." Gary grows an abundance of raspberries, blackberries, plums, avocados, grapes, apples, lemons, corn, strawberries, artichokes, asparagus, pears, rhubarb, nectarines, melons, cantaloupe, watermelons, beets, carrots, and more. "It's not just about growing your own food but a way of life, and part of life is getting your hands in the soil you are blessed with. Growing your own food creates a more responsible way to treat earth and live our lives."
  • Bay Area Green (a publication of the Bay Area News Group), Questions & Answers, Common Ground Garden Center Director Patricia Becker, June 2008. An in-depth, wide-ranging interview with Patricia Becker on gardening, sustainable agriculture, the environment, education, and the community that has evolved around Common Ground. Includes photographs of a cooking class fundraiser, a class at the demonstration garden, and Patricia helping a customer at the Common Ground store. "The more people are inspired, informed, and educated, the more people will find joy in gardening and taking care of the environment."
  • Palo Alto Weekly - Home & Real Estate, Beautiful and useful, Friday, Feb 8, 2008. People who attend his class "Using Native Plants in the Garden - A Deeper Perspective" on Feb. 9 could come away with "an enthusiasm for gardening and using plants that are appropriate to California."
  • Register-Pajaronian, Eco-Farm Conference kicks off, Thursday, Jan 24th, 2008. Article quotes Common Ground's Assistant Manager, Don Larson. He is pictured in the food line (w/ green head band.)
  • Palo Alto Daily News, Community nourishes nonprofit, August 23rd 2007. Local businesses including Toyota, Country Sun Natural Foods, Hewlett-Packard and Patagonia have made donations for September 15th FUNdraiser Celebration to help raise funds for the center, while nearby residents are volunteering their time and talents. Photo of staff person River Moon is highlighted.
  • Palo Alto Weekly, Growing his own, creating a garden that's good enough to eat, July 13, 2007. Article features our customer and friend Bob Niederman, whose garden is included in this year's "Edible Landscaping Tour."
  • San Francisco Chronicle, Cooking Off The Grid, July 11, 2007. Solar ovens utilize nature's rays for energy-efficient, everyday cooking -- even in foggy San Francisco. Article includes photos and quotes of Common Ground's Assistant Manager, Don Larson.
  • Silicon Valley Home Magazine, Must have favorite Tools, April 2007. Local garden professionals share with readers their must-have garden tools. Includes photo of Common Ground's Center Manager Patricia Becker with Hori Hori. (This glossy advertising magazine of The San Jose Mercury News does not have an online link.)
  • The Wave Magazine, Spring Gardening Tips: How to spruce up your winter-weary garden, March 2007.
  • Vision Magazine, Sharing the Gifts of the Earth, Palo Alto's Common Ground, December 2006.
  • San Francisco Chronicle, Celebrating decades of hands-on environmentalism, Common Ground marks 34th year of organic living, September 6, 2006.