Quarry Lakes Demonstration Garden

Welcome to Quarry Lakes, the Master Gardeners Newest Demonstration Garden

Quarry Lakes in Fremont is the East Bay Regional Park’s (EBRP) latest addition to their amazing collection of large regional parks. Its 450 acres includes several ponds, a swimming beach, fishing areas, picnic areas, boating, volleyball courts, hiking trails, and a rare fruit orchard. Quarry Lakes has something for everyone. And if that isn’t enough, you can just sit and do nothing but enjoy the fabulous views of Mission Peak, the East Bay hills, the Livermore hills, and various wildlife.

The idea behind the Master Gardeners’ project is twofold:

To build a beautiful drought-tolerant garden with paths and signage
To present classes that show the public that there are viable options to thirsty lawns

The Quarry Lakes project began a couple of years ago with the an agreement between the UC Regents and EBRP.

We then began mulching a rather steep site near the largest lake. After days of mulching and weeding, the Alameda County Water District informed us that the area is considered an embankment and, therefore, it cannot be disturbed. We have now selected another site—one that is actually much, much better. It has a large flat area with three oak trees and a gentle slope around two sides of it. This area had already been compacted to 98% of its ability to be compacted.

We have covered the slope with cardboard and mulch. The flat area was ripped up and we seeded it with a Sod Buster cover crop and covered it with straw. We may need to plant a second cover crop - stay tuned!

The next step is to put in the irrigation system and to build the paths. EBRP will do most of the heavy work here, but the Master Gardeners will put the lines and emitters where we want them once the water is brought in. This is a large area (over 12,000 square feet) and it will be a fair amount of work.

We are drawing up a master plan for the area, including an overall plan and a plant list. Then comes the best part, getting the plants and planting them!

For more information about this lovely park go to www.ebparks.org/node/5 and select Quarry Lakes on the right side.

Mulching: An Important First Step

Installing an Irrigation System