- Author: Lanie Keystone
As I write this month's Blog, I am in beautiful Santa Barbara, embraced by my "other life"--as an Artist-in-Residence-in-the Schools. Each day of the residency I explore and dance with wonderful students. They are so like our gardens, filled with possibility as they grow and change everyday. Sometimes we invent dances to poems that inspire us. Here is one that we've danced to that might inspire you--or at least give you pause to reflect...especially during our much welcome rain.
DISCOVERY
by Harry Behn
In a puddle left from last week's rain,
A friend of mine whose name is Joe
Caught a tadpole, and showed me where
Its froggy legs were beginning to grow.
Then we turned over a musty log,
With lichens on it in a row,
And found some fiddleheads of ferns
Uncoiling out of the moss below.
We hunted around, and saw the first
Jack-in -the-pulpits beginning to show,
And even discovered under a rock
Where spotted salamanders go.
I learned all this one morning from Joe,
But how much more there is to know!
As I work with the children each day, there is so much that THEY TEACH ME---and "how much more there is to know!"
- Author: Gene Ekenstam
I look forward to December and early January, not because of the goodies and the presents, but because of the mail. Not the holiday cards, either, but the Seed Catalogues, which my wife refers to as my “garden porn.”
I have several reasons for wanting these much-anticipated booklets. Probably my most important reason is that I like to grow from seeds (as opposed to buying transplants from the nurseries) because I can grow unusual vegetables and I have a choice of organic and heirloom plants. So that is how I found Curcubita moschata ‘tromboncino', a zucchini-type squash with a big bulb on the end that gives it its name. It is also how I found Raphanus sativus ‘Schwarzer Runder,' a spicy black-skinned white radish reputed to go great with salt and beer. (Honestly? I didn't like it—too hot.)
Perhaps the best reason is that the catalogues give a great deal of information about best cultural practices that is more extensive than a seed packet in the store and more permanent in my mind that what the nursery person says. It is much easier to compare and then choose early-middle-late season varieties for continuous harvest, particularly of the leafy greens that you want to keep going all season long or beans and peas with differing seasonal production.
Here are some thoughts about the available catalogs that just happen to be sitting near my desk:
High Mowing Organic Seeds (www.highmowingseeds.com)---Each vegetable type is introduced with a paragraph or two about how to grow and enjoy the produce plus a discussion of diseases and pests particular to that vegetable. Included is a planting chart that I take with a grain of sodium chloride because they are located in Vermont. They offer free shipping, with no minimum.
The Natural Gardening Company (www.naturalgardening.com) --They, too, offer general cultural notes, but not as extensively as High Mowing. Their discussion about each seed compensates with greater detail. Their photography and layout is wonderful, not too cluttered. They claim to be the oldest certified organic nursery in the U.S. They do free shipping on orders greater than $30.
Peaceful Valley (aka www.GrowOrganic.com¬) advertises organic and non-GMO seeds. They accommodate both home gardeners and commercial growers—you can buy Capsicum chinense “Black Hungarian” peppers in quantities of 50 seeds or 4,789 seeds. Their images are line art rather than photographs, but their plant descriptions are plenty detailed. While they give free seeds with online orders over $50, they don't seem to give a break on shipping.
Territorial Seeds (Territorialseeds.com) is located in the Pacific Northwest, so I have to adjust their recommended planting times, etc. for the Benicia climate. Their catalog begins with a listing of new products for this year, such as Curcubita maxima ‘Big Moose Pumpkin'. That's helpful if you are always on the lookout for the newest thing. They offer a selection of grafted vegetables, including the patented “Ketchup'n'Fries”, a cherry tomato grafted on a potato, resulting in two vegetables from one plant (or should that be one fruit and one vegetable?).
Johnny's Selected Seeds (Johnnyseeds.com), Burpee (Burpee.com), and Stokes Seeds(StokeSeeds.com) complete my collection, but in all honesty mainly I use them for reference and inspiration. I generally try to keep my orders among the first four I have mentioned.
Finally, a catalog I don't have is the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. connected to the Seed Bank in Petaluma. Their catalog is gorgeous, big, and almost overwhelming, just like a visit to the Seed Bank. I haven't ordered from them for several years, but not for any real reason that I can remember. Let's face it---a visit to the Seed Bank is more fun than trying to place an order online.
So, my seed order has been placed and I'm about to get my growing supplies together and the raised beds ready for the season ahead.
- Author: Maria X. Isip-Bautista
With the holiday season upon us, here are 10 last minute gift ideas for the gardener in your life:
1- Sunset Western Garden Book
This is a great go-to reference. If the gardener in your life already has this particular book, you can also check consider Sunset's Book of Edibles or Book of Landscaping.
2- A good pair of pruning shears
This is a basic garden tool that every gardener needs, and an extra pair never hurt!
3- Seeds!
If the gardener you are shopping has been at it for some time and already has all the basics covered, these next three gifts are a good option. Choose plants/varieties personalized for the person you're shopping for- culinary herbs for someone who loves to cook, flowers in their favorite colors, etc. If you gift them heirloom seeds, they can also keep seeds from the plants they propagate to use for seasons to come.
4- Cuttings/plants propagated from your own garden
This is a great, inexpensive gift that can also be much more meaningful. You can include a special note with your own tips for growing.
5- Gift card to a local nursery
Gardeners love perusing plants at the nursery to find the next new veggie to grow or flowering plant to add to their collection. This gift ensures that they can pick exactly what they want/need.
6- Garden décor
This is another gift that is easy to personalize- statues, wall art, garden gnomes, fountains, wind chimes, or something you repurpose or create yourself. The options are endless!
7- Garden journal
A good place for gardeners to keep record of the varieties they plant, dates of planting, locations of plantings, how various varieties fared in their gardens, etc.
8- Bat box/bird feeder or bath/etc.
For any gardener who wants to attract pollinators to or control pests in their garden, and this is just about all of us, these are a thoughtful and functional gift.
9- Magazine subscription for a gardening magazine
Help your garden-lover stay up to date with new techniques and ideas. Some ideas for publications: Rodale's Organic Life (formerly Organic Gardening), Fine Gardening, Sunset Magazine, etc.
10- The gift of your time/labor!
The best gift of all might be the offer to help with a special project (you'll get to spend some quality time together and maybe develop your own interest in gardening) or to care for their garden while they're traveling for the holidays.
Wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons!
- Author: Lanie Keystone
Happiest of Holidays and Warmest Greetings for a Healthy and Wonderful New Year!
It seems there's no better way to begin the New Year than with plans for a new adventure. To help us along, the American Horticultural Society has compiled one adventure after another in their two part volume, Gardens Across America. (ISBN 1-58979-296-3 $19.95). Written by Thomas S. Spencer and John J. Russell, this overflowing compendium, subtitled Guide to American Public Gardens and Arboretums, is just that…overflowing with detailed, irresistible information about touring our nation's gardens.
They've divided the two volumes geographically—East of the Mississippi and West of the Mississippi. The book that I keep close at hand is, of course, Volume II, the western edition. It's perfect for planning a long jaunt or just jumping in the car for a fun, spontaneous day-trip. Volume I sits expectantly on my travel book shelf just waiting to help us discover eastern gardens.
Take a look at a map (or remember your 7th grade geography), and you'll be able to follow the course that Volume II ambles through--beginning with Alaska, Arizona and Arkansas--meandering along Louisiana, Minnesota and South Dakota—and ending with the gardens of Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 24 states in all are covered in Volume II. Of course, California is beautifully represented, from Anaheim—(yes, there's more to Anaheim than Disneyland)—clear through to Woodside.
Each state's garden/arboretum tour is introduced with state and regional maps showing the locations of each site. The specific entries for each garden notes pertinent information including address, website, admission & parking fees, days and hours of operation, activities, special facilities, gift shops, accessibility, etc. Each also includes the authors' narrative about areas of particular interest at the site, as well as the history and specialties of the garden. It's fun to come across some little-known, surprise sites and universities are also included.
Images are few and in black and white, but this isn't meant to be a pretty coffee table book. It's meant to be used, dog –eared, underlined, written in and cherished until an updated volume comes along. You can find it in our Solano County Library system, but, what a wonderful way to use one of those gift cards you just received to Amazon or Barnes & Noble! Looking forward to hearing about your latest New Year garden tour adventures.
- Author: Mike Gunther
Twas the season for:
Our annual Wreath Workshop
A Success It Was!