- Author: Betty Homer
I love traveling along Highway 12 past Suisun City in Solano County, especially days after a good, hard rain which turns the landscape into undulating verdant hills and pastures where livestock graze peacefully. Hidden amongst this bucolic scenery, is a local gem known as the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City, which I discovered by happenstance some years earlier. During April of each year, the Museum hosts a wonderful event where, for a nominal entrance fee, wildflower enthusiasts can take an hour-long, 10-mile trip on one of the Museum’s vintage trains, to catch views of native wildflowers (e.g., consisting primarily of poppies, goldfields, brass buttons, butter and eggs, clover, and sheep’s sorrel) that blanket the hillsides and fields of Solano County. The tours are docent-led and views change weekly, depending upon what is in bloom. My past experience on this tour has been that the train will stop at an appropriate juncture to allow visitors to exit and wander alongside the fields to take photographs and to examine the wildflowers up-close. The window to catch this glorious display of wildflowers is short-lived, as the tours begin on April 3, 2013 and run until April 28, 2013. I recently visited the general vicinity in which these tours take place, and at least as of the posting of this blog entry, there did not seem to be many wildflowers yet on display, but that will quickly change, so consider making your plans now. For additional information about the various tours, times, and ticket prices, please visit (http://www.wrm.org/).
- Author: Betty Homer
Admittedly, this blog entry leans more towards food than cultivation, but hey, isn’t food one of the main reasons why we grow edibles in addition to edibles just being plain beautiful?? I believe our local readers will be delighted to know that we have a number of knowledgeable local olive growers, and, in turn, olive oil producers here in Solano County. This blog entry will feature one such local source—Il Fiorello Olive Oil Company located at 2625 Mankas Corner in Suisun Valley.
Il Fiorello (Italian for “little flower,” which describes the olive flower itself) is owned by Mark and Ann Sievers. I had the pleasure and privilege of attending a marvelous Chocolate and Olive Oil tasting event at Il Fiorello recently. This blog entry will focus exclusively on the olive aspect of the event (rather than chocolate), as olives can be cultivated locally.
During the event, Mark gave an informative lecture, filled with fun facts about olives:
- Most Olives are grown within 200 miles of the Mediterranean Sea.
- There are over 800 varieties of olives.
- Different olives produce different flavored olive oils.
- Greeks use more olive oil than just about anyone.
- There are approximately 800 olive mills in Sicily alone; contrast that with just 53 mills in the United States.
- California is the center for the olive oil industry in the United States.
- Oldest olive tree is in Sicily—approximately 2,600 years old.
Mark explained that when tasting olive oil, you should first use your nose to smell the oil and then taste for depth (fruitiness/bitterness, pungency (e.g., how peppery is it?), and balance). Pungency can be described by the number of coughs you experience as a result of tasting an oil. One of the many varieties of olives that the Sievers grow, is called a Lecchino, which is delicate in flavor and pairs well with vegetables such as spinach. Another variety that the Sievers grow is the Frantoio, which produces a more robust olive oil.
When caring for olive trees, Mark advised that one must be very careful to prune the trees because olives grow on 1-year old wood. Apparently, olive trees are fairly pest-resistant overall, having only one real pest—the olive fly (http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74112.html ) which, according to Mark, is pretty easy to control. One healthy tree can produce approximately 40 pounds of olives which will render 2 quarts of olive oil. Mark said that olives start to deteriorate the moment they are harvested (helpful tip for those of you who have olive trees and harvest from them). Olives must be milled within 24 hours of harvest to achieve a superior oil.
Mark advised that olive oil, if kept properly (no heat, no light, no oxygen) in a cool, dark place, will last up to 3 years. He warned that most of the olive oil on supermarket shelves is rancid (I heard the same when attending an olive workshop presented at UC Davis this year) and that the only way a consumer knows to tell the difference, is to have developed a palate for good olive oil.
So if you love olives but do not have your own olive trees, look no further than to our local sources.
- Author: Edward Walbolt
This year as summer transitioned to fall, we were blessed with a few days of unusually early fall rain. In some areas of Solano County almost two inches of precipitation fell after only a few days in late September and early October. A benefit of the rain was that Solano’s turf and native grasses were transformed from being burned out, parched, and dangerously flammable to being lush, spring-like, and full of new light green growth hues and vigor. The areas in my turf garden that were worn down quickly filled in with new growth now covering the previously bare patches caused by the late summer’s heat. The timing on the rains could not have come at a better time for a lot of us, most specifically me. My office was recently moved 50 miles farther from home and with the long hours commuting between there and Fairfield I had been neglecting my turf garden. I intended to find some time to water and fertilize my Fescue/Bluegrass blend to prepare for the fall, but I had not gotten around to it before the rains came. Needless to say, I think I can put off my fertilizer regiment until the end of November without worry. Solano County doesn’t often get nature’s showers until November or December so it was a unique nitrogen-rich phenomenon this year that many of our gardens benefitted from.
- Author: Betty Victor
Another good day working at the New Foundations Garden located at the Solano County Juvenile Hall Detention Facility, in Fairfield.
This garden was started last year with the cooperation of the Solano County Grounds Supervisor Jim Simon, the counselors at the facility and the Master Gardeners. The idea is to turn a huge empty field into several types of gardens and paths, along with a teaching area.
Over the last few months planting beds were constructed, filled with compost, and made ready to plant. The young men at the detention facility did the work under the supervision of the Master Gardeners. Summer vegetables were planted as well as red and golden raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. A citrus orchard has also been started with the trees off to a good start. So far the young people have learned how to plants seeds and trees, how to install drip irrigation, and how to compost by starting a compost bin. The Master Gardeners have taught the young men how to keep the garden tools clean and ready for use, as well as plant propagation.
Over the summer months, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, corn on the cob, watermelon, and pole beans were harvested. Some of the bounty has been donated to the food bank. The blackberries, raspberries and strawberries were eaten right of the vine by these hard-working young people.
This last week the beds were cleaned of the summer vegetables, except for a tomato plant, pumpkin, watermelon, and the zucchini as they were still producing. The cleaned beds were then planted with butter lettuce, ‘Pixie’ cabbage, tricolored carrots, broccoli, and green onions as the winter crops to be planted so far.
For color, one of the beds was planted with iris and cannas and another bed has been planted with sweet peas.
Also on their waiting list the giant pumpkins that were planted early in the year. All are wondering how large they will get and if any will be ready by Halloween.
More projects are planned for the coming months, watch for updates.
- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
I just wanted to report to you about our Public Plant Exchange we had this past weekend. It was widely publicized, but if you missed attending, here is what you missed.
We have been doing the Public Plant Exchange for a few years now. At first, we just exchanged plants internally amongst the Master Gardeners (MGs). It became so popular with them, they wanted to share with the public.
The MGs love to propagate plants at home. Many are experts at growing plants and love to share. So, they bring in to the exchange any plant, seed, cutting or bulb (including rhizomes, tubers and the like). Knowing there are home gardeners out there who also like to do home propagation, we invite them to share their wares with the MGs. We bring everyone together on one date to share their knowledge and exchange plants. It is a free event we hold in the fall and sometimes the spring.
At our event we also have other items related to home gardening. The MGs bring in their books, gardening tools, pots, and magazines. This year we had a huge assortment!
We hope to plan another plant exchange for the spring, but if you're interested in attending one before then, I know of one happening in Oakland called the Lakeshore Avenue Free Neighborhood Plant Exchange. Here is the information: Saturday, October 15, 2011. 3811 Lakeshor Avenue (easy parking). From 12:00 noon until 4 p.m. For more information visit this site www.plantexchange.wordpress.com.