These
cold rainstorms aren't pleasant, but
they are just what we need to increase the snowpack for next summer. You
can't do much work outdoors, but it is a great time to order seed
catalogs and plan your spring and summer gardens. Class starts
this Sunday, January 24. You can register by going to valleyoaktool.com and clicking on
the link there. It will save time if you pre-register, even
if you pay
at the door. We can have your class card ready and speed the line along
so folks don't miss the beginning of the class.
When you get to
class, we have about 100 Baker Creek Seed Company catalogs
to
distribute. It is a beautiful catalog, filled with rare and unusual
heirloom varieties. Baker Creek has just recently opened a store in
Petaluma, so if you are in that area, it is definitely worth a visit. It
is in an old bank building right in the center of town, on the corner
of Petaluma Blvd and Washington Street. There is parking within a couple
of blocks. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and besides rows
upon rows of seeds, they have some first rate garden tools, including
the Valley Oak wheel hoe. Just a few miles north, Harmony Farm
Supply in
Sebastopol has a large selection of tools, supplies, nursery stock,
bareroot fruit trees, irrigation supplies and so much more. Harmony
publishes a catalog, but if you are in the neighborhood, I recommend you
go and get your hands on great gardening supplies, and you avoid
shipping charges if you buy it in the store. Both these companies sell
online also.
Recommended
Reading: For a strong introduction to raised bed vegetable
gardening, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith is hard to
beat. It is well organized with an easy reading style and lots of
quality color photos of the methods and tools and plants he is
discussing. Even though Ed Smith is writing from his home in Vermont,
his methods are easily generalized to other areas, even here in northern
California. I am not a fan of raised beds unless your soil is terribly
rocky. We may have a chance to discuss this tomorrow in class. When you
come to class, bring a pen. We will be handing out 3x5 cards for you to
write questions for the speakers, and on the back side please write one
or two favorite books and/or catalogs. We will publish a list of 10 or
15 of the most popular in the next newsletter.
Seed Catalogs to order: You
can go online or telephone Territorial Seeds in Oregon. Hazel has found
their seeds to be excellent. Many of you know about FEDCO. Great people
in Maine. Slow to send orders, but mostly organic, and very
inexpensive. Johnny's Seeds in Maine is pricey, but has high quality
seeds and fast service. Seed Savers Exchange is a well liked catalog for
heirlooms saved by members.
The format for the
class this time is that in the first hour I will interview the
speaker(s), and in the second hour I will read questions from the 3x5
cards. After that, we will take questions from the audience. The goal is
for you to get your questions answered. I am open to suggestions for
improvements. We won't be doing announcements, as this took up a
lot of time during last year's classes. We will have tables available
for class members to put announcements and brochures on, and at the ten
minute break (about halfway through the 2 hours), class members can sit
at the table and be available to discuss their announcements with any of
us who wander by.
If you want to email
announcements of upcoming events, I will include relevant announcements
in the newsletter.
Carl Rosato will be
bringing some bareroot peach trees to class, maybe tomorrow.
He is picking 3 varieties that will do well in home gardens, and they
will be available at wholesale cost to class members. This may not
happen tomorrow. Carl is getting back from the EcoFarm Conference late
tonight, so it may be that the trees will come later.
Gardening Tips: A
month from now, we may have perfect weather for spring planting here in
the north valley. We often have a "planting window" of a week or two in
February. If you have your seeds, and your tools and your amendments
ready, you can slap that garden in, and enjoy beets, lettuce, spinach,
chard, peas and more. Order your seeds in the next couple of days. Bruce
Balgooyen will have recommendations of varieties next Sunday if you
don't know which ones to order.
See you in class,
David Grau
Valley Oak Tool Company
P.O. Box 301
Chico CA 95927
telephone
530-342-6188
