by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 29, 2007 | Uncategorized
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2007
www.naturesweettomatoes.com
GET GROWING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA!
MORE THAN $6,000 TO BE AWARDED TO SACRAMENTO’S BEST BACKYARD GARDENERS
ATTN: LOCAL GARDENERS WITH THE BEST HOMEGROWN TOMATOES
NatureSweet Tomatoes, America’s year-round tomato garden, will partner with Raley’s to bring the Homegrown Tomato Challenge back to Sacramento this August to see who grows the area’s best tomatoes. This year, the overall prize money has increased as well as your chances to win — two grand prize winners will walk away with $2500 each for the best tomato in both the small and large categories, while runners-up will each receive $250 in prizes.
“Due to feedback from our contest participants and customers over the past few years, we saw a need to select two grand prize winners for this year’s Homegrown Challenge – one for the best small tomato AND one in the large tomato category,” said Kathryn Ault, Director of Marketing for NatureSweet. “Contestants are also thrilled that we’ve increased the overall amount of cash and prizes from $5,000 to $6,000.”
The event will take place on Saturday, August 25 at the Raley’s located at 25025 Blue Ravine Road in Folsom. Visit www.naturesweettomatoes.com for complete contest details or or call toll free at 1-800-315-8209.
Check out last year’s winners.
by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 29, 2007 | Uncategorized
… make lemonade, lemon bars, and lemon meringue pie.
In Sacramento, it’s criminal not to grow citrus. Despite touchy frosts and occasional freezes, we can walk out front or back and pluck oranges, lemons, kumquats, mandarins and other citrus fruits right off the tree most months of the year. That’s one of the wonderful things about living here.
In my early twenties as a renter, I was able to pick grapefruits off a large tree from the roof of my Victorian four-plex apartment in midtown Sacramento. Pretty cool. I envied my aunt Eileen for her spectacular mature Washington navel tree that came with her cute bungalow in east Sacramento. Those were the hugest, sweetest oranges… mere steps from her kitchen.
In my late twenties, my husband and I bought our first house, also a little bungalow in east Sacramento… that came with a mature Meyer lemon tree. Meyer lemons can be used like grocery store lemons (Eureka, Lisbon, etc.) but they have a sweetness and unique fragrance that builds nostalgic loyalty. Lemon bars are great, but have you ever had a Meyer lemon bar? Heaven.
I hated selling our little house when we outgrew it, but I mostly hated losing that tree. Anyone buying a house with mature citrus trees is very lucky. A few years ago, I planted several dwarf citrus trees from Four Winds, hoping to have pluckable citrus sometime in the future. I finally do, or I’m about to. My Eureka lemon is so far the most robust tree and it’s covered with egg-sized fruits. Ok, so it’s not the Meyer, but I’m not complaining. The Meyer I planted in the ground here bit the dust and its replacement is getting established in a half-barrel. I’m also raising orange trees, a kumquat, a lime, and an indiomandarinquat. They’re still in that awkward teenage stage.
Will I be in this house long enough to see all my citrus trees mature? Who knows? If not, at least someone else will inherit mature citrus like I did in my first house. For now, though, I’m looking forward to making lemonade and lemon bars… soon. I guess I didn’t have to wait too long. Just a few birthdays.
by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
I contacted the company to see where Perfectly Natural Weed ‘n Grass Killer could be purchased in greater Sacramento. Green Acres is apparently the only garden center selling it. Picked up a gallon yesterday, having gotten good results from it last year. Only one nursery… in Roseville… carries it? Sheesh!
BTW, the smaller bottle is ready to use, but you need an applicator for the gallon. I’m not sure how I’m going to apply it yet. I have a tank sprayer, but ugh. Maybe I can attach a sprayer directly to the gallon bottle, assuming it’s not a concentrate. We’ll see.
Ooh, maybe I still have the old ready-to-use bottle!
Green Acres Nursery & Supply
Address: 901 Galleria Blvd Roseville, CA 95678, US (Just South of the Galleria Mall on the right hand side)
Phone: 916-782-2273
by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
I came home with some fun stuff– Coleus ‘Royal Glissade’, Canna ‘Intrigue’, Agapanthus ‘New Blue’, Salvia ‘Purple Pastel’, Salpiglossis Royal Purple and ‘Black Heart’ potato vine. It was a hot summer afternoon, but a little heat couldn’t dim the dazzling array of plants and pots and garden toys at Bushnell’s, a beautiful nursery in a beautiful setting.
‘Storm Cloud’ agapanthus and ‘Intrigue’ canna were heavily discounted! I’m tempted to go back for more…
http://www.bushnellgardens.com/
by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 22, 2007 | Uncategorized
I thoroughly enjoyed Blithe Tomato. It was written by a small farmer, or rather, a man who farms organically on a small California farm and sells his produce at farmers’ markets. The book reads more like a series of personality profiles rather than an unfolding story, yet still paints a rather charming (though clearly not rose-colored) picture of farmers’ markets and small-scale farming.
You get a sense from author Mike Madison that his is a rich life, not always monetarily, but in quality. He works with the land, not against it, and his stories reveal a respect for nature and a tender eye toward farmers and farmers’ market customers. Madison strings words together in a pretty way, and he’s funny. Need I say more? Ok, I will. Blithe Tomato will make you want to slow down and appreciate your bounty, be it agricultural or floral or human or four-legged.
Blithe tomato not only had me fantasizing about working at a farmers’ market, it also got me back in the habit of going to farmers’ markets in my area. Thank you, Mike. Last week, I tasted the most incredible red-fleshed farmers’ market plums of my life.
Trivia fans will appreciate knowing that Mr. Madison is brother to famous foodie Deborah Madison.
With its catchy title, I had high hopes for The $64 Tomato. I’m glad I read it, but author William Alexander’s use of nastier and nastier pesticides and excruciatingly detailed accounts of trapping and killing garden invaders left me a little angry, grossed out and sad. Instead of working with the land, Alexander seeks to conquer it before it conquers him. I feel like he didn’t give organic gardening enough of a chance. William Alexander desperately needs to read Blithe Tomato.
by angela@diggingbliss | Jul 21, 2007 | Uncategorized
