It’s pumpkin time at COHN-STONE STUDIOS!
I want to go!
(photo and announcement from Cohn-Stone website)
You are invited to visit our Garden Showroom and Glass Blowing Studio
THREE WEEKENDSOctober 14-15October 21-22October 28-2910am – 5pm
A most unusual Pumpkin Patch with hundreds of colors, shapes and sizes of Hand Blown Glass Pumpkins and Squash Miniatures to Giants in fantasy forms guaranteed to enchant your home or garden.
Plus – Glass Acorns, Pomegranates, Fire, Vases, Bowls, Paperweights, and more…
Glass Blowing Demonstrations – Hot Apple Cider and Cookies too.
At this event we will feature our experimental pieces, prototypes, color tests, discontinued pieces, and lots of
Unique and unusual pieces – you must attend the event to purchase – no phone orders.
Directions:
From San Francisco take either the Bay Bridge or the San Rafael Bridge and follow directions below:
From Berkeley or Marin County take Hwy 580 to Richmond and Exit at Regatta Blvd. turn left onto Erlandson/Regatta Street and continue to the corner of South 31 st Street.
From Sacramento take Hwy 80 West, exit Cutting Blvd, turn Right onto Cutting and then left onto South 31 st Street.
Within Richmond South 31 st Street is off of Cutting Blvd
Bought Bargain Bulbs at Costco
After a trip to Costco last Thursday, I now have two bags of tulips chillin’ in the meat bin of my fridge and bags of daffodils and alliums sitting on the counter, waiting to be planted. I wasn’t planning on buying bulbs that day, but the display got to me– stack upon stack, row upon row of colorfully labeled bags full of fresh, firm spring bulbs. At $8.29 a bag, they were irresistable.
We’re talking 50 tulip bulbs and 50 daffodil bulbs for $8.29/bag. The ‘Gladiator’ Alliums were 3 to a bag. They’s special, I reckon.
Now that I have a bulb auger, I’m no longer intimidated by the thought of planting 153 bulbs. I used to own one of those long-handled “bulb planters” that works well only if you’re planting in a bed of tiny marshmallows. I have clay soil… the kind of clay that’ll make a man out of you… or that’ll make you scan the horizon for a set of biceps attached to a man.
Since I ditched the bulb planter and took a chance on a bulb auger
Mail order bulb companies I’ve had good luck with include:
A few bulb companies highly ranked on Garden Watchdog include:
Old House Gardens Heirloom Flower Bulbs
Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
John Scheepers, Inc.
Bloomingbulb.com
Van Engelen, Inc.
Easy to Grow Bulbs
Californians, also check out Far West Bulb Farm, which sells native California bulbs.
Where the heck are my bulbs from? Let’s see… looks like they’re from the Netherlands’ Langeveld Bulb Co., by way of Garden State Bulb Co. (the U.S. office and warehouse) in New Jersey.
Now, let’s see how Langeveld ranks on Garden Watchdog.
SCORE: 75/100
Hmmm… interesting. Come spring, we’ll know if my bargain bulbs pay off. I’ll report back. I buy bulbs from independent nurseries as well. What I like about buying from a local nursery is that you often get to pick each bulb from a bin. You’ll most likely pay more per bulb, but you’ll have the opportunity to select the largest, least-bruised bulbs. The longer you wait, the funkier the selection usually. Plus, sometimes bulbs get put back in the wrong bin. As always, shop early for the best selection.
Where do you shop for spring bulbs locally, blog readers? And your favorite mail order bulb company(ies)?
Trey, are you reading this? I’m curious about which bulb companies you use and why you like them.
Being sporadically bargain-minded, I just did a price comparison; My Costco tulips and daffs cost 6 cents a bulb. I’d be paying more in the vicinity of 69 cents a bulb locally. Right now I feel like I got a really good deal. Time will tell.
Get the latest spinach E. coli updates from the CDC
(Photo from UC VRIC)
Center for Disease Control (CDC) Spinach E. coli Outbreak UPDATES http://www.cdc.gov/foodborne/ecolispinach/
More spinach news–
Spinach E. coli: Farmers Warned a Year Ago KXTL – TV/DT Sacramento
Salinas Farmers Warned About Spinach Safety in 2004 KNTV-TV—San Francisco Bay Area, CA
“This is not the first time those supposedly healthy, leafy greens have made people sick. Rather, it is the 20th incident since 1995 in which E. coli outbreaks have been linked to spinach or lettuce. The cause could be fertilizer or irrigation and flood waters fouled by animal waste. Finally the FDA warned the industry last year to improve its safety record and in August, just weeks before the latest outbreak, announced inspections under its Lettuce Safety Initiative.”– Newsday.com editorial
Spinach Cultivation in California:
Spinach Production in California UC VRIC
Growing Home Garden Spinach UC VRIC
Northern California home gardeners… it’s time to plant spinach. If you have trouble finding plant starts, or if you have the heebie jeebies about where the starts came from, plant spinach from seed.
And in the San Francisco Chronicle, Lynette Evans explains why Gardeners Don’t Have to Give up Spinach.
A sign spotted at the local Midas Auto Services shop…
Amy Stewart’s Garden Podcasting article in S.F. Chronicle
In case you missed it…
Wiggly Wigglers podcasts dish the dirt on gardening
Amy Stewart, Special to The Chronicle
Saturday, September 23, 2006
A Homemade Salsa Virgin No More
Back in July I put out a call for salsa recipes and got a few good ones from Lesli, blogging at The Peterson Farm in Georgia, Rachelle, The Accidental Gardener and Sierrabella at Sierrabella’s Garden in the California foothills. Yesterday, I finally managed to make homemade salsa. Why have I not been doing this, oh, for the last twenty years or so? So easy and delish!
Both recipes call for tomatoes, onion, peppers and garlic, but Lesli’s mentions peeling the tomatoes and Rachelle’s calls for the addition of fresh lime juice and cilantro. I decided to grab a bit o’ this and a bit o’ that from each recipe. We’re still talking super simple and super easy.
Ingredients:
— Tomatoes (I used ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Costoluto Genovese’ because that’s what I had on the vine… quantity should be similar to about 6 Roma tomatoes)
— 2 ‘Fresno’ Chili Peppers
— 1 clove garlic
— juice of one lime
— one onion
— salt to taste
I wore latex gloves from the get-go because I’m a big chicken. Proving even more what a big chicken I am, I used greenish Fresnos because the red ones are much hotter. Ok, and I scraped out the seeds. I was probably one step away from leaving the hot peppers out entirely.
Well… I’m proud to report that the results didn’t quite have enough kick for me. I’m tougher than I thought, despite my Irish potato-lovin’ genes, and will try the red ones next. Pretty soon I’ll be saying, “‘Fresno’ chili peppers? Zey are nothing to me. I eat zem whole, right off the vine. I bathe in a bathtub full of them. Is like a milk bath, only milder.”
Or not.
Seeding the peppers
Peeling the tomatoes
Blending ingredients
Verdict: Flavor is fresh… and sweet compared to store-bought salsa. The garlic and onion are essential and don’t overpower the tomato flavor. Salt definitely boosts and balances the overall flavor. You could leave it out if you’re eating the salsa with salted chips, but if your chips are unsalted, go ahead and salt the salsa. Guacamole would of course make a fabulous accompaniment to the salsa and chips.
I’m still a chunky salsa virgin and salsa verde virgin. Thanks, again, Sierrabella, for the salsa verde recipe. I need to scare up some tomatillos.
Ok, who knows the best tomato varieties for making salsa besides ‘Roma’?
Angela’s Stock Photography
