See you at the Spring Garden Market!

Saturday, March 31, 2012     9 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Loyal fans have been coming for years for the 75+ varieties of  tomatoes and 100+ varieties of peppers, and now you can pick up beans, eggplant, collards, lettuce and other greens, Chinese broccoli, amaranthus and kohlrabi – and strawberries.

But wait there’s more! We’ve also expanded our offerings to include herbs and flowers.

Itching to start planning the garden?  The descriptions of plants we sold in 2011 are tantalizing! The selections this year are mostly the same but we’ll post soon the updated lists. One special new tomato: the hybrid purple tomato, Indigo Rose, bred for even higher levels of antioxidants.

• 75+ varieties of tomatoes
• 100+ varieties of peppers
• Other vegetables
• Herbs
• Flowers

Master Gardener Sustainable Gardening Showcase

The Spring Garden Market is a day when you can learn about sustainable vegetable gardening. Master Gardeners abound and are easy to spot in their blue aprons, so bring your questions.

Join us for short and long talks on a wide variety of gardening topics. Chairs are set up and you can pick up snacks or lunch and relax in the shade. Browse the calendar of talks we gave in 2011 for an idea of topics.

• 40-Minute Talks in the Educational Circle (40 minutes) These in-depth talks include Growing Great Tomatoes and How to Build a Raised Bed.
• Short Talks all around the Market (10 minutes) Taking care of your new plants. Feeding the soil, composting and mulching. Waterwise gardening with native and Mediterranean-climate plants. How to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other beneficials to your garden. And more!

Stroll along Master Gardener Lane lined with tables with information and hands-on displays about organic, earth-friendly gardening.

• Favorite Plants Waterwise and native plants. UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars. Succulents. Cut flowers.
• Hotline LIVE! and Plant Clinic Drop by with all your gardening questions.
• Animal Pest Control Got gophers, moles, voles or other critters? Drop by for advice.
• Tool Care It’s easier than you think to keep your tools sharp and in tip-top condition.
• And much more … Composting, worm bins,  fertilizing, DIY drip irrigation and everything in between.

We’re asked so often about our favorite tools that we’re bringing our Top Ten Favorites to market. High on the list are the great publications from the University of California.

• Our Favorite Tools Sale We compiled over 25 years of experience from 330+ Master Gardeners to come up with our top choices of books, tools, gloves and gardening items.
• UC Gardening Publications Display Oodles of free pamphlets as well as excellent reference books for you to browse. Not on sale at the market: browse the catalog and purchase online from UC with a 10% discount when you use our promotion code PRCLA43.

Green Elephant Sale In a category of its own, our Green Elephant Sale features treasures from our garden sheds and garages to yours – tools, pots, apparel, books, trellises as well as unusual items you can repurpose to use in your garden. Everything but the kitchen sink … although one year we did have a kitchen sink for someone to plant in! The prices can’t be beat and we only put out items in good condition.

Vendor Fair

Booths line both sides of the Main Street in History San Jose. Plant nurseries, gardening societies, urban farmers, beekeepers and conservation groups are found alongside vendors of containers and raised beds, apparel, mosaics and even chicken coops. See the list of vendors for an idea of our colorful “Main Street.”

Amenities

A Plant Daycare can be found right next to the plant sale, where you can leave your purchases securely. There is no charge.

This year six gourmet food trucks will provide coffee, lunch, drinks and snacks.

But perhaps the best amenity is History San Jose itself. Wander the beautiful park and see the historical buildings, beautifully restored, along with their gardens.  In 2011 we created a demonstration garden at the Umbarger House where we’ll be holding some of the gardening talks and giving tours of the new garden. And don’t forget to visit the old-fashioned ice cream shop in the Hotel building!