I had a blast at this year’s SF Garden Show. Even though it was pouring I determined I was going to have a great time. Since the show was 100% indoors, I wasn’t effected by the rain whatsoever. I went with my friend Kevin Warnock who is really interested in aquaponics and urban homesteading. You can check him out on his blog http://kevinwarnock.com/ We both benefited greatly from meeting the vendors and buying gardening supplies from them. I would strongly urge anyone who enjoys gardening who is looking to find great deals and tremendous varieties to come to the next SF Garden Show.
It would be impossible to write about all the vendors that attended the SF Garden Show. I wanted to share some personal highlights. So here you go!
Succulent Gardens
Here is the Succulent Gardens’ little shop. I spent by far the most cash here. The customer service was fantastic and the sales team were very knowledgable about the plants. I’m a sucker for succulents… If you live in the Bay Area or the Monterey Bay Area and are as fascinated as I am about this genus of plants you must stop by their store in Castroville.
2133 Elkhorn Road, Castroville, CA 95012 | (831) 632-0482 | info@sgplants.com
Succulent Gardens
Morning Sun Herb Farm
Next I stopped by Morning Sun Herb Farm. I purchased a Lemon Verbena and a Lavender plant. They both smell amazing. I made sure of that before I purchased them. The staff here were so incredibly nice and helpful. I was told that I should start pruning my lemon verbena early on to shape the plant for a better result as it grows. I was super psyched about the lemon verbena as it’s been impossible to find at any garden center. I have never seen any seeds being sold either. It was mostly a strong object of desire because of its amazing refreshing scent. If you are unfamiliar, Loccitaine uses it as a fragrance for many of their products.
http://www.morningsunherbfarm.com
6137 PLEASANTS VALLEY ROAD
Morning Sun Herb Farm
Sweet Water Nursery
Moving on, I found Sweet Water Nursery that had a lot of container plants and very cool containers to put them in. I purchased 3 really funky shamrock plants which you can see below.
http://www.sweetwaternursery.com/
Sweet Water Nursery
Sweet Water Nursery
Ecoforms
The planters on display are by Ecoforms and they are biodegradable pots. You can find them at http://ecoforms.com . My shamrocks from Sweet Water came in the Ecocorm pots already, which is pretty cool. According to the website the pots are meant to last about 5 years outdoors and longer indoors. “EcoForms pots are made from rice hulls and natural binding agents, which are starch-based, water-soluble, and bio-degradable. No pollutants are used or produced at any stage of the manufacturing process. And, because all scraps are recycled in the production process, no materials are wasted. Only a small amount of water is used in the binding formula, and the organic pigments are environmentally friendly. Heat and pressure bind the ingredients to produce EcoForms pots.” (http://ecoforms.com/products/pots/ )
Ecoform Pots
Oxalis Plum Crazy
Back to the Roots
I would love to try these mushrooms out! The yield is supposed to be many pounds. It’s perfect for those who don’t have any sun. These mushrooms like dark and dank environments. The growing medium is used coffee grinds so no need to worry about any foul odors!
Grow your own Mushroom kit
Grow your own Mushroom kit
The Living Seed Company
I had known about Matthew Hoffman and Astrid Lindo from Twitter before I met them at SF Garden Show. Such nice and highly informed folks! The idea behind the brand is that we are losing heirloom varieties at record speed. There used to be such immense diversity of crops and we have already lost about 90% of them due to companies like Monsanto. The Living Seed Company promotes heirlooms and harvesting the heirloom seeds at the end of the growth cycle. So your purchase at this company is really very high quality seeds that keep paying dividends year after year. My friend Kevin loved their heirloom seeds as well and bought a variety pack for quite a good price. I can’t wait to invite myself over for dinner some time, Kevin! 🙂
Check out their website for very interesting information on heirloom seeds and to buy online!
http://www.livingseedcompany.com/
Living Seed Company
Heirloom veggies
Variety Seed Packs including a seed harvesting book
Iron and Wood Garden Tools
I have to give credit to Kevin because Tuli Fisher’s garden tools booth caught his eye and we were both hooked (no pun intended). We were in for such a treat of marvelously hand crafted very sexy garden tools made from essentially upcycled materials. Tuli Fisher was such a nice person to top it all off.
http://fisherblacksmithing.com/
409 South Fifth Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715
info@fisherblacksmithing.com • 406-522-9443
Iron & Wood Garden Tools
The Tower Garden
I really want one of these! The tower garden combines my two interests: vertical gardening and growing your own food. The units cost about $500 and are a closed loop system which is a very efficient way of growing your own food at home. The system looks really heavy, so I would probably have it sit in the kitchen. Ideally you’re supposed to have it out doors. This is a phenomenal idea since currently the wait list at my community gardens is at least 3 years in San Jose!!!
Tower Garden
April 5, 2012
urbanhorticulture
urban-horticulture 