I’m really happy I made the 2 hour trip up to Santa Rosa with Greg (President of the Board of Full Circle Farm) to check out the Heirloom Expo.  There were a few new seed vendors I discovered and bought plenty of seeds for next year’s season!  Here are some of the vendors I checked out :

Aztec Dahlias:

This was my favorite new vendor find!  I really enjoyed the gigantic blossoms that were displayed and were for sale.  Unfortunately, since dahlias and their tubers are seasonal, there were none for sale.  They are currently taking orders for tubers that will be available early next year.  Orders can be placed on their website.  I will definitely be ordering the Elsie Houston and the Vassio Magos.

Living Earth Structures

Living Earth Structures

Tree Line Tear Drops

These mini trailer thingies are so cool.  They run at around $10k.  They look really cozy complete with a small 2 person bed inside and come with a cooking unit!

Car Camper

Laughing Frog Farm

I bought Soghurm and Millet seeds from Laughing Frog Farm.  How unusual, right?

Peaceful Valley Farm

I bought some of my favorite green heirloom tomato seeds such as Aunt Ruby German, Evergreen, and Green Zebra.  They had 5 varieties of garlic and one type of shallot.  I also bought two varieties of seed garlic heads: Spanish Roja and Purple Italian Garlic.  The prices were very reasonable from what I can remember.  Remember, each clove is supposed to produce a whole head of garlic, so I only bought about 4 of them.

Natural Gardening Company

I had never heard of this seed company, but I am so happy I got to meet them!  Surprisingly, this was the only vendor that sold seed potatoes.  They were sold for $14/lb.  I had to try some out so I bought only 5 small pieces.  I love exotic salad greens and was so impressed by their selection!  I purchased sorrel, epazote, summer savory, lovage, and 2 kinds of mache.

Botanical Interests

I love this seed company.  They got me into sprouting with their cool sprout seed packets.  I didn’t pick up anything from them at the Heirloom Expo, because nothing really jumped out at me.  They are always available at Suncrest Nurseries.

Fibershed

From the website, “A Fibershed is a geographical landscape that defines and gives boundaries to a natural textile resource base. Awareness of this bioregional designation engenders appreciation, connectivity, and sensitivity for the life-giving resources within our homelands.”

Rebecca Burgess, Founder of Fibershed

It’s That Time of Year Again: Tomato Time!

Join the fun at our Second U-PICK Tomatoes Event of the season:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH from 11am to 3pm

This summer we have stellar crop of tomatoes, with a huge variety of heirlooms, cherries, slicers, and paste tomatoes. Explore the tomato patch and take home your share of the harvest for eating fresh, canning, and sharing with friends!

Please bring your own harvest bag, box, or bin. All tomatoes are $1.75/lb. First come, first serve, so get here early for the best selection! 

Wonderful Full Circle Farm Volunteer adding up my bill

I attended the annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting at Full Circle Farm for the second time last friday.  I was able to drag my friends Anna, Nancy, and Rebekah over.  They quite enjoyed the variety of tomatoes.  I believe there were at least 30 if not 40 kinds of tomatoes sliced up and offered for our tasting pleasure.  My favorite was the Lime Green Salad tomato.  There is a strong flavor of lime in it.

I gotta say, this is seriously the BEST deal in town amongst all heirloom tomato tastings.  Usually the prices in San Jose for a similar event can range from $50-100.  $100 being Sent Sovi’s tomato themed dinner, so not exactly comparable, but this is still an excellent way to find out what your favorite heirloom varieties are.

Lime Green Salad Tomato

Tomato Table – See Rebekah on the right side!

Anna Tasting Tomatoes

Nancy tasting

Nancy and Anna chatting

Two days later, FCF had a U Pick tomato event where you could pick the tomatoes you had enjoyed at the tasting.  It was so much fun!  I bought 6 lbs of tomatoes for $9! What a deal!

Picking tomatoes

Fresh off the vine!

All 9 lbs of heirloom tomatoes