Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

At Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply
Presented by Paul Racko
Sierra Permaculture Design
Call 272-4769 x106 to REGISTER TODAY!
Fee: $10 (Participants will also receive a 10% coupon for Peaceful Valley)

Permaculture provides positive, sustainable solutions to the looming crises of climate change, peak oil, and economic descent. Minimize inputs and maximize abundance, whether you live in an urban apartment, a suburban home, or on a multi-acre ranch.

Learn the basics to permaculture from a professional! Topics will include:
*The ethics of Permaculture
*Designing for Sustainability
*Pattern
*Methodology of Design
*Holmgren’s Permaculture Design Principles
*Zones and Sectors
*Garden consulting, education, design & installation services

Workshop presented by Paul Racko, Sierra Permaculture Design

Paul is a Certified Permaculture Designer (Regenerative Design Institute) and has been an avid organic gardener for over 15 years. He has lived in the Sierra Foothills since 2006, and co-owns The Sacred Bee in Grass Valley with his wife Andrea.

In the autumn of 2007, he founded the Sierra Permaculture Guild , an education and networking venue for those interested in applying Permaculture to their landscapes. In January 2008, he started his own design firm Sierra Permaculture Design, through which he offers Permaculture consulting, site evaluations and design services.

Peaceful Valley employee extraordinaire Linnie McNaughton is teaching “Growing Cool Season Veggies; Starting Summer Veggies” this Saturday!

If you live in the Grass Valley, CA area, come on by to get this years garden off to a good start.

9:30-11:30am $12. Please call (888)784-1722 ext. 116 to sign up.

Be sure to stop by for our free pruning workshop this weekend!

I’ve been dreamily thinking about lining our driveway with fruit trees and this is the perfect season to prepare for planting bare-root trees. I’d love a peach tree, a pear tree, a couple types of apple, and maybe a cherry tree. What are you thinking of planting? Do you have any recomendations, especially for our climate in the Sierra Foothills?

If you’re like me – full of questions and eager to enjoy the literal fruits of your labor in years to come – you may want to come to a workshop this Saturday at the NID gardens:

Home Orchards – Plan Before You Plant

Saturday, November 8, 2008, 10am – 12pm

Demonstration Garden, 1036 W. Main St., Grass Valley (on NID Grounds)

Free public workshop offered by UC Master Gardeners. Home Orchards – Plan Before You Plant. Learn to find the right site for your trees; determine how many trees to plant; choose trees that will grow well in your soil; plant your trees for long-term growth; water, prune, and tend your new trees.

I’d also suggest previewing our fruit and nut trees. The large majority of them are sold as bare-root trees. Bare-root trees are more economical, adjust to your native soil better than the potted variety, and are cheaper to ship. If you don’t live in the foothills, you can order 10 fruit trees and just pay one flat rate $30 shipping fee.

We have an abundance of native plants that arrived at the Peaceful Valley nursery Friday. Curious about why we suggest planting natives in the fall, I asked a few questions of our Nursery Manager, Linda Nowak-Carlson who will be teaching a class here in Grass Valley, CA on September 13th on “Gardening with Natives & Fall Cover Crops.”

Q: When is the best time to plant natives and why?

A: It’s best to plant natives during the cool, wet season. During this time the soil will be warm and damp and lead to rapid root growth and your plants will be well established by spring.

Q: Why should we consider planting natives?

A: Natives are plants that evolved in our climate and are used to dry summers and wet winters and require minimal watering once they’ve acclimated. They attract beneficial insects and won’t get demolished by deer. Natives are more deer resistant because deer are accustomed to their presence and though they may nibble a little, they generally go on their way.

Q: Do natives require special care?

A: Once natives acclimate to your yard, they require relatively little water or special care. The best thing to do before planting natives is to go work a walk to observe where they are growing in nature – some will be in dry sandy soil, some will be near a creak bed, etc. Then, try to duplicate their natural environment as closely as possible when selecting a place to plant in your yard. Over the next three years you can acclimate most native plants, or wean them off water. To do this, gradually decrease the number of days/week you water, but water for longer periods of time. This encourages the plants to develop deeper root systems.

Q: What are your favorite native plants?

A: Wild ginger, button bush, Oregon grape, and all the varieties of buckwheat.

Q: When is your workshop?

A: Gardening with Natives & Fall Cover Crops
Saturday, September 13, 2008
9:30-11:30am
Peaceful Valley – 125 Clydesdale Court, Grass Valley, CA
For more details or to reserve a spot call: 530.272.4769 x106

We are very excited to invite you to the Grand Opening of our new nursery!

To celebrate, we are kicking it off with a big sale.

Friday and Saturday, May 9 & 10 all day:
20% off ALL nursery plants!
2″ Native Seedlings for $0.99!
Raffle for a 15 gallon Blue Spruce!

On Saturday, May 10 from 11am – 2pm come and enjoy great live music, a Rocky Dog BBQ, and free refreshments!

We’re very excited to be able to offer a wide variety of plants, from organic veggie seedlings to beautiful rare Japanese Maples to deer-resistant natives. We have a wonderful selection of plants that you will love to take home with you.

So come join us and fellow growers and gardeners for a gathering of our community. See you there!

Sincerely,

All of us at Peaceful Valley

Click here to see our location on Google Maps

Map & Directions
From Sacramento: Take Hwy 80 north through Sacramento and to Auburn. At Auburn, take the Hwy 49 exit towards Nevada City and Grass Valley. As you come nearer to the city of Grass Valley, look for the Idaho Maryland exit. Take this exit and at the bottom of the exit turn right onto Idaho Maryland. Drive for about 1/4 mile up to Centennial on the right (about 50 yards past Springhill Dr – our former location). Turn right up this road and make the curve to the left. Turn right onto the next street, Clydesdale Court. You will see our new retail store and warehouse on the right side of the court at 125 Clydesdale Court!

From Reno: Take Hwy 80 to Hwy 20 west which eventually combines with Hwy 49. As you near Grass Valley, look for the East Main street exit. At the bottom of this exit, turn right onto Idaho Maryland. Drive for about 1/2 mile (about 50 yards past Springhill Dr – our former location) up to Centennial on the right. Turn right up this hill, make the curve to the left, then turn at first street on your right (Clydesdale Court). You will see our new retail store and warehouse on the right side of the court at 125 Clydesdale Court!

We are down at Sierra College taking part in their festivities there. It is nice to see the whole community around here rallying around the simple idea of making a positive change. We’re real proud to be a part of it. Come by and see us! We’re giving away free quarts of compost tea and having a raffle for a compost tea brewer! It runs from 11am-6pm today. Click here for directions.

Nice too that today we received our award for being the 2008 Nevada County Recycles “Champion”. It’s a small step, and there is so much we can do. It’s good that not only kitties enjoy our recycled packaging!

I’m very impressed with this University Of California resource page listing upcoming gardening events all through California.