Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

If you haven’t been to Peaceful Valley Farm Supply nursery you really must come and check it out.  There is a plant here that is my new “favorite” plant!  They are carrying a Silverberry Fruitlandii (Elaeagnus pungens) that has the most surprising fragrance.  In fact it’s hard to tell where that smell is coming from!  It actually reminds me of Hawaii!  The flowers are small and somewhat hidden at the base of the shrub.. probably the last place you’d look for flowers, but that SMELL will keep you looking!  The leaves have the two tone leaf color, gray/silver undersides and olive green top.  It’s in it’s prime now so you have one last summer hold out that makes you lift your head and breathe deep… ummmmm!  It can be pruned to various bush type shapes or allowed to go wild and shoot up toward the sky, well anywhere from 6 – 12 feet high that is. This is a hardy shrub that stands up to very dry conditions.  So plant it in places your hose can’t reach.  Plant it now and the fall and winter rains will help get it established in it’s new home.

Of course, there’s lots more to see and choose from.  Native plants, vegetable starts, trees, bulbs, annual and perennial flowers even cacti.  Come see what’s growing here at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply just waiting for a happy home to live out it’s life.

We have a fantastic lineup of workshops for 2009… come by our store and glean some gardening wisdom from some excellent speakers.

February 7
Hands on Pruning & Planting Tips (FREE)

Linda Nowak-Carlson, Peaceful Valley Nursery Manager

February 14
Growing Cool Season Veggies; Starting Summer Veggies
Linnie MacNaughton, Green Blessings

March 7
All About Soil: Microbes, Nutrients & Testing
TBA

April 4
Attracting Native Bees
Randy Oliver, Golden West Apiaries

May 2
Making Compost & Compost Tea
Marney Blair, Fulcrum Farm

June 6
Integrated Pest Management including Weed Control

Luci Wilson, Garden Coach

June 13
Intro to Permaculture
Paul Racko, Sierra Permaculture Design

July 11
Summer Cover Crops; Summer Pruning
TBA

July 18
Growing Medicinal Herbs

Kathy Keville, Oak Valley Herb Farm

August 1
Fall Veggie; Fall Cover Crops
Willow Hein, Peaceful Valley Freshman Farmer

September 5
Intro to Landscape Design

TBA

October 10
Fall Planting; Focus on Native and Deer Resistant Plants
Carolyn Singer, Foothill Cottage Garden

November 14
Fruit Trees; Winter Pruning and Care
Ellen Solomon, Arborist

December 5
Wreath making; Live Christmas Tree Care ($20)
Janet Jensen & Linda Nowak-Carlson, PVF&GS

We received our live Christmas trees in the Nursery a few weeks ago. A little instant conifer forest sprouted up after delivery. Little Nordman firs only a foot tall, giant Douglas firs 5 feet over my head, and elegant weeping cedars made up some of the trees in our wood.

It was November, but we had been having the strangest warm weather. I said to myself as sun glared into my eyes, “Only in California would I be untying Christmas trees in SHORTS!”

I’m not complaining. I’m from Vermont. It was great. No slush, no frozen fingers, no snow falling from branches down my neck. Just a little weird.

We made our first sale in the nursery on Sept. 21st last year, the fall equinox. It was rather slim pickens’ around here the first couple of months – we didn’t even have an office yet.

Now we have lots of critters calling us home. The first to move in were 2 Garter Snakes. We named them Pete & Purdy. This having something to do with Purdue’s school colors & mascot. I think they are going to over-winter under our office shed.

In early spring, we found 2 beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar on our newly emerging Dutchman’s Pipe leaves. We had to relocate them to Bridgeport since our leaves were so small.

Next a beautiful Hummingbird, we named Spinner joined us. He would fly right up to your face if you had the right color on.

A large group of Ladybugs showed up just in time to eat all the aphids off the Crape Myrtle. It was great showing our younger customers all the different life cycles of the Ladybugs, at the same time. Wonderful Butterflies arrived at the end of summer to enjoy the nectar of the Butterfly Bush and we have so many Praying Mantids right now, looking for the perfect spot to lay their egg-cases.

Its been a great, growing first year and I can’t wait to see who shows up next year.

Everybody is raving about these new arrivals to our nursery. Made in Mexico from recycled oil drums, there are many for sale scattered throughout the nursery, they are a nice, fun touch!

We had a wonderful time at the Grand Opening of our nursery this weekend. So many great folks came by. Great music, great BBQ, and lots of plants finding new homes.

Thanks to everyone for making it so fantastic!!!

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!

In our nursery we just got in these really beautiful Spiral Aloe plants for sale. I personally am going to have to give in and get one for myself. I’ll keep it in a container I believe.

In reading about it and finding out more it is a fascinating plant. Member of the aloe family (duh), and currently endangered in their native South Africa. They have previously been very difficult to grow in cultivation, but it seems that a few basic requirements, especially regarding winter placement have been worked out. It turns out that this successful cultivation is a positive thing, as it allows nurseries to sell this high demand plant, as opposed to it being taken in the wild.

From the U.S. Botanical garden website:

“Threats to populations of spiral aloe include overgrazing, unsustainable harvesting by plant enthusiasts and people interested in its medicinal properties, and the increasing rarity of its pollinator, the Malachite Sunbird. Currently, cooperative efforts between conservationists and nurseries to propagate plants for commercial trade are having some success in reducing the numbers of spiral aloes collected from wild populations.”

Mostly I wanted to show you a picture:

Our new and improved nursery is going to be wonderful this year. We are offering a wide variety of drought hardy, deer resistant plants, which will grow well in our area. We are also offering a wide range of natives from Cornflower Farms. And coming Mid-April, organic seedlings!

Read this article on tending, planting and caring for native plants. 

It’s amazing how quickly the trees, shrubs, and bulbs display their colorful glory! After a long subdued winter, how happy to see the bright yellow radiance of daffodils and forsythia!

Working in the Peaceful Valley store, I’m also amazed by how quickly gardeners display their eagerness to garden! As soon as those Spring colors begin to show, folks from all over the County and beyond come with visions of a bountiful harvest in mind. I love to talk to customers who can only come once or twice a year; they are so thrilled to see and touch the products they read about in the catalog! With our new Nursery up and running, they like to spend some extra time wandering around the plants and inspecting our Greenhouses.

I also appreciate our regulars who have much patience during the busiest times. They wait in line and still smile, glad to gather the materials that allow them to enjoy their gardens in the sunshine.

For anyone thinking about visiting, come on over! I’d suggest that if there are specific items you really need, call ahead to check on stock (888-784-1722 talk to the order deptartment or the store). Like I said, Spring eagerness is upon us!

P.S. – St. Patricks Day is an awesome time to plant Potatoes!