Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

Driving to work at Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply, my shoulders tighten, my stomach churns, my stress level seems to rise.  I am listening to the news and, like many others, wondering about my children’s tomorrow.

I walk into work – in my case, the Peaceful Valley retail store.  I am soon decompressing the news with my co-worker, Kathleen, and just talking about it as we count our register drawers makes me realize I’m not so alone in this economic/political/social dilemma.  Before long, we have the lights on, the curtains up, the fountain flowing and the customers to consult and serve.

Within a very brief time, my shoulders are dropping, my stomach is hungry (if anything),  my stress level is nowhere worth measuring (well, unless we experience a customer rush and everyone is paying in large bills).  PVFS is about the here and now.  Today we need to stock up on BT – the catepillars are running rampant.  Omega is flying off the shelves (when doesn’t it?) – everyone wants blooms, or growth, or vigor!  Shade cloth, bamboo stakes, garlic…my cash register sales are testimony to what we gardeners need in the present.  Today there are actions and products that will create tangible results tomorrow or next week.  Today, the incredibly beautiful bulbs on the PVFS shelves are the promise for my kids’ tomorrow – next Spring.

Working at Peaceful Valley helps me attain what we are so often advised for our well-being – living in the moment.  Soon enough, I’ll be driving home, with the news on and tomorrow’s bigger problems will creep back into my reality  If I’m lucky, tomorrow I’ll be back at my register at PVFS, concentrating on what is actually important and gaining a healthier perspective.

Twenty years ago, walking or biking to courses at Humboldt State University, I passed a local donut store and inevitably, if it was between 10 and 11 A.M., the dairy farmers were stretched out inside escaping the fog. Unlike myself, my future husband has a fondness for donuts, so I began to find myself on occasion actually inside this donut haven at the same hour as my farming neighbors. Both Mike and I came to enjoy the snippets of local color and conversation much more than the donuts.

As a recent hire to Peaceful Valley, there was something very familiar about the 10 to 11 A.M. hour in the retail store. It didn’t take long to realize, these foothill farmers may not be working dairy cows or escaping the coastal fog, but the morning conversation after what has probably already been a long morning is undoubtedly universal. Farmers are not like fishermen, who protect that secret hole, special bait and times of day they find productive. Farmers do not “compete” – they readily share their wealth of knowledge and are the first to acknowledge what confounds them. They have access to the internet and professional journals, but are old-fashioned enough (be they “young” or “old” in actual years) to value human dialog and how it might just bring about an interesting option worth considering.

From 10 to 11 A.M. most days at PVFS store is my favorite time of day. At first it made me feel nostalgic. Now it keeps me centered, trying to overhear snippets of conversation from our local farmers who seem to find this the best hour to pick up their orders or grab some cover crop before going on their way.

Perhaps we can open an “organic” donut store on the premises? Remember, I don’t like donuts myself, but I could sure use more time with some of these local farmers.)