Tomatoes & Peppers & Herbs - Prepare Your Beds!
/posted by Marian
Great news - last week we started 40 different types of tomatoes, 18 different types of peppers, and 5 different herbs. Each week we'll start additional and different varieties. We're on target to bring them to you both at the 3rd Annual Rodgers Ranch Urban Farm Expo & Plant Sale, Saturday, April 4th, AND the Walnut Creek Farmers' Market every Sunday beginning April 5th. We're looking so forward to seeing you again!
As we head into our 4th year of drought, we hear rumblings of "Gosh, guess I shouldn't plant any vegetables this year..." To the contrary, it's NEVER been more important that we all grow our own vegetables this summer! We know that by growing vegetables in our own yards
- We use less than half the water a commercial grower will use (even less if we're on drip irrigation and have mulched).
- We slash our carbon footprint as there's zero fuel involved other than you coming either to Rodgers Ranch for the farmers' market to select your favorites.
- The food is tastier and more nutritious because we pick it at peak maturity and eat it soon thereafter.
- What we grow is much safer because we know what has gone into growing the plants. (And you KNOW the plants are coming from a great home - Kelley and I use only open pollinated seeds, make our own transplanting medium, use compost and worm castings as Best.Fertilizer.EVER, and grow the seedlings so they're accustomed to our climate.)
And yes, we will all save money as well. Rosalind Creasy, local author of bestselling Edible Gardening, found that in just one of her 100 square foot vegetable beds, she saved $700 in groceries over the course of a year. That's a lot of tomatoes!
As if these reasons aren't enough, by lowering our food carbon footprint and growing at home, we're helping save our planet. We'll help you get the most sustainable resources to help your plants thrive.
We'll get through this drought together. And we'll eat quite well.