Home & Garden Digest

MONTEREY BAY

Open Farms Tour returns

Eight family owned farms will offer Farm Tours with different activities on Saturday and Sunday. Highlights include fig tasting, kids succulent crafts, wreath making, tomato u-pick and apple juice pressing. All persons attending Open Farm Tours is required to pre-register through eventbrite via openfarmstours.com.

Participating farms include; Fruitilicious Farms, Luz Del Valle Farm, Live Earth Farm, Paicines Ranch, Storrs Winery, Terra Sole Nursery, Thomas Farm, and Whiskey Hill Ranch.

MONTEREY BAY

Master Gardeners Fall Plant sale begins

The Monterey Bay Master Gardeners is holding their online fall plant sale starting Monday, featuring drought-tolerant, fire-resistant, and native and/or pollinator perennials with a robust selection of winter vegetables.

The collection also includes succulents, grasses, ground covers, houseplants, planted bulbs, and herbs with over 20 varieties of salvias and sages, various buckwheats, ribes (currants), echinacea – and many other flowering shrubs and plants. Seasonal/specialty items include eight new varieties of bulbs sold in gift bags (several native, several critter-resistant), hand-painted clay pots with gorgeous mature coleus plants, skulls decorated with succulents, giant (Crackerjack) Mexican Marigolds for seasonal arrangements, seven varieties of California native seeds in handcrafted origami envelopes–harvested and cleaned by UC Master Gardeners from native plants from the Watsonville Demo Garden, and the opportunity to purchase sturdy 5-gallon grow bags, complete with the proprietary Premium Blend potting soil. The sale is online, from Oct. 11-24 with curbside pickup by appointment at the Salinas greenhouse. To order visit mbmg.ucanr.edu.

SANTA CRUZ

California Native Plant Society Holds Fall Sale

The California Native Plant Society, Santa Cruz County Chapter, announces its annual in-person Fall Native Plant Sale on Oct. 16 at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Members early entry is at 10 a.m. and general public at 11a.m.  Special guest speaker is at 11:30 a.m. The sale ends at 3 p.m. Memberships available at the sale. Outdoor event following social distancing guidelines; masks recommended. Featured are more than 100 species of native plants, many of which are new offerings for our chapter including several Ceanothus, Fremontodendron, and Arctostaphylos cultivars. Also six species of Eriogonum—pollinator superstars—as well as lots of plants in our most popular genera: Salvia, Diplacus, Epilobium, Achillea, Grindelia, and Frangula. For more information visit cruzcnps.org

CASTROVILLE

Succulent Gardens offers DIY pumpkin workshops

Succulent Gardens is offering in-person workshops to make succulent pumpkins at 10 a.m. Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. Celebrate fall at Castroville gardens by making a succulent pumpkin.  All materials are provided, including pumpkins, succulents and botanicals to decorate. Seats are limited and masks are required. For more information and to register, visit sgplants.com.

SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz Permaculture adds second class

The Fall 2021-Winter 2022 Permaculture Design Course  has added a second concurrent session. Visit santacruzpermaculture.com to sign up.  Topics for the six-month course include Regenerative Design, Regenerating Watersheds, Personal & Economic Permaculture, Integrated Animal Husbandry & Forest Management and much more.

APTOS

Lavender sale at Aptos Farmers Market

The Mid County Senior Center’s Lavender Ladies will hold the annual lavender sale from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. October 16 at the Aptos Farmers Market.  Items for sale include sachets, eye pillows, bowl cozies, and homemade masks.  All proceeds benefit Mid County Senior Center.

The Garden Digest is compiled by Susan Salinger. To submit items for the calendar including events, meetings, resources, or anything garden related, email sentinelhomeandgarden@gmail.com.