Guest Post: Label GMO's- It's Our Right to Know!

Last week my husband and I got the privilege of meeting Jere Gettle of Baker Creek Seeds for the first time.  I can honestly say that I have never met a more genuine person.  We only had a few minutes to chat with him as we stopped by the Petaluma Seed Bank, but in the first five seconds of chatting with Jere you know how passionate he is about what he does.  I left there feeling like I needed to do more.  It used to be all I cared about was what I did on our little third of an acre lot, here in Sacramento.  Now I know I can do more to make change happen; one person at a time, one state at a time, and one country at a time. 

With that, we have my first ever guest blog post thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.  Kathy McFarland from Baker Creek is here to tell you about a new California Intiative we are trying to get on the November 2012 ballot that simply requests that food sold in retail establishments that contain genetically modified crops are labeled with that information.  Read on for more information:

Label GMOs—It's Our Right to Know!

Guest post by Kathy McFarland

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company owners Jere and Emilee Gettle are in Petaluma, California, working fervently to ensure that Americans are entitled to know what is in the food they purchase. 

Having always been interested in pure food, the Gettle family has joined the Label GMO effort in California where they also own the Petaluma Seed Bank, a retail outlet for Baker Creek seeds. 

Much of the world already requires labeling for genetically engineered foods.  Fifty countries, including Japan, China, and the entire European Union already label foods with genetically engineered ingredients.  Americans, too, deserve the right to choose between foods containing GMO and non-GMO ingredients. 

The Committee for the Right to Know is a grassroots coalition of consumer, public health, environmental organizations, and food companies in California that is seeking the labeling of genetically engineered foods (GMOs).  On November 9, 2011, the coalition submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General for the title and summary, prior to circulation as an initiative measure for the November 2012 election. 

The initiative needs 504,760 valid signatures by April 20 to make it on the November 2012 ballot.  Signatures can be declared invalid and thrown out for a number of technical reasons.  Therefore, the campaign plans to collect a significantly higher number of signatures to make sure they have enough valid ones to qualify.  It is imperative that anyone interested in having the right to know what is in our food should sign the petition. 

Jere Gettle teamed up with Pamm Larry, founder of labelGMOs.org, to raise awareness of the initiative.  He designed a special seed packet to be used for the campaign.  The seed packets, packed with Baker Creek's non-GMO San Marzano Tomato seeds, are being distributed free all over the state of California.  The San Marzano has been a favorite tomato of California gardeners for generations, and the campaign packets have become instantly popular.  Anyone who would like to help distribute the free packets at farmers' markets, gardening events, or any other venue may simply email  jeregettle@gmail.com with a mailing address and number of packets requested for distribution.  Thousands and thousands of the special packets have already been sent for distribution, and many more thousands are being printed and packed. 

While other states are also working on campaigns to get GMOs listed on nutrition labels, the Gettles are currently concentrating their efforts in California where there is large population of like-minded people in support of the measure.  The feeling is that if the initiative passes in California, then other states will quickly follow.  In most cases, it will not be financially feasible for companies to develop food labels listing GMOs only for the California market and also develop food labels without the listing for other states. 

Anyone interested in joining the effort to require GMO ingredients to be labeled should contact www.labelGMOs.org to find out where they can sign a petition, how they can be trained to gather signatures, how they can donate to the campaign, or simply where they can get more information.  Our right to know what is in our food depends on this ballot.  Please don't wait to contact Jere Gettle at jeregettle@gmail.com or Pamm Larry at labelGMOs.org..  Let's get labeling on the ballot!

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and life-long gardener. 

Our Quest for Pliny the Younger

Some may say that planning a mini-vacation around the release of a beer is crazy.  Those people don't know my husband and I, and clearly they don't know good beer.  Months ago we vacationed with friends in Bodega Bay and took a day trip to Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa to try one of our favorite beers: Pliny the Elder.  Soon after that trip we found out about Pliny the Younger, and that it would be released for two weeks in February.  A Triple IPA? Another trip?  Um, yeah, we're game....  and it was booked. 

"Fourteen Days of Younger" it is called.  I wish I could say we all felt younger after we left the brewery, but sadly the day after we felt like a bunch of Elders that tried to act like we were Younger!  Perhaps that headache was a reminder of why one should not partake in too many beers that boast a 10.5% ABV? Do we regret it?  Heck no, we're ready to book our next trip!

February 3rd through 16th. That's it.  Friends that went towards the beginning of those "14 days" waited in line for four hours to get a taste of Pliny the Younger.  This is a beer that is not available in a growler, nor is it available via a bottle.  Your only way of having it is in a 10 ounce glass, for $4.50, at the brewery itself.....  unless you just so happen to come across one of the few establishments that get it for San Francisco or Sacramento Beer Week.  If you want to get your hands on it next year, I recommend going the 2nd week.  Our wait was less than thirty minutes to get inside- on the 9th, during lunchtime (a Thursday!).    

And was it worth the wait?  Um...  that's my husband savoring his first sip (gulp?) after 30 minutes of waiting outside.  Pliny the Elder is a double IPA, Pliny the Younger is a triple- and I'd say that the Younger was twice the flavor that Elder had if that makes any sense?  So that would be a BIG FAT YES.

As much as we were there for the Younger, Russian River Brewery had 22 beers on tap when we were there.  They had so many beers available for their favorite customers that they couldn't fit them all in their beer sampler.  So many favorites available!  We recommend sampling Blind Pig, the Pliny's (both of them), Segel Select (if you like hops), Rejection (their Black Pale Ale- great for folks who like Pale Ales AND Stouts), and Supplication, Temptation and Consecration for you Sour beer lovers (which we are...they are yummy...stock up when you are here). 

Elder, meet Younger.  Younger, meet Elder. Of course we had to compare Pliny the Elder(left) to Pliny the Younger (right).  As much as I love the Elder, I have to admit that the Younger was totally worth a weekend away from Sacramento to go and try.  So much so that I will be on the hunt next week to try and find it here in Sacramento during Sacramento Beer Week (ahem, if you're going to The Art of Beer event, I'll be volunteering there! And if you're going to Sacramento Brewers Showcase or Capital Brewfest- we'll be drunk there!) 

Elder, Younger, Damnation, Rejection, Mortification (their Quadruppel Belgian, my 3rd fave of their offerings)....  Oh my... After a few trips here we've moved past the sampler pack- we come here and order exactly what we know we'll like.  And there are so many that we like.... 

More beers, 8 growlers To-Go of Damnation, Rejection and a whole lotta Pliny the Elder (Argh- I wish they'd fill the growlers with Younger!), a bunch of food in our bellies, and we were on our way back to the beach house in Bodega Bay. 

If you're ever in Santa Rosa, you must come here.  If you're ever within an hour of Santa Rosa, you must come here.  And to somewhat keep this blog post gardening related, if you are attending The Heirloom Exposition here in Santa Rosa (Sept 11-13th, 2012), you must come here!  See you in September!  You'll know where to find me :)

Liquid Sunshine



This weekend while most people were getting ready to head to their Super Bowl parties, my daughter and I added three new citrus trees to the front yard garden.  Our neighbor recently ripped out a fruitless mulberry tree that was heavily growing into our property.  Removing the tree freed up a huge open space, but we were still left with the nasty roots that were left behind with the tree.  Planting the new citrus trees required the assistance of a pick axe, a sharp shovel, a sassy five year old girl, and my trusty Labrador retriever(she just kept watch).  After a few hours we were finally able to get our new trees in; a Yuzu (aka Japanese Citron),  an Indio Mandarinquat, and a Sanguinelli Blood Orange. These three trees join our existing 10 citrus trees, and add to my obsession of citrus trees. After a couple hours of ripping out roots in mid-60's weather, and dressed in shorts.... my daughter had a fabulous idea.  Lets make some orange juice! 



So, we headed into the backyard where all of our mature citrus trees are.  We grabbed a colander to fill up with fruit, and then another, and then another...  There is no shortage of fruit on these trees, and we are blessed to be able to grow sunshine in our very own garden. 



I can't help but to get a little teary eyed when my daughter helps me in the garden.  I have tried very hard to make sure that "yard work" is never a chore for her, but instead a labor of love.  She loves being outdoors and often begs to go outside and work in the garden.  She's probably the only person I know that likes pulling weeds.  As long as she's pulling weeds with me, she is happy.  As much as I would love to think she is a mini-me, she is so much more awesome than I am. 



This day we picked over a hundred oranges, and juiced them all in our handy Jack Lalanne juicer. One by one those oranges went in, and a beautiful orange liquid comes out.  The finished product is the best orange juice you could ever ask for.   We downed three glasses each. 



After three glasses, our bellies were full and we were left with tons of orange juice still waiting in a bowl.  Sooooo, for starters I copied the Skippy drink that I had at Grange last week- except I improvised the orangecello for my homemade limoncello, added fresh orange juice, and topped it with a half of a bottle of Blue Moon Belgian wheat ale.  The result was YUMMY.  The rest of the orange juice we put in large jars, and brought to our neighbors (who were all having Super Bowl parties).  The printable labels I found on Pinterest (my favorite addiction besides citrus), which you can find here and here. 

Hope you are finding a little bit of sunshine in your life- whether it's a fresh orange, or a smile on your child's face.   

Citrus Week at Grange!



Last weekend the employee's from Grange Restuarant & Bar and Citizen Hotel volunteered with Harvest Sacramento to pick citrus fruit that was just going to go to waste. Harvest Sacramento is a group of volunteers that collects unwanted fruits and vegetables from orchards, backyards and front yards of local residents. Lets face it, citrus grows very well here in Sacramento.  There are some streets downtown that are literally lined with the color orange from falling fruit that has been smashed to a pulp from cars.  A single orange tree can tower over a standard sized home within ten years.  That single tree can produce more than 250 pounds of fruit.  The average household can't eat that much fruit, and that's where Harvest Sacramento comes in.  They pick the unwanted fruit that would have otherwise gone to waste, and they donate it to local food banks. 

All this week Grange is holding a special fundraiser for Harvest Sacramento using some of the fruit that staff picked last week.  If you stop by the bar make sure to ask for their special Harvest Sacramento menu- $4 from every drink on this menu will be donated back to Harvest Sacramento. 

This evening I went with some of my favorite Sacramento peeps to sample the yummy recipes that Grange had prepared.  My personal favorite was the Skippy (pictured above), made with orangecello, fresh orange juice, and pilsner.   

Thank you to the staff at Grange for putting together a fun and unique fundraiser for Harvest Sacramento! 

Best and Worst of the Northern California Home & Landscape Expo



This weekend is the Northern California Home & Landscape Expo at Cal Expo.  If you have an interest in going, the show is still going on tomorrow from 10am-6pm.  I normally don't like going to these types of events because I am allergic to salespeople, but my friend Kat gave me free tickets (and even dropped them off after midnight last night on my doorstep!) so of course I was going to go!  I brought my mom along with me because she's wanting to do some bathroom and kitchen remodeling this year.  I can swoon over the garden decor', and she could swoon over faucets.... it was a win-win for both of us.  Here are some pictures of my favorite and least favorite things, starting with the display pictured above from Verde Creations, Inc.  I'm actually disappointed that I didn't get more pictures of their display because I really loved it.  I was too busy checking out the patio space above and dreaming of ways that I could rip out more lawn in order to implement it.  I checked out their website once I got home and I have to admit, they have some beautiful, colorful creations- and I can't wait to see more from them. 



The garden pictured above I adored.  I couldn't tell you who it was by because the people working this garden didn't really approach me in any way.  As much as I say I hate salespeople, I do like to have someone approach me if I walk into a display.  Ask me about my projects.  Heck, ask me what I think of your display....  anything is better than silence.  One company that was great with communicating was FiveStar Landscaping.   I met landscape architect Karen Blanor at their display today and she was a great communicator- and asked a lot about the projects I wanted to do in my garden.  Another great company I connected with today was G&D Landscape Construction.  Greg Phelps spent a lot of time chatting with me about my garden projects.  At these types of events you often get designers that come in with these grand displays and they are a little overwhelming, and they kind of scream "I'm expensive!" and it scares me away.  I am more interested in the displays that scream "I'm practical!  There's no project too big or too small!".  G&D also gave me the business card of someone who might be better at giving me what I was looking for (Howard Ma of HM Design), and any company that is willing to say "I might not be able to do what you want, but I know someone who can" earns major points in my eyes. 



Taking a break from garden stuff and moving to home decor', Mad Imports had a very popular display, and I can't wait to visit their store.  Think of it as Restoration Hardware type decor, at half the price.  The pieces were fun and unique, and I can't wait to see what they have in their warehouse.  The hook set pictured above was only $27, and one half this size was around $14.  You can't beat those prices!  For directions, hours, etc, you can call them at (916) 599-0600.



Lets visit some things that I didn't like.  The doorway fountain thing pictured above looks cool, right?  I can picture it in a restaurant, but where the heck would you put this in your house?  And if you're the type of person that would put this in your home, that's just spending money where you don't need to.  It's over the top.  It's way too much. 



The same goes for this spout of water.  What a waste!  The best part of a water feature is the sound, which this had none.  I would agree that my 5 year old would probably love to have this in our backyard, but the practical person in me was thinking it's a waste of water, it's probably really expensive, and it's probably a huge pain in the you-know-what to keep it clean. 



The practical person in me would rather have this in my backyard.  This is dreamy....  This I would use.  I would use it every week!  A dual purpose fireplace that could also make yummy pizzas?  Um, YES PLEASE!  This was done by Gloria Landscaping, and if I could pick one item I wanted out of the entire expo, this was it. 



My favorite display award would have to go the Green Acres.  I loved the colors, how they had so many products, and edible plants in one display without making it look over the top.  It was beautiful.  I am already a huge fan of their nurseries (most of my citrus trees are from here too), but I was happy to be greeted by a friendly staff member that works at their Roseville location.  She reminded me that their Folsom location was opening soon and that it was going to be amazing! 



 The grand opening for the Folsom location is February 15th, but they have major sales for it going through mid-March. The best time to go according to their handout would be March 1-4. March 1st has classes on combining edibles and ornamentals. March 2nd is doorbuster specials, March 3rd they have gift bags for the first 300 guests plus free food from 12-2pm, and March 4th they'll have doorbuster sales and lots of free educational workshops. 



What was I saying about non-practical items being a no-no in the garden?  Yeah, that went out the door once I saw these.  The company is called Vin de Flame, and these are their super cool propane fire pits.  Made out of old wine barrels, and each on wheels, these are perfect for your evening parties.  The practical side of me says "but I'd only use them a couple times a year", well, thank goodness you can also just rent them for events (no need to store or maintain them yourself!  Awesome!). 



My last favorite thing at the show was the display from Executive Care Landscape Mgmt.  Arthur Navarette, President, was absolutely adorable running around with his camera and snapping pictures.  You could tell he was having fun, and you could tell he was passionate about what he does.  The above photo is a picture of his drought tolerant display.  He even admitted it was over planted, but he wanted to show homeowners how you can have lush color and use less water, and this was a great example.  You can see by his website that he likes to remove lawn and make the space more usable, and more beautiful. 



And last on my list was another one of those ridiculous designs, where you wonder where the heck would this be useful.  They tried by showing that it was a perfect family backyard, and even included a little sand pit off to the side for the younger kids.  The practical mom side of me immediately thought to myself that this was an accident waiting to happen for someone with small children (ladders to fall off of, lots of sharp edges, etc).  Fast forward 15 years for me and I'm thinking I'd be too old to climb that ladder, and storing all of those cushions through the winter is just a hassle. To summarize, this design is for people in their early 20's.  The ones that can't afford it.

It's great to go to these types of events and dream big about what I could do if I had tons of money, but I'd much rather see how I can improve the appearance of my garden at a reasonable price.  Why can't they just cater to the average home owner?   

Seed Starting With Kiddo

I'm happy to say that my daughter enjoys starting seeds as much as I do.  Her littler fingers save me from expensive seed separating tools. 

Of course, part of her excitement is because I buy seeds that she wants to grow.  Last year she said her favorite plant in the garden was 'Benary's Giant Orange Zinnia' from Annie's Annuals. The plant produced several large bright orange blooms and my daughter couldn't contain herself around it- she kept yanking them off the plant every opportunity she had.  This year we have twelve packages of zinnia seeds that will surely keep her occupied this summer. 

Starting seeds with children are one of the best ways to teach them about life.  We all start as a seed or an egg, and we all require someone or something to take care of us as we take root.

Zinnia's weren't the only only flowers we planted today; the Zebrina pictured above and some Tithonia seeds also made their way into the seed starting mix. 

She added some luke warm water to each of the cells to get them on their way....

Then we added a top, and stuck them under the lights.  Now, it's a waiting game...... 

The $29.99 IKEA Seed Starting Rack

Continuing on in my quest to organize the HECK out of my office, today I'm turning my attention to my seed starting station.  Well, prior to today I didn't actually have a seed starting station because the desk that I normally start my seeds on every year has been re-purposed as a .........wait for it..........desk.  My husband built me a fabulous garden shed in our backyard for me to move my seed starting mess outside of our family home, but one valuable piece was left out of his plan.....electricity.  So, the seeds continue to be started indoors until that project is complete. 

Since I have big hopes that electricity will be added to the shed soon, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a fancy seed starting rack.  So, I went to my trusty IKEA store, where I can always count on finding exactly what I need at a reasonable price.  I ended up buying their basic GORM shelving unit for $29.99.  This rack comes with 4 shelves, but I bought a couple of extra shelves just in case for $5 a piece. While I was at it, I went ahead and bought a couple of the GORM clip-on baskets for $4 a piece.  I figured once I no longer needed this shelf for seeds I needed to be able to use it for something else, so buying the accessories now made sense.  Lucky for me I ended up using them.

After assembling the shelf (fairly simply, took about 30 minutes), I dug into my photo hanging supplies and grabbed a few hooks for the lights. They easily screwed into the top of the shelves for hanging the chains for the lights. As for the lights?  I have one expensive Home Depot grow light ($50), and a couple of cheap Wal-Mart grow lights that cost me about $10 a piece.  Look around, your lights don't have to have to be expensive. 

The extra shelves and baskets came in handy for all of the odd and end plant stuff that I had.  The bottom shelf is now dedicated to mason jars which I use for giving flowers to people, or starting cuttings.  By the way, these were all spaghetti sauce jars originally, but they are too cute to just toss in the recycle bin.  The GORM baskets that I bought are used for holding plant stakes (for once the tomato plants get too tall), twine, plant labels, and Moo Poo Tea. 

I used the SAMLA containers from IKEA for organizing my seeds and and got an extra container to hold my seed starting mix (much prettier than looking at a bag). 

So, technically this entire set up didn't cost me just $29.99, but you can see how using some of the items you already have and improvising can save you money when starting your seeds this year.  By the way, it's time to start seeds..........wait for it..............  now.