Rita's Monthly Gardening Tip

January 2010 - Repotting Plants

Signs that may indicate when a plant in a pot needs to be replanted:
Plastic pot is bulging or cracking
Roots are coming out of the holes in the bottom of the pot
Plant looks distressed/not thriving
Large amount of roots are visible at the top of the soil
When pot is removed roots have filled more than ¾’s of the pot
When watering, water flows quickly out of pot

Some plants like orchids and ZZ plants like to be somewhat pot bound, but for the most part plants need room for their roots to stretch out and a sufficient amount of soil around them to provide steady moisture and nutrients.

Once you have determined that your plant needs to be repotted you can decide to do one of the following. Remove plant from pot and:
Place in bigger pot, one size bigger than current pot
Divide root ball into smaller sections, planting each section into smaller pots
Prune 1/3 of the roots and 1/3 of the plant, then repot back into the same pot

Would you like assistance? For a donation to the Farm, you can call for an appointment and bring your plant to the greenhouse and I’ll determine which method is best for your plant and show you how to repot your plant.
Call (707) 556-8765 and leave a message. as Farmer’s are always “outstanding in their fields”.

Loma Vista Farm announces gardening classes for you that focus on the connections between healthy plants, soil and most importantly, you!

2009 Gardening Workshops

The dates for the 2009 gardening classes are as follows:
2009 Gardening Classes Offered

March 13, 2009 - Healthy Soil for Healthy Plants
May 8, 2009 - Accessible Gardening
July 10, 2009 - Weeds, Disease and Bugs! Oh my!
Sept. 11, 2009 - Grow Yourself Healthy
Nov. 13, 2009 - Plant Propagation

Classes are held at Loma Vista Farm from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Limited seats are available. Please call or email at least one week ahead of class to register. Suggested donations are $5.00 per person per class.

The Greenhouse at Loma Vista Farm. The greenhouse is 30 foot wide by 120 foot long and is the heart and soul of the Farm's horticultural educational program. All the plants grown at the Farm are started by seed or propagated from stock plants here in the greenhouse. People of all ages and abilities take part in educational activities. Even as young as kindergarten, they quickly become experts at transplanting seedlings into pots. They learn to identify the plant parts, roots, stems and leaves and gently set the small seedling into their hole and tuck it in.

The adult transition program turns the Farm into another form of education, which is job training. Every week these students work in the greenhouse potting up plants, following through on the details from set up to clean up. This work provides them with job experience that will assist them in finding future employment to gain increased independence when they graduate.

Continuing the Farm's educational goals, each year the new 'crops' of Solano County Master Gardeners are taught plant propagation and composting in the greenhouse by Farm staff.

The plants created are used for the Farm's garden and landscape. Many are also available for sale any time during normal Farm open hours. There are flowers, vegetables, herbs, succulents and houseplants for sale at reasonable prices and all proceeds go back into the greenhouse program. Continuing the growth of eager learners.

Recipe for the Season! …brought to you by Loma Vista Farm!

Seasons are easily recognized by food, and types of food served during different seasons of the year. At Loma Vista Farm there is no exception to this rule, and we find the changing Seasons drive many foods at Loma Vista Farm for farm visitors as well as the farm animals. We're delighted to bring you a recipe you can enjoy related to season of the year we are in today!

Recipe for this Season!
Winter 2009 - Egg Flower Soup!

And the winner is: Egg Flower Soup It's a wonderful and simple creation that the kids love. With Farm fresh eggs and greens it is nutritious and the kids usually ask for seconds. Being an Asian based dish, it also honors Chinese New Year, which is January 26, 2009 (The Year of the Ox). A great book to read to the kids, while they are eating, is called The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. In this children's story a little girl thinks her mothers garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all.

For more information about Chinese New Year go to www.chinapage.com/newyear.html

Literature Connection: The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin.
Nice around Chinese New Year!

Ingredients:

2 packages of Top Ramen
Few leaves of veggies
Soy sauce
Oil
4 cups of water
3 eggs

What to do:
1.) Wash and cut up veggies
2.) While cutting, heat oil and fry pan @ 300 degrees Fahrenheit
3.) Add veggies and soy sauce to stir.
4.) Keep stirring and raise temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
5.) When greens are soft, add water.
6.) Wash eggs.
7.) Break 3 eggs into 3 bowls and beat well with forks.
8.) Break noodles into another bowl.
9.) When water begins to bubble, add flavor pocket and noodles
10.) When water bubbles again, add eggs and noodles and keep stirring.
11.) While waiting for the eggs to cook, clean up the table and get bowls.

Click here to download a copy of the Egg Flower Soup recipe!

Coming Soon

What's in "The Greenhouse" this month! - Under Construction!