Alice Waters, the Berkeley chef who led the California fresh food revolution, will appear in conversation with Sunset Magazine Food Editor Margo True at the Sunset Idea House in Healdsburg.
The two will discuss kitchen gardens, Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Project and more starting at 4 p.m. today. The first 500 visitors will receive autographed copies of Waters’ book “In the Green Kitchen.”
The panel talk is included with the price of admission to The 2012 Idea House, a high-end, factory-made show home with many green features and contemporary design ideas.
The Idea House is a collaboration between Blu Homes and Sunset Magazine.
Cost to visit the house, which is open to visitors through Sept. 9, is $17. Children under 12 are free. To purchase tickets, visit bluhomes.com/sunsetopenhouse.
Parking is at the Sonoma County Park Ride lot at Healdsburg and Grant avenues, with shuttles departing at the top of the hour hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SANTA ROSA: Seed-saving workshop
Have you had a great-tasting tomato or ear of corn? If it’s not a hybrid, have you thought of saving the seed? How about your favorite flowers?
If you would like to try and save seeds, but don’t really know how, visit the Harvest for the Hungry garden for a seed-saving workshop Sept. 8.
Yeti Seed is a core member of the West County Community Seed Exchange. As a longtime gardener and seed-saver, he is going to share his knowledge from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Garden is located at 1717 Yulupa Ave., behind the United Methodist Church. For information call 484-3613.
SONOMA: Permaculture talk by landscape designer
The Valley of the Moon Garden Club is hosting landscape designer and contractor Karen Boness on Sept. 6 with a talk focusing on permaculture design.
The owner of Wild Willow Landscape Design, Boness is a committed practitioner of permaculture and California native plant design, edible landscaping, and medicinal herbalism.
The free talk starts at 7 p.m. at the Vintage House, 264 1st Street E., Sonoma. Refreshments will be served. For more information call George at 935-5939.
OCCIDENTAL: Sale at Arts and Ecology Center
You’ve got one more opportunity to stock up for your fall planting during the Second Chance Sale today and Sunday and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.
The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily sale will feature open-pollinated, organic heirloom starts, many grown from the center’s own seed collection.
Look for kale, brassicas, cabbage, collards, lettuces, salad greens, mustards, chards, fennel, leeks, onions, scallions and herbs as well as edible flowers and ornamental and edible vegetables.
The center is located at 15290 Coleman Valley Road, Occidental. For information and a detailed list of available starts visit oaec.org or call 874-1557, ext. 101.
SONOMA COUNTY: Master Gardeners offer classes
The Sonoma County Master Gardeners have geared up for fall with a strong line-up of free classes on Sept. 8.
Fall/Winter Planting In the Vegetable Garden: Food gardening specialists will talk about preparing and planting a vegetable garden with cool weather crops.
They will cover soil preparation, irrigation, choosing plants and maintaining your crop. The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sonoma Garden Park, 19996 7th Street E., Sonoma. For more information email mgsonomafood@ucdavis.edu.
Budget Floral Design: Taught by longtime designer Ellyn Pelikan, who works from ready materials in the natural landscape. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Rincon Valley Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa
Lessons from my Garden” led by David Gould. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Rohnert Park/Cotati Regional Library, 6250 Lynne Conde Way, Rohnert Park.
Practical Harvest led by Janet Barocco. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the barn at Luther Burbank Experiment Farm, 7781 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol.
The Sonoma County Master Gardeners are available to field questions.
Their Santa Rosa information desk can be reached at 565-2608 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.
They also man a desk in Sonoma at 938-0127 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. They can also be reached by email at mgsonoma@ucdavis.edu.
SONOMA COUNTY: Compost Company gets honored
Sonoma Compost Company, which runs the Organic Recycling Program for the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, has received the Dave Hardy Leadership in Organics Award.
Sonoma Compost turns nearly 100,000 tons of yard debris, wood scraps, vegetative food scraps, and other organics each year into organic composts and mulches for landscapers, backyard gardeners, grape growers and farmers.
The composting program diverts nearly 30 percent of Sonoma County’s waste from the landfill.
The Dave Hardy Leadership in Organics Award is given each year to an individual, business, government agency, community-based organization or school that excels in the production, marketing and/or utilization of organic materials.
CRRA is a statewide recycling association dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability through product stewardship, waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting.
For information about Sonoma Compost visit sonomacompost.com.
WINDSOR, HEALDSBURG: Make the most of your garden tools
Kathy Matanok will discuss “How to Select and Care for Your Garden Tools,” emphasizing that the right tool makes all the difference in getting a job done right during a free workshop today.
Matanok will also cover how and when to maintain your own tools and when to seek out a pro.
The free workshop will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Road, Building 100. The workshop will be repeated Sept. 15 at the Healdsburg Regional Library during the same hours. 565-2608 or www.sonomamastergardeners.org.
HEALDSBURG: How to rejuvenate your irises
Iris expert Roxie Nall will visit the Russian River Rose Co. today for a hands-on demonstration on lifting irises to rejuvenate them.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nall will lift some of the 100-plus varieties in the garden to show you how to give them a kick start.
Now through October is the best time to do it. Cost is $2 and includes access to the gardens.
If you simply want to stroll through the rose garden, with its 650 varieties of roses, check out the butterfly garden or shop the nursery, Russian River Rose Company will be open to drop-in visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 25.
It is located at 1685 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg. 433-7455 or russian-river-rose.com.
(You can direct Home and Garden news to meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204.)
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