We like this quote from Michael Pollan

Bay Area based Writer Michael Pollan was on NPR's Day to Day program last week with a few tips for how to eat healthier for your body and the planet. We liked his quote:

"Gardening has a very low carbon footprint, and the added benefit of helping you stay in shape is cheap. This is a tremendous bargain; a pack of seeds cost a buck or two and can produce 30 to 40 dollars worth of food. There still is a free lunch."

You can listen to the entire program here

Our May/June Gardener's Notebook has been published

Click image to view this month's Gardener's Notebook!

On our cover this month we listed 50 reasons to garden this spring Do you have a few of your own? If so, add a comment (below) and we'll include your reasons on the Sloat blog.

A pretty spring picture.....

Visit Marin’s Eco-Friendly Gardens Self Guided Tour

Bees, Butterflies and Blooms Converge at Eco-Friendly Garden Tour!

Colorful blooms – and even bee hives - will be part of Marin’s Eco-Friendly Garden Tour on Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to colorful foliage, this self-guided Tour emphasizes eco-friendly features such as the use of native plants, pesticide-free gardens, mulching, methods of addressing hillside erosion, creek-friendly bank stabilization methods, water-wise plants, fire-resistant plants and use of rain chains - a more artistic alternative to down spouts.

Over 10 Marin gardens with eco-friendly features will be on display and each home’s landscaper/designer will be available to respond to questions from the public. Other experts will be available to answer questions about native plants, erosion control, drainage, healthy creeks and more. Garden locations will be made available through a Tour Guide Booklet mailed to each participant following registration.

Participants will have a chance to expand their knowledge on various issues by collecting free materials, available at each garden, for future reference. Materials range from bird guides and plant lists that attract butterflies and other beneficial insects to creek care guides and simple erosion control manuals.

In addition to the Saturday self-guided Tour, the Marin Art and Garden Center will hold an exclusive plant sale on Sunday, in the Butterfly Garden, for all Eco-Friendly Tour participants. An array of California natives and drought tolerant plants and shrubs will be available. Many of the plants being sold are grown on site at the MAGC Nursery. Experts, including Nancy Bauer, author of The Habitat Garden Book, will be on hand to help with your selections.

Registration can be made online through the College of Marin at www.marincommunityed.org (course #8224) or by calling Gina Purin of MCSTOPPP at 499-3202. Price is $15 per adult.

The Tour is sponsored by the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP) in cooperation with the Marin Art and Garden Center and the College of Marin.

Participating Landscapers, to date, include: Art Gardens Landscape Co, Blume & Dean Landscape Design, CA Native Landscapes, EcoLogic Landscaping, Edger Landscape Design, EcoScapes, Equinox Landscape, PlannedLand, Quinn’s California Landscapes, Reilly Designs Inc., Roger Waters Environments Inc, and Simmonds & Associates.

New products at Sloat this spring....

BONIDE MITE X: Made from botanical extracts, Mite-X is an effective spider mite killer that can be used on vegetables, fruit, nuts, vine crops, shrubs, herbs, ornamentals, evergreens, interior plants. Kills aphids and thrip, too! Natural insect spray is safe for use around children and pets.

POISON FREE WASP & HORNET KILLER: Sprays a blanketing foam up to 15 feet. Non-staining, Poison-Free will not damage siding and shingles. Contains Mint Oil and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Does not contain CFC's or other ozone depleting substances. Water based aerosol.

Ladybug release in Mill Valley

Made the news!

Kids get bitten by gardening bug
Schoolchildren release more than 120,000 ladybugs into the garden at Edna Maguire Elementary School in Mill Valley on Thursday.

The weather looks fabulous in the bay area....

Happy Gardening this weekend!

Store update: Roses! Roses! roses!

All our stores have just received large quantities of budded and blooming roses. The quality is truly incredible. If you've ever considered buying a rose bush, now is the time!!

Our 2008 Tomato selection...

We present delicious tomato varieties for you to try in your garden this summer. Click to view>>

Happy Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day Sloat gardeners. At Sloat we deeply believe that gardening is good for the planet. We urge every gardener to plant something this Earth Day...because as we learned in 6th grade science class, through photosynthesis plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen - and that’s a really good thing these days...

5 ways gardeners can celebrate Earth Day

1. Use non-toxic methods to help plants both resist and recover from attack by pests and diseases.
2. Reuse garden waste in compost and mulch.
3. Choose plants that are an appropriate fit for your soil, sun and shade conditions.
4. Use Bay Area native plants (or Mediterranean plants) in your garden: these all need less water.
5. Provide wildlife habitat in your garden.

Celebrate Earth Day in Marin with a ladybug release at Edna Maguire School in Mill Valley

Happy Gardening this weekend...

Look what's blooming in our stores!



All our locations have the following in stock this month...

Fresh budded and blooming azaleas in many sizes, blooming magnolias, cherries, crabapples, pink jasmine, hardenbergia, calla lilies, Spanish lavender and wallflower. Also, Japanese maples are leafing out and cistus (rockrose) are budded up. Ranunculus looks beautiful, as do orchids, succulents and lilacs. And don't forget to GROW YOUR OWN vegetables this summer. We have all the plants, soil and amendments for a delicious harvest this summer! CLICK here for specific plant information for many Sloat locations.>>

April Gardening GUIDE

Plant
• Plant your favorite annuals for spring. Impatiens, petunias, marigolds, cosmos and lobelia are all budding and blooming now!
• Plant bulbs and perennials now to fill your garden with summer color. Lilies & dahlias will be beautiful additions.
• It may be time for a new watering can. We have them in stock now.
• Organic vegetable starts and seeds are here. Start your edible garden early this year.

Prune/Maintain
• Improving the quality of your soil should be at the top of your spring garden activity list. An optimal loamy soil balance promotes drainage, air and water penetration. Use Sloat Loam Builder, Sloat Forest Mulch Plus or Sloat Planting Mix. All are custom-blended for Bay Area gardens.
• Control pests before they take over your garden by adding plants that attract beneficial insects.
• Continue to control destructive snails that ravage gardens by night and hide by day. Sluggo Snail Bait works great and is the perfect non-toxic alternative to products with metaldehyde.
• Apply Greenlight Rose Defense to roses and other ornamental plants at the first sign of fungal and pest problems to control black spot, powdery mildew, rust, mites, aphids and more.
• Prune azaleas and camellias after they bloom.

Fertilize
• Use E. B. Stone Organics Sure Start (with mycorrhizae) with all new plantings to help them get established quickly.
• Use Agricultural Lime to balance your soil’s pH and add calcium and magnesium to vegetable and other garden beds.
• Fertilize with E. B. Stone Organics All-Purpose Plant Food and Citrus and Fruit Tree Food. See our staff for other plant-specific fertilizer recommendations.
• Lawns are ready for some attention. Feed them with GreenAll Pro Formula Lawn Food.

Fast Forward!

Each month Sloat Garden Center sponsors a different school garden in Marin County. The April school garden is Brookside Upper Elementary School. Their established school garden is enjoyed by the entire school community.

We've got the poop deck covered...

May 4
Dog Day on the Bay
A great event for a great cause! This San Francisco SPCA benefit features a Sloat sponsored "poop deck" using our best sod. For tickets & details visit here:

Everything you ever wanted to know about Wisteria....

About Wisteria:
This long-lived twining, woody deciduous vine needs full sun, good drainage, a very strong support system, regular water the first season, and very-well amended soil (don’t forget the SureStart). Failure to get nutrients into the root zone at planting time can result in the common ‘my wisteria doesn’t bloom’ complaint, more on that below. Seed pods are poisonous.

Wisterias need a very strong, sturdy arbor, pergola or trellis since they can become very heavy with age. If the trellis is attached to the house, it should be planted on the farthest post, and let it fill in by gradually growing toward your house. They can clog the rain gutters, lift roof shingles, rip up flimsy trellises, and strangle small trees.

Basic Training: Train the main leader to the upper part of the support system and cut it off when it reaches the desired height. Train the main side branches horizontally at least 18’ apart from each other. The first season do not expect prolific blooms since vegetative growth is being encouraged to establish the scaffold/framework. Remove stems that interfere with the desired framework; pinch back side stems and long whips.

The young wisteria will send out a lot of skinny, rapidly-growing, soft vegetative shoots (which make leaves, not flowers) in the spring and summer. These shoots are called runners, or whips, and are roughly the thickness of a phone cord. Some of these can be forced into becoming a spur system by heading back to 3 to 6 inches from where they join their parent scaffold branch. Check out the Cass Turnbull “Guide To Pruning”, pp.196-201, for some great pictures and pruning advice. Page 199 has an excellent explanation of the spur system. Correctly pruning wisterias is another solution to “why doesn’t my wisteria bloom?” This plant will need dedicated pruning every winter and cleanup pruning every summer. NOTE: Wisteria flowers develop in buds near the base of the previous year’s growth.

Fertilizing: Wisteria need very little feeding once established, Nitrogen fertilizer will encourage vegetative growth, not blossoms. Katy Thompson, Advanced CCN Pro, recommends an annual application of Agricultural Lime in the spring since wisteria like a neutral to slightly acid soil pH of 6.0-7.0

The Difference between Chinese and Japanese Wisteria:

Japanese: The pendulous flowers clusters (racemes) are 12”-18” long, and open gradually from the base of the cluster as the leaves are developing during May and June. They are very fragrant. The compound leaves usually have 13-29 leaflets. The vines twine clockwise.

Chinese: The racemes open all at once (ooh, ah) in May, are 9”-12” long and have a mild sweet fragrance. The compound leaves have 7-13 leaflets, the vine twines counter-clockwise.

Trivia Note: A Chinese wisteria planted in 1894 by William and Alice Brugman in Sierra Madre, California now weighs more than 250 tons, is more than one acre in size and has become one of the seven horticultural wonders of the world. It is named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest blossoming plant in the world, and is the star of Sierra Madre’s annual Wisteria Festival.

The tax man cometh...

But maybe this month's pottery color (kiwi green) will make you smile.

Common Disease Problems on Roses

Downy Mildew- Peronospora sparsa appears after consistent cool conditions (Jan-Feb), then a big temperature hike, followed by cool humid weather again. Symptoms include lesions on the leaves, stems and flowers, they appear purplish to brown, blocky and often accompanied by yellowing of the surrounding tissues. The Downy Mildew fungus forms a downy mass of spores on the underside of leaf lesions, difficult to see without a hand lens. Once conditions turn warm and dry, the disease is kept on check until the next cool, humid period.

Controls-Avoid overhead watering, increase air circulation by pruning out/thinning in the center of the plant. Remove infected tissue, place in a plastic bag and seal before moving it out of the garden. Kop-R-Spray can be used as a preventive measure, use as for grapes.

Powdery Mildew-Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae is recognized by its white to gray powdery growth on leaves, shoots, sepals, buds, and occasionally on petals. Leaves may distort and drop. Powdery mildew does not require free water on the plant surfaces to develop and is active during our warm, dry summers. Overhead sprinkling during midday may limit the disease by disrupting the daily spore-release cycle, yet allows time for foliage to dry.

Controls-The pathogen requires living tissue to survive, so pruning, collecting and disposing of leaves during the dormant season can limit infestations. Plants grown in sunny locations with good air circulation are less likely to have problems. Thinning out the center of the plant can help. Rose Defense or Serenade will also control Powdery Mildew.

Black Spot-Diplocarpon rosae produces black spots with feathery or fibrous margins on the upper surfaces of leaves and stems. Small black fruiting bodies are often present on the upper sides of leaves, there is no fungal growth on the underside of the leaves. The fungus requires free water to reproduce, so leaves should not remain wet for more than 7 hours.

Controls- Remove infested and fallen leaves in a plastic bag. Thin out the center of the plant for good air circulation. Prune out infected stems in the dormant season. Rose Defense or Serenade is effective in controlling the disease.

Happy Gardening this weekend!

More snapshots from our stores....

ooooooh. Echium and a hummingbird. Can you spot it?

A list of some of the new items at Sloat this year

Bonide Orchard Spray for Citrus, Fruit & Nut
As part of the all natural, “Garden Naturals” line from Bonide, the Orchard Spray uses a unique combination of natural pyrethrins and sulfur that is ideal for Citrus, Fruit and Nut trees, as well as many other edible and ornamental plants. It kills pests on contact including aphids, mites, caterpillars, scale and others. It is highly effective at controlling a wide range of diseases including scab, powdery mildew, rust, blight and brown rot. Sloat carries both a Ready-to-Spray bottle and a concentrate. It can be used up to the day of harvest, from early Spring through late Fall.

Handmaster ROC Garden Gloves
With a 100% bamboo shell (yes, we said “bamboo”), this glove is lighter, cooler and more absorbent than other cotton gloves. Bamboo fabric is moisture wicking and breathable, and its natural UV protection makes working outdoors worry free. It has a nitrile coated palm for added gripping power and maximum control.

Its fabric is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. Grown without pesticides or chemicals, it is 100% biodegradable and naturally regenerative. As an added benefit, bamboo fiber products will not hold odor or grow fungus, even if left in moist conditions. So you will not have to throw these gloves away after limited use!

The meaning of organic. A few things to ponder...

According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary- organic “means of, relating to, or derived from living organisms”.

In terms of organic gardening, that explanation has expanded from 1) growing only with fertilizers derived from animal or plant materials or naturally occurring elements to include 2) avoiding the use of environmentally destructive chemical (traditional) pesticides and fertilizers and 3) using good cultural practices by choosing the right plants, composting to build healthy soil, attracting beneficial insects and other organisms, crop rotation, and mulching to prevent runoff and conserve water. Organic Gardeners choose plants that will work in the neighborhood, not picky, temperamental plants that need constant fertilizing. They aim for biological diversity with plants that will attract a wide variety of beneficial organisms.

Organic gardeners mimic Mother Nature by adding decomposing materials (organic fertilizers) to the soil that slowly permeate and help build the soil (encourage beneficial soil organisms). They are patient, observant people that check their plants frequently for any signs of pests.

In terms of pests, most of us practice Integrated Pest Management. After first choosing the best plant for the site, watering correctly, building the soil and using biological, mechanical and physical controls for pests, it is sometimes necessary to use a pesticide as a last resort. However there are now numerous less toxic materials like insecticidal soaps, narrow-range or horticultural oils, microbials and botanicals like Serenade, Spinosad, Copper Soap and Bt available.

Interestingly, products labeled organic can also include naturally occurring elements like green sand, sulfur, volcanic pumice, agricultural lime and gypsum. Sulfur, for example, is mined from natural mineral deposits. It is not only a basic element but also an essential plant nutrient. It has been used in agriculture for well over a hundred years as an insecticide, fungicide and miticide.

Finally, “Organic” definitions and standards are evolving all over our country as we deal with environmental issues-don’t let semantics keep you from enjoying your garden.

Impatiens, impatiens, impatiens

Ever wonder about the difference is between all those cultivars of Impatiens? We usually see 5 main types at Sloat. All the cultivars encompass the basic colors of white, red, pink, orange, rose, violet, and salmon. Of course, there are other colors such as scarlet, apricot, bright eye, cranberry, etc.

Futura (1965) - This cultivar has been around a long time. The flowers tend to be smaller on average than newer cultivars and the plants are taller and leggier (12”-14”) especially at the end of the season (up to 2’ tall!).

Accent (1984) - This cultivar all but replaced Futura. The plants are more compact and the flowers are large and held above the foliage. Plants on average will be 10”-12” tall. They will still tend to some legginess at season’s end (1 ½’ tall). We have Pearl, Apricot, Cranberry and Bright Eye. Also picotees.

Blitz and Dazzler (=1970’s) - These cultivars grow a lot like Futura but they have good bicolors and picotee forms such as red/white and orange/white.

Elfin (1968) - This is the most dwarf Impatiens, growing only 6”-8” tall. The colors tend to be darker, muddier if you will, than average. It is an unhappy gardener who mistakenly mixes Elfin in with their Accents!

Xtreme (2007) - This is the new kid on the block! The colors are as true and as large as Accent but the plant stays more compact (8”-10”) throughout the season. No legginess here!

Good gardening this weekend....

The weather looks great for Bay Area gardening this weekend. We'll leave you with a quote to ponder as you make planting plans. Have fun out there!

"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig
my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar."

-Helen Hayes

A pretty picture from our Kentfield store...

And for those who love their dogs...

We really like this new product we just started carrying...it's a combination of grass seed and granulated mulch (made from recycled paper) that is formulated to repair yellow spots in lawns left by pets. It helps neutralize the nitrogen in pet’s urine that causes yellow spots. Directions are easy! Just prepare the area with a rake, remove dead grass, weeds and debris. Apply Dog Patch directly from the easy pour container. Water immediately and twice daily until new growth blends with existing lawn. Expect germination in 7-10 days.

Sloat on the radio!

Tune in to the Ronn Owens show -- 810am
On Tuesday, April 1st, at 11am our own Richard Avery, Manager of Sloat in San Bruno, will answer all your spring gardening questions on soil, drought tolerant plants, native plants, edible gardening...and more!

You can listen live on Tuesday by clicking here: