edible garden
DIG IN
Great gifts for gardeners
WRITTEN BY CHRISTINA NELLEMANN
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MANUFACTURERS
If you’re lucky, you will be on the receiving end of an abundance of neighborhood vegetables and fruits this summer, and your favorite backyard gardener is due for a little gift for all his or her hard work. These gardening favorites, chosen by Reno-Tahoe nursery and feed store managers, are both fun and functional and are sure to garner you extra heirloom tomatoes for your summer table.
Local Seeds
Family-owned Botanical Interests actually has its roots in Reno. Co-owner Curtis Jones was born in The Biggest Little City and worked at Moana Nursery in Reno during college. The company sells more than 170 organic, non-GMO vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. A great gift for your favorite gardener could be new and unusual packets, such as Atomic Red Carrots, Kale Premier Blend, or Rudbeckia Indian Summer perennial seeds.
Purchase Botanical Interests seeds at Moana Nursery, http://www.Moananursery.com
Seed packets start at $1.69 each
Shoes and Boots
Keep the dirt and mud where they belong: outside. Sloggers slip-on shoes and boots are festive, waterproof, and have been made in the U.S. since 1948. The company recently launched a sustainability campaign this year that ensures the soles of its shoes and boots contain up to 50 percent of mixed recycled materials. Customers also can return their worn shoes to the company, where they will be ground up and made into a new pair.
Purchase Sloggers at Moana Nursery, http://www.Moananursery.com
$29 to $39 for the shoes; $40 for the boots
Hand Soap and Salve
Gardeners’ hands take the brunt of most backyard work. Tahoe Naturals Gardener’s Secret soap with pumice, peppermint, and cinnamon cleanses rough skin, and Gardener’s Secret Hand Salve soothes with avocado oil and allantoin. The salve is naturally scented with rosemary, citrus, and balsam essential oils. Both products are locally made in Incline Village.
Purchase Tahoe Naturals Gardener’s Secret hand soap and its companion salve from Villager Nursery in Truckee (http://www.Villagernursery.com) or Great Western Marketplace in Reno (http://www.Greatwesternmarketplace.com)
Hand soap, $5; hand salve, $6 for .75-ounce size
Earth and Powder Mill Spreader
The bane of any vegetable gardener is the mid-summer march of aphids, weevils, and ants. Food-grade diatomaceous earth is the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton. When sprinkled on a bug with an exoskeleton, it works similarly to shards of glass to dehydrate and break the bug apart — nasty for them, but beneficial for vegetables and harmless to humans. Extend its power by applying it to plants with a powder mill by PlantMates.
Purchase diatomaceous earth at Sierra Feed and Saddlery in Reno (Sierrafeedandthesaddlery.com), and the Powder Mill Duster can be found at Rail City Garden Center in Sparks (http://www.Railcitygardencenter.com)
Perma-Guard Diatomaceous Earth, $13.20 for 5 pounds; Powder Mill Duster, $46.99
Beekeeping Kit
According to Debbie Gilmore of Mason Valley Beekeepers in Yerington, the interest in hobby beekeeping has exploded. The original 10- to 15-member association now has 70 families from across Northern Nevada on the list. The Backyard Beekeeping Kit from Harvest Lane Honey affords a great foray into the world of bees and includes a deep brood box, nine frames with foundation, a plastic hive feeder, standard smoker and pellets, tools and brushes, a full bee suit, gloves, and an instructional DVD.
Purchase the Backyard Beekeeping Kit from the Garden Shop Nursery in Reno (http://www.Gardenshopnursery.com)
The full kit is $299.99; the same kit without the suit and gloves is $199.99
UV Protective Shirt
From Charlotte Jorst — the former owner of Skagen watch company, which until 2012 was based in Reno — comes this stylish shirt with UV protection. Her company, Kastel, is derived from the Danish word for fortress. The resilient Charlotte shirt comes in more than 20 colors and is made of nylon and spandex with mesh inner sleeves. It also is available for children, and the Henrik version is sized for men.
Purchase the Kastel Denmark Charlotte shirt at Sierra Feed and Saddlery in Reno (http://www.Sierrafeedandthesaddlery.com)
$75
Christina Nellemann is a freelance writer and designer who loves to grow her own vegetables in Washoe Valley. Beekeeping just might be next on her list.
