i thought i would start my first post of april with my most favorite thing about the valley in april. i am super excited because for one month a year (april if you have not already guessed) forni-brown-welsh gardens in calistoga is open to the public for it's annual spring plant sale. they are by far the highlight of my spring. well, that and the blooming cherry blossoms scattered around the valley.
for all of you who do not know about forni-brown gardens (or who do know + have not visited) - please, trust me when i say, you need to go + pay them a visit! they are wholesale growers famous for their lettuces + organic produce...selling to the top restaurants in the region throughout the year. they offer an abundance of unusual varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers as well as many other annual summer vegetables, edible flowers, herbs + more (click here for their list of veggies). their prices are also unbeatable - $2.50 for 4" containers + $2.50 for a packet of seeds.
my staple favorites are (but not limited to):
tomatoes: early girl, hillbilly (couldn't resist it for the name alone), cherokee purple
melon: charentais
pepper: ancho poblano (perfect for chili rellenos), jalapeno
cucumber: lemon cucumber
for more information, please visit this new york times article + jim white's write up on his website http://www.ilovenapa.com/.
they are open to the public every thursday, friday, saturday and sunday from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm for the month of april.
forni brown welsh gardens - 1214 pine street (cross street is cedar), calistoga 707.942.6123ps - although it is hard to not go opening weekend, i recommend waiting until later on in the month to purchase your plants. just to make sure we are past frost.
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