The Farmers Market is Back!

 Farmers Market returns Thursday, April 25, 2013 for its 21st season!

Benicia Main Street draws many people to its popular Farmers Market. The Market offers fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, gourmet food, delicious hot foods, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and face painting. Located on First Street between B & D Streets.

Link to Vendor Applications
Meet the Farmers & Other Vendors

Farmers

Achadinha Cheese—Artisanal goat & cow’s milk cheeses

Diaz Farms—Apricots, cherries, grapes, lemons, oranges, nectarines, peaches, persimmons, plums, pluots, walnuts, pecans

Garcia & Castellanos Farms—Vegetables, fruits

Great Valley Poultry —Cage free, organic eggs

J&J Ramos Farms—Grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, grapes, nectarines, peaches, plums, pluots, pomegranates, apples, onions, strawberries, tomatoes, almonds, walnuts

J&M Ibarra Farm—Vegetables, fruits, mushrooms

Lujan Farms—Apples, apricots, cherries, figs, grapes, nectarines, mandarins, peaches, persimmons, plums, pluots, pomegranates, walnuts

Marshall’s Farm Honey—Benicia and varietal honey

Medina Berry Farms—Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries

Medrano’s Flowers—Fresh cut flowers

Ortiz Farms—Berries

Rainbow Orchards (starting in July)—Blueberries, dried apples and pears

Resendiz Farms—Almonds, apricots, cherries, grapes, melon, nectarines, onions, peaches, plums, pluots, squash, tomatoes

Rose Lane Farms—Cottage flowers, nuts, pumpkins, heirloom tomatoes, homemade jam, honey, pickles, fruits, vegetables

Specialty Produce—Vegetables



Gourmet Foods

Dianna’s Delectable Desserts

East & West Gourmet Afghan Foods

Fox & Fawn Bakehouse

Gourmet Temptations

Il Pastaio Pastas & Raviolis

Isabel’s Coffee & Gifts

Mama Mia’s Beef Jerky

Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Food

Sweet Peabody’s Sorbet

Bistro Blends Oils & Vinegars

The Uppercrust Bakery Co.



Hot Food Vendor

Bites of Chicago

Bluefield Catering

Brittany Crepes & Galettes

Julie’s Roasted Corn & Potatoes

La Perla De Jalisco

La Selva Taqueria

Outta of this World

Sprankle’s Deli

Tony’s Original Kettle Corn







The Farmers Market in Benicia is back for the 2013 Season.  Baked goods, vegetables, fruits, and live entertainment all await you every Thursday throughout the summer.  It is located on first street between streets B and D.  You can find out more information at Benicia Main Street.

Five Tips on Plant Care for Your Apartment

 Do you have a green thumb?  You can still grow some beautiful indoor plants without that special green finger!  Here are some great tips on how to grow beautiful indoor plants in your apartment.  You can learn more great plant tips at apartment therapy.


Most people think that having a green thumb is just something you're born with. Little do they know all it takes to keep your household foliage alive is a little 411. Are you chronically killing your leafy friends? Here are a few reasons why another one might be biting the dust. 

1. Watering: Most folks tend to water their plants when they remember. The watering schedule you should stick to depends on your lighting and your humidity level. Just watering once a week and crossing your fingers just won't cut it. So what do you do? Google. Just make sure that when you do, you include your location and look at actual greenhouse or growers' websites. A general rule of thumb is that many plants like to go slightly dry to the touch before being watered again.
2. Humidity: For the most part, the water that is applied to the surface of your soil is only helping strengthen the roots and stems. The leaves, however, could really use a spritz or two of water every day or two. 
3. Drainage, Drainage Drainage: "But my pot has holes in the bottom! Isn't that good enough?" Not even a little bit! In addition to your container having holes, you need actual rocks or drainage material at the bottom. It gives water a place to go so it doesn't rot your roots. Remember, most plants prefer wet feet and dry ankles!
4. Know Your Windows: When you walk into a plant store, the little tags will usually tell you full sun, partial sun or shade. Full sun is only considered to be unblocked or unfiltered southern light, with western sunlight as a runner-up. If you have northern or eastern light, stick with things that like shade or partial sun. Remember, the light needs to be bright enough to read a book by with the lights off for a plant to survive. 
5. Shock: Although it's easy to rearrange your furniture on a whim, plants, for the most part would like a permanent home. You obviously have to move them when you switch living quarters, but to keep them happy, let them love the light they're in and stay put.

30 Items to Avoid When Composting

If you’re growing anything, house plants, window boxes, hydroponics, etc, then you may want to consider starting a compost. Everyday items that you’d throw out such as fruit cores and the like can be used to help your greenery grow, but some items should be left out. Check out ‘30 Items to Avoid’ below.

Composting and recycling seem like straightforward systems, but as with most processes, there are shades of gray to the black and white designations of "plastic", "paper", and "glass".  

I found this list on Mother Nature Network and thought it was a nice refresher for those of us who've ever stood over a recycling bin with an item and wondered if we were helping the process or muddling it up, since not all paper, glass, and plastic can be recycled equally.

Here are a few non-compostable/non-recyclable items to be aware of. Head on over to Mother Nature Network for the full list.

Non-Compostable Items:

Bread products, as they will attract pests.

Meat products, which will also attract pests and bacteria in a general compost pile. There are, however, specially designed composting bins that can be used to compost meat and dairy.

Heavily coated or printed paper. The printing chemicals will leak into your compost and cause contamination.

Cooking oil, which can disrupt the moisture balance in compost and also attract pests.

Rice, as it can become a breeding ground for bacteria that can harm the quality of your compost.

Non-Recyclable Items:

Brightly dyed paper, as the colored ink can leak and alter the color of other items.

Juice boxes and wax-coated cardboard containers. If the containers have not been marked as recyclable, they are not suitable for recycling.

Napkins and paper towels are considered unsuitable for recycling due to contaminants they may have absorbed.

Wet paper is not recyclable because of possible contaminants and damage to the fibers.

Plastic screw-on tops. While plastic bottles are recyclable, the tops are not considered suitable for 

recycling.

*While this list also contains items like batteries and household glass as items to avoid adding to general recycling bins, these types of items can often be recycled in targeted recycling programs. 

Earth 911 has a useful search engine that allows you to type in an item along with your zip code to locate an appropriate recycling center.

Full article here: http://bit.ly/ZFPRrm

Free Ice Cream Today

 Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Shops are giving away a free scoop of ice cream tomorrow from 12pm-8pm.  Keep reading and check out Living Pittsburgh for more great deals.

FREE Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s

 
Event: FREE Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s Location: Participating area Ben & Jerry’s locations Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Time: 12pm-8pm Cost: Free  Description: As a way to thank their customers for their support and to celebrate 34 years of scooping the chunkiest, funkiest ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops are happily giving it away! Get a free cone on April 9, 2013 during store hours. For additional details visit their website.