The Monterey Bay Master Gardeners’ big Smart Gardening Faire takes place Saturday, June 27, with chickens leading the way at Skypark in Scotts Valley.
“Chickens are the perfect adjunct to the garden,” says Cynthia Sandberg of Ben Lomond, who has a flock of hens at her Love Apple Farm, better known for tomato-growing classes and providing organic vegetables to Manresa, the Michelin two-star restaurant in Los Gatos.
Sandberg will discuss raising backyard chickens in a 2 p.m. talk during a daylong symposium at the fair.
Chickens eat weeds and insect-infested plant parts, provide manure for the compost pile and, of course, lay eggs.
Having three hens is optimal for most families, Sandberg said, because on the average they will provide two dozen eggs a week. She recommends against having roosters because the crowing can bother neighbors.
Sandberg also conducts four-hour chicken-raising classes at the farm, where she advises using a coop material stronger than chicken wire because some predators will barge through it — and as she warned, “even mild-mannered Fido can become a chicken-killing machine.”
At-home coops and vegetable gardens are a resurgent nationwide trend, she said, because of the recession and because “people want to be confident of their food. They also find that it’s a bonding experience when a family grows stuff.”
The free fair, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is built around a Focus on Food theme because of the renewed emphasis on growing food at home, according to Cynthia Jordan, president of the master gardeners organization.
“The Monterey Bay Master Gardeners have advocated home and school gardens for over 10 years and strongly encouraged gardening without synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” she said. “We are delighted to see this great enthusiasm for edible gardening.”
She pointed out that the fair comes on the heels of first lady Michelle Obama planting an organic vegetable garden at the White House and California first lady Maria Shriver planting one in Capitol Park in Sacramento.
More than 40 exhibitors will include community groups and commercial vendors showing aspects of sustainable gardening and garden-related goods and offering cooking demonstrations and food and wine tasting. (See our accompanying list.)
Symposium speakers in addition to Sandberg are:
- 9:30 a.m.: Dave Egbert, The Coastal Gardener, “Fruits, Food, and Fire: Sustainable Landscapes That Keep You and Your Home Fire-safe,” and Alrie Middlebrook, California Native Garden Foundation, “California Native Edibles”
- 10:30 a.m.: Beth Benjamin, Renee’s Garden, “Growing Vegetables from Seed in the Home Garden,” and John Farais, The Zen Cowboy Chef, “Demonstrating Cooking California, Mediterranean and Native American Cuisines”
- 11:30 a.m.: Thomas Wittman, Gophers Limited, “Non-toxic Control of Vertebrate Pests,” and Phil LaRocca, La Rocca Vineyards
- noon: Cowboy chef John Farais
- 1 p.m.: Manfred Warmuth, “Smart Food Production in the City,” and Organic Wine Works
- 2 p.m.: Cynthia Sandberg, “On Chickens,” and Ilona & Cheytan Wood, Agape Feast, “Organic Foods and Wines”
- 3 p.m.: Lynn Bottazzo, “Bee Symphony,” and Larry Jacob, Jacob’s Farm, “Food Safety”
- Also on tap, herbalist Darren Huckle of Roots of Wellness will discuss California native herbs at 11:15 a.m., then lead a walk-through of the herbs of Skypark.
- Representatives of Santa Cruz County Home Composting Program will present a home composting workshop at 1 p.m.
- Additional demonstrations will include Terry Beech showing masterful tool sharpening and master gardeners giving tips on plant propagation and answering plant questions.
- For information: http://smartgardening.org.
