We’ve really been busy adding new products for sale in the gift shop of the Comstock, Ferre & Co. store including handmade braided rugs, handcrafted cold-process herbal soaps from Country Family Soaps and Bayberry Meadow Herbs and the above pictured lanterns that are wired for electric!

We received our first collection of consignment antiques today…they are for sale in the second floor room, formerly the home of “Sit & Knit.”  The owner formerly owned an antique store, so these are some beautiful pieces! We’ll be adding new items every week so please stop by often!

Inside and out, the renovations and organizing are moving right along at the new Comstock, Ferre & Co. store! We’ve been welcomed with open arms by neighbors and folks who have read about the new owners, Jere and Emilee Gettle, in local newspapers and on the News. We’ve even been visited by the New York Times who will be running a piece on Jere and Comstock, Ferre & Co. in August.

Some Recent Highlights

Neighbors, Pamela Hall and Damien Creguau, walked down the historic Main Street to the store in their historic outfits to give a very special welcome!

Paul from the Petaluma store, The Seed Bank, has been working extremely hard arranging the seeds, the various antiques, and making the place warm and welcoming.

And Jere has been arranging displays of historic Comstock, Ferre & Co. heirlooms; seed packets, seed packing memorabilia, and special treasures.

The heat has been recordbreaking…or feels that way at least, but the new garden beds are looking beautiful.

So, if you are in the area, stop in and say HI! We’re currently open 9:00 – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday. We’d love to show you around!

We’re on Facebook, too!

The Spring Festival has grown from a first-year total of around 400 people to its present-day blockbuster size. Much of this growth parallels the growth of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. itself. The 2010 seed catalog now boasts 1,400 varieties from all over the United States and the world, appealing to gardeners of all stripes.

Vendors offered around 5000 varieties of plants!

For those who have attended every year, the improvements from year-to-year are impressive. Parking lots and roads have been laid out and cordoned off to facilitate easy in and out. Baker Creek personnel use walkie-talkies to coordinate parking and visitor access. Several new restrooms and a new restaurant add to visitor enjoyment, not to mention the additions to Bakersville itself, with the numerous new animal enclosures, a pioneer cabin, and an operational grist mill.

 A special feature of each Spring Festival is the array of nationally accalaimed speakers who spoke on a broad range of subjects that are of interest to gardeners everywhere. This year, there were several standing room only crowds, who were entertained and educated by the topics that were presented.

 Emmy-winner Doug Oster spoke on Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil, while Ken Roseboro warned of the dangers of Genetically Modified Foods. Kelly Norris, who started Rainbow Iris Gardens at the age of fifteen, spoke on familiar, but forgotten flowers and the passion that motivates gardeners. Dr. Jeff Nekola and Linda Fey from the University of New Mexico captivated audiences with their talks on the healing power of gardens and their life’s work involving the preservation and promotion of over 390 varieties of garlic. Oscar H. “Hank” Will III told the story of the Oscar H. Will Seed Co., a North Dakota company that spanned over a hundred years. Paul Wallace, from Baker Creek’s Petaluma, CA Seed Bank, talked on compost and mulch, two very topical subjects.

 Meanwhile, nearly a hundred vendors sold everything from plants, honey, and fresh-baked bread and pastries, to tack for horses, apple fritters, and homemade soap.

The Folk Music Contest drew musicians from far and wide.

 Numerous musicians, including Sourdough Slim, a perennial favorite, entertained appreciative crowds with Bluegrass, Folk, Gospel, and Country music. On 2 stages, music was continuous for over nine hours each day.

 At Sunday’s Costume Contest, the winners were 1^st Place Damien and Kaitriana Nissley from El Dorado Springs, MO and 2^nd Place Melissa and William Niednagel from Nottinghill, MO. At Monday’s Costume Contest, the winners were 1^st Place Awbra Trujillo from Clever, MO and 2^nd Place Rebekah Richardson.

 The Folk Music Contest is always a huge crowd-pleaser. The 1st place winner ($600) was the Blue Jeans Bluegrass Band from Schell City, MO. 2^nd place ($200) went to the Montana Family from Rovenna, TX.

Dozens of demonstrators displayed their crafts.

 Jere Gettle, the owner of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., was extremely pleased with the turnout. “These events are so much work, but they are worth every ounce of effort. Visitors and Baker Creek personnel alike have such a good time.” What’s in store for next year? Gettle responded with, “More and better. Come and join us.”

 Photography by NateLuke.com. ©2010

Here at The Seed Bank we have bags and bags of seed potatoes for planting. Our organic, locally raised specialty potatoes include several heirloom varieties with great old‑fashioned names like Rose Finn Apple, a fingerling with rose‑blushed beige skin perfect for German potato salad; Mountain Rose, with red skin and flesh and high in antioxidants; Princess LaRatte, a subtly sweet, fingerling originally from France, and Ozette, a nice, nutty, firm fingerling with a distinct knobby appearance.

You’ll also find, Warba, a disease‑resistant, early potato great for cooking; German Butterball, russet‑skinned, with buttery‑yellow flesh, great for roasting, frying, and mashed potatoes; and Burbank Russet, developed by famed horticulturalist Luther Burbank in the 1870’s and a great frying potato.

“Seed potatoes” are actually small potatoes, which can be cut in half or even fourths and planted as “seeds.” Go deep though, at least 6 inches. You don’t want your potatoes to grow too close to the surface. Sunlight exposure can produce a toxin in potatoes called solanine, which can cause stomach upset. Generally, if a harvested potato is greenish, toss it in your compost bin.

Potato supplier Denny Hunt, owner of Blankity Blank Potato Farm on Blank Road between Cotati and Sebastopol, recommends “hilling” around potatoes to keep them protected—and for greater yield. Hilling involves mounding soil up around the base of the plant upon planting and then going back and repeating the process a second and even third time during the growing period.

Potatoes are incredibly easy to grow and many are quite tolerant of most soils. But it’s important not to overload your potato bed with compost, says Hunt at Blankity Blank Potato Farm. A ratio of 5 to 6 percent organic matter is fine, he says. And a low‑nitrogen fertilizer is best. (Too much nitrogen can cause root rot.)

Two of our potato suppliers, including Little Organic Farm in Tomales, and Oh! Tommy Boy’s Organic Farm near Valley Ford, use a dry farming technique requiring no irrigation and depending only on natural moisture and coastal fog to keep crops hydrated. The secret is deep, loamy soil and proper tilling.

For the home gardener using traditional growing techniques, however, it’s important to keep your plants healthy and vigorous with the right amount of water, says potato farmer Nathan Boone, owner of Oh! Tommy Boy’s Organic Farm. “Potatoes are fast, vigorous growers, and heavy feeders,” he adds. They like a rich, heavy, fertile soil.”

David Little at Little Organic Farm recommends growing potatoes in a chicken wire hoop (old car tires can be used, too) for a remarkable yield and to maximize your garden space. You simply create a “tower” about 3 feet in diameter using chicken wire, fill it with alternating layers of soil and straw, and at about four points around the circumference and at each soil‑straw layer, you place a seed potato. You’ll have many potato plants growing at once from top to bottom through the chicken wire, and when they’re ready to harvest, just knock the “tower” over to collect your bounty.

Potatoes are traditionally planted from Saint Patrick’s Day in March until the end of spring, says Denny Hunt at Blankity Blank Potato Farm. He’s even planted them as late as mid‑June.

Stop by The Seed Bank, while our seed potato stock lasts, and try planting a new‑to‑you, fun variety this year. Most of our varieties are considered gourmet and many have found their way into dishes created by chefs at the Bay Area’s top restaurants featuring fresh, locally grown organic foods.

Sales are at a record level, thanks to you, our long-time loyal customers, as well as all you new customers. We know that our satisfied clientele are spreading the word and we’re grateful for that.

Seed packets and updated shelving.

In each of the past two years, our sales have doubled—that’s what every business dreams about, but we’re mindful of the old sports analogy: “you don’t want to out-punt your coverage.” Frankly, it was hard to keep up with the demand.

So, to address the frustrations that we all felt at times, we used the proceeds from those super years to invest in infrastructure. Here’s a brief summary of what we’ve been doing to speed up order processing and improve our overall customer service.

By popular demand, we alphabetized all varieties so they would be easier to locate in the catalog and online. We also implemented a new online shopping cart that gives you a visible running total of what you’re ordering, as well as being better organized.

Our new Customer Care Center, with its fourteen offices and state-of-the-art computer and communications equipment, including a facility-wide fiber optics star array, have greatly improved our ability to take phone orders rapidly and efficiently.

Chris operating our new seed packing machine.

Until this season, all our seeds were hand-packed. In July, 2009, we purchased a $70,000 packing machine, built to our specifications. Now, we can pack over 30,000 packets in a two-shift day.

This output capacity created another problem, however: Where would we put all those seeds? The existing warehouse is too small to hold both bulk seeds and a year’s supply of packaged seeds. So, we built a 10,000 square-foot warehouse to stage the packaged products. This warehouse is also wired into the local area network for future use in bar-code inventory control and the like.

2009 had its share of creature comforts, too. We completed the Asian-themed Earth restaurant that is operated on a donations-only basis. This is a unique, non-profit dining experience that is for the benefit of our customers. And we don’t want to forget the addition of several species of exotic chickens and another breed of sheep in our animal exhibits.

The Spring Planting Festival is slated for May 2—3, 2010. Come on out and hear our world class speakers, listen to a smorgasbord of country, gospel, bluegrass, and Americana music, and choose from an enticing array of products from the vendors.

Thanks again for your business and good will. We appreciate each and every one of you, and we will continue to seek new ways to serve you.

-By: Jerry Orton