The National Heirloom Exposition - Sept in CA

I received a pamphlet with my last order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds regarding this Exposition. It will be held in Santa Rosa, CA (north of San Francisco on September 10, 11 & 12. Will anyone from this Forum be attending? It looks like you can snack your way through it!!

info@the heirloomexpo.com

I am seriously considering going to visit my family in CA so I can hit the Expo.  I have friends I can stay with about 3 miles from the Fair Grounds.  But, have to talk Hubby into it!

GG

can anyone say wine country?  

Bump

3 weeks away

Bump

8 days away

GS,  Wish I could drink wine.  I love it, especially Merlot!  I chemically can not drink alcohol anymore.  Darn . . .

I can't think of Merlot anymore without thinking of the rant about it in the movie "Sideways."

We just took a trip to SF in the beginning of August or I'd consider it, darn!  

Sounds like fun.  Is it always in one place or does it move around?
Audrey

Audrey, This is the 3rd year. I'll find out.

Marc, Never saw the movie. Is is worth renting?

Marc Iverson wrote:I can't think of Merlot anymore without thinking of the rant about it in the movie "Sideways."

+1, a great piece of Cinema.

Ditto to Camprn & Iverson, good movie! They should've grown the vineyards in SFG  ( ;

4 days away!

Made the hotel reservation.  DH is coming with me.    He said it's to keep me out of trouble.

Spent the day at the exposition.  It was fun to see all the different produce that all of you discuss.  I'm clumsy on DH's laptop, with no mouse.  I will post some of the pics when I return home to my PC.  Heard John Kohler speak for 60 minutes!  Excellent presenter.

Did anyone else attend?

Photos from my iPhone.

It was overcast on Thursday when we attended.  There were the usual displays for fancy systems and gardening book displays.  But also lots of food samples, free samples of bio char and Terra Lite from Sonoma Compost.  Free worm castings.  Free tee shirt and bag (good for air gardening!) from Drip Works since I was already a customer.  Chickens, bunnies, pigs, cows, horse, llamas, and worm bins.  And, seed catalogs.  Food stands.  I'm glad we went but I wouldn't go every year.  I learned a lot, saw good ideas to copy.  The kids that were in attendance were really nice, happy and well behaved.  No temper tantrums seen all day!  I have a suspicion that they don't watch a lot of TV or play on computer for hours.  Loved the school gardening projects.

Tomatoes and tomatoes:



Black Stem Tomato


Giant paste - Amos coli


A Pepper Table


Some Hot peppers


Dream Hot House


Cheap Compost Pail!  Shows you don't have to shell out $40


Honey bee comb.  It's a traveling display a few years old.


Kales


Shamrock Squash


Tiered planter for the handy person


Growing your greens John Kohler.  Very good speaker.  He packed the room, ran over his 45 min, and held an impromptu outside.  His topic was juicing

Nice photos! thanks for this great report!

Beautiful pictures! Sounds like a good day and you probably came home inspired for next year and with a list of seeds you'll want to try  

Definitely inspired.  I already have new seeds for 2014 so I was very restrained on seeds.  Got some of the seeds from the Farmer Market culls I collected for my compost pile.  But I did get 3 seed catalogs to decide what else I could try in 2015. NOT ONE book for sale on SFG!  I did see The Answer Book at The Seed Bank in Petaluma.

This is one venue that should have a SFG booth / display.  In my city back yard, SFG is the only concept that will work for growing veggies.  I can even fit a circular (but not a square) compost cage in my back yard.

It's almost that time, again. The Heirloom Exposition will be held September 5-7, 2017. Last year there were over 350 exhibitors. Anyone within driving distance, or will be in the San Fransisco Bay area, should try to attend. At $10 entrance fee, this is a real bargain. You will leave with a head full of new ideas and a bag full of samples and information. Local tomatoes are for sale, so if you see something you like, you can buy one and save the seeds.

The National Heirloom Exposition
199 Petaluma Blvd. North
Petaluma, CA 94952

TheHeirloomExpo.com

Here are some of the exhibits and speakers:
http://theheirloomexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-expo-guide-final-lowres.pdf

sanderson wrote:It's almost that time, again.  The Heirloom Exposition will be held September 5-7, 2017.  Last year there were over 350 exhibitors.  Anyone within driving distance, or will be in the San Fransisco Bay area, should try to attend.  At $10 entrance fee, this is a real bargain.  You will leave with a head full of new ideas and a bag full of samples and information.  Local tomatoes are for sale, so if you see something you like, you can buy one and save the seeds.

The National Heirloom Exposition
199 Petaluma Blvd. North
Petaluma, CA 94952

TheHeirloomExpo.com

Here are some of the exhibits and speakers:
http://theheirloomexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-expo-guide-final-lowres.pdf

Would love to attend BUT I checked Google Maps and it will take 42 hours of driving time (without stops) over a distance of 4,653 Kilometres (2891 miles) of roads for me to get there! Most of the drive would be on I-80. Maybe next year. 

I'd love to attend, but it's just too far away.  I wish they would hold an annual event like this on the east coast, or make it a traveling road show!

It would be nice to have it on both coasts. It is a World Exposition so people travel from everywhere if they have a vested interest in heirlooms and all the other associated activities and support products. There are speakers in 3 buildings every day which makes it hard to chose the lectures to attend. Interesting food booths from which to chose. We will only be attending one day.

Take a look at the photos I posted previously in 2013, the first year of SFG.

Would love to drop in, but a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday after school starts isn't going to happen.

True

The weather was nice for strolling in and out of the buildings.  I didn't take photos of anything that I took photos of in 2013.  

Abu Rawan tomatoes from Iraq.  Sunglasses for perspective.

Arkansas Traveler tomatoes.  So they really aren't large tomatoes!  I feel better, now.

Avacado toast!

When I saw these 3 books, I thought of Jimmy Cee!  I have the upside down Compost book.

Dr. Bronner's products.  Lots of free samples.

Thought of Turan with these beans.  It's hard not to buy things at this Exposition. I did buy some organic jams for daughters and one San Marzano tomato for its seeds.

DripWorks had a booth.  Because I am already a customer, they gave me 2 tee-shirts.    At 4:30 pm, they held a drawing where you had to be present to win.  Another woman and I were the only ones there.  It took some 15 drawings to get a winner - Me!  I shared with the other woman, second spade and hand claw rake and some other little things she wanted.  The only thing I thought was the prize was the battery-operated auto watering timer and got everything else, plus heavy duty canvas bag with "bottle" pockets.  






I don't think the Exposition was as large as it was in 2013. It's not something you have to go to each year to come away stoked about gardening. I will write them suggesting that they hold an East Coast Exposition. What would be a good State and city for this event. It has to be in an organic growers region. Oh, and no hurricanes in September.

sanderson wrote:...
I don't think the Exposition was as large as it was in 2013.  It's not something you have to go to each year to come away stoked about gardening.  I will write them suggesting that they hold an East Coast Exposition.  What would be a good State and city for this event.  It has to be in an organic growers region.  Oh, and no hurricanes in September.

S, thanks for the photos and descriptions.

As far as an East Coast Exposition location ... let me see ... oh yes, Ogdensburg, New York would work great for me. It's just a 1 hour drive from me not counting border crossing time.      ... just kidding of course.

Are the Arkansas Travelers pictured above, seeds hard to come by?  I have read that they grow really well in my zone?