The Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild is dedicated to beekeeping and helping non-beekeepers understand bees in and around the Santa Clara Valley. The valley comprises San Jose California, the surrounding cities,and parts of Santa Clara County. Their membership also includes those from nearby Santa Cruz and the areas in-between.

Charles Street Gardens is Sunnyvale’s first community garden. It is a one-acre organic community garden located in the heart of Sunnyvale, CA. Charles Street Gardens consists of 92 garden plots available to Sunnyvale residents, as well as a Food Forest project that grows food for hungry families, and a demonstration garden maintained by the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County. …

Australian Finger Limes ripen in fall or winter in California, and have a flavor reminiscent of true limes. The fruit is sometimes referred to as “citrus caviar” because the small round interior vesicles pop in your mouth with tart lime flavor. Chefs the world over are finding creative uses for Australian Finger Limes, which add unique texture and a special …

You hear what sounds like a couple of men running across your roof. They stop. They start wrestling, rolling around. You go outside and shine a flashlight: Bandit eyes! It’s a couple of juvenile racoons playing around. Where I live is about 4 miles from wilderness. If you have a fish pond, good luck to you. If you have cats, …

Gardenia Best known for their fragrant white flowers, gardenias are heat-loving evergreen shrubs that have become a gardening symbol in the Southeast. Another common name is cape jasmine. About This Plant Plant gardenias near a deck or window where you can enjoy the flowers’ fragrance. The plants grow from 2 to 8 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety. …

Dehyrated Tomatoes Also called “sun-dried” tomatoes; almost no one lives in a climate that makes that the best method. According to the USDA, few, if any store-bought “sun dried” tomatoes are actually sun dried (but the regulations allow them to call them that!). Ingredients Tomatoes – any quantity, ripe, but not over ripe, still firm. The yield varies considerably depending …

If you like serious smoky sweet heat, step right up Chocolate habaneros are even spicier than the Red Savina with unique earthy and smoky undertones that complement their typical habanero sweetness. Chocolate habaneros are hotter than regular habaneros? They are. In terms of the Scoville scale, chocolate habaneros tend to hit around 425,000 – 577,000 Scoville heat units. That can …

http://www.heritagetreesofsaratoga.org

Pincushion flower is still blooming in winter in Sunnyvale. Scabiosa caucasica (Caucasian scabious) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Caucasus, north eastern Turkey, and northern Iran. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall and broad, it is a clump-forming perennial with divided leaves. Pincushion-shaped buds, borne on erect stems, open to pale blue …

This recipe is another tasty way of preserving that sweet and sour taste of your Meyer Lemons for later in the year. [toIngredients 3 pounds lemons 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (or 1 cup honey, if you want it to be naturally sweetened) 1/4 cup freshly grated ginger OR candied ginger Instructions Juice lemons. Measure out 2 1/2 cups of …