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Beeline Blooms invites visitors to enjoy the beauty they’ve grown from the ashes of the CZU Lightning Complex fire. From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at 220 Stephens Lane, Ben Lomond. Walk the rainbow rows of dahlias, watch bees work, and take gorgeous pictures. Suggested donation of $20 goes toward the Rebuilding of the Alba Schoolhouse. Beeline Blooms is a flower farm and haven for honeybees sharing the joy by inviting the community to enjoy more than 300 varieties of naturally grown dahlias. Guests will relax, wander among the rows, and bask in the beauty of these amazing flowers.

Entry for CZU fire survivors is free. All proceeds for 2022 will be donated to rebuilding the beloved Alba Schoolhouse. Guests can also donate directly to the Alba Schoolhouse itself, as well as support Beeline Blooms specifically. For directions and more information, visit www.beelineblooms.com.

Don’t miss Wreath Making with Jean during the Open Farm Tour. Thomas Farm is offering one hour farm tours starting at 10 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The tour is of the original farm property, with fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, chickens, peacocks and Jeans art studio where she paints & makes her seasonal wreaths. Jean will give a wreath making demonstration following each tour. Fresh farm produce, cut flowers and wreaths are available for purchase at the farm. Jeans art studio will have her original oil paintings for sale. There will also be food, beverages, tastings and farm items for sale. Tour cost is $10 per person. Kids are free. Email all questions concerning Thomas Farm Tour to penellis17@gmail.com, don’t contact the farm directly.

Visit the ever-popular Santa Cruz County Chapter Fall Plant Sale held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday in person at the UCSC Arboretum Botanic Garden, 1490 High St. Santa Cruz. Members only for the first hour. A fabulous selection of California Natives are lined up for this sale, featuring plants from our local area and the central coast region. Remember, fall is the ideal time for planting time for California natives. The minute fall rains arrive, seeds begin to germinate, young plants put down healthy roots, and many mature plants don’t even wait for spring to set about blooming!

Visit www.cruzcnps.org for plant selections and a full list of plant offerings.

Welcome back to the Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers’ Apple Tasting 2-4 p.m. Saturday at The Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange 1900 17th Ave., Santa Cruz. There will be more than 70 varieties of heritage and rare apples for participants to sample and rate. This extraordinarily popular event will be held jointly with the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange Fall Festival and third Annual Pie Contest, doubling the fun! Play corn hole, win a pie at the pie walk, listen to live music, make a scarecrow, take a stroll through the community garden to check out the Grange chickens, heritage orchard and more! Enter the pie contest or help judge the entries.

Admission to the Apple Tasting is free for members of Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers and $5 for nonmembers. Discounts for Families & Couples available. Parking at the Grange is limited.  We encourage people to walk, bike, carpool, or take public transportation! The closest Santa Cruz Metro bus stop is route 69 at Capitola Rd. and 17th Ave.Overflow parking is available at the Harbor Light Church, Live Family Resource Center on 17th Ave., or Live Oak Senior Center on Capitola Rd.

View additional details about the Grange’s Fall Festival and parking at https://bit.ly/3S4qA9F-AppleTasting.

Live Earth Farm is hosting a tomato U-Pick of their delicious dry-farm tomatoes! Join Live Earth on 150 acres from 10-11:30 a.m. and 12-1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. A large selection of seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables will be available for purchase at the farm stand. Tom and Constance Broz started the farm in 1995 with the support of many friends and volunteers. Today, they run a year-round customizable no-plastic CSA and grow over 50 different fruits and vegetables. They attend six weekly farmers markets in addition to providing produce to grocery stores throughout the Bay Area. You can visit their seasonal farm stand open May – October with U-Picks staggered throughout the year for strawberries, blackberries, dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes, sun gold cherry tomatoes, peppers, apples, pumpkins & more! Cost is $10 per car & pre-registration is required. Visit,  eventbrite.com/e/2022-oft-live-earth-farm-tomato-u-pick-tickets

One ticket is required per CAR and not per person. Five people is considered a car load. Tomatoes are $2.50 per lb. / over 10 lbs. are $2. Small group dry farmed tomato U-Picks for up to 15 cars per time slot.

Have you ever wanted to add garlic to your food garden? Learn how during UC Master Gardeners Grow Great Garlic online workshop held from 5-6:30 p.m. Oct. 12. Now is the time to plant garlic from seed for harvesting next year. With so many varieties available, it can be hard to choose the right ones for our area. Led by professional garlic grower Pete Rasmussen, you’ll hear an in-depth discussion of all aspects of growing great garlic, from soil preparation and seed selection, to planting, fertilizing, and harvesting. Come with your questions and learn a few tricks of the trade. To learn more and to register, visit mbmg.ucanr.edu.

Meet on the library’s outdoor patio for a Plant Swap from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Sunset Branch Library, 1305 18th Ave., San Francisco. Bring a plant, take a plant, bring your seedlings, divisions or cuttings to swap with other gardeners. All types of plants are welcome: succulents, house plants, flowers, ground covers or wild grasses. Bring cuttings, starts, bulbs or full-sized plants. Please label your plants prior to bringing them to the swap. Registration is free at eventbrite.com/e/social-plant-swap-tickets

Mark your calendars the Watsonville Wetlands Watch will host its 10th Annual Fall Native Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center, Pajaro Valley High School 500 Harkins Slough Road, Watsonville. The sale will feature dozens of species of native and drought tolerant plants, grown by interns, volunteers, and staff, that attract birds, bees, and butterflies and help save water. Guests can choose among hundreds of native plants, tour the on-site native plant demonstration garden at the Resource Center, and participate in an adopt-a-tree workshop at 11 a.m. Residents of the City of Watsonville can receive a free fruit tree to plant at home through the Watsonville Community Forest Project. For more information about tree adoption, visit www.watsonvillecommunityforest.org.

The Garden Digest is compiled by Jesselyn Rego. To submit items for the calendar including events, meetings, resources, or anything garden related, email sentinelhomeandgarden@gmail.com.

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