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Benicia Going Green…But Not For Much Longer

Rod Herman — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:43:02 +0000

Benicia is very green these days, but that’s all about to change…and probably well before the end of May.

No, I’m not talking about the city’s environmental efforts. I’m talking about Benicia’s gorgeous green hills.

Every year the hills in and around Benicia turn green in January and we get to enjoy their emerald beauty for about four or five months. But once the warmer spring weather arrives, it usually takes only a few warm days before the hills turn a golden brown. So by the end of May, the green is always gone.

I snapped these photos a few days ago, when the hills were at their greenest. Enjoy the scenery, because according to the calendar, it’s only a matter of days before the green turns to brown.

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Watch My Benicia Vegetable Garden Grow: Week 2 Update

Rod Herman — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:19:05 +0000

It’s been a little over two weeks since I planted my Benicia vegetable garden. In the past week, some of the tomato plants have grown another 8-10 inches. The little yellow flowers are already starting to appear on some of the plants.

The other veggies — green peppers, pickling cucumbers, green beans, beets, and green onions — also are continuing to grow quite nicely.

So far, no casualties…everything seems to have survived the transplant shock and all the plants seem well on their way to producing what looks to be a bumper crop.

Be sure to check back every week and watch my Benicia vegetable garden grow.

Here’s what I planted: 10 varieties of tomatoes, three kind of bell peppers (2 plants each), green onions, pickling cucumbers, green beans, chioggia beets, and strawberries. And the following herbs: tarragon, sage, oregano, thyme, cilantro, dill, mint, basil and Italian parsley.

MY BENICIA VEGETABLE GARDEN

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Benicia Open Studios This Weekend

Rod Herman — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:02:25 +0000

A big part of Benicia’s charm has always been its thriving art community. And once a year, on the first weekend in May, many of these local artists open their studios to the general public.

Open Studios takes place this Saturday and Sunday, May 1 & 2 throughout Benicia. The event is sponsored by Arts Benicia, a non-profit organization that helps promote and further the arts in town.

This year, over 60 Benicia artists plan to participate and open their studios to the public.

In conjunction with Open Studios event, Arts Benicia’s own gallery (991 Tyler St. #114) will also present a preview exhibit of some of the artists who are participating in the Open Studios event. That’s where you can also pick up a map to the various participating artists’ studios.

For additional information or a list of the artists who will be participating, contact Arts Benicia at 707-747-0131 or visit the Arts Benicia web site.

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Spring FINALLY Arrived In Benicia Today

Rod Herman — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:44:20 +0000

In my book, Spring doesn’t really officially begin in Benicia until the Farmer’s Market opens. So that means today was the first day of Spring, at least here in Benicia that is.

And it wouldn’t be opening day of the Benicia’s Farmer’s Market without a few April showers.

So right on cue, about 10 minutes before the market was scheduled to open for the season, the skies suddenly darkened and rain started to fall.

Fortunately, though, it was just a brief shower and by the time I got down there around 4:30, there were just scattered clouds.

For me, opening day at the Farmer’s Market is always a special day.

It’s great to see all those familiar faces again — farmers and food purveyors who have become household fixtures on First Street after all these years.

And what a delight to feast your eyes and tastebuds on all those, colorful, mouthwatering fruits and vegetables.

There’s really nothing like that great Thursday afternoon downtown Benicia vibe when the market is here. It’s a vibe that’s been sorely missed since the market closed down last October.

It was great to see the rotisserie chicken truck back this year, too. It was here three years ago, but skipped the Benicia market in ‘08 and ‘09.

The purveyors said they’re going to see how it goes for the next few weeks. Hopefully, they’ll get plenty of business and remain a Thursday afternoon mainstay all season long.

I already had plans for this evening, but next Thursday I already know what’s for dinner: a freshly roasted juicy Roli Roti chicken.

I also heard that another former long-time market regular — the folks at All-Star Tamales — may be returning again this year, too.

Hopefully that’s more than just a rumor, as they always made the best tamales around in my book.

They weren’t at the market this week, but I’m hoping they make a return appearance real soon. I’m having chicken next week, but I sure wouldn’t mind tamales the following week!

Today, I picked up some beautiful red onions, freshly hulled organic English peas, a 3-pack of luscious strawberries, a big bag of juicy oranges, ripe red tomatoes from my favorite farmers. And a bag of freshly-popped kettle corn for my grandson.

I try to make it to the Farmer’s Market every week. It’s become a Thursday afternoon tradition.

Not to mention the official beginning of springtime in Benicia.

The Benicia Farmer’s Market is organized by the Benicia Main Street Program and takes place every Thursday from 4-8 pm through the end of October.

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Watch My Benicia Vegetable Garden Grow: Week 1 Update

Rod Herman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:41:02 +0000

Last week I wrote a post about my newly planted home garden here in Benicia. I’ll be posting weekly updates for those who like to live vicariously and want to watch my garden grow.

For the record, I’ve planted 10 varieties of tomatoes, three kind of bell peppers (2 plants each), green onions, pickling cucumbers, green beans, chioggia beets, and strawberries. And the following herbs: tarragon, sage, oregano, thyme, cilantro, dill, mint, basil and Italian parsley.

Some of the tomato plants have already grown about 4-6 inches, so I figured I’d better get the tomato cages in place before they get too big. All the plants seem to have made it through transplanting — no casualties so far!

Here are some more photos at the end of Week One.

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Beautiful Day, Beautiful Cars In Benicia

Rod Herman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:36:51 +0000

Benicia’s annual Classic Car Show was held today on the First Street Green and at the foot of First St. It was a picture-perfect spring day.

The sunny skies, 70 degree weather and scenic Carquinez strait provided the perfect backdrop for the hundreds of classic automobiles that descended on our town today.

There were plenty of classic Fords, Chevys, Pontiacs, and even a few Studebakers. Roadsters, muscle cars and old jalopies — they were all there, glistening in bright Benicia sunshine.

If you missed today’s show, which benefited the Benicia High Band, enjoy the photos below.

Click On The Photo To Enlarge

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Benicia Classic Car Show This Sunday

Rod Herman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:14:47 +0000

If you’re a car buff and are anywhere near Benicia this coming Sunday, be sure to head down to the First Street Green for the 17th annual Benicia Classic Car Show.

Whatever you’re favorite automotive era, you’ll be sure to find plenty of shiny steel reminders of yesteryear.

The always-popular show is scheduled for Sun. April. 25 — one day only. It runs from 9 am to 3 pm.

If this year’s event is anything like last year, it should be real crowd pleaser.

I’m not sure just how many cars were on display last year, but I’d guess that well over 100 beautifully restored vintage vehicles graced the 1st Street Green and adjacent staging areas. (The photos below are from last year’s event).

In addition to all these classic cars, there will also be food, music and craft booths plus hourly raffles for over $4,000 worth of prizes. Not to mention spectacular views of the Carquinez Strait.

The show is an annual fundraiser that’s put on by the Benicia High School Panther Band.

It started out 17 years ago with a modest assortment of vintage cars on the BHS football field. As it’s size and popularity increased, it finally outgrew its original gridiron home a few years back. Today, it’s a popular annual Benicia tradition.

The 1st Street Green is located at the corner of 1st and B Streets in downtown Benicia. For more information, visit the Benicia Classic Car Show’s web site.

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Watch My Benicia Vegetable Garden Grow

Rod Herman — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:41:47 +0000

One of the real pleasures of owning your own home is having your own garden.

Every year, we plant a variety of herbs and veggies in our backyard garden. I just planted this year’s crop of tomatoes and bell peppers.

As usual, I went way overboard in my plant selection. Last year I had 8 varieties of tomatoes and harvested far more than we could consume. I swore that I’d plant less this year, but then I came across Sunset Magazine’s guide to the best tomatoes and figured I’d pick a half dozen varieties from their list.

Well, when I went the nursery last week, they didn’t have everything on Sunset’s list. But in the process of looking for them, I came across a few other interesting varieties, which I, of course, just had to have. So I left the nursery with not six, but 10 tomato plants.

So in a few months, I’m sure we’ll have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. Every week, I’ll snap a few photos and you can watch my garden grow.

I ended up with the following tomato varieties: Sweet 100, Sungold Red, Early Girl, San Marzano, Juliet Hybrid, Currant, Black Prince, Brandywine, Costoluto Genovese and Mortgage Lifter (when I saw that name, being a real estate agent, I just had to get it).

And I’m growing six bell pepper plants: 2 each of California Wonder (green), Red Bell and Golden Bell.

I hope to finish planting the rest of the garden later today: pickling cucumbers, green beans, beets, dill, basil, Italian parsley, cilantro, tarragon, and thyme. A few perennial herbs are still around from last year: sage, mint and rosemary.

I’m growing my tomatoes and peppers in green EarthBoxes. I’ve been using them for several years and swear by them. They’re self-watering with a large reservoir below the dirt. You fertilize only one-time (when you plant). They’re designed so you can’t over-water. And as long as you fill the reservoir regularly, the plants never go dry either.

The plants really seem to thrive by having just the right amount of water on a constant basis. By early summer last year, this part of our backyard looked like a tomato forest.

Those white pipes sticking up from each box in the photo are actually my own contraption — they’re extensions of the short fill tube that EarthBox provides. I got tired of hunching over for a minute or so each time I had to fill each EarthBox with water. So I came up with this decidedly unattractive (but functional) “enhancement.”

Part of the EarthBox system is covering the dirt with a plastic cover to keep weeds out and moisture in.

I bet you’re wondering why some of them are red.

Well before this year, I always used their standard black covers. But now they’re offering a red variety, which, according to studies by several universities, reflects a certain band of light back to the plants and increases the yield by up to 20%. So I’m trying 8 tomato plants with red covers and 2 with the traditional black covers.

We’ll see if they really make a difference. If nothing else, those bright red covers will be a conversation starter when people come to visit.

Be sure to check back regularly and watch our garden grow.

MY BENICIA VEGETABLE GARDEN

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Trailer Park Coming To Benicia This Friday

Rod Herman — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:22:27 +0000

Before you charge down to City Hall to find out just what in the heck Benicia’s planning department or city council was thinking, relax.

Benicia’s not really getting a new trailer park of the Airstream / Winnebago variety.

No, the trailer park I was referring to in today’s headline is the Benicia Old Town Theater Group’s spring production: The Great American Trailer Park Musical, which debuts Friday for a one-month run in downtown Benicia.

According to the BOTTG web site, ‘Trailer Park’ is “a comic fable about women in a Florida trailer park and their no-account men. Adultery, strippers, murderous ex-beaus, Costco, and the Ice Capades are comical subjects in this musical comedy.”

‘Trailer Park’ opens this Friday (Apr. 16) and will run Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays thru May 15. Tickets are available online, at the Benicia Chamber of Commerce (601 First St.) or at the door.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 pm and Sunday matinees are at 4 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors (62+) and students with ID. Opening night is $25 and includes a “champagne gala.”

For more info, visit the BOTTG website or call 707-746-1269. If you take in the show, be sure to come back and post a comment about how you liked it.

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Opening Day On The Strait Coming Saturday

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Opening Day On The Strait This Saturday

Rod Herman — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:12:37 +0000

Hopefully the weatherman will cooperate and all of this early April rain will be a thing of the past come Saturday.

For that’s when the Benicia Yacht Club’s annual “Opening Day On The Strait’ is slated to take place.

Always a popular community event, there will be arts & crafts booths, boardwalk-style games, a rubber ducky race, music, food, drink and of course, the official blessing of the fleet, right on the shores of the tranquil Carquinez Strait.

This year’s Opening Day theme is a has a French twist to it. The Yacht Club’s Opening Day slogan is “Sea-Vu-Play.”

The festivities will take place on the lawn between the Yacht Club and the marina harbormaster’s office. The arts and crafts booths open at 10 am. and the game booths at 11 a.m. The blessing of the fleet is at 2 pm, followed by the decorated boat parade.

The Yacht Club is located at 400 East 2nd St., adjacent to the Benicia Marina. For more details, see the schedule below, download Opening Day flyer, or call the Benicia Yacht Club directly at 707-746-6600.

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