Bay Meadows

Who says the winter garden can’t be productive? The harvest in the photo above was picked only a week ago and includes Meyer lemons, pomegranates, radishes, mizuna, ruby streaks mustard, several varieties of kale, and a healthy handful of pineapple guava. What a haul!

In our last blog post, we listed several book gift ideas for the gardeners in your life. This time, however, we’ll touch on some “must-have” tools and other garden-related gifts.

Hori-Hori

Ergonomic and multi-purposed, the hori-hori is the Swiss army knife of gardening tools! You can use it to dig, cut, weed, and measure to your heart’s content. In addition to being incredibly practical, it’s also a beautiful piece of Japanese-made craftmanship. One word of warning, though: hori-horis are extremely sharp and are not suited for young children.

ARS Pruners

For the gardener who wants to take their pruning to the next level, we highly recommend ARS brand pruners. Durable and easier to manipulate, they’re well worth the extra cost. Gardeners with arthritis and other aches and pains in their hands or wrists often much prefer this brand. What’s more, they stay sharper for longer and are built to resist the detrimental effects of rust and plant sap!

Harvest Clippers

Although we can’t say enough good things about ARS clippers, sometimes the garden calls for snips that are a little less heavy-duty. Enter Felco’s Swiss-made harvest clippers: although they’re often used for harvesting grapes, we find that they’re perfect for fine cuts and narrow spaces throughout the vegetable garden. Use them to snip everything from leaves of lettuce and kale to bundles of cherry tomatoes and hot peppers.

Colorful Harvest Trugs

Another must-have for every gardener is a harvest/tool basket. For this purpose, we love Tubtrugs – they’re made of food-grade materials (unlike many of their competitors), come in multiple sizes, and are incredibly easy to clean. What’s more, they come in all colors of the rainbow – good for both the gardener who wants a subtle black or the statement making gardener who loves a bright and showy hot pink!

Fermenting Kit

Last but not least, for the gardener who’s looking to expand upon what they do with their harvest, why not try a fermenting kit? Oakland-based FarmCurious has a simple and easy to use kit for the budding fermenter. It includes all the tools and containers you’ll need to start fermenting, plus instructions and easy-to-make recipes.

Happy gardening and happy holidays! Whether you’re staying home in the Bay Area or traveling to see friends and family, we hope you have a safe, festive, and relaxing holidays.

PHOTO CREDITS HOMESTEAD DESIGN COLLECTIVE

Did you know that Bay Meadows is just a five minute walk or bike ride away from Whole Foods, Starbuck, Peets, Chipotle and other great restaurants on 25^th Ave.   Learn more about all the great walkable amenities that surround Bay Meadows.  San Mateo was named the Best Small Town for Food by Rand McNally. You can discover the local eateries in downtown San Mateo here.