Garening in the Mountains

FiftyFifty Brewing Co. was awarded three gold medals and a silver in four separate categories of the Best of Craft Beer Awards. This medal tally tied FiftyFifty for the most golds awarded among the 482 craft breweries that took part. The competition is the third largest professional brewing competition in North America.

“These awards really showcase the breadth of talent of our brew team and our continued dedication to quality” said Alicia Barr, FiftyFifty Brewing Co. co-founder and CXO, in a press release. “We are very humbled and proud to bring home these medals to Truckee.” | fiftyfiftybrewing.com

Tahoe Blue Vodka

Tahoe Spirits, makers of Tahoe Blue Vodka, announced a distribution partnership to accelerate sales and share growth and market expansion in the Western U.S. The five-year partnership with Republic National Distributing Company will provide sales and distribution support for Tahoe Blue Vodka in the brand’s three existing markets — Northern Nevada, Sacramento, San Francisco — as well as expansion into Southern California and other Western states.

The agreement includes plans to grow Tahoe Blue Vodka to more than 200,000 cases in the next four years. | tahoebluevodka.com

food & libations | recipes | delicious events

BY PRIYA HUTNER

Little kids learn about gardening with Slow Food Lake Tahoe at Truckee Community Garden. | Slow Food Lake Tahoe

Gardening in the Tahoe Sierra can be a challenge. While some people have green thumbs, others struggle to grow vegetables battling bugs, animals and weather conditions. I’ve personally battled chipmunks stealing tomatoes from my containers, ground squirrels eating the flowers of my squash plants and rabbits nibbling on the tender shoots trying to survive the elements. There are a few options to help novice gardeners, such as volunteering in community gardens and taking educational gardening classes.

Slow Food Lake Tahoe offers gardening classes and volunteer opportunities at the Food Bank Garden, which provides fresh vegetables to Sierra Community House, and the group started the Truckee Community Garden. Both gardens are located at Truckee River Regional Park. “We built the community garden next to the Food Bank Garden last summer. We currently have 30 beds and provide the dirt, tools and irrigation,” says Trish Geary, president and farmers’ market liaison for Slow Food Lake Tahoe. The garden beds are available for rent and community members are responsible for tending to their garden. There are also a few garden-plot scholarships available. An additional five beds are being built this year that are wheelchair accessible. Geary points out that some of the gardening challenges last year included the altitude, heat and dry weather. The usual crops such as lettuces, kales and herbs suffered from the high temperatures. “Last year, everything bolted because it was so hot. Squash, beans and peppers did much better. We learned that we needed to plant different things midseason because the things we were used to getting a higher yield with weren’t working,” says Geary.

North Tahoe Parks and Recreation started a community garden at North Tahoe Regional Park in Tahoe Vista last year. It is overseen and organized by Recreation and Park commissioner Charles Teran. There are 20 garden plots, three of which are reserved for nonprofit organizations. According to Recreation, Parks and Facilities manager Amanda Oberacker, the garden is run like a co-op and community members share in the gardening tasks and the harvest. The plots are offered through a lottery process.

It’s time to prepare gardens now particularly since Tahoe’s growing season is short. For cooler weather vegetables — lettuces and leafy greens such as chard and kale — Geary recommends getting started as soon as possible. Start seeds indoors and when the ground is ready, plant seedlings. If it gets below freezing, she suggests covering the garden with a frost cloth at night. According to Geary, if this year is anything like last year’s high temperatures, consider planting vegetables that do better in the heat such as pumpkins, summer squash, zucchini, peppers and beans. Strawberries and tomatoes are harder to grow here. Birds and critters love berries. Potted containers, chicken wire, ground cloth and greenhouses are ways to deter animals from consuming crops. There are several volunteer opportunities at the Food Bank Garden, which opens in April or May, depending on the weather. “I’ve learned a lot volunteering in the Food Bank Garden. I learned how to prune and aphid control in the garden, which is huge because aphids are such a pest up here,” says Geary. Slow Food Lake Tahoe offers GrowYour-Own Workshops. The nonprofit collaborates with UCCE Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe, UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and University of Nevada, Reno Extension. Classes are available through Zoom on Wednesdays and in person on Saturdays. Past class sessions can also be viewed online. n

| ltcc.edu

| facebook.com/laketahoemg

| demogarden.org

| slowfoodlaketahoe.org

| northtahoeparks.com

April 6 | Mushrooms May 4 & 7 | Gardening 101 & Fertilizer May 11 & 14 | Beans & Peas May 18 & 21 | Spicy Salads May 25 & 28 | Potatoes & Sunchokes June 1 & 4 | Squash June 8 & 11 | Tomatoes June 15 & 18 | Herbs