select and plant fruit trees GreengINgo Winter is the best time to by michael Lauher Education Director NAPA VALLEY BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Connolly Ranch Education Center by the Napa County Green Business Program THopefully your garden is producing a BANk oF NAPAhe cold winter months of January andFebruary can be a little slow for gardeners. winter crop of greens, your cover crops are looking good, and you might even have tomato starts beginning to sprout on your windowsill. Your soil is probably too cold to start any new seeds or transplants, so what can you do to get your hands dirty and stay warm this time of year? Find a sunny spot and dig a big hole for your new fruit tree! Anyone with at least a 6 x 6 foot patch of open sunlight can successfully grow a tree that produces delicious fruit, even in a wine barrel on pavement. The winter months are prime for planting trees since they are dormant during the cold season and can be moved and disturbed without harm. Bank of Napa became a certified Bay Area Green There are a couple of Business because it was the right thing to do. Being ways to purchase trees: “green” is part of their commitment to being “a in a pot or bare root. better bank, for a better Napa.” For Bank of Napa, Bare root is without the recycling and using environmentally friendly cleaning soil and pot, and sort of products is routine, but they also ensure the office resembles a dead branch contains energy-efficient features like efficient with roots, but the tree lighting, programmable thermostats, window tinting, is very much alive and and Energy Star-rated office equipment. Bank of Napa even involves their customers in recycling, by needs to be planted as recycling local deposits into local loans. soon as you get it home. This method is more Bank of Napa offers several banking products affordable and easy to which save customers gas, time, and ultimately some handle, but many have “green,” all from the comfort of their homes or places been handled too much or have become dried out and their success rate may be of business. On-line banking gives customers account information including check images and statements, low. Trees in pots will be more expensive, but you get what you pay for and you and provides the ability to transfer funds and make can get a tree that is more mature so will begin producing fruit sooner. Some loan payments. Additionally, Desktop Banking is fruit varieties that do well in Napa are apple, pear, cherry, plum, persimmon, fig, available to those businesses wishing to make quince, pomegranate, and citrus if placed along a warm wall where the frost won’t deposits at their office. Courier service for customers damage them. is another convenient option that will also eliminate There is great information in books, on the web or from other farmers about trips to the bank and save time and gas. As you are how to plant trees, so I won’t go into details here. In Napa my local go-to person driving around Napa, look for the Bank of Napa hybrid is Jeanne Wheeler, owner of Main Street Trees. She runs an amazing tree nursery courier vehicle. that specializes in regionally native trees like oak, redwood, maple, and willow, The combination of electronic banking, eco-friendly and her fruit selection is beautiful. She can help with all sorts of local growing courier service and a consistent recycling program is a advice. My go-to book on the subject is written by a local farmer and good friend “win-win” for everyone. Customers receive a superior of mine, Colby Eierman. His book, Fruit Trees in Small Places, has just come out banking experience, and the Napa community wins, and is available online. I think the biggest thing is to not be intimidated and to do as all of the services are provided in an eco-friendly your research before buying, so you know the right varieties to plant and how to and convenient way. Bank of Napa is located at 2007 Redwood Rd., Ste 101, Napa, CA 94558. Contact the prune and care for them later in life. bank at 707-257-7777 or www.thebankofnapa.com. connolly Ranch | 3141 Browns Valley Road, Napa For more information on the Napa County Green 707-224-1984 | www.connollyranch.org Business Program visit www.greenbusinessca.org or contact Danielle Schmitz at dschmitz@nctpa.net. 52 w w w. N A PA V A L L E Y L I F E m A g A z I N E . c o m
NVLife Jan-Feb 2013
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