The buzz

Published 4:54 pm Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Tiny trees: Does putting up a Christmas tree — fake, freshly cut or even living in a pot — seem like too much hassle this year? Fortunately, there is another way to add Christmas-tree cheer to your home.

Plant retailer Costa Farms, based in Florida, offers miniature living Norfolk Island pine trees that are resilient enough to be grown as houseplants all year long.

Native to the South Pacific, Norfolk Island pines are sold decorated in sizes ranging from 14 to 22 inches tall and undecorated in a 44-inch size. They feature soft, compact needles and a naturally symmetrical shape, not only great for a table-top display in the kitchen or hall but also large enough to be the focal point of a room.

After the holidays, untrim your mini potted tree and enjoy it as a houseplant in a different container. Norfolk Island pines prefer open, bright locations. They should be placed near a window but away from direct heat and full sun. Keep the soil moist but don’t let it dry out or stand in water. Feed with a complete balanced fertilizer every month.

Look for Norfolk Island pines for $7 to $20 at major retailers such as Home Depot and Walgreens. See www.costafarms.com for details.

Grow it, eat it: Marisha Auerbach will present “How to Grow Your Own Produce in 2½ Years: Cultivating Local Food Security and Building Community Gardens” at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at Wired and Unplugged, an Internet coffee house in Snohomish.

Using slides from her garden, Auerbach will explain how to raise food using “perennial forage systems,” which function much like natural ecological systems and yield year-round produce with minimal work.

Admission is $7 to $10, but no one will be turned away for a lack of funds. Bring seeds for a seed exchange and arrive as early as 6 p.m. to meet local farmers and food producers. Visit the Foundation for Sustainable Community a www.communitysustainable.org or call Marilene Richardson at 360-863-1820 with questions.

Herald staff and news services