In addition to growing grapes, Sonoma County’s microclimates are also well suited for cultivating some micro-crops:  medicinal herbs.

Cotati area herb grower Terri Toso says she and others are constantly trying to expand their repertoire of varieties that can be successfully cultivated locally.

Toso has also experimented with attempts to replicate the intermingled growing conditions in which the desired herbs are found in the wild, up to a point, that is.

One of the complexities involved in growing medicinal herbs, explains Leslie Gardner, is that some plants have more than one valuable part, so harvests may occur at differing times in the growing cycle.

Gardner is also the author of Life in the Medicine, a handbook for anyone interested in growing medicinal herbs.

The Sonoma County Herb Exchange will host their annual Harvest and Herb Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, at Laguna Farm on the south side of Sebastopol. This link will take you to the Herb exchange website where their complete catalog is also posted.