The Urban Farmer Store

Back in November when Backyard Food Gardens built a propagation table for me, the hat sprays he had were for 360-degree directions. Half of the water was spraying on the fence next to the table. Josh of Backyard Food Gardens told me that I could get a couple of those hat sprays at quarter jet (90 degrees) from The Urban Farmer Store. The Urban Farmer Store is conveniently located all the way down the street from Sand Village Farm right next to American Soil and Stone, where I visit periodically for some of my supplies. Of course, I never noticed until Josh pointed it out to me.

The Urban Farmer Store has everything you need to set up irrigation systems, ponds and fountains, rainwater storage, and outdoor lighting. They also have many gardening tools. If I had money to blow, I could go crazy in there. They also have workshops teaching people how to do it yourself!

California is known for its long drought years, and this winter we had only 2 weeks of rain. As a grower, I try to conserve water whenever possible, and there's a lot more I can do. I will start looking for some rainwater barrels for next rain season.  The Hat Jets are 74 cents a piece plus tax. They shall save me some water.

Maxi Jet Hat spray. The Hat Spray Jets come in full (360),  half (180), and quarter (90) variations.

The Jet Hats go on top of the spray tubes attached to the posts on the back

Getting Supplies for the Farm

I try getting supplies off Craigslist.com or Freecycle.org whenever possible. As Master Ken always says, "Low overhead, high return." However; sometimes you really need to get something quick, and nobody is giving that something away for free. Last year I "discovered" American Soil and Stone, which happens to be down the street from the farm. I don't know why I never knew about this place before. It turned out that just about everyone I knew who work on their gardens get their supplies from American Soil and Stone. They have all kinds of soils & blends, soil amendments, barks & mulches, gravel/crushed rock, sand, and landscape supplies. The prices are much better than any chain store. I just picked up their most updated price list this morning, which doesn't seem to be available on their website.


If you are getting bagged items, such as bagged soil or mulches, you go to the office to pay for them first. You will get a receipt for your items. Follow the signs and drive your car around to the pick up area and hand over your receipt to one of the vested staff members. They will put those heavy bags right into your car for you. It's so much easier than going to places like Home Depot or OSH, where sometimes you can't get anyone to help you.


The facility is huge with rocks as far as your eyes can see. This place is my favorite supply store for my farm.

Wine Barrel Planters

I just had 5 half wine barrels delivered to the farm. Aren’t they beautiful? You should smell them! I don’t even like the smell of wine or alcohol, but I love the smell of authentic wine barrels. These barrels retired from a local winery recently, but they will now continue on as planters to create more life and food.

Wine barrel planters are new to me. 3 months ago was the first time I was solicited with them. I didn’t know why this guy was trying to sell my permaculture class wine barrels. Later on I saw these half barrels at John’s farm, I then realized what they were for. I got a couple of them to try and wanted to get more. I later on told the guy that he needed to explain what the barrels are for so newbies like me would understand.

I have seen places like OSH and Home Depot selling wine barrel planters. Don’t be fooled by the imitation barrel planters in the stores. They are cheaply made to look like wine barrels, and the stores want to charge you more for them. The real wine barrels are made of oak and quite heavy. You can see the fine workmanship in these oak barrels. A good place to look for them is Craigslist.com under “farm+garden”. They range anywhere from $25 to $50 each. Some people will deliver to you at no extra charge depending on your location. Make sure that the bottoms of the half-barrels have holes for drainage if you are using them as planters. Some sellers will drill the holes for you at no extra charge or you can do it yourself with a drill.


This year I am growing green beans in a half-barrel. The beans are doing great! I will be using these newly acquired barrels for bamboos, herbs, and melons. I’ll be working on the farm this weekend. Can’t wait!