Procrastinating and Pots

Wow! I don't believe I haven't seen this thread earlier. I see Nor-Cal often from the freeway when I visit my friends (it's about 30 minutes from home), but have never visited. I think I have to stop by on one of my days off.

Happenstance, thanks for bring this to my attention :)

Okay you guys. I have a 3500 Dodge Ram truck. It will fit loads. I'm in Berkeley. Anyone want to go?

I wonder when they're having their next sale. If anyone finds out, will you please post......then all of us central CA DG'ers can decend on them like a pack of hungry wolves. LOL

k

A few of us were there a month or so ago and they said no more big sales. We were so sad!

Kell, that's a shame! I loved watching this thread (and I can hardly believe it was two years ago Happenstance started it!)

I still hope those of you who have visited these places will post a review for each place you've been. Your insights will help others as they plan their next garden center foray, expedition or full-blown road trip ;o)

Boo hoo. I was hopin' to get in on one of these events. Oh well, I'll probably still go there when it's time to replace a bunch of my deck pottery.

It is a shame, Terry! And I too can't believe 2 years has passed.

I stopped by there today to see what they had and the yard is very empty. Mostly what they had left in glazed pottery was too defective to want. However their clay inventory is always good. And the prices still are great, sale or no sale.

I think they must have had a huge spring rush to get so barren!

Here's one on S99 freeway to Bakerfield, CA which I did took pic that what it look alike. See on West side of freeway.

Dang it. I got all excited and then I saw the original posts were two years old. Shoot.

We have Aw Pottery just up the road from me but I got the impression their prices were nowhere near as good. http://www.shopinberkeley.com/a/awpotteryusa/index.php

Here's a Norcal pot I bought at Long's in Berkeley 2 years ago. I love love love it. I want more of it but have never seen it again. I'm so disappointed the outlet is only open when I'm at work and that I *didn't* find that out while I was on medical leave...

edit: I don't know why it turned out sideways. The original isn't.

That is a great looking pot, spidra.
I was at WalMart the other day and saw a nice pot, turned it over and sure enough, it said Norcal.

> My husband just drilled a bunch of pots for me yesterday Candy. The only one he broke was the one he dropped

That's a question I've been dying to ask. I've got two large glazed pots but no drainage holes. What sort of drill bit do you need to use to get through them without making the pots break?

A masonry bit should work, and I've read somewhere (I think on the container gardening forum) that if you put a piece of masking tape across where the hole should go and drill through that instead of directly into the pot then it won't break.

Thanks, ecrane3.

I use a masonry bit, with a hammer drill. I try to make sure that there is no dead space under the pott and drill from the inside. So far, none have broken. The hammer drill sure does speed up the process, but the noise adds to the fear factor of it breaking.

My last trip to NorCal found them now taking credit cards. It has been a long time since they have had the "fill the cart" specials, but they still have great deals.

hello all,

thank you for starting this thread,

i had no idea this place was in exsistance and its only about 20 miles from home lol

just to let you know i asked if there was any cart sale of any kind going on and the lady said no and that they havent done that in a couple of years and that they didnt need to, but i was happy to get the pots i did for 70.00 and they do take bank cards now


thanks again liz

Liz, if you were shopping there this morning, we probably passed each other. I'll post a picture of my haul later. Right now I'm power-napping prior to going help a friend move.

You got quite a great haul there liz. Make sure to take photos after you have them full of plants.

Jesse

Okay, here's today's haul. It cost me $60. Got one gilded pot that matches one I bought at retail. Got more gilded pots, one chromed, several pastel glazed, and more.

The yard wasn't as stuffed as it was in Happenstance's 2005 pics, but it was still worth the 32 mi. round trip.

There's a place up behind Annie's Annuals in Richmond called Pottery Land. They have pretty good prices and lots of inventory too. The only problem is that they aren't open on the weekends and I don't think they take credit cards either. But it's worth checking out, especially if you're going to Annie's during the week anyway.

Marilyn

hi spidra,

we were there around 8.35 didnt stay long being my first trip,i needed bigger pots and i can go crazy when theres a deal lol.

but the next time oh boy watch out!! i see you did real good on your flat bed i was thinking about those crome pots too im on vacation next week so i just might have to make time to go again

hi jesse,

thanks, i'll get some pics as soon as i decide what to plant lol

liz

Thanks Liz.

Jesse

I added Pottery Land here: http://davesgarden.com/go/view/5218/

We're always happy to create entries for any companies, parks, markets, etc. that you'd like to review...but the real treat for future readers is to hear first-hand accounts of what these places are like when they use Go Gardening - so please add your reviews of NorCal and the others to their entries ;o)

Thanks, Terry! I didn't even look to see if they were in GardenWatchdog. Even though they're right behind Annie's and you can access them from that direction, their street address isn't the same. It's 801 Chesley Avenue, not 740 Market Street. I submitted a review for them. I hope they do more with their website - it's bare bones and doesn't begin to show what they have.

Marilyn

Marilyn, I had their address as 801 Chesley, but their website says that's their mailing address, and gives the 740 Market Street as their physical location.

Oops! Sorry. Next question - Why is Pottery Land not shown in Garden Watchdog? I searched on "Pottery Land" and got no hits. I notice on your link the title says, "Information on Pottery Land" instead of just "Pottery Land." Could that be the reason I don't get any hits? I also checked a couple of other places, and their titles show as, "The scoop on '[name of nursery]'" - single quotes around the nursery name. Help!!

Marilyn

faeden, unless a company does mail order, it's not listed in Garden Watchdog. However, there's a new section for listing local garden centers, etc. That's where the Norcal listing is. Hit the "Go Garden" tab.

What spidra said ;o)

Oh, DUH!! I hate these Senior Moments! If I'd paid attention to what tab was highlighted I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself! Aaarrrrggghhhh!!!!

Mea culpa!

Marilyn

Oh...Oh...Seriously? I am drooling. My mouth is watering, no joke. I know San Leandro...haven't been there ina few year...but I know it..and I also have a trailer to hitch to the back of the suv...now to talk sweet to the better half.

Insane.

I was there Friday I think it was and they do not even have many good clay pots left and no large ones. Not worth a trip at all. Unless you want small pots, like under 10 inches.

I guess we shoulda kept this as a better secret.

While I visited, a woman scooped up every large pot she could get her hands on. I imagine things vary quite a bit throughout the year. There will probably be more large pots in a couple months.