Down to Business: Petaluma Seed Bank — A Thriving Offshoot

owner Jere Gettle said there’s been more demand than they expected at the retail shop he and his wife, Emilee, opened in 2009. According to a San Francisco Chronicle Home & Garden feature, the bank’s first year sales were nearly double the original projection and topped half a million dollars.

The seed company is well-positioned for the public’s growing interest in home gardening, organics, self-reliance and heirloom seed saving.

Gettle’s company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, is based in Mansfeld, Missouri and rakes in nearly $4 million in annual sales.

The husband and wife entrepreneurial team now oversee an online and print catalog company, three retail outlets and a magazine, “The Heirloom Gardener.” The Gettles’ first book, “The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally” has just been released (Hyperion, 2011).

The company is also the major organizer and sponsor the first National Heirloom Expo at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. 

Today is the last day of the event which features over 250 garden vendors and farm producers, demonstrations and tastings. 

At 7 p.m., the final keynote speaker will be Dr. Vandana Shiva founder of the Navdanya, an organization whose mission is to protect the diversity and integrity of native seeds. 

Event hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

Sonoma Valley Portworks Acquired

Bill Reading, founder and portmaker of has acquired the company from American Beverage Group Inc., the previous owner. Sonoma Valley Portworks, which specializes in dessert wines, will now be part of Re:Wined LLC, a new wine company Reading formed.

Reading resigned from American Beverage Group, a wine sales and marketing company with a variety of labels. He says the new company structure will allow him to concentrate his efforts on his passion for producing and marketing his award-winning collection of dessert wines that include Deco and Maduro ports, Duet after-dinner wine and A3 muscat.

“I’ve been the winemaker of Sonoma Valley Portworks since its inception,” said Reading, “and really the driving force in the sales and marketing.”

Reading says the general public will not really notice any changes, except more food and wine pairings in the downtown Petaluma tasting room he oversees with his wife Caryn, the director of retail sales.

One area getting noticed by customers is a new side product the company has added called Sonomic. “It’s what we call ‘almost’ vinegar,” he said. “Not as tart as wine vinegar and richer than balsamic. It has a cleaner, brighter flavor.”

Sonomic is already in several local retail outlets including Oliver’s Markets, Haus Fortuna, and Petaluma Market.

“It’s our baby and it’s really exciting to us – we're getting calls from all over the country with recipe ideas on how to use it,” he said.

Crackerjax Closure

, the children’s clothing boutique on Western Avenue is closing, according to the signs on the window. Repeated calls to the store owner have not been returned but the sales staff says the last day for business will be sometime in December.

According to window signs, the 5,000 square feet of space of the first floor and basement are for lease for $4,625 per month.  The three-story historic building is advertised as for sale for $2,595,000. The signs direct all inquiries to an e-mail, 25WesternLLC@gmail.com.

Have a tip about a local business? Let us know by sending a note to karina@patch.com or contacting Tracey Ruiz