YouTuber Janey Santos is shown here with some of the Proven Winners plants sold at Ace Hardware.

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – Ace Hardware had a special guest on Saturday, April 19. YouTubers Janey Santos, from Davis, and Robbie McMenomey were on hand to teach a workshop and answer gardening questions.

Santos’ YouTube channel called “Dig, Plant, Water Repeat,” has more than 94,000 subscribers and videos are posted five times a week. McMenomey hosts the “Visit Our Garden” YouTube channel and blog.

Ace Hardware owner Katie Candelario found Santos on YouTube when she was trying to improve the store’s garden center. Candelario had found the Proven Winners plant brand and wanted to offer it at the store.

Ace Hardware employee Dave Brockman prepared a variety of food in the Traeger and Big Green Egg barbecues.

“They are the brightest, most beautiful, healthiest and most disease resistant. They (the growers) grow, and they watch, and they pick the best of the best to put out on the market. They’re constantly improving each variety. The plants have been hard to get out to California because they’re back in Michigan. Janey’s a YouTuber who works with Proven Winners. It’s been one of her missions to get Proven Winners plants out here,” Candelario said.

According to Santos, “If you know Proven Winners, you’re obsessed with Proven Winners.”

Santos did a workshop last spring that was well-attended, despite the pouring rain.

Santos also has her own line of plants called Best for the West that “are really good for this area, for hot and for dry climates,” Santos said. “Katie and Dago (Candelario) have built up this garden center in Gridley to be absolutely fantastic. There are people that drive from Stockton to come here to this garden center, because they carry some of the best plants…I’m just so impressed with what they’ve done. You guys here in Gridley are so lucky to have access to some place like this.”

Here is more of the Proven Winners plants that are available at Ace Hardware.

In addition to the plant workshop, food was provided by a taco truck and churro vendor, as well as on site barbecuing with Traeger and Big Green Egg outdoor barbeque units.

A variety of food was cooked simultaneously in the Big Green Egg: pizza, fruit pie and other goodies for sampling, along with smoked tri-tip from the Traeger. Ace employee Dave Brockman did the cooking.

“You can cook a whole meal all at the same time in the Big Green Egg,” said Brockman. “Managing the heat is the biggest challenge. Once you learn that, they’re awesome!”

While sampling the food indoors, customers looked at other displays, such as Rain Drip Automatic Watering Systems, based in Woodland Hills. Representative Steve Goforth answered questions about drip irrigation.

Lastly, there was free popcorn and raffles held every 30 minutes.