GardenSpotlight

Author: Shawn McCulloch The entire green industry is progressively focusing more and more on environmentally friendly production and products. With increased incentives backed by government agencies as well as the general consensus that environmental stability needs to start now, more and more companies are developing new innovative products to adhere to this. In some ways it's a shame that the only way to cause change is through monetary incentive programs or the need to be trendy, the counter-argument is the need to put food on the table or fuel in the yacht or the increased cost of doing business. Whatever the case may be, positive change is good relating to the environment. Now this isn't stating change can only happen through big business, even the end consumer, can have a major impact. So you might be asking, where is my incentive program? The answer is, certain products can actually save you money, and this isn't just pocket change. Hundreds of dollars per year rea...

Hi! Well, the weather in the Northeast certainly is spring-like, or close to it! It's 45 degrees today and rainy. We had thunder rolling across the farm this morning! It was so loud, I jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see what had happened. Then I realized what it was and the rain started to pour. We let the dogs out as usual in the morning, and they came in sopping wet. Thank goodness for the woodstove in the farmhouse, as it keeps us toasty warm and the dogs dried off quickly. We placed our seed order recently, and wanted to let you in on what to expect this season. I'll cover the annuals first. Ageratum Alyssum Angelonia Begonias; both fibrous and tuberous Browalia Celosia Cleome Coleus Dahlias Dianthus Diascia Dusty Miller Gazania Geranium Helichrysum Impatiens (both regular and double) Lobelia Marigolds (African and Dwarf) Nemesia Nicotiana Pansy Pentas Petunia (singles, doubles, spreading) Phlox (annual va...

Here's a quick tip that has always worked for us on the farm here in the Northeast! Now that February is right around the corner, you'll want to check for fog in the morning. Then keep track of each day of fog in February on your calendar. Why, you ask? Because typically the last day in February that you have fog is usually the last chance of frost on the corresponding day in May! Pretty neat...

Ahh...January. Well, actually almost February. The Holidays are over and gardeners are beginning to long for spring (well, we always long for spring and summer since that's what we do :-). I was playing this morning on Better Homes & Gardens' website and they have a great online garden planning tool. Go check it out at http://www.bhg.com/ . Our daughter has long been talking about putting in a garden sanctuary, as she calls it, behind our home. We thought it was just a passing phase, but turns out she's very serious about it and has designed on paper just how she wants it. It's quite detailed too. There's a pond (in addition to the large pond we already have) for her pet turtle, "Squirt." There is a park bench, a picnic table and chairs, a three-tier fountain with statuettes around it, stepping stones, a pool (for us humans), a pergola, an arched entrance with a garden gate and lattice fencing, and 4 separate garden plots. One for vegetables, one for ...

Happy Holidays Everyone! The Christmas Holiday will soon be ending....better hurry and get your shopping done! That includes me too! Thanks for your post Cousin Carolyn! Love you too. I love hearing from you all...especially family! Chuck, Jen, myself and our dogs Cinnamon & Sugar, want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Happy Chanukah (a bit belated) to my family on the "other side." That would be my wonderful Dad and Uncle Paul and Amy and Adam! We all seem to celebrate both holidays. It's a wonderful thing....the celebration of life! Here's a tip for those of you who have a Christmas tree (I refuse to be politically correct and will absolutely not call it a "holiday" tree.) Water your Christmas tree with hot, boiling water in the basin. If you are just buying a tree this week, have the salesperson make a fresh cut on the bottom, (or you can do it yourself if you have a chainsaw) and when you water it,...

Last but not least is the type of soil mix to use and the fertilizer. Many commercially manufactured soil mixes are balanced in texture and nutrients and are satisfactory for most household plants. We manufacture our our soil mix here on the farm for spring planting in the greenhouse with a combination of peat moss, perlite, various essential nutrients and some other ingredients (a secret family recipe my father-in-law made and has tweaked over time). It's also great for use in the flower beds and we make it available for sale here at the farm. There are some specific mixtures for African Violets and the like and also for cacti. A good potting soil is a mixture of textures, or particle sizes and provides good drainage, holding the necessary amount of water in the soil well and also providing anchorage for the plants' roots. Soil pH for most indoor plants should be close to neutral, about 6.7 - 7.5, although there are some plant species that prefer more acidic soil types. You ...

Our family hopes you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know we certainly ate tons of food! A friend of ours who has a neighboring farm raises turkeys and chicken, along with beef and hogs. He has the best tasting turkeys anywhere! We had dinner at Chuck's parents house, and there were 3 different types of cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts; Chuck & I contributed the brussel sprouts along with a lemon pie and Mom's eggplant salad from the previous recipe. There was also mashed potatoes, stuffing (my favorite), a beautiful dish of butternut squash mixed with cranberries and spinach...so colorful and would make a great side dish for Christmas too. I'll have to get the recipe for you all. Then there were all the desserts! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, the lemon pie, apple pie...I'm stuffed just thinking about it all. Wow! Has it been busy around here. We have a very busy Christmas season here, as our family makes and sells wreaths, g...