 Dayton
"Dirt"
Weekly Blog entries
by Tom Dayton
"Going Green" Blogs
2008 Blog Archive
November 20, 2009
Even though everything has just about shut down for winter, our
Azaleas, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel “youngsters”, many of which we
propagated last summer, are doing well in a cool greenhouse as they are
developing quite a root system. We give them a low
concentration of a liquid feed we mix up ourselves that is a “dark weather”
feed as it is high in nitrate nitrogen as opposed to the ammonium form of
which is commonly used in the warm growing season. Your houseplants would
do well with a fertilizer low in ammonical nitrogen too at this time of year
as there is less chance of root injury.
We’re in full swing now into making grave blankets and
I’ll be delivering many to local cemeteries just before Thanksgiving.
I always call my customer after I deliver their blanket
or grave pillow and I remember on one occasion that I delivered one to
Greenlawn cemetery in which the customer called me back to tell me that
there was no blanket on the grave!
I remember specifically placing the blanket on that
particular grave then when I returned to check out the problem, someone had
dragged the blanket 300 feet to the east to another grave as evidenced by
the snow trail.
Fortunately, the above problem is rare, at least at
Christmas time.
This year I’ll miss my uncle George as we traveled
together to Burton, Ohio to decorate the graves of my great grandparents
Susan and George L. Dayton and then drove south about a hundred miles to
Coshocoton to decorate the grave of my great uncle Hughe Dayton.
Unfortunately, my Uncle George will need a blanket on his grave as he passed
away in March.
Maybe you have potatoes and some other root vegetables
in the ground or stored and some canned goods or frozen vegetables that came
out of your garden. Just think how wonderful it will be when you can show
off your own produce to your extended family and friends at Thanksgiving!
Our cut trees will be her next week and will start
setting them up for sale the day after Thanksgiving.
Even though for most of us, 2009 hasn’t been that great
financially. Just remember to count your blessings as they almost always
outweigh the negatives.
Happy gardening,
Tom
November 13, 2009
I guess it seems foolish to some at the nursery but I am all
excited about storing our creeping phlox and German iris in a winter storage
house with roll up sides for cross ventilation. You see, these two types of
plants are notorious for getting a rot known as botrytis that is difficult
to control when conditions are dark and humid in the storage house. I’m
excited because I’m confident the plants will love it and our customers will
benefit from better quality stock. Another item that we
grew are laceleaf maples in a 7 gallon container that will explode in growth
in May due to their huge root system. These maples are grafted at about 30”
in height so that their finished height will normally be between 4 and 6
feet and just about as wide.
They’re full and robust and we’ll be able to offer them
at less cost than a comparable balled and burlapped size.
Next spring, almost all of our fruit trees will be
established in a 7 gallon container with two varieties of apples that are
red and delicious tasting called Liberty and Pristine. What makes these two
varieties special is that they are resistant to many pests and diseases that
affect other apple trees so that they would be great to plant for you
organic gardeners out there.
Our pick-you-own blueberries are closer to becoming a
reality in that we have prepared the ground for next spring’s planting of
Patriot, Earliblue and Hardiblue varieties. Once they get going, we’ll
sell them already picked in our new barn with other home-grown produce with
plenty of healthy “brainberries” left to pick yourself.
I call blueberries “brainberries” sometimes as
scientists have proven by experiment that blueberries help to maintain one’s
cognitive abilities.
I think even better is that they just taste so good!
Just a reminder, remember to give any of your plants
underneath and overhang a good deep watering, as if they go into winter on
the dry side, they may not live until spring because the cold air of winter
has a profound drying effect on evergreens especially.
Tom
November 6, 2009
The days have grown short and its time to finish your fall
gardening chores before the winter snow sets in. This
weekend is the last time I would put on a winterizer fertilizer on your lawn
as putting it on later might negate the beneficial effects of the nitrogen
and potassium portions of the fertilizer as they are readily leached through
the soil because of falling ground temperatures in which the lawn grasses
cannot pick up and store these nutrients.
You still have plenty of time to plant Holland flower
bulbs as they will have plenty of time to root in this fall and then produce
their promise of spring which is already inside the bulb.
It is still too early to cover tea and floribunda roses
with a heavy mulch for winter protection but you can trim any rose now
(except climbers) to prevent wind whipping.
A trim to about 2-3 feet is all that is needed for
shrub, tea or floribunda types.
We’re now in the process of collecting branches for
grave blankets and have already cut scotch pine for our cascading types of
blankets.
We use Colorado Spruce for other types of blankets but
we don’t like to cut the branches too early as they tend to shed needles
when processed inside the greenhouse.
Our Christmas trees will be coming from southern Ohio
again this year but will not include any Douglas Fir or Concolor Fir due to
a late frost that killed the new growth on these trees.
The dead growth is just hanging on the trees even now
and doesn’t make a pretty picture although the trees should look fine next
year after a flush of growth in May.
We’re just about buttoned up for winter and planting,
mulching and building in Wolf Creek Gardens and our new building is going
strong.
Already I’m excited about this coming spring as I know
its around the corner once February has passed.
Tom
October 30, 2009
With the generally wet and cool October, it has made it more
difficult to get all the fall gardening chores done. At
the nursery, we’re just about done potting trees and shrubs for this
season. Some new plants that we bought and potted in our greenhouse won’t
be ready for sale for at least two to three years such as a new red Mountain
Laurel called ‘Firecracker’, a compact yellow Rhododendron called ‘Big Deal’
and a deciduous Azalea that is orange and yellow called ‘Arneson’s Gem’.
These items are just the “tip of the iceberg” of what
will be new for 2011 and 2012.
Another nursery chore is putting the trees and shrubs
to “bed” that we grew this summer for next spring’s sales. The plants will
go into an over-wintering Quonset type structure that will be covered with
white polyethylene plastic that will keep the wind and extreme cold off the
plants even with no heat in the structures.
Some young stock such as our rooted cuttings from the
summer will require a layer of ¼” thick foam to keep them a little warmer so
that the bark does not crack on the young plants.
The green roof on our new building has caused quite a
stir as many of the persons coming off the street try to figure it out.
I have even heard a comment from the local hardware
that some think there are leaves on the porch roof!
Green roof’s are not really that unusual as they city
of Chicago has a green roof on city hall as well as scattered green roofs in
Columbus and Cleveland State University.
In fact, Stuggart, Germany requires a green roof for
projects exceeding certain limits of size.
I’ll be sure to do a more detailed explanation of this
roof when I see you at our winter seminars this winter.
Happy Gardening,
Tom
October 23, 2009
The construction of our new barn is going well and I’m
particularly excited about the completion of our green roof porch. The
multi-colors of the Sedum’s foliage will make the roof appear as Joseph’s
Coat, the coat of many colors.
This green roof will reduce water runoff as it will absorb the water and
release it slowly.
The other practical aspects of this type of roof is that it evens out
temperature extremes on the roof liner which extends the life of the liner.
With the green mass, the inside of a building will remain much cooler due to
the evaporation of water from the plants and the absence of a baking hot
surface as is the usual case.
We’re in full sway of putting away our backstock of plants and will be
putting away the stock for sale next week so that we may start covering our
storage houses with white overwintering plastic in early November.
We’ve bought and grown a lot of stock for next spring’s opening and have to
be very careful to ventilate the houses and to even water them in the depths
of winter.
Rodents can be a problem even though we catch many in mouse traps.
I prefer the storage of plants even with all its headaches as I am able to
hand pick the best stock in the fall for later spring sales.
Enjoy the fall as soon Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here!
Tom
October 16, 2009
I was very grateful for the soaking rains in late September and
early October as it has been over three weeks since we have had a decent
rain.
The rains certainly make it easier for new plantings to
get established and that’s what we’ve been doing (planting) in our botanical
garden, Wolf Creek Gardens.
Some of the plantings have included a collection of
native and hybrid Witchhazels, Dogwoods, the native Spice Bush (Lindera
benzoin), various Spruce and Pine as well as multiple shade perennials.
I can’t wait for the mass plantings of white and pink
Old-Fashioned Bleeding Hearts to come up.
We had these left over from spring sales as going into
summer they have no marketing appeal in that they turn yellow in July as
they go dormant and wait for the cool days of April to come up again.
With all of the Rhododendron, Azalea, Mountain Laurel,
Eastern Redbuds, Dogwoods, Daffodils and other spring blooming perennial, it
should be a glorious show!
Another bed that we planted consists of 25 each of 6
varieties of the large bearded German Iris that will show off their blinding
plumage in late May an early June.
Another appeal of interest in spring will be our new
daffodil-narcissus planting of at least 20,000 bulbs strong flanked by
almost 200 multi-colored creeping phlox that will cascade down the large
boulder walls in April and May.
As I have said before, the garden is coming along but
it will be awhile before it is at a more finished state due to the
constrictions of time and money.
Anyway, I think we’re going to have a spectacular fall
show of colors as the rain will actually help with the honing of the various
pigments in the plants leaves resulting in this northeastern wondrous show!
Tom
October 9, 2009
Now is the time to be thinking about next spring. I already have
mentioned that spring flowering bulbs work great when planted in October and
November but if you’re planning to landscape your home or form a new
perennial or annual flower bed it is wise to get the beds ready in the fall
even if you’re not going to plant next spring. It’s
still early enough to spray existing weeds with Roundup, especially
perennial weeds that will go into overdrive at the first sign of spring
weather. Also adding soil and/or soil amendments is a good idea in fall as
sometimes the weather in early spring is not agreeable as it is sometimes
far too wet.
Forming a landscape bed now and covering it with a thin
layer of mulch will prevent any soil erosion or mud splash on any structure.
With the beds finished, planting can begin much earlier
in spring than if beds needed to be prepared in spring.
Another advantage of the fall preparations for a new
garden works especially well for a vegetable garden is that weeds are under
control for the most part and early planting of cold tolerant crops could
begin in mid March if the ground is not frozen.
I’m taking my own advice as we are planning a major
planting for an annual flower bed to test new varieties of proven winner
annuals.
Another project that we’ll be working on are getting
some raised beds amended with sphagnum peat on the east side of the
irrigation lake so we’ll be ready to plant blueberries next spring for a
pick-your-own operation that will be ready in a couple of years.
Don’t forget to try sweet peet as a soil amendment as
it improves the tilth of the ground and accelerates the activity of
beneficial microbes in the soil to give you the results in gardening you
expect.
Seriously thinking ahead in your garden planning will
make your tasks easier and gardening for you will be much more enjoyable.
Tom
October 2, 2009
With the cool, crisp October days and the brilliant leaf colors,
many of you have told me that fall is your favorite time of the year. I
prefer springtime with its growing day lengths and everything coming to
life. I’ve always wanted to go to Europe in spring especially to Keukenhof
to see the bulb gardens. Unfortunately I cannot get away as it is our
busiest time of the year at the nursery.
There is still a lot of weekly chores to do as we are
transplanting azaleas that we rooted from cuttings last summer. Another
chore is planting more flower bulbs in Wolf Creek Gardens and out by the
road. Fall is a good time to landscape your home as a flurry of accelerated
root growth occurs when the top growth of plants shuts down so that the
plants will be well established.
October is a great month for planting spring bulbs as
the soil is warm enough in order for the bulbs to develop roots before
winter. If you arrange a planting of bulbs correctly, the cascading bloom
will occur from mid March through early June.
Next month we will be putting up wind breaks for our
rhododendron garden. The Rhododendrons did very well this year and seem to
have budded very heavy for a spectacular spring bloom.
Already I cannot wait for spring as Wolf Creek Garden
will finally be open for your viewing and will be a mass of spring flowers
from early April through at least June.
Well, I’ve got to do work in the garden.
Tom
September 25, 2009
It seems that everyone had a good time at our 2nd
annual fall festival. I know I did but I must admit that I’m glad it’s over
for another year as it takes a lot of preparation and work to put on such a
show. And talking about shows, don’t forget about the Mumfest located at
Lake Anna in Barberton. Barberton’s own Yoder Brothers has donated and
supervised the planting and care of the garden chrysanthemums that you’ll
see in the spectacular display on the northeastern bank of the lake.
We in the city of Norton do take pride in the Mumfest too as most of
Barberton was founded out of the Connecticut Western Reserve Township of
Norton by the purchase of 3600 acres of land by Ohio Columbus Barber in 1891
to found his new town of what else other than Barberton.
At the nursery we have mums too that are ready to plant
or just sit on your front porch to enhance the beauty for the fall season.
Don’t forget Norton’s Cider Fest has moved from the old
Knecht Cider mill in Loyal Oak to Norton Center at Columbia Woods Park on
Sept. 26 & 27.
Many trees and shrubs and shrubs are just starting to
change color and will really become bright once they are hit with a few cold
frosty nights. Remember in earlier blogs I told you to try to get something
in mind for fall color besides burning bush. One of the plant species I
spoke about were blueberries. With their shades of gold, crimson, maroon,
and orange that are bright enough to rival the color of any burning bush but
with the added benefit of flowers in spring and delicious healthy berries to
eat all summer long!
We’ve put a few more items on our 50% off sale but be
sure to check out the list of sale items on our website and to call before
you come over as inventory changes rapidly and sometimes that makes listings
outdated that same day!
Happy fall,
Tom
September 18, 2009
Well, tomorrow is the day of the BIG festival! As I stated in my
September 11th blog, I’ll be driving the tractor or RTV to give
the hayrides.
You can bring the whole family as we’ll have animal shows, food vendors and
other interesting activities for adults and children.
Besides the festival, the nursery will be open for business as usual with a
good stock of trees and shrubs many of which are on a 50% off sale.
Please remember that everything is not on sale as much of what is in stock
just came from our production areas or we just brought in to sell either now
or next spring.
One new plant we have in stock is the new Lilac called Bloomerang. I’m not
kidding that’s really its trade name.
The name is a reference to the fact that the lilac blooms heavy in spring
(about May 20th) and then repeats the splendor throughout the
summer.
Just be aware that the repeat of the bloom is not as heavy as the spring
bloom but still heavy enough to delight the eye (and nose) with its repeat
performance.
Many of you brought a mail order clipping to me about a repeat blooming
Lilac called ‘Josie’ so that I went out to search for it and found its
cousin ‘Bloomerang’.
Bloomerang Lilac is only one of many of a parade of new plant varieties that
will be appearing at the nursery next spring.
Our perennial line will be exploding along with our Clematis varieties and
we’re making a big push for new annual flowers that will amaze you next
spring.
Now, I just have to figure our where we’re going to display all of the new
stuff!
See you tomorrow after I do the radio show!
Tom
September 11, 2009
Unfortunately as I write my blog for September 11th, I cannot
help to remember that fateful day in 2001 that killed many of our countrymen
at the hands of terrorists bent on destroying us. Hopefully I think we all
wish the terrorist threat will be solved soon.
On the gardening front, the weather is starting to signal that fall is here
or at least almost here with all its festivals celebrating the harvest.
Here at the nursery, we’ll be celebrating our own harvest on September 19th
and we hope you’ll be able to join us for a variety of activities including
hayrides. Check out the entire schedule on our website.
I will be pulling two wagons filled with straw bales and people around the
nursery and showing off what we’ve done so far in our Wolf Creek Botanical
Garden. I do have a license so don’t be afraid to pile on the wagon!
We’ve been busy working diligently on getting the roadways in shape,
creating huge boulder walls to contain high slopes, expanding waterlines and
doing various plantings to enhance the garden.
More than one of the customers has asked me when I think the garden will be
finished and my crafted answer is that “when I am dead” as to me a garden is
a work in progress in which changes occur every year.
Construction on our new barn has started that will sit high on a hill above
Wolf Creek Gardens but I don’t expect it to be finished until sometime in
November.
September 19, 1890 is also my grandmother’s birthday (my mother’s mother)
who just loved vegetable and flower gardening. I can still see her pulling
weeds, canning and sitting with a bowlful of beans on her lap that need to
have the strings broken off. I can remember asking her why she was digging
and replanting Creeping Phlox when I was about 7 years old and her telling
me how the old clumps die out and how you must dig up some of the younger
ones to replace the old ones.
It’s funny but I remember that day as if it were yesterday.
I don’t mean to nag but remember that September is lawn chore time as its
cool nights, warm days and generally moist soil conditions make it an ideal
time to start a new lawn or “play” with an existing lawn to get it closer to
that elusive state of perfection.
Hope to see you at the festival!
Tom
September 4, 2009
Where did the summer go?
With the cooler days and nights of late summer, September is an ideal time
to sow a new lawn or do lawn chores such as repairing bare spots, thatching,
fertilizing, weed control and so on. In fact, university studies have
concluded that fall fertilizing of lawns does more good to get them in good
shape then in the spring.
Fall is a great time to plant just about anything so the plants become
established before the next hot summer.
Garden Club members will want to take advantage of our fall sale as we have
many desirable perennials, roses, trees, shrubs and some hard goods on sale
that are really a great deal.
The fall sale is open to everyone after September 7th but we want
to be sure our Garden Club members get the most advantage to get first
pick.
Be sure to check out our online inventory to see what’s on sale and what’s
not.
Not everything is on sale as much of what we have is actually our production
meant for next spring that is actually ready now.
While our blueberries are not on sale, I think they’re the best crop we’ve
ever grown!
With three trimmings to make the plants bushy, our plants are full and
beautiful and ready to plant so that you’ll at least get a few healthy
bowlfuls of blueberries next year.
Check out our garden mums too. We have mums in a large 14 inch decorative
pot that’s great for sitting on the porch or patio for some instant fall
decoration. Better yet, these mums are only $19.99!
Labor Day has changed over the years as I can still remember seeing Vice
President Hubert Humphrey and later Senator Howard Metzenbaum at the huge
crowds in Barberton at the Labor Day parade! Speaking of Barberton,
remember to mark your calendars for the Mum fest on September 26th
and 27th with all its other activities and the special centennial
celebration of O.C. Barber’s Anna Dean Farm.
For more fun, be sure to stop by our Fall Festival on September 19th.
We’ll have plenty of activities for the whole family including a hayride
through the ever-expanding Wolf Creek Botanical Garden!
Happy Labor Day!
Tom
August 28, 2009
By now, many of you that are Garden Club members have received a
post card via snail mail about our upcoming fall sale.
The sale is open to everyone after the expiration date on the postcard but
is open only to garden club members first so that our members get first
choice of the plants they may like to buy during the sale.
Be sure to check our online inventory for what we have in stock and what is
on sale.
Inventory changes so rapidly during the fall sale that we advise you to call
ahead before traveling a long distance as the online inventory is not
perpetual.
We will gladly deliver and install your plants if you wish but remember that
delivery and installation charges are not discounted from our normal rates.
Also good to remember is that we’ll be happy to help you with design
questions or do a quick sketch for you free of charge in order that you may
take fuller advantage of our plant sale.
Our Holland flower bulbs are just about ready to arrive from the
Netherlands.
Its best to browse the selection or purchase them during September in order
to get the best selection and then to plant them in October through November
when the ground is cooler.
You must plant these types of bulbs (tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinth) in
fall as the cooler temperatures cause root growth and a chemical change in
the bulbs after a 13 week cold period to “tell” the bulb to “wake up”, grow
and then bloom in spring.
If you get busy, you still can plant bulbs until about February 15th
with good results.
Get busy and prepare your bulb planting beds now!
So long,
Tom
August 21, 2009
Fall is a great time to plant most trees, shrubs and perennials as roots
will grow until the ground temperature falls below 40 degrees F.
Fall planted plants will act as if they have been established an extra year
when they break growth in spring because of the massive root growth that
occurred the previous fall.
Our garden chrysanthemums are ready and starting to celebrate the coming of
the cooler fall.
Whats the scoop about garden mums? The truth is they are a somewhat tender
perennial and will sometimes not survive the winter.
In order to get them better through winter, do the following:
1.
Carefully loosen the outer root system of the mum to encourage roots to grow
into the new soil and be sure to keep the plants well watered until they
establish themselves
2. Plant
the plants in a raised well-drained bed of soil as soggy soils in winter
will encourage more soil heaving that will damage the plant crown
3. If
possible cover the plants lightly with evergreen boughs after the
ground begins to freeze
4. Do not
cut the dead stems off the plants when blooms are spent. The old dead crown
will help shade and protect the live crown near the soil surface. Cut off
the old foliage about April 1st.
5. Protect
new emerging growth of mums from severe frosts in early spring.
While doing all the above is no guarantee that you will be successful,
chances are good that your garden mums will come up in spring especially if
snow cover is adequate all winter.
Another way at looking at garden mums is simply to enjoy them in a pot or in
the ground and take the attitude of Que sera sera.
A great way though to get them established is to buy them in spring as young
plants.
In this way the root system will be massive and deep and not as prone to the
fluctuations of winter temperatures.
Happy gardening,
Tom
p.s. I’d like to remind our Garden Club members to use their Dayton Dollars
as they will expire near the end of August!
August 14, 2009
Even though many of us are wondering “where did the summer go?”
there is still plenty of summer left as autumn does not officially start
until the autumnal equinox in late September.
Those of us with vegetable gardens are enjoying a bountiful harvest of
heat-loving vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers,
squash, beans, melons and so on. Sometimes the harvest becomes too
bountiful in that there is too much food to use as fresh vegetables.
I still remember my grandparents and parents making ketchup with excess
tomatoes, freezing beans, corn, and medium hot peppers. My mother would
core the peppers and then stack about a one half dozen inside one another
and place them in a freezer bag before freezing.
When using the peppers for a meal to make stuffed peppers, she would thaw
the stacked peppers just enough to get them apart to stuff them. Waiting
too long for the peppers to thaw would result in mushy peppers caused from
the freezing.
I always marveled at the taste of the peppers as it was hard to tell if they
were frozen or fresh from the garden!
Sometimes my parents would boil jars and vegetables for canning in the
kitchen but it made the whole house hot and humid.
Later, we used an old cast iron stove in the back yard and fed it with
seasoned wood. Now I know why years ago summer kitchens were in vogue.
In about 10 days to two weeks, start checking your lawn for grub damage,
especially if you did not do anything to kill them earlier. Digging by
skunks, crows or a discoloration in patches of the lawn can indicate grubs.
Check to see if the turf pulls up easily where upon you should see several
of the root-eating critters. If you do see them spread Dylox on your lawn
and water it in as it will kill the grubs within one to two weeks after
application.
Dylox breaks down quickly so do not apply it until you know you have a
problem. The quick breakdown of Dylox is an advantage as this trait makes
it very unlikely that it would contaminate ground water like Diazinon did.
Except for the two recent hot spells, august has been moist and cool making
for a good growing season.
Our garden mums are almost ready with the early blooming varieties starting
to show color and I expect them to be ready for sale around August 20th.
Hope to see you soon.
Tom
August 7, 2009
We just go through potting up our Hostas, Daylilies, German Iris,
Hibiscus and Clematis for next year. Many of the varieties will be new for
next spring as we constantly add to our selection.
This month too is the month that I scour the internet and travel to find new
plants that I think will “flip-the-switch” of our customers. Its
difficult to tell as I think I know what our customers will like but once in
a while, I’ll pick a real dog that doesn’t sell very well. I get so
excited sometimes about a new plant variety that I have even gone to the
length of ordering it 3 years in advance to be sure it is available!
We’ll be sure to show off our new waves at our winter seminars in our new
facility.
Many of you wrote in our seminar surveys that our building was too cold on
cold winter days. The new building will have much more insulation with
in floor heating that will keep everyone warm even when the temperature is
well below zero.
You’ll just have to stay tuned to see all the new stuff for next spring!
Tom
July 31, 2009
Work is finished on our site preparation for our new building
that will rise high on a hill when approaching the nursery traveling south
on Cleveland-Massillon Rd.
The “barn” with a gambrel roof will be used for a meeting area for seminars,
or a wide variety of gardening types and for flower shows such as those for
roses, german iris, dahlias and such.
I’m really excited as the building will be heated with an in-floor heating
system with hot water being pumped from a boiler with a series of tubes
under the floor.
Many aspects of the building will be “green” with an R-60 insulation in the
ceiling, R-25 in the walls and a special “E” glass that will keep out cold
in winter and heat in summer better than ordinary glass.
A wrap around porch will have a green roof in which multiple varieties of
Sedum will grow on the roof reducing runoff and absorbing the hot rays of
the sun.
Another “eco-friendly” aspect of the new building is that I plan to use LED
lights instead of fluorescent or incandescent as LED lights are up to 90%
more efficient than incandescent. I don’t know for sure if LED lighting
will become a reality this year as the technology is not yet quite there.
The runoff from the huge roof area will drain back to our irrigation lake so
there will be no additional runoff to Van Hyning Run to contribute to
flooding during heavy rains.
Even though our new building has all the modern construction and
conveniences, it will appear to be in a style reminiscent of large dairy
barns of 150 years ago and more as I wanted it to fit in with the home that
was built about 1870.
Construction will start in the next 30 days and we hope to move in by
Christmas
Come by later and take a look.
Tom
July 24, 2009
As I mentioned before, our new crop of blueberries are now
available including the late bearing Elliot, the early bearing Earliblue and
the half-high varieties that grow low and compact.
Some scientists have coined the phrase brainberries when referring to
blueberries as experiments using mice show that the brain’s cognitive
abilities are enhanced with the gradual aging of the mind slowing down.
Its still not too late to spread Merit on your lawn to control Japanese
beetle grubs but time is running out as the product will not be effective if
put down too late (after Aug 15th).
The botanical garden, Wolf Creek Gardens, is shaping up with the
construction of boulder walls to contain a hillside planting of dwarf
conifers. Many of the boulders weight two to two and a half tons each!
A large island of topsoil with Sweet Peet was formed last fall for a
perennial planting and will include coneflowers, Shasta daisies, German
Iris, grasses, Happy Returns daylilies and Geranium Rozanne planted in
masses in order to project a bold statement. This planting is just west of
the shady Rhododendron-Azalea planting to which we added a few more
varieties this summer.
Be sure to take advantage of the coupons available on our website for
special “deals” on many different things.
We’re just finishing up on cuttings of different shrubs and will be waiting
for them to finish rooting in about 4-8 weeks depending on the type. Some
plants will over- winter fine without any heat but others such as Azaleas,
Rhododendron and blueberries will require a minimum heat (above 40 degrees)
in the greenhouse where they will grow roots all winter and then will
explode into growth beginning in February.
Well, so long for now, I’ve go to get planting.
Tom July 18, 2009
In all of my recent blogs, I have been silent about the progress of our
botanical display garden called Wolf Creek Gardens.
The reason for my silence is that while we have made much progress in the
plantings, installation of water lines and road building, there is still
more to do. More plantings are going on right now in our dwarf conifer
garden and Rhodoendron-Azalea garden. Another planting underway is a large
island of perennials and shrubs to display ribbons of color in the summer!
Perhaps the largest project is the construction of a barn to be used for
offices, produce market and a seminar room as a gateway to the garden.
The barn will be of a style of a Wisconsin dairy barn with a gambrel roof
similar to the one that stood on the property for almost 100 years on the
same site before it burned in 1963.
My hope is to open the garden by the spring of 2010 even though much work
will still be in progress.
Much of the planting has been going on for 3 years so that some of the
plants are becoming well-established.
The established plants include a collection of European Beech varieties,
Dogwood cultivars, Eastern Redbuds, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, numerous pines,
firs and spruce as well as a hedge row of tall western red cedar. The
purpose of the garden will be foremost educational but my hope is that many
of you that come to visit us will simply enjoy walking through the garden,
Back to work for me.
Tom
July 10, 2009
I wonder how many of you have gotten the first ripe tomato of the
season. I know I’m just about ready because my Earth Box tomatoes are
growing like crazy! The scientifically designed box allows for maximum
growth and production of the fruits due to its great soil mass and water
reservoir below it. Its amazing how much food can be grown in a
limited amount of space!
If you have not done it yet, trim back your shrub roses and spireas now
to get spent flower heads out of the way of new growth to allow for more
flowering a little later.
This “trick” will not work with spring flowering plants as they are
“programmed” to bloom only in spring. However, removing spent flowers
or a light trim will mean more new growth and thus, more blooms for next
spring.
Right now, we’re taking cuttings of Azaleas, Blueberries and many
different shrubs that will start to be available two years from now.
It’s a long process from a cutting to a saleable plant, but one that’s
rewarding and enables us to control the production process.
For example, years ago I attempted to purchase small Azaleas to sell but
the plants always seemed to be pot bound. Other items that I tried to
purchase were not trimmed to my liking.
Also, many new plants that we introduce are patented and are not
available in a larger size from local wholesale nurseries. In this
case, we buy the plant liners from licensed growers and grow them on to a
saleable size.
Another advantage to our propagation and growing operations is that we
learn what production techniques make the plant “happy” and then we can pass
along what we’ve learned to our customers.
Later on, I’ll let you know what new things were working on!
Tom
July 4, 2009
Happy July 4th! I’m sure we are mindfull of what this birthday
celebration of our nation really means. July 4th too reminds me of
fireworks, family picnics, fishing, boating or whatever else you may enjoy.
I’m sure many of you will be harvesting vegetables right out of your garden
for your family picnic.
This day for me was also the last day to plant warm season vegetables from
seed as any later planting may or may not “make it” because of the declining
day length and cooler nights.
In the flower or vegetable garden, July is a good feeding time for various
types of caterpillars from the insect order called Lepidoptera. These little
critters can eat up a tomato plant, perennial Hibiscus or Hollyhock in no
time. A good organic control is to spray with a bacteria known as BT
(Bacillus thunbergiensis) or Spinosad. These organic products are safe to
use for you and the environment.
If you have not applied a grub control to your lawn and have had trouble
before please do it quickly by using a product containing Merit. This
product must be applied soon to achieve the maximum effectiveness to kill
the lawn killing grubs that will hatch out around Labor Day resulting from
the egg laying activities of Japanese Beetles and European Chafer adults.
Now would also be a good time to fertilize, stir and water your mulch beds
to prevent the colonization of the shot gun fungus which can shoot its resin
to stick on the siding of your home.
When bacteria are active in your mulch from moisture and nitrogen, they out
compete and prevent the formation of this nuisance fungus.
Another application of Preen Weed Preventer to your landscape would be wise
if it has been 3 months or more. Remember, Preen is a weed preventer and not
a weed killer.
Also, Preen will not control the common ragweed or Canada thistle. There are
other herbicides that will control these two nuisance weeds but these
herbicides are not safe to use on many plants.
Oh well, I guess we can’t have everything. I’ve got to go, I’ve got lots of
weeds to pull.
Tom
June 26, 2009
Now that the summer solstice has come and gone, it seems a bit
sad that the days will become shorter day by day. The good news is
that for at least the next two months, the temperatures and day length will
be agreeable to the growth and thriving of gardens.
I’m looking forward to July 4th in the celebration of our
democracy allowing for our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, and while
our democracy is based on majority rule, our enlightened forefathers were
wise enough to put into place the protection of minority rights.
Many of our forefathers were gardeners and farmers and no more than Tom
Jefferson with his orchards, vegetable and perennial gardens at this
Virginia home, Monticello. Jefferson was so interested in botany that
he spread plant samples sent by Lewis & Clark from the Louisiana purchase on
the floor at the White House so that he could study these more easily.
Right now you should be enjoying some of the “fruits of your labor” from
your own garden.
Another item to watch are your first early blueberries from a variety
called Earliblue that you may have planted. When the berries begin to
ripen, you must net the bush as the birds will out maneuver you to help
themselves to the fruit! Be sure to peg down the net to the ground as
the birds can become quite aggressive to feed on the berries.
Look on our gardening calendar and there you’ll find lots of things to do
with your blueberries on our web link to
allrecipes.com.
Japanese beetles can be a killer for July and sprays or dusts of Carbaryl
(Sevin) are usually effective to keep the eating machines off your plants.
Don’t let the weeds get ahead of you.
Happy Gardening,
Tom
June 19, 2009
Right now you should be thinking about planting another patch of
vegetables especially beans, corn, cucumbers and squash to get the garden
“going” later into the summer and early fall.
I was surprised when an organization in Wadsworth to which we donated
tomato plants for planting and harvesting by economically disadvantaged
families had said that the man that would plow and prepare the ground was
concerned about the “late” planting (June 15th) as it was already
June!
I laughed when I heard this statement as I have planted many vegetable
gardens between June 1 and June 21 with great success.
Again, it is some ancient mentality that some of us have that everything
should be done by Memorial Day in the garden.
A the nursery, we’ve been transplanting trees and shrubs for a while now
but next to be transplanted are our “starts” of Azalea and Rhododendron from
our greenhouse that we rooted from cuttings last summer.
These transplants will be ready to sell in a small size next spring after
they have over wintered at the nursery.
Again, please perform the root wash on Rhododendron, Azalea, Pieris
japonica and Blueberries (just as we do when we transplant them) as it is a
sure way to foster good root growth of the plants.
For more detailed information as to what a root wash is, take a look
under gardening tips and look up the instructions for Rhododendron-Azalea
planting.
I’m excited too as our new crop of blueberries that we transplanted in
March is growing like weeds!
These plants still need time to root out into the new soil and to branch
out again after a final trimming we will give them in late June.
I recall my early years of gardening of hoeing, weeding, hilling up the
rows of potatoes and waiting for the first harvest of warm season
vegetables.
One of my fondest memories is when my grandmother and her friend from
Barberton, Mrs. Postek were digging in one of my rows of Pontiac Red
potatoes and started screaming.
When I ran to them to see what was the problem, they had dug out a huge
potato that weighed in at 2 ¾ pounds! My grandmother was no novice at
gardening in that her city lot was like a food factory providing many meals
of fresh and canned vegetables for the family table.
Its no wonder with the money she was able to save that she had $5,000 in
the 1930’s to lend a close neighbor in order to keep the neighbor’s house
out of bank foreclosure.
Tom
June 12, 2009
Now that the spring blooms have ended, June opens up with the
splashes of color from the perennial garden which include Salvias, Shasta
daisies, Dianthus, Delphiniums and so on.
A well-designed perennial garden will “move” with the seasons just as
flowering shrubs will when properly arranged.
The well-designed perennial flower garden has a certain rhythym in which
colors, textures and foliage all compliment each other in a kaleidoscopic
display.
Perennial gardens can have many functions from attracting birds and
butterflies to providing a fresh bouquet of cut flowers for the dining room
or kitchen table.
In order to achieve success with a new perennial garden, preparation is
everything:
- The area should be free of weeds before any preparation should
begin.
- The perennial bed should be planned so that the area will be well
defined whether it is a rectangular bed or irregularly shaped island.
- Raised beds of soil are excellent to provide drainage especially in
winter when a too wet soil can cause damage to plant crowns.
- Incorporation of a compost of material such as Sweet Peet will
greatly improve soil tilth and microbial activity so necessary for good
plant health.
Sweet Peet in addition will supply the plants with an organic source of
nutrients and is beneficial to use as a mulch when finished planting.
With these important initial steps completed before planting perennials
and of course a well-designed plan, your enjoyment and success is all but
guaranteed.
If you need help, come in and ask to see Maggie, our perennial expert, or
better yet call ahead with an appointment if you need some extra help so
that she can set aside the time for you exclusively.
June’s alive too with flowering shrubs from Weigelas, roses, Endless
Summer Hydrangea and Maximum types of Rhododendron.
Again, when proper planning is involved, the landscape will move
seamlessly from spring to summer to fall with sights that will delight and
stimulate the mind.
June 5, 2009
It’s been quite cold for this time of year and the cold nights will
temporarily slow down the growth of annual flowers and heat-loving vegetable
plants.
The good news is that rainfall is adequate to keep these growing and
lawns lush and green.
Just a reminder:
*Apply a weed and feed to your lawn now if you have not done it
*Spray the lower branches of Dogwood and Rhododendron for borer now if you
did not do it at the end of May
*Apply Merit to your lawn in mid-June through July to prevent grub damage
this fall
*Deadhead spent blooms of Rhododendron by removing the whole stalk with
your thumb and forefinger
*Trim spring flowering plants to shape such as Azalea, Rhododendron,
Lilacs and fragrant Viburnum
*Keep up sprays of fungicides such as Bi-carb on tea roses to prevent
black spot
*Use Osmocote fertilizer on your annual flowers for a constant feed all
summer
*Use Neem Oil to combat bugs on flowers and vegetable plants
*Plant cucumbers and squash from seed until July 1st in order
to get a continuous harvest as late as possible
*Watch out for slugs on your flowers and especially Hostas with the wet
weather. Sluggo, which is a nothing more than a salt, iron phosphate, is
safe for pets and the environment.
Get going because June is the best growing month!
See you soon,
Tom
P.S. Checkout our Knockout rose selection and the Knockout rose bed that
we planted in November in our parking lot island. Even though I only threw
them some fertilizer and trimmed them in March, they’re blooming their heads
off!
May 29, 2009
With Memorial Day this Monday on May 25th, it almost seems
too early as the traditional Memorial Day or Decoration Day as it was once
known was celebrated the 30th of May.
You should be in full swing in planting your garden now, although it’s a
good idea to think about gardening extending much later in the year by
planting cool weather crops such as swiss chard, parsnips, turnips, lettuce
and kale among others in mid to late August to harvest late in the fall and
even in winter if the plants are covered with straw to keep their crowns
from freezing such being the case with parsnips and carrots.
If your going to the cemetery to pay respect to your loved ones who have
passed on, we have potted combination pots or potted blooming plants such as
roses that you can take home later and plant. To save some money we’ll even
show you how to make your own container of mixed flowers so that the
combination has a center, a filler and a spiller!
We still have some vegetables and herbs that you may want to check out
that includes the herb stevia that is a natural substitute for sugar and one
that per unit of weight is much sweeter than sugar so that you use much
less.
Stevia derivatives have now been approved by the Federal Government for
use as a sweetener in soft drinks!
It’s still not too late to plant your favorite trees or shrubs as we have
them already dug up or potted and ready to go so that their root systems are
not disturbed by digging out of the field.
The Korean Lilacs are still in bloom with their heavenly fragrance
permeating the whole nursery so that they are the tail end of the strong,
sweet fragrances of spring until the Sweet Bay Magnolias come into bloom
with Clethra, known as the Sweet Pepper Bush, making itself known in July
with its heavenly scent.
Stop in to look around and to say hello.
Always gardening,
Tom
May 22, 2009
It’s time or just about time (depending on your local conditions) to
set out your frost sensitive plants from tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and
annual flowers.
You may not know it but some flowers such as petunias are resilient in
that they can actually survive and soon thrive after being exposed to
temperatures as low as 28ºF. Other annual flowers such as Impatiens, New
Guinea Impatiens and Coleus would never survive such a freeze or repeated
cold nights so that you need to plan accordingly as to what to plant first.
In the garden you can use Preen for Vegetable Gardens Weed Preventer but
in the landscape, including your annual flowers, the original Preen works
great especially if you slightly work it in or water it in well as you water
your newly set out plants.
You can start putting out pots of tropical plants as long as you can keep
an eye on the weather for cold frosty nights which will require some action
on your part. Just be sure to place them in partial shade for a week before
putting them in the bright sun.
Osmocote 14-14-14 works well as a fantastic slow, easy feed for annual
flowers in pots, the ground or hanging baskets. In fact, our rose expert,
the rose lady, loves to use osmocote on her roses to push growth and blooms.
Our next batch of perennials will be ready soon that will include a new
bright yellow Coneflower called ‘Mac-n-Cheese’ that can be planted next to
it’s bright red sidekick ‘Tomato Soup’! Where do "they" come up with these
names?
Our roses including the new Knock Out Rose called ‘White Out’ are
starting to bud up to bloom shortly.
However, as I have previously stated in earlier blogs, the Rhododendron
alleé is my favorite area of the nursery with ironclads like ‘Boursault’,
‘Nova Zembla’ and ‘Boule de Neige’ displaying large flower trusses that look
like jewels sitting on top of an whorl of leaves.
Come on in and get some ideas for your home and we’ll do a quick sketch
for you to scale so that you know what to put where. We do ask that you try
to come in on a weekday if possible and set up an appointment with one of
our designers so that we may give you our undivided attention.
For the most part, the weather now reflects the Goldilocks Principal: not
too hot, not cold, it’s just right! Enjoy!
Tom
May 15, 2009
Mountain Laurels, Rhododendron, Azaleas, Enkianthus and Blueberries
are all of the same ericaceous family that we grow right at the nursery in
Norton!
I’ve been hooked on rhododendrons since I’ve been 12 years old when I
remember seeing in Pennsylvania, a border of rhododendron with azalea in the
foreground that just seemed to meld together so beautifully that it would
almost be impossible to imagine such beauty.
I think our perennial plant varieties expanded by at least another 30-40
varieties in addition to our standard fare.
In our annual greenhouses, hanging baskets, combination pots, flats of
flowers and heirloom vegetable plants abound.
I can’t quite figure it out but spring has a certain smell that excites
the mind even if one were unable to see all its radiance of color and life.
When you plant your heat loving plants such as tomatoes and peppers in
your garden, I want you to try a newer product called Preen Vegetable Garden
Weed Preventer as it definitely helps with those pesky weeds. Make no
mistake, this is not the regular Preen that I have advised you to use
in your landscape and around annual flowers but a Preen product that is made
with corn gluten!
Organic and safe, this vegetable garden Preen prevents weeds in your
garden by inhibiting the root development of a germinating weed seed - the
little devils just don’t have a chance!
Not only do we market things like organic Preen but we have organic
insecticides that will kill aphids, spider mites, thrips and well, you get
the picture. Don’t forget to do a second spray of the organic Spinosad on
the trunks and lower branches of your more mature rhododendron and dogwoods
to kill the borers trying to eat the live bark of your treasured plants. A
third spray at the end of May is all you should need to finish
up.
It’s time to start working hard in the garden so get off your computer
and get going!
Tom
May 8, 2009
This time of the year in the state of Ohio is truly breath taking!
Trees in the woodlands, wildflowers and landscapes around houses have
finally shed winter’s dormant cloak.
Around the nursery, the Azaleas are radiating their beauty in
shades of red, purple, pink and white to be followed a little later by the
exbury azaleas and catawbiense hybrids of rhododendron in even more of a
kaleidoscope of color including orange, yellow and melon colors in addition
to the colors of the evergreen azaleas.
One of the newer flowering trees you have to see is the eastern redbud
called ‘Appalachian Red’ in that when it blooms beside the naturally
occurring Redbud, the Appalachian variety seems to be electrified as it is a
glowing neon pink!
You may have even picked out a gift already for your mother but in case
you haven’t, you’ll be sure to find something on the grounds or in our
greenhouses full of annuals and perennial flowers just waiting for a new
home. Be sure to check out our roses too as the rose lady will be here (if
the weather’s nice on Saturday) to give you her advice from her many years
of gardening.
If you have ruled out a living gift for mom, bring her to the nursery to
just look around as our selection is vast and she may just enjoy walking
around to breathe in a deep sense of spring.
Because of the large number of customers in our nursery in May, it is
very difficult at times to make sure everyone has his or her questions
answered. That’s why we have an item called auxiliary signs on many of our
tree and shrub basic signs that give you more in depth details on the plants
you should know.
Every year my goal is to write 100 additional auxiliary signs to add to
our library of 300 already so that hopefully many of our customers questions
are answered if we are unable to serve them right away.
I’ve got to check the watering in the greenhouses and scout for bugs. As
with any job not all things about it are glamorous, just a lot of hard work!
Happy Spring!
May 1, 2009
Our annual greenhouse is finally open
for your inspection.
This year we’ve added a new
line of tropicals, bouganvilla that can be aggravating to sell as the
flowers drop and some leaves in their transit from Florida; however we
received the plants early enough so that they could regenerate some of their
buds and foliage as well as having time to quarantine all of the tropicals
to make sure there are no bugs from Florida to contaminate our other
greenhouse product or your plants at home.
Our thousands of azaleas are
just starting to pop out into color along with my favorite fragrant Viburnum
called ‘Cayuga’ that blooms just before the May 10th, fragrant
blooming French Lilacs.
This is the best time to get
an idea for a Mom’s Day gift as everything is or getting ready to burst into
bloom.
Some of my favorite easy to
grow evergreen azaleas are ‘Herbert’ (dark double purple), ‘Boudoir’
(watermelon pink), ‘Snowball’ (bright white), ‘Karen’ (bright purple) and
‘Girard’s Crimson’ ( rosy-red).
Our registered trade name that
I chose for azaleas years ago is "Bloom and Grow" since we propagate and
grow all the plants at the nursery. I got the idea from the song Edelweiss,
written by Rogers and Hammerstein in which the lyrics portray the flower as
one that may "bloom & grow". This part of the lyrics fits very well with the
types of the plants we grow (azalea, rhododendron, mountain laurel and
blueberries) as that’s just what they do: they bloom and then grow.
Soon our garden club members
should be receiving our spring newsletter and some valuable coupons by mail.
You can still join the club at anytime but we will require your e-mail
address as we want to periodically e-mail you information and coupons you
can use as all of us know it’s so much less expensive to do an e-mail than
snail-mail!
Come on and take a look around
but reserve plenty of time for the 14 acres as you’ll see something
different and exciting around every corner.
Tom
April 24, 2009
Today is Arbor Day so don’t forget to do your part in the "greening
of America".
If your ground is of good tilth and drained well many vegetables can be
planted this week as long as the garden is workable such as lettuce,
cauliflower, broccoli, sweet corn, beans, potatoes, radishes, carrots,
kohlrabi, collards and so on.
I know we’re all anxious to plant tomato and pepper plants but forget it
as it’s still too early no matter what the forecast is like for the next
couple of weeks.
Our perennial house opens tomorrow, April 25th so that you’ll be able to
look around for your old favorites as well as some of the newest perennials
on the market.
Two of the most interesting of perennials are the new Heuchera called
‘Plum Royale’ that I spotted at a nursery last fall and a new red coneflower
called, of all things, ‘Tomato Soup’! These perennials will be available a
little later about the first week of the merry month of May.
A new variety of coneflower from last year that is ready now is ‘Tiki
Torch’ that is a bright electric orange.
It seems that Heucheras and Coneflowers have been "bred to death" but
other note worthy perennials are the newer pink Lily-of-the-Valley, Yarrow
‘Sunny Seduction’ that is a clear yellow and more Evison Clematis varieties
that bloom and bloom and bloom!
We know that some of you are antsy to get into our annual house, but we
won’t let you in there until May Day as it’s still too early and were still
preparing the house for your viewing.
On another note, some of you have said that you rarely see me. I am
somewhere here at the nursery as you may at times hear my voice on one of
our two-way radios answering the salesperson’s or customer’s questions.
Sometimes I choose to stay in the background because of my lack of sleep and
the long hours.
However, be assured that I’m always glad to see all of you even though
you might perceive I am not because it’s possible that I’m half asleep!
Happy Planting!
Tom
April 17, 2009
Remember coming up on April 22nd is Earth Day
that has been celebrated every year since the first one in 1970.
Arbor Day has been celebrated nationally since the 1880's but was
actually founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska. Mr. Morton was
originally from Detroit and wanted the treeless prairie in Nebraska to have
trees like his native state of Michigan.
Soon tree planting celebrations were common all over the state with the
last Friday in April being recognized nationally as Arbor Day.
This year just like last year, I am asking what kind of a tree you’ll
plant to commemorate these important dates.
Trees do matter in that they shade us, provide us with lumber and
other wood related products, prevent soil erosion from wind and water, take
in CO2 and give us oxygen.
Consider planting a tree that later on you, your children and possibly
succeeding generations can enjoy the shade under the branches of the great
tree.
The old house at the nursery was built in 1870 and I have a photograph of
the original owners, the Wertman’s, from about 1890 standing in front of the
house with their grandson Fred Harris. In the photograph is about a 10 foot
maple tree on the south side of the house. That little maple is now about 80
feet tall and still shades the south side of the house to keep it cool in
summer!
Tell us how your going to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day!
Click here
Oh, I almost forgot, you’re all invited to come see the thousands of
daffodils in bloom at the nursery that we’ve planted over the years. And no,
you don’t have to buy anything as I have said before, if your gazing at the
flowers and anyone asks you what you’re doing, tell them it’s none of their
business!
Tom
April 10, 2009
Formerly, I had advised you to treat your azalea, pieris japonica
and lepidote (small-leaved) rhododendron such a ‘PJM’ and ‘Aglo’ with
imadicloprid about April 15th to prevent damage from lacebugs
which turn the leaves a sickly bronze color later in the season and will
weaken the plants overtime. Now, I want you to treat the plants
instead about May 30th as that is about when the critters become
active.
You see, the April 15th date was so that this slow moving
systemic insecticide found in Bayer Rhododendron, Azalea and Camellia
Insect & Disease product could enter the plant in time to kill the
lacebug. However, there is some evidence that this product is deadly to bees
such as bumblebees that pollinate these plants.
The goal is to apply the material late in May in order that there will be
none of the material in the plant until bloom drop in late May and early
June thus, keeping it out of the system of pollinating bees and yet timely
enough to kill lacebug anyway.
Again, it is an ideal time to apply a crabgrass preventer to your
lawn and coming very close to the time to apply Espoma’s Organic Weed &
Feed that contains corn gluten to suppress weeds.
Another plant line I told you about in my February 7th seminar
and in an earlier blog is blueberries. Because of the beautiful
flowers from hot pink to white, different plant habits and ultimate growing
sizes and spectacular fall color, if you don’t consider planting some
blueberries in your garden or landscape you are a fool!
Why pay for the high-priced berries in the store that you don’t even know
with what they’ve been sprayed or how they were handled? In fact, during a
recent radio report a Cleveland area doctor claimed that in 2007 the FDA
performed no inspections on food processing operations in China that export
food to the United States!
Blueberries are a member of the rhododendron-azalea family which is right
up our alley so that we can help you select and successfully grow these
jewels of plants.
Come on in and take a look around. We’re not all set up yet but it’s
getting close!
Adieu!
April 3, 2009
April showers really do seem to bring May flowers and weeds
galore.
It’s time now to start your lawn program in applying a crabgrass
preventer and feed. I like the Greenview’s program and so do most customers
from almost 20 years of selling this line.
Another program to consider though is the Espoma company’s
organic lawn care products that contain
corn gluten which proven by experiments will control 60% of weeds in lawns
when used the first year and up to 90% of weeds the second successive year
of use.
The other advantage of this organic product is that the organic
fertilizer is enhanced by inoculating it with various microbes under Espoma
trade name of Biotone. The microbes release the nutrients slowly overtime so
that they won’t give your grass a lush, quick undesirable spurt of growth
making it more susceptible to insects and disease.
The disadvantage to the organic weed & feed by Espoma is that there is
only a narrow window of time in which it can be applied for maximum
effectiveness. The ideal time to apply this product is between April 15th
and May Day.
Another fertilizing chore is your landscape in which Holly tone ( for
acid-loving plants) and Plant tone for all other trees, shrubs and
perennials can be applied.
I like these products very much as they are low in salts so that they are
not likely to burn your valuable plants and just as important, the low salts
means that valuable microbes such as mycorrhizae and rhizobacteria among
others are not destroyed so that the soil remains healthy and vibrant.
It’s funny because when I think about all the talk about being green and
being sustainable environmentally, I think back how we designed our
irrigation system at the nursery to collect the runoff water back to our
irrigation lake from our irrigation of the plants and rainfall. The water
must run through a series of vegetated channels and settling ponds filled
with all kinds of naturally occurring water plants that filter the water.
Our system functions like one big rain garden although I didn’t know back
then what it was called!
Sometimes, it’s not easy being green!
Tom
March 27, 2009
It’s time for you to get off your "you know what" and get to work in
the yard and garden.
When it’s above freezing, cut old dead wood out of your roses regardless
of the type and spray tea roses, floribundas, and grandiflora types with
lime-sulfur as directed.
Lime-sulfur is your first defense against the black spot fungus as the
spores of this disease on the plant and surrounding ground are killed when
the solution contacts them.
Fertilizing your shade and flowering trees with a garden or lawn
fertilizer spread under the tree drip line is ideal to invigorate the tree
to keep it healthy and more resistant to insects and disease.
I like Greenview’s Wintergreen Fall Fertilizer with a 10-16-20 analysis
than can be safely spread at the rate of 1 pound per 100 ft² so that a
10'x10' area under your tree would receive one pound of the fertilizer
applied as evenly as possible.
A good raking of your lawn will help to relieve any snow mold pressure in
addition to cleaning up winter’s debris.
While a crabgrass preventer can be applied next month, be sure to use
Greenview’s Crabgrass Preventer & Seed Starter if you did some reseeding
late last fall or earlier this year. See our March 6th blog.
The time for sure has come to plant peas and onion sets as long as the
ground is workable. I know that many old timers like to plant on St.
Patrick’s Day but the ground rarely has been ready to plant that early as
there is still snow on the ground, or it’s frozen, or it’s too wet in which
case I believe the worst thing for a gardener to do is to try to work the
garden.
Don’t forget to plant asparagus roots, rhubarb, horseradish, raspberries,
blackberries and strawberries bare root before temperatures get too warm.
I better get back to work now.
Tom
March 20, 2009
I almost thought we would never get here but we did! Today is
the vernal equinox and the first day of spring. I always thought it
was strange that the extreme northern and southern latitudes receive a
longer day in their summer and a shorter day in their winter while in the
middle latitudes of the globe, the differences in the day length and night
are not as pronounced.
With the day length equal all over Earth during the vernal and autumnal
equinoxes, it works out that no area on earth receives more or less total
hours of daylight than any other over the course of the year!
The lengthening periods of daylight will soon signal the landscape here
in Ohio to come alive as soon as the temperatures increase.
Trees and shrubs know not to be "fooled" by a January thaw as they have
not had enough chilling hours to break their chemical induced dormancies.
Others simply won’t begin to grow until the daylight advances more.
Our dahlias have been growing for 3 weeks now and lighted with
incandescent lights to break up the darkness at night to "fool" them into
growing instead of forming tubers. The cut off date for lighting our dahlias
is April 24th which will insure that they will start to bloom for
Mother’s Day.
It’s just about time to pull our azaleas, blueberries and
other plants out of their winter storage quarters although I never get too
anxious as I well remember early April of 1982 when spring had started early
only to have temperatures fall into the single digits Fahrenheit for three
consecutive days in a row with about a foot of snow.
I remember calling Bill Yoe Sr. Of Madison, Ohio as I had a pickup
scheduled for April 10th and I didn’t think I would be able to
pick up our order. Mr. Yoe’s reply was that I shouldn’t worry about it
because as of right now he was looking out his window at a five foot
snowdrift!
In other words, it’s getting close to walking around the nursery just to
look around but not yet.
Happy Spring!
Tom
March 13, 2009
Only about a week remains until spring! Soon the Galanthus snow drops
will be coming up followed by crocus, botanical tulips, daffodils,
narcissus...
Things at the nursery are getting quite hectic as we’re in the time of
getting ready for the spring season with the finishing of the bare-root rose
potting, perennial potting, annual flowers, potting of bare-root trees and
shrubs and the receiving of nursery stock.
Whew! It’s so hectic in fact and I’m moving around so much that I must
eat even when I don’t feel like it just to maintain my weight.
I think almost everyone will agree that there is just something about
spring that invigorates the soul especially after a long hard winter.
Spring reminds me of the opening line in Alexander Pope’s poem, "From an
Essay on Man", "Hope Springs Eternal ..."
Former Ohioans who have lived in Florida and California for years have
told me that one of the things they miss about Ohio are the changing seasons
as most parts of these other warmer weather states cannot match the rebirth
of this state with all its glory in the spring.
And for those of you who complain about the sometimes lousy weather of
Ohio, remember that Ohio has one important factor in its favor that many
states do not - water and lots of it.
Get started on potting up your dahlias, begonias and canna’s to get a
head start on spring if you haven’t done it already.
You can sow pepper seeds and tomato seeds too but be ready to place
tomatoes in larger containers such as a 4" pot or larger as they’ll be quite
unruly by the time you can place them out in the middle to late May.
Unfortunately for me the spring days whiz by as I am so busy that I
cannot enjoy the time.
Oh well, I like the work anyway. See you soon.
Tom
March 6, 2009
Remember a year ago when it seemed like it would never stop
snowing! Anyway, when the snow does leave and the ground is yet frozen it’s
an ideal time to overseed your lawn as you won’t be compacting wet soil and
the constant freeze-thaw cycle will naturally work the seed into the ground
so that it contacts soil to emerge in April when soil temperatures warm up
to 55º F.
Just before seed germination, about April 1st, it would be a
good idea to apply a starter fertilizer like Greenview Wintergreen Fall
fertilizer as it is high in phosphorous and that’s just what germinating
grass seed needs to get established quickly.
Another Greenview product with which you can customize your lawn program
is Greenview Starter Fertilizer & Crabgrass Preventer as it "knows" the
difference between germinating grass seed and crabgrass seed.
Do not use the regular crabgrass preventer such as Scotts Halts or
Greenview Crabicide Green as these products will kill grass seedlings as
they emerge making your previous efforts a waste of time and money.
If you haven’t checked out the rest of our website, try a "walk" through
the plant encyclopedia as it’s newly expanded to include lots of information
on our new line of blueberries and an expanded "palette" of conifers - dwarf
and not so dwarf.
We are open for the season now, except for Sunday’s but as the sun grows
higher and longer in the sky we’ll adjust our hours for your convenience so
that you can get most of your planting and spring garden chores accomplished
when the time is ripe.
See you soon.
February 27, 2009
Tomorrow is the last day of February and our last seminar in our
winter seminar series. megan Vance of Suzanne Jardin Garden Design
will be presenting her program on perennial design and culture as well as
all the new "stuff" in perennials for 2009. Just be sure to call us to
reserve your seat for this interesting program.
Another way to get a sneak peek at spring is visiting the Home &
Garden Show at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron from February
27th through March 1st. The newest
products in home improvements and the lush display gardens will remind us of
the more verdant days of spring.
I’ll be broadcasting our radio show Ready-Set-Grow live from the Home &
Flower Show on Saturday, February 28th beginning at 8 am.
I won’t know who I will be interviewing as of yet as it’s always a
surprise until I arrive at the set. I’ve interviewed homebuilders,
landscapers, garden center managers, orchid growers and even cable
television celebrities whom I’ve never even heard of since I don’t have and
don’t want cable television!
As I stated in my earlier blog, I just find my guests so interesting that
the time just flies.
Now I know why Dorothy Fuldheim of the Cleveland station WEWS enjoyed
interviews with her many guests over the years.
Other happenings at the nursery is that we’ve just received our bare root
roses to pot up and grow on to get them ready to sell for Mother’s Day and
beyond.
Our first shipment of perennial plugs, (small plants) are arriving from
Holland, Michigan next week to pot up and grow on.
To say the least, we’re starting to get very busy behind the scenes.
More talk later, I’ve got to go.
Tom
February 20, 2009
My guest on the radio program will be Megan Vance who is a Master
Gardener and owner of her own business, Suzanne Jardin Garden Design.
Megan’s expertise is that of the perennial flower realm in which she’ll
be giving tidbits of successfully selecting and growing a pallet of
perennials to create excitement and a multifacet of color and texture in
your garden all season long.
Our program, Ready-Set-Grow is broadcast live on WAKR 1590 am radio every
Saturday from 8 am to 10 am so that on February 21st you’ll have
plenty of time to call in to ask Megan your perennial gardening questions by
calling 330-370-1590.
I thought that a two hour program would be too long but it seems there’s
always so much to talk about and so much that I learn from our listeners.
I especially enjoy my interviews with my different gardening guests and
so much so that I forget the time with my questions as I’m trying to absorb
all the knowledge that I can before the short two hours is up.
For a more detailed perennial talk you’ll just have to sign up for our
seminar on February 28th at 11 am at the nursery.
Megan will reveal her tips for perennial success and take a peak at all
new stuff that will be available in spring with a power point program.
This last in our series of winter seminars is $10 with a discounted rate
of $8 for our garden club members. We do ask that you call or e-mail us in
order that we can be sure to have enough seating and refreshments as "it’s
not pretty" if we run short on either of the two.
I can’t wait for her seminar as I’m anxious to pick up some tips myself.
Tom
February 13, 2009
We developed the Dayton Nurseries
calendar to make your gardening chores easier to remember so that
growing that lush garden you’ve always wanted has just become easier.
Print a copy for your friends as the schedule of gardening events is
particular for the conditions that exist here in northeast Ohio.
We’ll be placing the current month’s calendar on line as well as next
month’s so you can peek ahead while you’ll have to visit the website as time
goes on to view subsequent future months.
As you "flip" through the calendar, note that many local events are
listed such as happenings at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development
Center and it’s adjoining Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, Ohio.
Right now the nursery is only open at seminar time on Saturday but we
plan to open on Monday, March 2nd unless the weather dictates
otherwise as it did last year with March 7th’s snowfall of almost 2 feet.
Let’s hope for a slow, easy warm up this spring like last year so that we
can have a beautiful spring as we did last year with the slow warm up and
cooler temperatures in May.
That’s enough for now.
Tom
February 6, 2009
Tomorrow February 7th I will be presenting a power point
program on blueberry selection and culture at 11 a.m. at the nursery.
I became fascinated with these lovely shrubs first because of their
delicious fruit and later when I noticed their spectacular fall color of
yellow, orange and reds.
The more I began to read about blueberries with their different plant
habits, varying fruiting times, hot pink or bright white flower colors and
the diverse nature of tastes and fruit sizes, I became hooked.
With the new varieties that have come out of breeding programs for the
last 25 years, blueberries are now a great plant for your landscape as well
as in the garden.
We’ve been stepping up propagation and production as they compliment our
other long standing production line of rhododendron and azaleas.
Don’t forget that Mary Ann Ferguson-Rich will be giving pointers on
growing flowers and vegetables from seed. Mary Ann is an accomplished
gardener and member of the Akron Men’s Garden Club.
To join us at 11 a.m. on February 14th just call or e-mail to
sign up for Mary Ann’s seminar.
This seminar to me has great value in that everyone has capability to
grow many plants from seed that not only saves money but gives pleasure too.
I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two as well.
Mary Ann will be my guest on our radio show Ready-Set-Grow on
WAKR 1590 am on February 7th starting shortly after 8 am. Call
330-370-1590 if you would like to speak to her regarding your seed starting
projects.
Remember the word for Saturday, February 7th is blueberries.
Tom
January 30, 2009
I can hardly believe January is almost over and the days are
noticeably getting longer.
Don’t forget the certified arborist Ernie Brinker will be here at the
nursery tomorrow on January 31st for the presentation on trees
beginning at 11 a.m. There’s still some room so make your reservation by
phone so that we know your coming.
You can pay at the door if you like as the cost of the seminar is $10 and
only $8 if you’re one of our garden club members.
On February 7th I will be presenting a program on blueberry
shrubs as they have become one of my favorites because they are relatively
easy to grow, produce luscious fruit and have so many ornamental landscape
attributes.
Mark Roesner from Copley Feed will be my guest on our radio program,
Ready-Set-Grow on Saturday January 31st so be sure to tune in as
the subject will be on birds such as feeding them, planting shrubs and trees
to attract birds and shelter for birds. Be sure to tune in to WAKR 1590 am
at 8 am. Call 330-370-1590 to get answers to your questions.
Between the seminars and the radio program, my belief is that these are
only two of many avenues of educating our customers about horticulture.
In addition, these many weekly blogs, plant encyclopedia and other types
of product information on our web site we believe educate our customers
well.
In as much as the radio program has been helpful to our business, I do
not believe in "tooting" my horn too much as turning "Ready-Set-Grow" into a
solely advertising vehicle would essentially destroy the integrity of the
program.
Like you, I’m anxious for spring to arrive but I don’t want to be the one
to "watch the pot" until it boils so that I’ll stay busy everyday in order
that the remainder of winter passes quickly.
Hope to see you at the seminar.
Tom
January 23, 2009
I must apologize in that I have written no blogs since December 5th
as there has been a problem with our website that we have just gotten fixed.
Right now things around the nursery outside are dead as we hunker down
for winter being thankful for the abundant snow blanketing plants and our
polyhouses with next springs’ stock in storage.
Inside though is a different story as we are receiving hard goods for
inside the store and cleaning walls, shelves and the floor reaching every
nook and cranny.
Other wintertime activities are training sessions in which employees
learn about new products, new plants and new procedures for the coming
gardening year.
Some of the subjects include the new formulation of Espoma garden
fertilizers, new perennials, dwarf conifers and blueberry shrubs. We
want to have everyone here “on the same page” so that our customers get the
right advice and assistance that they expect.
Another aspect of wintertime duties is preparing for seminars beginning
January 31st with certified arborist Ernie Brinker’s program on
selecting, planting and the maintenance of trees.
This week’s radio program will feature my interviewing Ernie about his
work with trees and some highlights on his program at the nursery on
Saturday, January 31st from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Be sure to tune into WAKR 1590 AM at 8:00 am this Saturday January 24th
for Ernie’s interview or call 330-370-1590 to ask your particular question.
See you at the seminar
Tom
Looking for 2008 blogs? Check the
Blog Archive
|
