Dayton "Dirt" - July 2, 2015

Seems as though the “faucet” of torrential downpours is done for awhile but one inch of rain per week would be nice instead of a long, hot dry spell. Many garden plants, trees and other landscape plants are suffering from too much water especially if the soil drainage is questionable. Then if a hot dry spell ensues, the damage will show up as wilted plants or even dead ones from the damaged root system. For sure algae blooms in creeks, streams and Lake Erie will proliferate due  to thehigh amount of runoff from the fields, septic systems, leach fields and lawns. Get ready for lots of foliar disease on plants and possible problems on lawn grasses due to the constantly wet foliage and high humidity.

At the nursery the watch word for “bugs” is spider mites and then wouldn’t you know it that I found some on butterfly bush in the back stock area. Powdery mildew so far has not been a problem due to prevention spraying for mildew with a product like armicarb that is the  same product that can be sold over the shelf called Bicarb.

With the holiday of the Fourth of July tomorrow, it typically is the last day so to speak for planting heat loving vegetables such as sweet corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. Later on, the shorter days and cooler nights won’t allow the plants to fully develop if planted later than the July 4th date.

At the nursery, the azaleas are finally almost transplanted so that now we can change modes to potting more perennials and then finally to potting more shrubs in August.

The market is open with Marietta sweet corn and hopefully tomatoes from Marietta some time next week.  The tomatoes we have now are from Arkansas and they are big and red!. The next deal
are the ripening blueberries that will be in the market and then as always the Blueberry Festival on July 11th.

Hope to see you then.

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 26, 2015

With the holiday looming, planting, weeding, trimming and propagation of various shrubs and perennials goes on and on.  A larger project of the extension of our movable roof greenhouse will have to wait another year as many smaller projects of an irrigation nature and improvements in the landscaping of the grounds still need accomplished.  Then too, the cold winter delayed construction on more ebb and flow benches (self-watering benches) in the production greenhouse so that they must be completed at least before Thanksgiving.

The market is now open for business with the introduction of sweet corn next week and tomatoes around the fourth of July from Marietta, Ohio.  A new upright cooler and the moving of the compressor of the walk-in cooler to the outside of the owl barn will enable the building to remain cooler and thus keep the produce fresher.

The blueberries in the field will be quite the challenge as turkeys, geese, robins, bluejays, blackbirds . . . are all waiting for the berries to turn blue.  The geese and the turkeys seem to be the biggest challenge as they are quite aggressive and can devour a whole branch of berries with one stroke of their beaks.  Fortunately for this year so far, water has been in good supply with the more than adequate rainfall.  The water quality in the irrigation pond has actually improved with the large addition of rainwater so that the supplemental water from Van Hyning Run, that is always of poor quality, that was pumped into the irrigation lake is now very much diluted.

As many of us look forward to this July 4th holiday, so did our third president, statesman, farmer, architect, philosopher and author of the Declaration of Independence as it seemed he waited to die on July 4, 1826 as some of his last words on that day was “Is it the fourth yet?”

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 19, 2015

No shortage of rainfall here in June when normally the average for the month is just about 3-3½ inches.  For sure any gardener even with limited experience knows that in the vegetable and flower garden, powdery mildew, black spot on roses, brown rot (botrytis) and lawn disease can or will appear.  Weekly application of Bi-Carb fungicide will keep mildews and brown rots at bay especially if applied before the occurrence.

In the veggie department, squash, melons and cucumbers are all susceptible to powdery mildew so that preventive sprays make good sense.  Tomatoes are susceptible to early blight which will attack and kill them especially if nights and days are cool.  Sprays of copper and chlorothalonil (Fungonil) are effective control as long as they are applied at the first sign of disease.

At the nursery flower planting on the grounds has been delayed with the heavy rains.  Beds that were rototilled last Friday filled with water so that again they must be worked before the planting can begin.  Our new Hosta selections for this year have just become available as they were only potted early this spring and some time is needed for the plants to root in.  Even more Butterfly bushes are now done “cooking” so that Purple Haze and Blue Chip Jr. are added to the growing list of varieties.

 No doubt the sweet corn and other crops at the Seiberling Farms are growing like mad so that soon the market will be open in late June although it will start out with fresh sweet corn from Marietta, Ohio.   The farm in Marietta where the sweet corn is grown operates on a system of picking the sweet corn at night so that it is delivered to distributors by 10 to 11 a.m. that same morning to guard its freshness.  How strange that Marietta sitting at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers is of such as different climate that the growing season is at least 2 weeks ahead or more of our season here in the north of the state!

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 12, 2015

This past week has been one of a restock of the shrub sales yard with much of the stock coming from Lake County.  Much of our spring potted stock is normally ready but with the later planting this year due to severely cold weather, availability has been slower so that much of the stock won’t be available until the week of June 21st with many trees following a week later.  Already, over 1000 hosta “plugs” have arrived from Holland, Michigan to be potted and availability on these won’t be until April of 2016 since the plants are quite small.  June is a good month to plant small hostas for our production in that they are able to become well established before another hard winter.

While stock in the annual flower house dwindles, quite a number of shade hanging baskets of non-stop begonias remain as they were initially slow to grow.  Gorgeous rose-like blossoms of iridescent red, yellow, orange, apricot, pink and white just about cover the lush foliage.

A roundup spraying in the garden has devastated the weeds including the dreaded garlic mustard that if left unchecked will choke everything in its path.  The Mountain Laurel in the garden are at peek bloom in varying shades of pink.  With the return of hot or some say warm weather, the perennial greenhouse and annual flower greenhouse have been sprayed with another coat of white wash material that blocks and reflects the sun which lowers the temperatures inside the house.

 Even though vacation time is soon, the work still has to be done.

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 5, 2015

What a deluge we received last Saturday and Sunday of maybe up to 4 inches of rain for the week.  The irrigation lake is full and the lower collection pond is completely full.  With the water table replenished after the May dry spell, ground water will alone replenish the lower collection pond for at least one week so that it may be pumped up to the irrigation lake for storage to replace water used in irrigation of the nursery stock.

I just finished applying 150 lbs. of ammonium sulfate 21-0-0 to all the rhododendron, azalea and blueberries in the ground, in the field and garden before the second rain we received on Saturday afternoon.  Ammonium sulfate is a strong acidifier of the soil but must be used sparingly as the salt index is quite high compared to that of Holly-tone which has a salt index of 6 compared to 21-0-0 which is 69 for a salt index which is more likely to burn plants.

Our next batch of up to a thousand various hydrangeas will be ready in a couple of weeks and will fill our somewhat empty movable roof greenhouse called the Cravo house which is the name of the manufacturer.  While the greenhouse sales are winding down we are ever wary of keeping control of spider mites and thrip insects in the annual flower house and perennial house.  Then too are diseases such as powdery mildew that can appear out of nowhere with the high humidity.

This week and next the theme at the nursery will be flower planting and weed control!  More flowers will be planted in more areas this year for a benefit dinner on July 16th for the Ronald McDonald House.  The dinner will be sponsored by the Summit County Farm bureau and cost $100 per person for which a gourmet dinner prepared by an expert chef will be served outdoors complete with wine from Wolf Creek Winery, hordeuvres and educational talks on water conservation.  Anyone is welcome to reserve a spot and tickets may be purchased by contacting the office of the Summit County Farm Bureau at 330-456-4889 or 800-654-5158.  Hope to see you there!

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - May 29, 2015

After last week’s light frost, the weather has been sunny, warm and dry.  A two inch rain or more is needed to thoroughly water the packed earth.  With water, warmer nights and days will spark the growth of both flowers and vegetable plants.  At the nursery, the production greenhouse is nearly empty yet supplies of small potted flowers and hanging baskets are plentiful in the greenhouse used for sales.  Perennials are all the rage now as June is perennial gardening month.  The remainder of some of the new perennials for 2015 are just about ready so that many will be in the perennial house this weekend.  Some of the new “stuff” includes Ligularia ‘Bottle Rocket’ and Ajuga ‘Golden Glow’.  The tea and David Austin roses are budding and should be in glorius bloom in early to mid-June.

The grounds are a mess with weeds as it has been quite busy and difficult to get control of weeding so that the importance of a quick and thorough job is now apparent with garlic mustard ready to go to seed.

The last plants of our potted vegetables are now on the shelf with still a very decent selection of hybrid and heirloom tomatoes and peppers.  June is an excellent month for planting successive crops of tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash...up until about the 4th of July.  Then in mid to late August will come planting time for more vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, turnips and parsnips that with proper preparation can be harvested in winter.

Our next batch of hydrangea is just about ready that will include a wide variety of color and forms.  Hydrangea are truly a miracle in the landscape because of their long bloom time and plants that are short and compact, medium sized or tall for just about any landscape.  Then too will our plantings of the Proven Winner shrubs from the Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand haven, Michigan be ready that will include Cephalanthus (buttonbush), new butterfly bushes, new Clematis and much more.  How things have changed in the last several years in the plant selection now available!

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - May 22, 2015

With Memorial Day upon us, planting the flower garden is in full swing with hopefully continued warm weather. Remember too to plant for pollinators so that butterflies, honeybees and native bees will visit your yard and garden as if it were a food station so that the “blessing” of pollination performed by these critters must be bestowed on your property increasing the bounty of the garden.

At the nursery, the greenhouse factory is still cranking out hanging baskets, vegetable plants and flowers galore all for late May and at least through June. One of the most enthusiastic gardeners at the founding of the country was Thomas Jefferson who was a product of the late eighteenth century called the Age of Enlightment. Jefferson as younger man planted more than 1000 fruit trees at his Monticello home and later on as an old man used to sit in a chair in his perennial garden while reading a book. At the age of 68 in 1811 he wrote his friend Vincent Peale the following letter:

“I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position & calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of garden. No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth and no culture comparable to that of the garden. Such variety of subjects, some one always coming to perfection, the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another and instead of one harvest a continued one tho’ the year. Under a total want of demand except for our family table I am still devoted to the garden but tho’ and old man, I am but a young gardener.”

I think this letter summarize what many gardeners experience and believe that is the essence of gardening.

Tom