Dayton "Dirt" - July 8, 2016

The dog days of summer have certainly arrived this week with steamy July days. It’s surprising that humidity levels are high while the lawns, gardens and farm fields are parched for lack of water. The benefits from the two inches of rainfall from June 23rd and 24th have literally evaporated. Hopefully today and tonight, some relief will come in the form of thunderstorms with a slower, somewhat sustained rainfall.

Tomorrow is our fifth annual Blueberry Festival as the berries become ripe with the early variety, Duke, the first to be ready followed by the most popular variety ever called Bluecrop and finishing the season with Elliot. Food, music and hayrides will be the norm tomorrow and even better yet, it’s all free, well all except for the food.

The native blueberry was never a cultivated crop until about 1900 when Elizabeth White of New Jersey read a government article about the cultivation of blueberries. Soon, research followed on the White farm in New Jersey and the rest is history with thousands of acres of blueberries in New Jersy, Michigan, Oregon and other states across the country. Southwest Michigan with its sandy, naturally acidic soils and plenty of water makes for prime blueberry country. Mike DeGrandchamp of Southhaven, Michigan has stated that birds are not a problem as they cannot even make a dent in production due to the almost endless acres of blueberries.

Be sure to listen too to ‘Ready, Set, Grow’ tomorrow at 8 a.m. on 1590 WAKR as Chuck Seiberling from the famous Seiberling Farms in Norton talks about sweet corn production and other things grown on the farm just two miles west of Norton center. Seiberling sweet corn is a staple of the Owl Barn Market when it is available about mid-July through mis-September. I’m sure Chuck along with other farmers and gardeners is hoping for some relief from the dry weather.

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 1, 2016

This 4th of July conjures up images of parades, fireworks and other celebrations to do with the founding of the United States. Although our founding fathers were wise politicians, many were farmers and gardeners.  Most notably, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, planted over 1,000 fruit trees on his farm in Virginia.  In addition, when he was President he would spread the plant samples sent by the Lewis and Clark Expedition all over the floor of the White House to view and study them.  Then, in the last year’s of his life, Jefferson sat in  a chair to read as he overlooked and enjoyed his perennial flower garden.  His love of gardening is evident in the letter he wrote in 1811 to his friend Charles Wilson Peale that is reprinted below.

“I have often thought that if heaven had given me a choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of the garden. No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden! Such a 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 through the year. Under a total want of demand except for our family table, I am still devoted to the garden.  But though an old man, I am but a young gardener.”

Thomas Jefferson to Charles Wilson Peale
August 20, 1811

Dayton "Dirt" - June 24, 2016

Here we are in the long days of summer that conjures up images of picnics, swimming and wonderful Ohio sweet corn! The owl Barn Market will open this weekend with “maybe” some Marietta sweet corn that is picked at night in order to be shipped to distribution early in the  morning. Marietta tomatoes too will be the standard in the market until the northern Ohio ones become available.  **update - no sweet corn until next week

The approximately 2 inches of rain last week certainly helped to end the mini-drought but even with all the rain, another inch would have helped ever more.

At the nursery, about 25 varieties of daylilies are in bloom or coming into bloom with the varieties Stella Supreme, Happy Returns, and Stella d’oro showing the most color. Garden phlox too is popping out in color with shades of pink, coral, white, purple and magenta. Summer is the time that the perennial garden seems to come alive! Other activities this past week at the nursery have included the potting of no less than 2,000 of our evergreen azaleas for next spring sales and the cleaning, additional plantings and trimming of the somewhat neglected Wolf Creek Gardens for the Master Gardeners tour going on Saturday. While the garden is in no way “manicured”, its natural setting of woods and open exposure does much for the ambiance.

Soon it will be vacation time as sales at the nursery will wind down for summer although even more trees will just be ready to sell for the July 4th weekend.

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 17, 2016

So far, June has been a very busy month for not only sales but attacking weeds on the grounds with not only Glyphosate (Roundup) but old-fashioned hand pulling. One such weed that has taken hold in some areas is a vining weed commonly called Bedstraw that winds it’s way along the ground and onto shrubs. When pulled, the foliage and stems feels like trying to pull apart velcro. This nasty weed has even found its way into the production greenhouse!

Flower planting has been the mode for this week too with all kinds of geraniums, calibrachoa, petunias, sunpatiens and argyranthemum being planted. It would be unimaginable for a summer without flowers at the nursery. Over a hundred gorgeous and heavily budded Hydrangea  ‘Bloomstruck’ are just about ready for sale. Although the plants were potted up in late March, rooting into the potting mix is slow so that even though the plants look great they cannot be sold as the root ball will fall apart at planting should they be sold before they are ready.

Free fertilizer seems to be a big hit in the greenhouse and as always everyone is welcome to fill up containers of the 20-10-20 liquid feed fertilized with iron.

Well, it’s back to work as there is so much to be done and so little time.

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 10, 2016

Soon it will be the summer solstice with its long days pushing growth on all kinds of plants. The vegetable gardens will make phenomenal growth with maybe the first ripe tomato appearing by August 1st. There are 15 elements at least that must come together to accomplish that fresh-picked tomato taste that cannot be found in those that are greenhouse grown or shipped thousands of miles. The Cleveland area was once known as a major area for tomato production in winter with acres of  plants growing in glass greenhouses. Sadly, the energy crisis of the mid 1970's and the resulting spikes in fuel to heat the energy inefficient houses all but shut down the greenhouse tomato industry.

At the nursery, more shrubs and trees from the production area are becoming available. This week, perennials from Michigan have arrived that will be potted up next week and will not be available for sale until April of 2017. Early planning is necessary to have a steady supply of some plants as their development sometimes is painfully slow.

Flower beds around the nursery are just being worked up in order to plant annual flowers at the nursery. Sweet Peet again will be worked into the beds to give them that consistency of “chocolate cake”.

In Akron, one of our customers that gardens to the “max” spent thousands of dollars on just bed preparation and drainage before planting roses, annuals and shrubs. The results are evident with healthy growth and  vibrant and prolific flowering of the plants. As the search for a vaccine for tuberculosis began at Rutgers university in New Jersey, one scientist believed and was later provedcorrect, that the answer would  come out of the soil. So too is good gardening: The answer is in the soil!

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - May 27, 2016

A cool May has now suddenly become a summer with warming soils pushing the growth of vegetable plants and flowers. 

Tomatoes and peppers just love the warm nights, too. There is a noticeable growth sprout that plants undergo as their cells divide and expand quickly.

Especially important at the nursery is a necessary constant check for blocked or maladjusted overhead sprinklers around the nursery stock as the 80º+ weather and wind increases the transpiration of water through the plants leaves.

So far, the irrigation water supply is more than adequate although at least one inch of rain per week would be enough to keep it replenished with collecting all the runoff from rain and irrigation.

Memorial Day strangely has been the signal for the start of summer even though summer is more than 3 weeks away! Memorial Day rituals not only include picnics, visiting and decorating the graves of loved ones passed on but also includes planting the veggie garden.  In fact, the entire month of June is ideal for vegetable planting except for maybe the cool loving crops of broccoli and Brussel sprouts.

At the Seiberling Farm in Norton, successive plantings of sweet corn continue even a few days after July 4^th!

Coming up in June, too, is strawberry time with roadside stands full of quarts of freshly picked Ohio strawberries only to be overlapped and continued with luscious raspberries and blackberries.

Then there is August for planting turnips, parsnips and carrots as these root crops store nicely in the ground with a layer of straw over the tops to protect them from the bitter cold of winter.

Happy Memorial Day and planting everyone!

Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - May 20, 2016

Last Sunday morning was certainly cold but was devoid of frost as the wind kept the air from stratifying and leaving frost on the plants.  Again, Monday morning only a very light frost was avoided as the temperature dropped to only 36º F at the nursery and again because of a light wind.

The powerful 20 horsepower electric water pump again came in handy with its 670 gallon per minute pumping capacity that keeps the frost at bay as the warmer irrigation water keeps the plants from freezing and “burning” the new growth on the stock.

The tea, floribunda and knockout roses are budding up nicely and without a hint of disease or unwanted bugs.  The greenhouse too seems to be largely free from mildew and the dreaded botrytis blight thanks to the extra ventilation during cold dark days that favor disease.  Unfortunately, heaters sometimes do automatically turn on but the extra expense is worth it to have higher quality flowers.  The larger annual flowers and huge geranium will have the weather to finally come out of the greenhouse to the display area in front of the store.  Beautiful, compact plants are the norm with an abundance of several radiant colors.  The geraniums from which several batches of cuttings were taken are now about 2 feet wide and full of bloom.  How strange that only 6 weeks ago the plants were cut back to nothing but stubbs and now are gorgeous.  Perennials too have “fluffed out” with more and more different varieties coming on stream from the new Salvia ‘April Night’ and more almost foolproof Igloo mums in the 4½ inch pots that will bloom early this fall.

Soon more of the ever popular Chicagoland Green boxwood will come “out of the oven” as it is growing faster than expected.  Maybe just maybe, there will be no more frost.  We can only hope.

Tom