Dayton "Dirt" - August 31, 2012

Today is the last day to redeem your Dayton Dollar coupons as tomorrow they become worthless. The good news is that our 50% off sale starts tomorrow where you’ll almost be sure to find something of interest that is on sale from the tree, shrub, rose, perennial or fruit categories. I do encourage you to arrive early on Saturday morning as our gates open at 7:30 a.m. As the saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm” and does apply at our sale since the choice items will be swept up quickly. The owl barn will be fully stocked and will include a valuable coupon as well for fresh produce. The rain on Monday was a welcome sight that seemed to replenish the lost moisture from the rain we had about 2 weeks before that one. We’re looking over all the new perennial plants for next spring and trying to decide which ones to grow as the palette of plants has expanded greatly again! Annual flowers are another area of newness with the development of more colors of the Calliope geraniums that look great in a hanging basket and will tolerate a moderate amount of shade and still bloom. I like the compact growth of the Calliope types as they don’t have to be endlessly trimmed to form a nice plant. Our chrysanthemums are still light on opening flowers because of the summer’s relentless heat, but we do have “true -to-color” signs of the different varieties of mums that are so heavily budded. Remember too that Monday is Labor Day and the nursery will be open until 5 p.m. See ya soon!

Dayton "Dirt" - August 24, 2012

August 24 blog NOW is the time to start on lawn renovation since the hot, dry summer is beginning to wane. The unwanted weeds and patches of grass should be killed with Roundup now and then new grass can be sown about two weeks later. While a high phosphorus fertilizer such as 10-18-10 is excellent as a starter fertilizer as emerging grass seedlings need this essential element in liberal amounts, high phosphorus is almost never necessary for a general feeding of the lawn and is actually harmful to the environment as it runs off with rainfall creating huge blooms of algae in rivers and lakes. The decomposing algae removes oxygen from water which is a disaster for fish and other aquatic wildlife. At the nursery, our potting of various plants for next spring is largely done so that we’re taking inventory to get an accurate idea of what will be available especially for Labor Day weekend beginning September 1st. On Saturday, September 1st, we will open the gates at 7:30 am for our annual 50% off sale for our garden club members. The sale beginning September 4th will be open to everyone; however anyone can participate in the sale at its start by signing up for our garden club. I think you’ll find quite the selection this year as there are a number of trees, shrubs and roses that we have never put on sale before. The signs will be marked as to what is on sale as well as having a listing on the internet. The internet listing of “on sale” material will be extensive but it is not a perpetual inventory as some stock could sell out quickly so it’s a good idea to call first to see if the items you want are still in stock. The listing will be changed about every 5 days and especially after the Labor Day sale. Many of you are anxious for chrysanthemums but the extreme heat has delayed the early blooming varieties. Starting the weekend of September 1st, we will have many varieties just showing color. Right now we have asters in shades of lavender, pink and blue that are a surefire “come-back-next-year" flower for fall blooms. The sure-to-grow Igloo mums are a little later and will be available in about 2 weeks. One last reminder. Any Dayton Dollar coupons must be used by the end of this month as they expire after August 31st. See you at the “big” sale. Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - August 3, 2012

Last week’s rain did green things up a bit and resulted in about a foot of water in our irrigation lake from which we depend on at least 100,000 gallons of water every day. The new perennials keep rolling in with a shipment from Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon of a lot of new plants that we ordered in January. By potting them now for next spring sales, the plants will be well rooted and “bulked” up just by going dormant in the winter with a burst of energy starting in late March. Walters Gardens perennials “starts” come in next week with loads more of new additions. Walters is a fantastic, well run perennial nursery in Zeeland, Michigan where we have been buying perennials for 35 years. Time is running out for the Dayton Dollars program so be sure to use them before the expiration date at the end of this month. The clock is ticking too on our annual fall festival next month. Timely “to do” include checking diligently for grubs in the lawn and continuing to look for them through early September as the eggs of Japanese Beetles and European chafers have gotten enough moisture now to hatch! Another new critter we may have to deal with in a few years is the Green June Beetle Grub that can be very destructive to fruit crops and lawns. This insect has been migrating north as a result of mild winters. I think what we need is a good dose of old-fashioned cold winter weather to wipe out these migrants. As they say, Que sera sera! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 27, 2012

July is coming to a close with the steamy weather continuing but at least for now we received about an inch of much needed rain and relief from the heat! The Blueberry Festival went well with the hayrides, Frankie Spetich on his accordion and the cooking demonstrations, although from observing the fest-goers, I think they favored the free food sampling! We just finished with taking our azalea cuttings and now are potting up ferns and various perennials for next spring’s sales. Another big job is the weed control as it can be a constant battle as most of the nursery is irrigated which makes for a good mix of moisture and heat for extremely good weed growth! Seiberling farms has managed to supply us with delicious sweet corn besides the drought and the other produce seems to be better then ever because of the drip irrigation on the plants. In fact, the farm can run liquid fertilizer though the lines so that they are not dependent upon overhead irrigation or rain to dissolve a granular fertilizer. The Owl Barn Market is full of produce including local peaches and other fruits, pies, baked goods and other cooking supplies. We’ve changed our hours too in that we’ll be open at 9:00 am instead of 10:00 am to better serve our customers who want to get their shopping done earlier. Got to go now but do pray for some more rain! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 13, 2012

Tomorrow is our annual Blueberry Fest that will be centered around the Owl Barn Market including food, hayrides, music and of course luscious and juicy blueberries, blueberry pie, blueberry jams and jellies. The music is one of local flavor featuring Frankie Spetich who is known as the Polka King of Barberton. The hayride will include stops at the newly planted blueberry patch featuring the varieties such as Duke, Patriot, Bluecrop and Elliot all under drip irrigation during the hot and dry summer. The Owl Barn Market is in full swing with Ohio grown sweet corn and tomatoes but we’re chopping at the bit for local Seiberling sweet corn which is on the edge of being ready. We’ve been on a cleaning binge at the nursery preparing for the festival which has included flower planting, mulching, weeding and such. Many of the shrub beds and displays need renovation but that job will have to wait until we get some much needed rain. The last few years has been a building boom at the nursery in the building of the Owl Barn and new greenhouses but this year will be tame by comparison with a major renovation of the parking lot and a new roof of the equipment barn and the addition of a train garden featuring a German made train that will be a permanent feature of the landscape due to the tracks being constructed of solid brass. Another addition to our list this year is a playground with a slide, ladder and swings that was built just in time for the Blueberry Festival! For those of you in our garden club don’t forget to use your Dayton Dollar coupons before the expiration date. See you at the festival!

Dayton "Dirt" - June 29, 2012

Well the Owl Barn is finally open with produce and the first sweet corn of the season from Ohio although not from the Seiberling farms which should have corn in a couple of weeks. I remember my dad telling me that it was like a miracle if any of the local sweet corn was ready before August! The nursery is still rolling along with much of our March potting efforts coming to fruition with the myriad of trees and shrubs now available for sale. The hot, dry weather has made extra irrigation necessary because of the phenomenal evaporation rate due to the relatively low humidity. Soon we will be getting in small plants of Knock Out roses, more perennials and hardy ferns that are for next year’s sales. The amount of potting that we do in summer has increased over the years that necessities the mixing of more potting media that consists of pine bark, peat moss and various fertilizer and lime. The mix holds water for good root growth but has 20-25% pore space for draining away excess water which, fortunately for us, drains away to our irrigation lake to be used over and over again. Be sure to check out the market while you’re at the nursery and I hope to see you at our Blueberry Festival on July 14th! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - June 22, 2012

Last Sunday morning the rains fell heavy at the nursery and again on Monday night that gave thirsty plants some relief from the heat and drought. By opening a valve at the end of a pipe that is in the creek that flows through the nursery, we were able to capture much needed rain water for our irrigation pond. Besides annuals, the colors lighting up the nursery are multi-colored hydrangeas, especially the electric blue Endless Summer variety. It seems like only yesterday that we unloaded the plants bare root from a Minnesota nursery in order to pot up for sale beginning in June. Other potting is going on including our azalea production and “shift ups” of otherwise pot bound plants to larger sizes. The tomatoes in Southern Ohio look like they are on the edge of being ready. We plan to open the Owl Barn Market later this coming week and will be featuring sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and a few other beginning fruits and vegetables. We still have not planted all the flowers at the nursery yet because of the horrific heat but flower planting is scheduled for early next week. Please watch the watering of your newly planted trees and shrubs as it is still too dry even with the recent rains. It will take at least another 2 inches of rain to play catch up with the dry spell. No doubt the rain will fall. It’s just a matter of when. Summer began on Wednesday, June 20th this week with the summer solstice so that the long warm days will really make things grow – including the weeds! Tom