Dayton "Dirt" - August 30, 2013

Today is the first day of our annual fall sale which tends to put an end to the summer doldrums. Fall, as I have written before, is a great time to plant almost anything as the root system of plants expand into the cool moist soil in order to establish themselves before a long winter. The stock that you’ll find “on sale” is quite diverse and I think of such quality that you’ll find is not “worn and tired” looking due to the fact that our irrigation system renders sufficient water and the fact that the stock is supplemented with our own fertilizer mix of fast and slow release fertilizer that we blend in a cement mixer. As a “thank you” for any purchase, the cashier’s will be handing out a coupon for six ears of Seiberling sweet corn to be found in the Owl Barn for free and for which there is no need to buy anything else. The times are limited in the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday though in order that we have time to stock fresh corn and do not have to overstock with not-so-fresh sweet corn. Igloo mums are ready now in 3 new varieties that are different in color and/or flower form. Igloos are dependably winter hardy and tend to bloom twice each year; that is, in early summer and again in fall if the plants are trimmed back by mid-July. Asters too are now showing some rich color in shades of blue, purple, pink and white which supplement the color schemes of the Igloo and “regular” mums. Although we have been feverishly potting new perennials all summer, more are still on the way from Holland, Michigan to be placed in larger containers to root in before winter. Astilbe, garden peonies, Itoh peonies and a new type of primrose with huge flowers in electrified shades of red, blue, yellow and pink will be arriving through September and then will be ready to sell next spring. One of our upcoming capital improvement projects is the installation of a new filter for the irrigation system to the tune of $8500 for just the filter alone. This filter has a larger and finer screen area than our present filter and will rid the irrigation water of particles that are greater than 400 microns in size which tend to clog sprinklers and other filters that we use in the greenhouses. This new filter as with our present filter will wash off the clogged filtering screen when a pressure differential builds up and causes a sensor to operate a small motor that powers spinning jets of water to free the screen of debris. Water certainly is the key to a nursery operation and so much so that we collect it (rain water and irrigation runoff), filter it, and chlorinate it in order to maintain the health of the plants offered for sale. On a final word of note. Come early to the sale as many items are sold out or picked over on the first day especially if the weather is agreeable. disappear quickly as the sale progresses. The sales listing is not updated everyday. On Friday, August 30th, the nursery will open early at 7:30 am rain or shine with plenty of good looking stock available for the sale. Join us in the Owl Barn Market for some free coffee, tea and other refreshments if you like. Don’t forget your planting instructions on your way out! The sale list will be available on our website the afternoon of August 29th. The sale will be available to all garden club members only through Monday, Sept 2nd after which the sale is open to every eon. Garden Club members will then get the first pick of the on sale items! Se you at the big sale! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - August 16, 2013

On a recent getaway to Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania, I stumbled on a hiking trail called the Rhododendron trail and marveled not at the rhododendron which were far and few between but at the massive Canadian Hemlocks with a few of them up to 5foot in diameter at chest height! One tree that had fallen and had been saved up to clear the trail had a 30" diameter trunk with at least 120 growth rings! I deducted them that some of the much larger living trees must be 200 to 250 years old so that some of them were just youngsters even before there was a United States. Later at the campground, I was talking excitedly about the old growth Hemlock’s in Cook Forest when the campground host related to me that at a meeting this spring with the park officials the inevitable has happened in that the invasive insect, the Hemlock adelgid, originally from Europe has entered the forest on the old growth trees. After this small insect saps the tree for 6-10 years, they will die leaving a decimated landscape where once the great trees grew. Long ago the American chestnut suffered a similar fate and now Hemlock. Black Walnuts, American Beech, Oaks and now possibly Maples are or will come under attack from non-native insects and diseases. On a lighter note, the bridge construction that has caused the closure of Cleveland-Massillon Road just north of the nursery will be finished August 22nd making navigation a breeze when south bound on the road. The grasses in the perennial house are plentiful with additions of some more varieties of varying heights and colors such as Pennisetum ‘Burgundy Bunny’ and Panicum ‘Prairifire’ that has a red blush on the otherwise blue-green foliage. The small Garden Treasure miniature roses have really flushed out saturating the small leaved plants with flowers of red, white, magenta, yellow, amber, orange and a yellow and orange bicolor call Pieces of Eight. The Seiberling sweet corn is still coming on with that oh-so-sweet quality. Finally the market has sported the small but so delicious doughnut peaches that just explode with flavor with just one bite. Just another reminder. . . time is running out to use your Dayton Dollars! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - August 9, 2013

This past week has been nothing but rush, rush and rush with the potting of Cool Wave Pansies, Daylilies, Hosta, German Iris and sundry perennials all for next spring sales. The German Iris do need a little more prep work in that they must soak in a 10% bleach solution for about 20 minutes and then left to dry in the sun for 1 day before they are potted. The bleach solution kills bacteria that cause the thick rhizomes to rot. The iris will be placed for winter storage in the same overwintering hut as the creeping phlox. This hut has roll up sides for maximum ventilation and will let the winter sun shine on the plants in which many fungal problems in storage are burned off by the winter sun. Early last spring, we had problems with some of our roses dying back after coming out of winter storage due to downy mildew. After speaking to well known rosarian Peter Schneider of Mantua, Ohio, I was intrigued by his solution of getting rid of downy mildew: spray the plants with water of a temperature of 140ºF! It seems the mildew organism likes cool damp weather and cannot survive a splash of the somewhat hot water. The Seiberling sweet corn is going well in the market and I must say that the white corn Chuck Seiberling gave me to try was even sweeter than the yellow or bicolor varieties! I asked him the name of the cultivar; however, he stated that it only had a number instead of a name. Seiberling’s Sweet White might be a fitting name. The Bloom-a-Thon azaleas that we may introduce in a limited quantity next year, were blooming their heads off until we cut all the flowers off earlier this week! The lavender, white, pink and red flowers are massive with pronounced ruffles that seem too heavy for the young plants. Bloom-a-Thon is rated to be winter hardy to climatic zone 5 and is a repeat bloomer very similar to the Encore brand of azalea. The new Igloo mums will be ready soon as well as our Kickin series of hardy asters and the new hardy cool wave pansies. Don’t forget to use your Dayton Dollars as they expire at the end of this month. Happy gardening, Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - August 2, 2013

While the nursery has slowed in the sales department other areas are a flurry of activity with the propagation area still going strong along with potting up perennials and some shrubs for next year. Sedums, Heucheras, Vinca minor, Phlox subulata, Dianthus, Leucanthemum are some of the favorite genuses for fall potting. Then, another new plant we will have available about mid-September is the Cool Wave Pansy in mixed colors that is winter hardy to -20ºF! Each plant spreads to a diameter of up to 30 inches and if planted in the fall will continue to bloom until a hard freeze. Then in spring, this new pansy will return back again with spectacular bloom until it fades out again when temperatures climb into the eighty degree mark or more. Finally, the My Bouquet brand of roses is starting to show decent color with the biggest show of color from the variety called First Impression which is a true double yellow. Normally in tea roses the color yellow is considered a weak grower; however, in the My Bouquet series, the yellow in these shrub roses is quite strong. I just love the fact that the plants are on their own roots making the extraordinarily winter hardy and disease resistant. The hydrangeas just keep blooming on and on making for a colorful display. This past week our new crop of Mountain Laurels became available and are the best looking plants we ever have offered. One interesting note are the six turkeys that roam the nursery property. The birds decided to start digging along side the blueberry plants so that every time I see them near the patch I run them off so that they take wing and fly away. For a species that had an estimated population of 30,000 for the entire United States in 1970, the birds are becoming so common that they are multiplying like rabbits! It looks as though they may be another nuisance to deal with like the white tailed deer. Que sera sera Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 26, 2013

What a difference several miles make! While the Marietta sweet corn in the market has been favorably received by the customers as to it’s freshness, the Seiberling sweet corn is even better! At $4.50 per dozen, the sweet corn is definitely a good value for the dollar. Long gone are the days when I used to sell Seiberling sweet corn for 75¢ per dozen! Chuck Seiberling definitely was correct when he stated that last year’s crop was not as good because of the extreme heat and drought. Everything seems to be growing well especially after the large irrigation pump was repaired by Hunnel Electric in Akron and by Brad the maintenance man. How aggravating it was to irrigate with the smaller recycle pump as the water not being filtered constantly clogged sprinklers again and again. On Wednesday, I spotted a grafted sweet million tomato plant at a friend’s house that was planted in a 16 inch container with tomatoes coming on like grapes on an eight foot plant! The plant had fallen over at least 2 times with some breakage so that it was finally secured with a 6 foot steel fence post! Today is propagation day as time is running out with the days getting shorter. Azaleas, spiraea, franklinia, hydrangeas, etc. will be harvested for cuttings and stuck into a prepared rooting media and stored under intermittent mist until they are rooted. I just wish I could obtain a license for some of the Proven Winner shrubs but as of yet no luck. Happy Harvest! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 19, 2013

The flood waters have receded and now the summer weather begins. I’m somewhat surprised by the reported damage to gardens from the sheer force of the down pouring rain. Do be vigilant now for all newly planted flowers, trees and shrubs as the “normal” watering schedule must resume if the plants are not yet established. Summer color is alive and well with the bloom of hibiscus (Rose of Sharon), myriad varieties of hydrangeas, shrub roses, multiple summer blooming perennial’s clethra and crocosmia. Crocosmia is an interesting perennial in that the blossoms resemble that of a miniature gladiola and are intensely attractive to hummingbirds. In fact, crocosmia sometimes known as Montbretia, grows from a corm very similar to a glad. The variety in bloom at the nursery is a burning red-orange called Lucifer although other colors do exist. A soon-to-bloom summer beauty is the perennial hibiscus with dinner plate size flowers of brilliant red, pure white, lavender, pink and cranberry red! These popular perennials make a great background for a perennial garden or as a stand alone plant in the landscape. Only another 2 weeks and the My Bouquet Roses will be ready with a new bicolor called Double Take that sports a red and white flower. The plants are blooming now but just need one more shaping to mold them into beautiful plants. Remember to place a grub control product on your lawn as soon as possible if you want to be proactive. However, do not use a product containing Dylox as that is only used when grubs are actually active and does not have enough residual to last beyond two weeks after application. This past week has been the OFA trade show in Columbus that shows off all the new perennials, annual flowers, some trees and shrubs and new technologies for production. I’ll be telling you more about the new stuff as time goes on. See you soon! Tom

Dayton "Dirt" - July 12, 2013

In the afternoon of July 10th, the nursery was in the deluge that hit the area with about 3 inches of rain in a little more than an hour. Unfortunately, Van Hyning Run rose 5 feet from its normal water level with the result that the electric motors for the pumps were partially submerged in water so that the next day fans, a propane heater and a small electric heater dried out the motors so that they could be turned on without shorting them out. The change in the temperature and weather is a welcome relief especially with the Blueberry Festival tomorrow. Music, a bake off contest, hayrides, and for sure lots of blueberries will be centered around the Owl Barn Farm Market. We’re still depending upon Marietta sweet corn until Sieberling Farms can supply it which will be around the week of the 20th of July. Unfortunately, the supply may not be uninterrupted as the heavy rainfall made it impossible to plant at least 2 patches. Another problem created by too much rain is that the sweet corn cannot be sprayed for the European corn borer and other insects as the tractor cannot get into the field! The nursery is doing well as all the plants are growing well along with the weeds! Last year the plants seemed to remain on hold with all the extreme heat and drought. Our water quality is primo with all the rain and the flushing out of the polluted creek water we we’re forced to use last year. It’s hard to decide which is worse: to much rain or none like last year. What do you think? We’ll see you tomorrow at the festivities! Tom