Dayton "Dirt" - October 19, 2012

This week has been the peak of our fall colors and surprisingly, what a show it has been! Normally, drought years have more subdued tree colors, however some adequate rain beginning in early August may have put things back on track. Another two rows of blueberries we’ve finished planting will give us a total of 600 in the field. Toro, Pink Lemonade and Bluejay are the varieties for the two new rows as they are prolific bearers and unusual in the case of the Pink Lemonade with its pink, delicious fruit. Another new “toy” we’ve received at the nursery today is a contraption called Nursery Jaws that will be attached to our tractor loader. The apparatus is two hydraulically operated 72" forks that can gently pick up heavy balled and burlapped plants and larger container trees and shrubs. So quick and easy is its operation that the jaws will make loading customer’s vehicles much faster and safer as well as speeding up the process of unloading a truck full of heavy balled and burlapped stock. The best part of the tool is that it will save so much strain on the back from heavy lifting in order to place the balled and burlapped plant in the tractor bucket. Next week we will start putting the container stock to bed so that we are ready to cover the winter storage houses by November 1st. Once covered, the stock is treated with a fungicide and the overwintering houses are sprinkled liberally inside with mouse traps baited with a sunflower seed. It’s incredible how much damage mice can cause inside a warm moist environment packed with plants! Get out and enjoy the fall! Tom