Dayton "Dirt" - November 22, 2013

This past week has been somewhat trying with the high winds on Sunday and Monday that could have (but did not) cause havoc at the nursery because of the white plastic stretched over the frames of the overwintering huts. Even though the plastic is stretched and fastened tightly there is always the danger that a microburst could do major damage as it did in April this past spring when 70-80 mph winds whipped through for only about 30 seconds to a minute. Since the poinsettias are almost finally “cooked” in the rear greenhouse, we ferried many of them to the annual greenhouse attached to the store in order to start to grace Thanksgiving tables and later on, brighten up dreary, dark December Ohio homes getting ready for the light, sights and sounds of Christmas. Grave blanket delivery began yesterday so that customer’s wishes are met by delivering the decorations before Thanksgiving on November 28th. Many customers prefer to pick up their own decoration for their loved ones that have passed on except in the case of some of the larger ones which can weigh more than 75 lbs! Greens and live wreaths and roping are now available along with poinsettias with the addition of Ohio-grown cut pines and firs this coming Tuesday. Mulching, flower bulb planting, irrigation repairs, clean up, trimming trees and shrubs, planting and the installation of a new self working water filter continue besides the getting ready for the Christmas season. Next month, the construction of more self-watering greenhouse benches known as ebb & flow will continue in the rear production greenhouses as most plants thrive and in general are of higher quality with the ebb & flow system with more water being recycled over and over as the draining benches return water to a 1500 gallon tank under the ground. I don’t think a long winter lull is ever a reality at the nursery as even though the nursery shuts down for 2 months after New Year’s Day, there is always something to do! ~Tom