by Briscoe White | Feb 19, 2010 | Basics, Exploring, Gardening, Inspiration |
I have been confident that sooner or later I would find a sign that this long cold winter would end one day. I was expecting a crocus or a snowdrop, but it was daffodils I spotted first. This is the season bulbs really pull their weight. It will be months before annual plants can face the weather, but here these bulbs have begun their blooming process. It may be a couple of weeks before the blooms actually open, but on the first warm day they will be ready to pop open. Spring is on the way!!
As exciting as early bulbs are, the real work of the garden is still in the future. Let these daffodils be a sign you will follow. Now is the time to get all spring planting planned and “gardened on paper”. Planning ahead will allow your dream garden to grow into reality this summer. Whether herb gardening or just setting out a few flowering annuals, planning will make a better garden. Get ready now and know what you want to do when spring finally arrives.
by Briscoe White | Feb 17, 2010 | A Year in the Life.., Flowers, Gardening, Growing, Herbs, Indoor Gardening |
We will plant these new beds. So far all we have been able to do is wait, all is ready but the weather. We have big plans for this garden we are calling “ a year in the life”. This cold frame structure is covered with a sheet of construction grade plastic, when spring temperatures are reliably warm we will remove it and cover with a shade fabric which gives about 30% shade and breaks up wind and heavy rainfall. The plastic keeps the inside warm, but not when temperatures are as low as now.
The beds are laid out to give us a demonstration garden for the plants we sell. We will keep a photo record of each planting, we will have flowering annuals and will mix in an assortment of culinary herbs. We hope to keep a bed of medicinal herbs and maybe some aromatic herbs, but would like some input as to what we should plant.
One bed may have a large basil plant surrounded by calibrachoa and celosia, combining herb plants with annual plants. First seeds will be sown in a week or two, as soon as night temps rise out of the twenties. For now I am still stuck talking about what I am going to do, but this has been one rough winter. Not yet, but soon we will have these beds full of plants!
The first daffodils are a sure sign that spring is on its way!
by Briscoe White | Feb 15, 2010 | Flowers, Gardening, Growing |
Working in the greenhouse this weekend, I performed the daily tasks so everyone else could be home. One task is checking the germination chamber twice each day. The seed flats are left in only to the point of germination. The seeds do not sprout at the exact same time. Depending on the seed, they germinate over a range of time from one day to several weeks. So, when the first few seedlings are seen, we move that flat to the greenhouse.
Germinating seeds is more like fun than work. From so little, so many plants spring forth (no pun intended). The germination chamber is great for seeds, but disastrous for seedlings, they quickly stretch and are to weak to stay upright. That is why we check twice a daily, even one day in the germination chamber will ruin seedlings.
The seedlings pictured were my amazement for the day. At 8:00 AM there was no plant life visible in these flats. When I returned at 4:00 PM the tomatoes, moonflowers, and morning glories had all grown to one-inch tall seedling! That is some fast growth!
by Briscoe White | Feb 5, 2010 | A Year in the Life.., Basics, Gardening |
The third major storm of the winter is with us. It looks like another long weekend of babysitting the greenhouses. They are full of young plants, so someone will be here to make sure they stay warm and safe. Today as the snow flies outside, our greenhouse staff members are busy transplanting young herbs and annuals to their final pots. In a few short weeks these plants will be traveling to gardens far and wide. It is important they not get cold!
Being the one left to keep things running, I plan to use this time to plan my early garden. The beds we have in a cold frame are ready to plant, we are just waiting for warmer temperatures. Maybe after this storm we will sow seeds. But before we plant, we must have a plan. The general idea is to grow the herbs and annuals offered by The Growers Exchange, planted in situations similar to homeowners with limited space. We also intend to grow plenty of good things to eat, including lots of herbs. Whilst snowbound I will map out the details of our plantings. Any ideas would be appreciated, we do hope for a free exchange of ideas for this garden project. But first we must get the greenhouses safely through this storm!
by Briscoe White | Jan 29, 2010 | A Year in the Life.., Gardening, Indoor Gardening |
I cannot wait to begin reporting on our planting and growing progress. But here we are in at the end of January and all of us a The Growers Exchange are getting ready for another snowstorm that will arrive in the night. Our garden under cover has progressed another step; the irrigation is done. Now our test gardens can be watered automatically, freeing us on weekends. Irrigation is so easy and makes so much more gardening possible. And it does free the gardener to leave for some time and not return to a ruined garden. In an industry like the cannabis business crop consistency has to be of the utmost importance and therefore, they incorporate things like grow room design to grow their crops and this includes things like water treatment that helps to maintain this consistency and works on a larger scale.
Now the garden we will tend to is ready to plant. We will start in the greenhouse, sowing seeds for the first plantings in a few weeks. The logs around our salad patch have been impregnated with spores of Pearl Oyster mushrooms. Our goal is to grow as much as possible in our limited space. I hope people will follow and tell us what they are growing. It is not practical for most people to grow their own food; but any one with even a sunny window can grow something that will improve the quality of their life. For now we are waiting for spring, but soon we will be able to begin our spring garden, maybe after this storm. I will let you know next week!
Our Irrigation Setup
by Briscoe White | Jan 14, 2010 | Gardening, Growing, Inspiration, Miscellaneous |
It is done! These are our favorite words around the nursery. The Growers Exchange staff has created our first plant catalog. Yes, after all the light years of journey through cyberspace to create our internet web store; we had to step back and make a printed catalog. It just seems gardeners and paper plant catalogs go together like a companion planting.
The Growers Exchange catalog will be available on request, ORDER ONE TODAY. Spring getting closer every day!
