Bob fired up the first of the greenhouses over the weekend, and we’re transplanting today. The pace is still slow, but it’ll pick up soon. Pretty soon we’ll have little growing plants coming out our ears! (Not literally, of course, but you get the idea…)
The seed racks are filled and waiting, and product has started to arrive. Hang on, the ride has begun!
Posted in General, In the Greenhouses, What's New?
Tagged Ferda's Garden Center, greenhouse, greenhouses, spring
We got i
n a shipment of cute statuary today. We haven’t unpacked it yet, since it is so cold out in the greenhouses, but we’re so excited for you to see it all. It’ll all be on display when we reopen in March. Here is a piece, just couldn’t wait to start showing it to you!
Posted in General, In the Gift Shop, In the Greenhouses, What's New?
Tagged bunny, Ferda's Garden Center, gift shop, greenhouse, greenhouses, statuary, statues
Fresno Chile image courtesy of Ivy Garth Seeds
Do you like jalapenos? Then you’ll like Fresno Chiles, too. They are just about as hot (maybe a bit hotter) and have the thick waxy feel of a jalapeno. You could use them interchangeably in recipes. They are good fresh, added to salsas, roasted (and stuffed as an appetizer if you like that heat), or canned.
They begin green and ripen to red, at which point they are a little sweeter. The plants are vigorous and bear well.
We have some great new vegetable varieties in the pipeline for you this year. Let’s talk about a few, just to whet your appetite for spring.
I don’t know about you, but the reason I like to eat fruits and vegetables I’ve grown myself is that I know they are fresher and healthier than those I can buy in the grocery store that have been picked and shipped across country, or even across countries.
photo courtesy of Ivy Garth Seeds
With that in mind, we are growing a tomato variety this year called Caro Rich. The name derives from the fact that it is higher in beta-carotene (up to 10 times as much as in other tomatoes!) Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that gives orange and yellow fruits and vegetables their color and is converted by the body into a safe form of vitamin A. (This is believed to promote eye health and help with vision—there’s a reason your mother told you to eat your carrots.)
It is an 8-10 oz beefsteak-style tomato in a deep orange color. (That’s about the size of your average Better Boy– a nice size for a slice on a burger.) They are low acid and sweet. They are large plants, probably a better choice for in-ground growing, rather than in a pot. Oh, and did I mention, they’re more healthy?
The ground is snow-covered and the roads are slushy and wet (mostly wet.) It is officially winter now, in my opinion. And more cold wet (and/or frozen) stuff is supposed to be coming our way in the next few days, which probably means the power will go out. Better dig out your Yankee Candles.
We’re here at the shop today tightening our plug orders. Plugs are tiny starter plants that we buy for some of the potted plants we grow to sell to you. Some plants grow easily from seeds, and others are grown from cuttings of existing plants. (Growing plants from cuttings requires equipment and facilities that we don’t have.) The easily-seeded ones we do ourselves, the more difficult-to-seed and the cutting-grown plants we buy as plugs. See, you learned something about us already that you didn’t know…
Anyway… we’re spending some time double-checking the orders to make sure we have enough of each variety, but not too many. It makes me get anxious for spring to come when I think about all the beautiful flowers that will soon be growing in the greenhouses. But first we have to get through some more winter…
Stay warm and drive carefully!
Finally a result of “global warming” that we can like. This month has been quite nice so far, and quite different than the January we expected. We like the fact that we’ve had very little snow and some really mild days.
We’ve finished the inventory and have begun to change the store over to its spring look, even though we aren’t open this month or next. Bob is working on tree and shrub orders, and Anita and Patty are planning the seeds we’ll sow down in February and March to have ready for you in April and May in our colorful greenhouses.
Posted in General, In the Greenhouses
Tagged Ferda's Garden Center, greenhouse, greenhouses, growing vegetables, spring
Except for a brief time when it rained on Saturday, this Mother’s Day weekend was sunny and warm, with just a bit of a breeze. Just what we were waiting for. We hope you did something fun! Lots of you took advantage of the day and shopped with us (Thank you!) and chatted with old friends and neighbors that you ran into among the flowers.
Now that the hectic weekend is over, we’re taking note of what we’ve sold and what we need to restock. More flowers will be coming in before the weekend, so if you didn’t find what you were looking for this past weekend, it’ll soon be time to try again.
And, don’t forget our chicken workshop on Saturday May 14th at 11:00. FREE, but space is limited, so please let us know ahead of time that you are coming.
Posted in General, In the Greenhouses, What's New?
Tagged container gardening, Ferda's Garden Center, greenhouse, Mother's Day
Thursday was sunny and pleasant. A little cool, but a refreshing change from what we’ve been experiencing. Folks were out in the greenhouses shopping for Mom.
But don’t panic! We still have a nice selection of hanging baskets and of vegetable plants (we get asked that a LOT!) We’re open Friday and Saturday from 9 until 7, and Sunday (Mother’s Day) from Noon until 5PM. So get your shop on this weekend at Ferda’s!
We’re open for the spring 2011 season! Plants are growing in the greenhouses and trees and shrubs are arriving almost daily to fill up the sales lot. Perennials will be here soon, too. We have onion sets and plants, seed potatoes, packaged seeds, and the soils and amendments you need to get your gardens started. Hang on, here we go!
I am taking advantage of this day, probably one of the last Sundays that I’ll have to just stay home and play house. I’ve got bread rising in the kitchen, laundry humming away in the laundry room, and happy little fish swimming nearby. How good is that!
The Regal geraniums are potted up now and the first greenhouse has been fired up to grow them on. That always signifies the beginning of another garden center year. From now on out, the pace will quicken, the hours will get longer, and we won’t have much free time. One part of me regrets seeing that pace begin, but another side of me (the one that hates winter) looks forward to it each year.
We are taking applications now for seasonal help in the garden center and for landscape help. If you are a friendly, team-player type of person, stop in and pick up an application. We are closed, but we are usually at the garden center from 10-4 Monday through Friday.
Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill on a laid-back lazy Sunday morning.
