April Newsletter 2021
Here we are, a quarter through 2021 already and heading into Spring. After warm weather earlier in the year, it takes a little longer to warm up due to the nights continuing to be cold and not many days in the 70’s yet. I know many of you are chomping at the bit for summer vegetables, but it really has been too cold to plant warm-season vegetables. The ground has to warm up, not just the air temps, before they can take off. That being said, we seeded out our first squash this week and have been getting in some tomatoes and peppers. There are plenty of other food items to plant right now. We have onions again, both bulbs and green transplants. We have seed potatoes in stock-Yukon Gold, Reds, Russets, and Yukon Gem. Our vegetable table is full of frost-tolerant veggies like chard, spinach, lettuce, kale, and a whole lot more. Our herb selection looks good too. We are trying to stay stocked up on seed, but our orders are taking longer to get here.
Get your beds ready now so that when it is time to plant, you are ready to transplant and seed. It is so important to add food in the way of organic matter to your beds every season. Vegetables and annual flowers use up a lot of nutrition to do their thing. Did you know that fertilizers have to be broken down by macro and microorganisms into a form plants can uptake? Feed your soil EB Stone/Green All Soil Booster in the orange bags, Chicken Manure in the blue bags, Steer Manure in the brown bags, and for a real treat, Worm Castings. Worm Castings have already been broken down into a form your plants can access immediately. Do not forget the Sure Start, as this adds Mycorrhizal Fungi to the soil. More living organisms! The more alive your soil is, the more nutritious and better-tasting your food will be. All of our EB Stone organic dry fertilizers contain numerous microrryze. Remember that vegetables need lots of calcium, so it would not hurt to add some in the form of Oyster Shells, Gypsum, or Agricultural Lime. Have weak stalks been a problem? Magnesium and Green Sand (Potassium) can help. Poor flower production? Add Bone Meal for Phosphorus. Personally, I like our All Purpose 5-5-5 complete and balanced fertilizer, even for vegetables, as it has an even higher calcium content than our Tomato/Vegetable food.
My latest Ag Alert has front-page news about low inventory at the wholesale nurseries. There has been a huge demand for plants this past year due to fires and the pandemic. Add to that our cool spring, and a lot of stuff is in short supply. Our citrus source told me that they would not have any more ready to sell for several months. Fruitless olives in tree form are sold out right now. No one has any nice Lavender, or Tuscan Blue Rosemary in the #1 can size. We sold most of our fruit trees in bare-root form and have very few left to pot up. Looks like I way over-ordered fiber pots for them since there are so few left to plant.
Our Sester Farm order arrived from Oregon. Some items back in stock are Black Lace and Black Beauty Elderberries, Weeping Redbud, Dogwoods, and reblooming Lilacs. Check out the gallon Strawberry/Raspberry hybrid. Strawberry foliage with fruit that tastes like Raspberries! Lots of #2 pots of Rose of Sharon, including a columnar growing one. The big apples and peach trees we got from them are gorgeous.
Frankly, I am not sure where we will put all the pottery we ordered when it finally gets here. Those orders have been delayed. We did get in an assortment of fun Talavera figures and window boxes. The colorful Spanish pots from Sunshine Ceramica are not here yet. The new fairies are here, along with new metal roosters, statuary, plant cages, flower stakes, whirlygigs, the tree glider bench (a personal favorite), hanging baskets, and liners. We have some bare root tree peonies available for a short window. Our racks and tables are full of salvias, gauras, coreopsis, petunias, and our large selection of great perennials. Summer bulbs are here like cannas and glads. For the shade garden, we have 4-inch pots of hardy ferns, violas, vincas, foxglove, and lamiums. Hostas are in the growing area, ready to be brought out when they break dormancy.
We sold out of a few varieties of roses already but still have plenty. If deer are not an issue for you and you want some long-blooming lower growing shrubs in your landscape, you owe it to yourself to consider Drift* Landscape Roses. Almost continual bloom with no deadheading. We have several colors to chose from. David Austin Roses are over-sold, and we will not have any this year.
Let’s talk more about some of the great blooming deciduous shrubs we received from Oregon. Shrubs add dimension, versatility, and interest to your yard. A lot of them bloom in spring, some in summer, and often have nice fall foliage. They provide habitat for birds and help keep the ambient temperature regulated. They are long-lived and do not need a lot of fussing to keep them happy. A lot of them are deer resistant.
Forsythia- Bright yellow flowers emerge before the foliage, making it popular for forcing if you are a cut flower fan. Leaves get some bronzy red fall foliage. Tall grower to 8 ft unless you get a dwarf variety. Plant in the sun with moderate to regular water. Deer resistant.
Bailey Red Twig Dogwood- This shrub shines in the winter when the bare branches turn a deep red. It has nice red fall foliage like the dogwood tree, but the flowers are completely different, not nearly as showy. It is native to moist places in No. California so will need some water in the summer. Good as a property line screen, growing 6-8 ft tall, and is shade tolerant. Deer resistant.
Clethera- Called Summersweet or Sweet Spire, this summer blooming shrub for afternoon shade produces 4-6 inch spires of fragrant white flowers. Great for the moon garden. Prefers rich, moist soil but tolerant of other conditions.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Quick Fire’- Wonderful type of hydrangea that is better suited to our climate. Loads of red-tinged white flowers in summer on a dwarf size bush. Nice fall foliage. More sun, drought, and heat tolerant than your classic hydrangea.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanilla Strawberry’- A big favorite here, this one is similar to the above but grows bigger. The flowers are scented with hints of, you guessed it, vanilla and strawberry.
Hydrangea quercifolia, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea- Tall grower to 8 ft, beautiful fall foliage stays on the bush long into winter. White pannicle long-lasting flowers all summer long once established. The leaves are shaped like oak leaves; hence its common name.
Wild Mock Orange, Philadelphis lewisii ‘Blizzard’- Ca native shrub for sun but afternoon shade recommended here. Fragrant white flowers in late spring. An old-fashioned shrub widely planted in the past but so worth considering in today’s modern times as well. It can tolerate aridity once established. Deer resistant.
Dart’s Gold Ninebark, Physocarpus- Grow in the sun or shade. These tough shrubs widely planted in the mountains of the west can take a beating. This variety grows 4-6 ft with gold leaves and tiny white flowers in late spring. Deer resistant.
Goldflame and Double Play Spirea- Summer blooming shrubs with colorful early and fall foliage. Flowers are pink, small but grouped. I have always wondered why they are not more popular here. They grow in sun or light shade and are not fussy. Deer resistant.
Geez, so much to choose from. That is why we call ourselves the best, most diverse nursery in Lake County.
April Specials
4th Bag Free- 2 cf GreenAll Organic Potting Soil
(that is the purple bag)
4-inch perennials and Specialty Petunias-Bakers Dozen (13th free)
Cool Season Vegetable 6 packs- 8th one free
