Volume 9 Issue 3
June 2010
Growing With Us
It’s a KNOCKOUT! A Rose You Can Grow
By now just about everyone has heard of the phenomenal “Knock-Out” Rose. Actually there are seven rose varieties currently being marketed under the “Knock-Out” brand, and some are definitely better than others. But they’re all pretty good and some are very good. Overall, “Knock-Out” roses are easy to grow, bloom constantly, resist disease, survive winter cold and “selfclean”. This means the spent blooms drop off and are replaced with new blooms, without tedious “deadheading” (cutting the old blooms off). They all grow to about four feet tall and wide in a nice bushy shape without much pruning. They are so colorful and perform so well they can be used instead of shrubs in foundation plantings and hedges, with very little maintenance. The best Knock-Outs are the original red and pink, the first ones introduced. Red and pink Knock-Out roses with “double” blooms (more petals per flower) were introduced later and also perform extremely well. We’ve tried them all and to our delight they are terrific, as good as all the hype. Other Knock-Out introductions followed. “Blushing KnockOut” is pale pink with a yellow center. “Rainbow Knock-Out” is darker pink with a darker yellow center. Both are good performers but we know of other brands as good or better. Most recently we’ve seen the “Sunny Knock-Out”, a pale yellow single bloomer. This one doesn’t self-clean as well or bloom as heavily as the other Knock-Outs but it’s still nice. No rose is totally maintenance-free, but Knock-Out roses have proven to be tough survivors with very little attention. If you’d like to try some, or want to add more to your garden, or make a gift of one to your favorite “black thumb,” see us. We have hundreds of healthy, good-sized Knock-Out roses in stock and we’re looking for homes for them. If you’ve given up on roses, think again because you can grow these roses easily.
GoodSeed Farm Spring Hours: Spring Shopping Hours Monday through Saturday, rain or shine .............................. 8 AM to 6 PM Sunday................................................................................................Noon to 5PM
Maps, Directions & Schedules at www.goodseedfarm.com
It’s SPRING! •Gorgeous Roses •Flowering Trees •Raised Bed Kits •Soil & Mulch
Growin g With Us
Page 2
“Steve’s Soapbox:”
SHAKEDOWN I’ll wager that of all the classic, old wooden barns in Ohio there isn’t a single one that meets contemporary building codes. One by one these historic treasures disappears, simply because in the modern world they simply aren’t practical for life as we know it. Our own store building is a sixty-year-old broiler hatchery with numerous problems but lots of charm, not really worth fixing but too expensive to replace. We’ve surrounded it with hand-built wooden barns made in the traditional style. We’re determined not to do business in cookie-cutter corrugated metal buildings. After twelve years in business we were visited by the state building inspector, Frank Pasturzak. His business card says he works for the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance, Bureau of Building Code Compliance. He had a problem with the fact that we built all these buildings without asking permission. It seems it’s ille- “public nuisance” (Ohio revised code sec. 3781.11(C) gal in the State of Ohio to “construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, or change the occupancy of a structure” without first obtaining “the required approval”. I asked him to let me know, in writing, what I needed to do. This made him angry; apparently I’d said the wrong thing. He threatened to “red-tag” us, whatever that means. He was so upset his hands were shaking as he tried to fill out his forms. A few days later he was back with his boss, Tony. I explained to Tony that we’re a farm, located in a county and township with no zoning and no building codes. Tony said that the State of Ohio considers us a “mercantile business” subject to the rules and regulations of the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance. I asked him if he thought we were endangering our customers. He never gave me an answer. Next I was visited by the “Assistant Chief Building Official” Geoff Eaton from Columbus. Unless we paid thousands of dollars in application fees, plus architect’s fees to create plan drawings for our buildings, plus whatever it cost to bring these buildings up to current codes, he would have to bring legal action to close our business. We were, however, entitled to a hearing. All we had to do was pay $200 in advance to the Treasurer of the State of Ohio. If we were common thieves or gangsters we would be presumed innocent and entitled to a free hearing, but we are business owners, so we must pay in advance to be found guilty. We decided not to plead our case on bended knee at a kangaroo court in Columbus. We didn’t hire an architect to reverse-engineer our handmade barns onto a set of fancy drawings with a “PE seal” for “seismic” and “wind load.” We weren’t going to ask permission every time we drove a nail or patched a leak. We were going to unapologetically continue to improve and beautify GoodSeed Farm for the enjoyment of our loyal customers. We were going to make a stand. This is the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave. After a long silence we were served with papers ordering us to appear in court on May 6th (Mother’s Day weekend) to face an injunction ordering us to close. We had one week’s notice. According to the State of Ohio our business is a “public nuisance” and should be padlocked immediately. According to our attorney we had no options except to “comply”. Closing on Mother’s Day weekend was unthinkable. Making a stand would bring the sudden death of GoodSeed Farm along with bankruptcy and shame. We knuckled under and agreed to do whatever the state demands. Do you feel safer now? The State of Ohio is protecting you from us. Do you know your state Senator or Representative? Ask him why the State of Ohio spends billions on programs to “help” small businesses, when they could help us best by simply leaving us alone?
Growin g With Us
Page 3
The Secret to Lush
HANGING BASKETS Have you ever had your hanging baskets fizzle halfway through the summer? Don’t blame yourself; they may have been “programmed” to do just that. No matter how much you water or even fertilize, most hanging baskets simply don’t have what it takes to go the distance from spring until frost. One reason is that hanging basket growers are focused on getting their product out the door in peak condition for the peak spring season and turning them into cash. Annual flowers are a business of pennies per unit, times thousands of units sold. To maintain their profit margins and keep prices low they tend to skimp on soil, use cheaper cuttings (and fewer per pot), and pump the flowers up with liquid fertilizer as fast as they can. Once the flowers are out of the greenhouse and into the real world they often start to decline. The tiny bit of soil isn’t enough to sustain the plants once they are root-bound in the plastic pot, and one or two episodes of drying out will finish them off quickly. Without their “I.V. drip” of liquid fertilizer they quickly starve. The stress makes them more vulnerable to insects and disease. Years ago we tried using fiber pots instead of plastic for our fruit trees, and one thing we found was that we could water them less often and they wouldn’t dry out. Over time the fruit trees in fiber pots grew better than the ones in plastic, with a lot less maintenance. Sun didn’t heat the pots and cook the roots. Pot temperature and moisture was more consistent. Using granular fertilizers also helped. The nutrients stayed in the soil instead of running out the bottom of the pot. Fiber pots are now revolutionizing high-end hanging baskets. We all remember the moss-lined baskets that dried out almost instantly; the new fiber baskets are totally different. They also hold more soil, enough to sustain the plants much longer. The best hanging baskets now are in fiber pots. In addition to fiber pots, our best baskets have strikingly different, beautiful combinations specifically tailored for shade or sun. Getting combinations of flowers to look good together through a long season is an art; we’ve found growers who do an especially good job with unusual colors and textures. They may cost a bit more, but these arrangements will look better with each week that goes by, all summer long. Imagine having baskets you can be proud of all the way to November! You get what you pay for with hanging basket flowers.
“Snapshot” Gardening
DESIGN DESK Bring your photos and measurements to our store for free design assistance. Call 937-587-7021 for details.
Growin g With Us
Page 4
GoodSeed Farm FATHER’S DAY
Growin g With Us
Page 5
TREE SALE - SHOPPING LIST
Growin g With Us
Page 6
Enjoying PEONIES Around Memorial Day you see many colorful clumps of showy peonies in farmyards and gardens. Some of them give off an intoxicating sweet fragrance second only to tea roses. Newer varieties have exotic flower forms but perhaps less powerful fragrance. Peonies grow and flower best in full sun, but will still do well with light afternoon shade. They like some organic material and compost in the planting hole to do their best. They should be planted away from large trees or shrubs, and if they are in the middle of the lawn you should maintain a mulch circle around then so that lawn grasses don’t steal their food and water, resulting in smaller flowers. The most important thing to know when planting peonies is not to plant them too deep. The “eyes” (small points where the new plants will sprout each year) should be almost at the surface when you’re finished or they will grow but not bloom. You should loosen the planting soil in an area three feet wide, work in compost and Bulb Tone or other bone meal-based fertilizer a foot deep, and then set the plants near the surface of the loosened soil. An inch or two of pine nugget mulch will keep the weeds out and not smother the tubers. Too much nitrogen will give you great foliage but not much bloom (and weak, floppy stems), so avoid high nitrogen fertilizers like Miracle-Gro. The best food for peonies is bone meal and potash; that’s why we use Espoma BulbTone. Peonies should be fed in early spring and again after they bloom. Remove the flowers as soon as they fade. Setting seed will reduce next years’ bloom. After the foliage dies back, cut the stems back to three inches and discard them. During the dry summer months, Peonies need regular, deep watering. Mulching with pine bark or composted mulch will help keep the soil cool and moist, and control weeds. Healthy, productive Peonies should only be divided every ten or fifteen years. They don’t like to be disturbed, but occasional thinning will help them in the long term. Their roots become old and woody, and infested with borers that eat them hollow from the inside. If you dig them up, untangle them and cut away the old woody tubers, they will reward you with better flowering once they recover. You’ll also have lots of extra peony plants to share or spread around your garden. Gently cut or pull apart the roots into sections, making sure there at least 3 or 4 growth eyes in each new section. Trim away rotten spots with a sharp, clean knife. Dust the cut surfaces with sulphur or Bulb-Saver to discourage disease infection and rot. Prepare a new home for them by working humus and Bulb Tone into the soil one foot deep, and re-set the plants shallowly in the loosened soil. Ants may be found on certain varieties of peonies. This is a totally normal, natural and temporary thing. Peonies produce small amounts of nectar, supposedly to attract ants to help opening their flower buds. Do not try to get rid of the ants on your peonies. Since the ants are harmless and pesticide residues are harmful, there’s no reason to threaten helpful insects or birds with poisonous sprays. This article is reprinted from our weekly garden column “Let’s Grow”, submitted to the following papers: The People’s Defender, The News Democrat (Sunday edition), the Hillsboro Times-Gazette, the Portsmouth Community Common, the Chillicothe Gazette and The Clermont Sun. You can read current and previous columns on the “Weekly Blog” page at www.goodseedfarm.com
Growin g With Us
Page 7
Visit often for our many unadvertised specials on premium plants at their peak, different each week! We want you to visit more often. That’s why we have up to a dozen different plants on sale each time you come. Shrubs, trees, perennials, all of them at their peak. We’re not waiting until the end of the season and offering you picked-over leftovers. We’re getting good deals on perfect plants and passing the savings along, just to entice you. Are you working on a project? Perhaps you could save on just the plants you need! Need the perfect gift plant? Chances are there’s something just right and you can save 30%, 40% or even 50% on it! Don’t expect us to recite the sale items over the phone or post them on our website. These are UN-ADVERTISED specials. The whole idea is for you to take an enjoyable shopping trip and bring your friends. And if you see the plant you like on sale, take it home now because tomorrow we’ll move the sale sign somewhere else. Think “blue light special.” Sound like hype? See for yourself the next time you’re here.
Marjorie’s
Perennial Pick Hosta “PATRIOT” In a crowd of Hostas the Patriot really stands out, with bold, dark green foliage edged in gleaming white. One of the best variegated hostas, it really brightens a shady border. Like most hostas it’s easy to grow and quite troublefree, even doing well with root competition from surrounding trees and shrubs. Patriot does best in partial to full shade.
GARDEN ANSWERS ONLINE
www.goodseedfarm.com LEARN~SHOP~SUCCEED
G oodSeed Farm COUNTRY GARDEN CENTER
200 Storer Road Peebles, Ohio 45660 937-587-7021 www.goodseedfarm.com
PRSTD STD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 5400 CINCINNATI OH
Father’s Day TREE SALE! • • • • •
CALENDAR
COUNTRY GARDEN CENTER
GoodSeed Farm
•
Shade Trees Flowering Trees Evergreens Flowering Shrubs Evergreen Shrubs Unadvertised Specials
PLAN TO VISIT GOODSEED FARM OFTEN THIS SPRING!
Mark your calendar so you can enjoy our special events, take advantage of special savings, bring your family or friends for special times! June 12Two--Day Rose Sale Save 25% on spectacular Knock-outs, 12-13 Two Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, shrub and climbing roses for two days only: Saturday and Sunday June 12th and 13th. June 1818-1919-20 Father’s Day Tree Sale Huge savings on all woody plants including flowering shrubs, evergreens, orchard and shade trees! Every tree and shrub reduced at least 10%, some as much as 75%! 8AM-6PM Friday and Saturday, 10AM-5PM Father’s Day Sunday June 2323-July 4 Truckload Annual Flower Sale Outrageous savings on annual flowers while they last. An entire truckload of fresh merchandise, plus our gorgeous hanging baskets. All Spring Save 3030-50% on selected perennials, shrubs and trees throughout the garden center. Visit regularly for unadvertised half-price specials on premium plants at their peak, while supplies last!