FLOWERS FOR DINNER?
Farm to table.
That’s a popular catchphrase these days and a mission a lot of restaurants embrace...work with the local farms to source locally produced food, into their operations and onto their tables.
There’s logic behind the idea...support the local community, cut down on transportation inputs for food distribution, work with fresher, higher quality, and often better tasting ingredients, and embrace and celebrate the seasonality of the food we eat.
It’s a popular idea, and one that all of us participate in when we grow our own food.
Whether your garden is just a tomato plant or two on the patio or a large plot out back, if you’re growing things you eat, you’re participating in farm-to-table.
Those of us who do, appreciate how much better produce fresh from the garden tastes. I taste it all the time, and I hear the same from friends we share our excess harvest with.
There’s an amazing feeling when you go out into the garden, do a little harvesting, and then turn that harvest into a meal for the table. It feeds your body, but it also feeds the soul!
My wife, Kim, celebrated a birthday the other day, and I made her a birthday dinner.
A friend of mine, who also enjoys cooking, has been on a recent mission to make stuffed squash blossoms. I’ve been picking a few for him to practice with, and it got me to thinking, maybe I could cook something with them too!
Squash flowers are really beautiful. They’re bright orange-yellow and look somewhat like a daylily blossom. I’ve enjoyed looking at them in the garden for years, but never considered actually eating them...until the other night.
I had about ten big blossoms in the fridge waiting for a project...and it turned out that project was dinner! I combined them with some other produce from our garden: red onion, garlic, basil, and bright red cherry tomatoes. A quick sauté and then a toss with some pasta, and we had a tasty...and attractive...birthday dinner.
I paired it with some homemade sourdough bread and finished everything off with a pawpaw I had harvested from a tree out back only days earlier.
It was farm to table in our own kitchen, it was fun, it was good...
...and there weren’t many leftovers!
Cameron Rees, General Manager
When it comes to growing things we can eat, there are so many possibilities. Veggie gardens can be productive all the way into the first days of winter, if you plant the right things...and there are loads of right things to enjoy in the fall...including pawpaws!
If you’d like to learn a little more about growing your own food, and celebrating some farm-to-table experience, come see us. We’d love to help get you started!
—Cameron
Fall Bulbs Are In… Fresh From Holland!
I can’t think of anything better than seeing all those big, beautiful colors popping up in the garden in the spring. The wide range of colors, shapes and unique blooms. Getting those planted at the right time will help make your spring beautiful, too. Now is the right time to start getting those bulbs in the ground. Dig, Drop, Done.
Fall is always the perfect time to plant bulbs. The cooler temperatures create the best conditions for them to create that period of dormancy and start getting ready for their big performance. I like to get those in as soon as early October, but you can do it as late as mid-November. You ideally want them to be in the ground to start establishing roots before there is a hard soil freeze.
The easiest beginner bulb is the Daffodil. Daffodils are deer-resistant, not bothered by squirrels, are reliable perennials, and tend to multiply slowly. You could always shoot for a big display of blooms; in this case, plant bulbs in big groupings in your planting area. Luckily, we have a wide variety of tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, and allium in the store, ready and waiting just for you.
Plant those bulbs pointy side up, add in a good bulb food, and cover with some mulch to keep them warm during the winter, and in just a few short months, those beauties will be popping up. Stop on in today and grab yourself a good bulb planter or some Dutch bulb food to make the process a bit easier. Our staff is available for any questions you may have along the way.
—Melissa Anderson, Store Manager
fall color = fall decorating!
Fall inventory brings beautiful harvest colors, but also more of the bright, vibrant colors that have been adorning your lawn, garden, and porch all spring and summer. Mix and match to add a pop of color to your fall decor. Check out some of the beauties that will thrive this time of year and bring your fall decorating to new heights!
“Thymely” Advice... Watering Grass Seed
I planted some grass seed at home the other day to fix a spot I had torn up earlier in the season.
I planted it on a Monday, and only a week later, a good stand of new grass had replaced bare soil.
A lot of folks take advantage of this time of the year to plant some grass seed to get the lawn looking better.
A successful project starts with choosing the right seed...that part is easy, use our Gard’n-wise Premium Tall Fescue Blend.
The correct seeding rate and methods of application are important as well. We can offer guidance with that. Just stop in and ask for some help. And don’t forget the starter fertilizer. That should go down at the same time you are applying the seed.
But once that is all done, water is the key to success...but how much, and how often? That’s where many folks get into trouble.
All summer long, I’m telling people, “water long, slow, and infrequently”. Our goal through those summer months is to replenish soil moisture as needed. It takes a long, slow soaking to get water to move down a foot or two into the soil profile, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get water down deep so ALL the roots get a drink. And that drink only needs to come on an occasional basis, not every day.
But watering grass seed is just the opposite. Our goal when watering newly planted grass seed is maintaining an evenly moist seed bed. That seedbed is shallow...like the top inch of the soil... and keeping it moist requires frequent watering.
The surface of the soil is what will dry out first, and we should be watering often enough that doesn’t happen. That may mean daily, twice a day, three times a day, or even more frequently if the weather dictates.
But keep in mind, we are aiming to get water down deep like we do with summer waterings. We’re just trying to keep the upper portion of the soil moist. That means short bursts with a sprinkler...like a few minutes...or hand watering, something I never recommend for summer watering.
Keeping the seedbed evenly moist will give you the quickest and most uniform germination, and that will lead to the best-looking lawn in the end. Let things get too dry...even only once during that germination process...and you can ruin all your hard work. Don’t let that happen!
As always, if you need any help, just let us know. We’re glad to help!
—Cameron
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