Growing With UsGrowing With Us June 13-Save the Date! › files › Spring-2015-Newsletter.pdf · “Simplicate and then add lightness.” These nuggets of wisdom were made famous

June 13-Save the Date!

It’s SPRING!

Gorgeous Roses

HGTV Home Plants

Sweet Potato Starts

Soils, Mulch & Stone

Volume 13 Issue 2 May 2015

Growing With UsGrowing With Us

June 13th we’ll present our first annual GoodSeed Garden Expo at Hilltop Event Center (adjacent to our garden

center) to offer a learning experience for our customers and showcase our favorite products. We’ll have an indoor

“mini-trade show”, product seminars, giveaway merchandise, and garden center specials, plus delicious barbecue,

and admission is free. We are inviting some key suppliers to display, educate and mingle with our customers.

So far we’re expecting Rusty Storrer of Monrovia Nurseries, Jessey Chaboudy of High Caliper Growing, Amar

Grewal from DeerGone.com, and Greg Cooper from Pave-

stone. Adding to the roster are some local organizations like

the Brown County Master gardeners (including weekly col-

umnist Faye Mahaffey), Southern Ohio Forestland Associa-

tion and Brown County Beekeepers. We’ll also have Estel

Newberry’s Big “E” BBQ serving grilled specialties, and

Buckeye Confections with their exceptional sweet treats.

We have a full schedule of informative seminars, includ-

ing sessions on hardscaping, tree care, woody plant groom-

ing, new plant introductions, raised bed gardening and

other hot topics. Our suppliers will be bringing plenty of free

samples, plus prizes you’ll have a chance to win. Anyone

bringing an empty bucket can get a free sample of Good-

Seed Garden Mix, our revolutionary bulk soil for raised

beds.

In future years we’ll have our Garden Expo on the FIRST

Saturday of June; this year the hall was already booked for

June 6th so we’re going one week later for this year only.

It would be a pleasure to see you on June 13th. Spend the

day with us or just stop in for a few hours; we can assure

you that you’ll learn a lot and have a good time!

Monday through Friday, rain or shine ................................ 10 AM to 7 PM

Saturday, rain or shine ............................................................ 9 AM to 6 PM

Sunday ............................................................................................ Noon to 5PM

Maps, Directions & Schedules at www.goodseedfarm.com

GoodSeed Nursery Hours:

Bring an empty bucket to our Garden Expo for

a free sample of GoodSeed Garden Mix

“Steve’s Soapbox”

I stumbled across a nugget of wisdom re-

cently: “Plants allow you to eat sunlight!”

What a great thought! In other words, plants con-

vert sunlight into edible food. It really made me

think. It made me look at nature in a different

way.

Those of you who have taken my classes al-

ready know I love simple ideas like this. I take

delight in pruning wordy concepts down to sim-

ple, easily understood phrases with as few words

as possible. It just helps get the point across, to

people of all ages and backgrounds. So, with

apologies in advance to those who just love to

make simple things complicated, let me share some of my favorite sayings:

“Plants breathe through their roots.” Fluffy dirt (dirt mixed with air) is the secret that separates “green

thumbs” from everyone else. Green thumbs are people who just seem to know how to make plants happy. They under-

stand about fluffy dirt. Fluffy dirt is dirt mixed with air. Ingredients like peat moss help soils stay fluffy. They trap air.

“The best weed control is complete darkness.” Without sunlight, most weed seeds can’t sprout. This is why we

mulch generously, three inches thick. That’s how much mulch it takes to block out the sun. Skimpy mulch beats no

mulch at all, but it takes three inches of mulch to really control weeds.

“Whatever you spread on your gardens year after year, that’s what your soil will become.” If you mulch

with nutritious pine bark or composted mulches, your soil will improve every year. Cover your soil with black plastic

and dyed raw wood chips, or non-nutritious mulches like cypress, it’ll turn to cardboard or brick.

“The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago. The next best time is today.” Trees are like compound interest;

if you invest wisely they improve with time. If you keep putting it off, you’ll never catch up even if you plant mail-

order hybrid poplars. The best trees grow slowly and live long. The worst trees grow the fastest and live the shortest.

“Paint with the big brush first.” In design, the backbone or structure should come first. You can fill in the fussy

details later. Bold is good. Good design is about simplicity. “Form should follow function”. “Less is more.”

“Simplicate and then add lightness.” These nuggets of wisdom were made famous by great designers.

“The best food for a dog is another dog.” Any living thing thrives on food that contains the same nutrients that

living thing is made of. Forest floor topsoil is made of dead trees and fallen tree leaves. The reason compost is so good

for plants is that compost is mostly made up of dead plants. That’s why Espoma Tone fertilizers are so much better for

plants than 10-10-10 or Miracle Gro. They’re made of ground-up dead stuff, not petrochemicals.

“Dig a hole, make a bowl.” If you plant in a hole in clay, you’ll just trap water around your plant’s roots. Most

plants want to dry out between waterings, and if the water can’t drain it just sits there and drowns your plant. That’s

why raised beds work so well. There needs to be a way for excess water to get away by gravity. As it exits, it pulls in

air behind it. Plant need air in the soil because plants breathe through their roots. But I repeat myself...

Perhaps I over-simplify. So, sue me. Or worse, write and correct me. Once you weed out all the technical jargon

and exceptions to the rule, gardening is actually very simple and easily understood. It’s foster care for plants.

Page 2 Growing With Us

PULVERIZED TOPSOIL, COMPOST, SOIL BLENDS, MULCH, SAND & GRAVEL ..for pickup or “next business day” delivery: call 937-587-7021

“Steve-isms”

“The best time to plant a tree is ten years

ago. The next best time is today.”

Marjorie’s

Perennial Pick

“Blanket Flower”

If you're looking for a perennial

with a long season of bloom, blanket flower (Gaillardia) is a

great choice. The daisy-like flowers are produced from early

summer to early fall in shades of orange, red and yellow, adding

sizzle to the garden and attracting nectar-seeking butterflies.

Blanket flowers love full sun and hot, dry weather. Estab-

lished plants are quite drought tolerant, but newly installed blan-

ket flowers should be watered often. They prefer loose, well-

drained soil that’s not too fertile, with a pH near neutral or

slightly alkaline.

Cut the spent blooms off your blanket flowers regularly to

encourage more flowering. Cutting back clumps to 6 inches in

late summer helps insulate them for winter survival.

Blanket flowers are a bright, cheerful addition to any sunny

garden!

Page 3 Growing With Us

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the

dress underneath, but it also served as a holder for hot pans

from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children’s tears,

and on occasion even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop the apron was used for carrying

eggs, fussy chicks and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be fin-

ished in the warming oven.

When company came those aprons were ideal places for

shy kids, and when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it

around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspir-

ing brow, bent over a hot wood stove. Chips and kindling were

brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it car-

ried all sorts of vegetables. After peas had been shelled it out

the hulls to the compost pile. In the fall the apron was used to

bring in windfall apples.

When unexpected company drove up the lane, it was sur-

prising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a mat-

ter of seconds. When dinner was ready, grandma walked out

onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time

to come in from the fields for dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something

that will replace that “old time apron” that served so many

purposes…

(This story reprinted from our Early Spring 2005 newsletter)

Grandma’s Apron

Page 4 Growing With Us

It’s time again for the annual gather-

ing of mothers and daughters, grandmoth-

ers and grandkids, mothers-in-law and

mothers-to-be, at GoodSeed Nursery for

our 17th annual Country Garden Mothers

Day Party. After seventeen years it’s an

annual ritual, with a FREE gift plant for

every mom. This year it’s Butterfly Bush!

There’s one for you.

This is our third Mother’s Day in our

new, more convenient Winchester loca-

tion, with more parking and less walking!

We’ve expanded and improved our garden center in many ways, to offer more selection and make shopping easier!

COME HUNGRY! Our breakfast menu includes sausage & egg sandwiches, hot ham & egg sandwiches, coffee

and donuts. New for this year is Estel Newberry’s “Big E BBQ”, serving succulent ribeye sandwiches, half-pound

steak burgers, pulled chicken sandwiches, and an affordable kids menu. All day long we’ll have Papa’s Kettle Korn.

Jo Hall’s Hilltop Event Center next door will be offering Mother’s Day Buffet dinner on Mother’s Day Sunday,

by reservation, at 1:30PM. A great way to avoid lines and crowds!

We’ll be giving away 1800 cute little Butterfly Bushes, one for every mother, no strings attached, and the Brown

County Master Gardeners will be manning the plant

giveaway table.

We’ll have plenty of unadvertised specials on plants

at their peak, perfect for Mom! We’re featuring the new

HGTV Home Plant Collection, with specials on their

stunning combination planters and baskets. Special

guests include caricaturist Galen Bailey “the Scribbler”,

Ken’s Unique Birdhouses, specialty jams, jellies and

honey from the Queen’s Blessing Farm, and the Mill

Branch Bar Soap Company with upscale soaps and fra-

grance items.

Our party starts Friday morning May 8th at 10AM,

continuing 10AM to 7PM all three days. If you’re new

to the GoodSeed Farm community, it can be the start of

a wonderful family Mother’s Day tradition for you and

your family. Otherwise, welcome back!

Mother’s Day Party! ...MORE THAN JUST FOOD &

FLOWERS We’ve invited a few artists to our

three day Mother’s Day Party!

Every mother gets a FREE Butterfly Bush!

We love Mill Branch soaps! They’ll be at the nursery all three days!

Page 5 Growing With Us

Ken Wagner’s whimsical bird-houses are made from found

objects...affordable, too.

Mother’s Day Dinner “Out”, No Waiting!Mother’s Day Dinner “Out”, No Waiting!Mother’s Day Dinner “Out”, No Waiting! Reserve a Table Now for a

Sumptuous Mother’s Day Feast,

The Hilltop Ballroom Mother’s Day Buffet

has become one of Southern Ohio’s premiere

Mother’s Day events. Why wait in long lines

when you can dine in style with clothed tables,

fine china and linen napkins in an elegant ball-

room?

Enjoy mouth-watering carved pork tender-

loin and gravy, boneless chicken breasts, fresh

vegetable blend, fresh cut fruit salad, spring mix

salad and veggie tray with dip. Top it off with a

baked potato bar with fresh toppings of chives,

bacon bits, broccoli, diced onions, butter,

cheese and sour cream. Hot rolls with butter are

also included. Quench your thirst with delicious

sweet tea or lemonade. Top it off with a freshly

brewed cup of coffee and scrumptious dessert.

The Hilltop Ballroom Mother’s Day Buffet

is May 10, 2015 with seating at 1:30 pm. Reser-

vations are highly recommended. For details see

hilltopdesigns.org or call 937-695-5545.

Estel Newberry will be serving breakfast

sandwiches and mouthwatering BBQ meat dishes

all weekend!

Page 6 Growing With Us

: Deer and rabbit damage to plants is such a problem for some

of us that we’ve almost given up trying to plant home gardens,

landscapes and orchards. Short of surrounding our yards with ten-

foot fences, no deer deterrent seems to work for long. According

to the U.S. government, "... there is no single product or device

that will provide consistent long term plant protection from ani-

mal browsing damage.” Sadly, we’ve found this to be true. But

the key word here is “single product”.

Happily, there’s a game changer in the war with hungry

deer and rabbits. It’s a combination of two products: “Step One”

and then “Step Two”. Together, these steps are revolutionary.

Let’s start with Step Two, a plant food tablet containing 6-8-8 fertilizer, a

wide array of soil mycorrhizae, and one percent Denatonium. Called PlantSaver,

this small pill can be easily pressed two inches deep in the root zone of any orna-

mental plant. The key ingredient is Denatonium, also called Bitrix, and the sup-

plements just help the plant absorb it. As the tablet dissolves, it feeds the plant

while at the same time giving it a terrible bitter taste.

Denatonium is the most bitter substance known. It is widely used to pre-

vent accidental poisoning by products such as rat poison, anti-freeze, rubbing alco-

hol and nail polish remover. It isn’t poison, but even trace amounts are unbearably

bitter to eat. When it is absorbed by plants, it has a long-lasting effect. Deer and

rabbits simply won’t eat more than the first nibble.

Which brings us to Step One. Installing PlantSaver with new plants or adding

it to existing plants will only work once the Bitrix is absorbed and travels up into

your plants. In the meantime, you need to

spray your plants with an effective deer & rab-

bit repellent, perhaps several times. We have

had very good results with “Liquid Fence”

and with Bonide “Repels-All”, both of which

come in ready-to-use pump spray bottles or in

cost-effective concentrates you mix yourself.

Both of these sprays are effective for a

month or so, however if your plants are ac-

tively growing there will be lots of new un-

treated foliage so, to be sure, you should

spray every week or two during spring. By

the time the spray-on repellent loses its effect,

Bitrix from the tablets will be all throughout

your plants and will stay there for the rest of

the season and beyond.

Protecting edible plants and garden vegetables is an entirely different chal-

lenge. Obviously you would not want to flavor your edible plants with Bitrix, or

spray them with a noxious-smelling deterrent spray like Liquid Fence. These

products are for ORNAMENTALS ONLY. For edibles, you can sprinkle pow-

dered repellents like Deer Scram on the ground around the perimeter of your gar-

den, or spray the plants themselves with a product designed for edible plants, like

Bonide “Go Away”. We believe that the battle to protect ornamental plants from deer and rabbit

browsing is winnable. It will take just two steps, and we have them both at our

nursery. We’ve tried them ourselves in landscapes with extreme deer pressure,

and they work.

Discourage

Deer & Rabbits

in Two

Easy Steps

Page 7 Growing With Us

Our Vegetable Flats Are Only $12.99 for 36 Plants!

Modern gardeners are hungry for a return to traditional gardening meth-

ods, like building garden soil with organic compost and fertilizers. Petro-

chemical based fertilizers actually weaken soils over time, defeating the natural

process of renewal that makes good garden soils and healthy plants.

For one thing, petrochemicals don’t do anything to improve soil tex-

ture. Good soil needs “looseners” like compost and peat moss, and turning the

soil to mix it with air. Well-rounded nutrition depends on living organisms and

trace mineral elements, neither of which can be found in a bag of 12-12-12 or a

bottle of Miracle-Gro.

In our own gardens we use organic powdered plant foods like Holly

Tone, Plant Tone, Rose Tone and Bulb Tone by Espoma Organics. These are

balanced meals containing lots of wholesome natural ingredients like gypsum,

greensand and bone meal to help break up clay soil. They also contain Mi-

corrhizae, soil micro-organisms that help your plants digest fertilizer and trace

minerals. Espoma Organics is a modern version of the old-fashioned fertil-

izer mill; a factory where ground-up natural ingredients like bone meal, cot-

tonseed meal and other components are blended into powdered fertilizers that

build and replenish tired soils. We call Espoma fertilizers the “magic dust”.

The best way to fertilize is to mix the fertilizer with the soil when

you plant. This has a “timed-release” effect because the roots find the food as

the plant grows. It helps the roots spread quickly. For established plantings you

should sprinkle powdered fertilizers generously around your plants before

mulching. This way the fertilizer doesn’t have to find its way through the

mulch to get to the roots.

Timed-release powdered fertilizers work better than liquids because

plant feeding is affected by soil temperature. They are stable and will remain in

the soil until the plant uses them, while liquid fertilizers are washed away.

Some people ask us for “Miracle Gro” and we sell it in our garden center. But when we sell it we always

think of those I.V. drip bags in the hospital, “feeding” you through a tube into your arm. It will keep you alive but

it’s NOT a balanced diet. For a real-life demonstration of this compare a hothouse tomato with one from an organic

garden. Hydroponic tomatoes get a liquid diet similar to Miracle-Gro.

Liquid fertilizers are useful for fertilizing hanging

baskets, window boxes and planters where potting soil is

used and roots are confined in a small pot. Professional

growers use a weak solution of fertilizer in their irriga-

tion water to encourage rapid growth. Another good use

of liquid formulas is force-feeding distressed plants, such

as Azaleas that aren’t well established and can’t absorb

enough food from the soil. Rather than using Miracle

Gro, we prefer liquid fish emulsions like Neptune’s

Harvest, made just for this. You can water it in or spray

it on the leaves, and it will perk plants up quickly.

Think twice before you put your plants on a fast

food petrochemical diet. You probably wouldn’t like it

for yourself!

Are Your Plants SICK of Fast Food?

9736 Tri-County Highway

Winchester, Ohio 45697

937-587-7021

www.goodseedfarm.com

PRSTD STD US POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT 5400

CINCINNATI OH

May 8-9-10 Country Garden Mother’s Day Party! FREE Butterfly Bush for every mother. Specials, food and fun 10AM-7PM Friday, Satur-day, and Mother’s Day Sunday

June 13 GoodSeed Garden Expo! Spend the day with experts on gardening, plants, hardscaping and soils! Meet master gardeners, plant ex-perts, representatives from premier nurseries and garden supply manufacturers. Seminars, workshops, exhibits, door prizes, spe-cials, FREE samples. An indoor-outdoor event tailored for home landscapers, vegetable gardeners, lovers of plants & flowers. Rain or shine! Delicious food by Big “E” BBQ and “Buckeye Confec-tions”. 10AM-6PM Rain or shine!

August 8 Mum Season Begins! Gorgeous mums, fall décor, late vegetables. October 17-18 Clearance Sale! Everything discounted 50% or more! Come early

for the best selection. (Bulk items and RR ties not included). October 19-31 Fall Hours: Open weekdays 12-5, Saturday 10-4, Closed Sunday. October 31 CLOSED FOR THE SEASON! Bulk Mulch, Soil & Stone Delivery,

Landscaping still available by calling 937-587-7021

Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM to 7 PM Saturday 9 AM to 6 PM Sunday Noon to 5PM

PLAN TO VISIT GOODSEED FARM OFTEN THIS SPRING! Mark your calendar so you can enjoy our special events, take advan-tage of special savings, bring your family or friends for special times!

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MOTHER’S DAY PARTY!

It’s time for our 17th

annual Country Garden

Mothers Day Party. After

seventeen years it’s an

annual ritual, with a FREE

gift plant for every mom.

This year it’s Butterfly

Bush! There’s one for

you. Our party starts Fri-

day morning May 8th at

10AM, continuing 10AM

to 7PM all three days.

So, load your mothers and daughters, grandmothers

and grandkids, mothers-in-law and mothers-to-be, into

your car and head for GoodSeed Nursery sometime be-

tween Friday morning and Mother’s Day Sunday. We’ll

miss you if you don’t come!