Fall has arrived!!

Fall has arrived!! Technically, the autumnal equinox is not until 9/22/25, but the longer nights are already having an effect.  At least the air temperature is crisp and cool even if we’re desperately in need of rain. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have woody plants that you care about, take the time to do some deep watering.  Use the stabilizing drench in the last newsletter and follow it up with clean water 48 hours later.  Keep watering once a week until the ground freezes.  Come November, you’ll be working on the next steps to stabilize the root system and prep the plants for better success next spring.  More on that in the November newsletter, but for now  - WATER!!! 

Now – for much more fun topics!

Mums, asters, kale, grasses are in and ready for you to dress up the front steps and enjoy the delightful colors of fall!  These are the classic colors and textures that make everyone smile. 

We also have all kinds of fall veggies – like spinach, chard, lettuce and more. 

You’ll find that we have all of these veggies in 4” pots – with multiple seedlings per pot.  Why do we grow them in 4” pots instead of packs though??  Well, we can’t buy in the veggie packs at this time of year so we’re growing them here at the store from seed.  We did try seeding the packs because that’s how everyone expects to see the plants but we just couldn’t get them to stay moist enough in the heat of August – enter the 4” pots.  It worked!  There’s enough soil in the pots to keep the water stable for germination and there’s plenty of room for multiple seedlings and rooting depth.  There are at least 6 seedlings per pot so numbers are the same for planting on.

And then there are the cover crops. Cover crops are a great way to hold onto any extra nutrition in your beds, build up biomass and keep living roots active for most of the winter.  We have the classic winter rye, but we also have clovers, radishes, oats and peas.

But – the real story at the store right now is that the

OUR END OF SEASON SALE BEGINS NOW!!

This means that all of the remaining

trees, shrubs, perennials and color pots are

20% OFF!!

If you’ve visited the store recently then you know that all of the plants we take care of are in excellent condition, especially considering the earlier heat in July…we actually had 107 in the middle of the nursery plants on one quite memorable day!  That took some management to come through for both people and plants!

There are some real hidden gems tucked on to the benches that are TRULY worth looking at…here’s a sample to tease your imagination…

Heptacodium miconioides -  Seven Sons Flower – blooming now with exfoliating bark. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=k450 

Magnolia lilliflora Ann – classic vase shaped blooms on a slow growing tree – later blooming than most so more likely to survive late frosts.

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d422 

Callicarpa X Pearl Glam – setting up a wonderful array of berries as the season turns and the foliage is delightfully dramatic with mahogany tones https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/callicarpa/pearl-glam-beautyberry-callicarpa-x 

Aronia melanocarpa Viking and Iroquois Beauty – a phenomenal pair of native shrubs that have phenomenal flowers in spring, edible berries in the fall along with deep red leaves, grow on almost any kind of soil and the birds and bees are happy spring and winter. Nibble on the fruit when you check them out. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=273919 

Actaea (Cimicifuga) racemosa – black cohosh.  A shade tolerant plant that has scope, texture, late blooms that appeal to a wide range of native pollinators.  One of my favorite plants!  https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j790 

And beyond this list, there are all kinds of fruiting bushes and trees (like blueberries, raspberries, grapes and peaches), flowering bushes (like butterfly bushes, hydrangeas, hibiscus, Rose-of-Sharons), working shrubs (like bayberry, bearberry, winterberry, laurels), shade perennials (like ferns, hostas, epimediums, and astilbe) and all of the many kinds of sun perennials – too many to list!

And a short note from Rachel:

“Hi there, this extra recommendation is from Rachel. You've likely caught me at some point in the side yard or behind the register. 

My hidden gem pick is something near and dear to my heart: our table of hot peppers. 

There are the usual favorites like jalapeños and habaneros, and some rare finds like our pot of ghost peppers!

So, for any adventurous souls out there in our community, there are plenty of peppers ready to harvest today! And for everyone else, I still suggest you check them out while they're still here. It's a great time to see just how many different shapes and colors a pepper can come in.” 

There really is LOTS to check out at this tail end of the gardening season!!

And then…they’re baaack…

you’ve been asking about fall workshops!!

We have something for everyone – house plant care, hairy spiders, soil prep.

9/20 Prepping your Houseplants for Winter

10:00-11:30am $15 plus cost of materials. Limit 10

We’ll go over how to safely bring all kinds of plants inside and either store or grow them for the winter and we’ll go over how to effectively pot on a favorite houseplant.  Bring one (1) houseplant that you want to work on and we’ll go over each plant individually

9/27 Quality Matters: Quality of forages and grains matter for healthy horses and Livestock Full day - Morning visiting horses/afternoon workshop 

Anyone who’s feeding livestock knows that the quality of the animal is based on the quality of the feed that the animal eats (this is true for all animals of course – including us!!!  More on that later!!!).  We have a small dairy goat herd as well as a horse and ducks and we are VERY aware of the quality of the feeds that we use with them.  Sarah McEachern from Poulin Grain will be providing details on the generalized deterioration of the animal feed supply that Poulin Grain is tracking across New England and what can be done to make sure that the animals are getting what they need for both best production and best quality of life.  Lots of time for questions.  $15.00 for the workshop – visiting with the horses in the morning is free! 

10/4 Plug in to Planting Houseplants: make your own mini garden or hanging basket 10:00-11:30am $15 plus cost of materials – limit 10 A selection of small plugs and plants will be available for you to choose from and we’ll help you put it all together and answer any questions.

10/18 Developing Healthy Soils  1:00-2:30pm  $15/person – limit 10

This is the most important step in garden development and everyone needs some basic information. We’ll look at soil tests, soil amendments, composts, cover crops – what goes on when and why.  Developing healthy soils grows healthy plants, healthy animals and healthy people too!!  This is the workshop that frames the rest of the discussions.

10/25 Giant Spider Workshop Show and Tell with Elizabeth Burke – Free!

It’s Halloween and Elizabeth loves her giant spiders!  She wants you to meet them! Come and be introduced J

11/1 Fall Mineral Mixing 10:00-11:30am $15 plus cost of minerals taken

If you have a yard or garden then you probably know that gardens don’t always perform the way they’re supposed to.  Most soils are damaged and are non-functional or intermittently functional. Poor nutrient cycling is inherent in how these damaged soils operate, but fall is THE time to fix this!  Join us for a mineral mixing day at the store as we walk everyone through how to mix different minerals together to wake up and strengthen soil systems. $15.00/person plus the cost of the minerals you take with you. Limit 10

Call 978-632-0991

to reserve your spot for any of the programs.

See you at the store!!