So much happening – so little time!!!
Despite the rain – and its negative effect on so much of the gardening year – the gardening year IS drawing down to the end. One of the weird effects of the changes we’re seeing is that the autumns are longer and warmer than in the past (let’s not think about the spring changes!). This means that there is still plenty of time to get so many gardening and yard tasks taken care of. What does that mean for you? Long fall days exercising muscles and breathing great air while you reinvigorate gardens! Think about it – so much better than working out inside a gym 😊
The last newsletter highlighted our end of year plant sale – and that’s still going on even as the selection shrinks. Having said that however – there are still some great plants available! We’re especially proud of the line of young native plants – carefully curated to provide food for native insects even this late in to the season. You’ll see the proof yourself as you gently move the bees around while looking at the plants. And – don’t worry – we make sure that no bees go home with you in the car! Bad for you – bad for the bees if we don’t make sure they stay put!!
Now for what’s new – and there’s a LOT that’s new!!!
From the Healthy Animal Department…
As you some of you know, our extended family has 4 dogs, 2 cats, 28 goats, 3 ducks and one 30-year-old horse. I mention this because maintaining our animals at a high level of health is critical to how we run the farm. And that means that we look to both the quality of the food they eat (more on that later) and the supports that we can use when problems arise. I’ve used both homeopathic and herbal supports for our animals, and we’ve found two lines that we’re happy to be introducing to the store.
The first one is a homeopathic support series for house pets and chickens called Homeopet – safe, gentle & cost-effective solutions and services that work to improve the health and wellbeing of animals – from the website. Next time you’re in the store, take a moment to see the range of every day challenges that homeopathy can be used for – especially true for the stress/emotional trauma/anxiety issues that face so many animals.
And here’s the new herbal support line…The Herbal Horse created by a local herbalist specializing in farm animals – horses in particular – but she has products for chickens and goats as well. There are herb blends to support all kinds of chronic problems. Come in and check out the selection and see if it matches your animal’s needs.
From the Healthy Garden Department…Fall Mineral Mixing
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 at best. Poor nutrient cycling is inherent in how these damaged soils (don’t) operate. Working to fix damaged soil is my favorite topic of all time and you’ll get a chance to make a complex mineral “fertilizer”, see what it looks like, what it feels like and what all of the pieces do. Even better is that fall is THE time to work with soil systems!
Join us for a mineral mixing day at the store on 9/30, 1-2:30pm as we walk everyone through how to mix the different minerals together to wake up and strengthen soil systems. Call the store, 978-632-0991 – to reserve your space (space is limited!) $15.00 plus the cost of the minerals you take with you.
From the Joyous Color in the Garden Department
The spring bulbs are here!!! We have the classics of course – tulips, daffodils and crocuses but you’ll find other – more unusual – bulbs as well. Take a look at the fritillarias and the grape hyacinths…We even have saffron crocus – yes, the crocus that produces those brilliant orange stamens that make rice taste so good! There are a few tricks so be sure to ask 😊
From the Tasty Garden Department
Garlic is almost ready to be planted – we have some local garlic ready to go now and the bulk of the order is due in later this week. PLEASE wait until at least the middle of October before planting the garlic. The local garlic at the store was planted the first week of DECEMBER last year – and it reached full size easily.
We also have cold tolerant lettuce plants, spinach, beets and arugula for sale. You can also check out our late veggie production pots out on the wall in the side yard. We’re fighting off the rabbits and cabbage loopers just like everyone else has to…
And finally – From the Healthy Lawn and Garden Department
All of the cover crops are in and there are many ways to use them. We’ve broken the more unknown ones down into premeasured units for 100 sq ft and 1000sq ft to make it easier for you to experiment with. Here’s the list of what you’ll find: Berseem Clover (annual), Balansa Clover (annual), Crimson Radish (annual crimson clover and Penetrator radish), Broadcaster mix (annual rye, crimson clover and Penetrator radish), Hayden oats (annual), winter rye (persistent), Dutch white clover (persistent) and micro-clover (persistent). We’re happy to walk you through what could work for you and have a great cheat sheet at the counter.
One trick to try – adding annual clovers to a turf grass planting. They grow fast but die out in mid-late December leaving a much more open soil for the grass roots to grow into. Add the penetrator radish (also winter killed) and you’ll start to unwind the massive compaction that most lawns suffer from. You can check out the grass strip in front of the store where we’ve used this exact approach. That strip is 6 weeks old and has been mowed twice – and is ready for its next mowing.
As you can see, there’s A LOT going on!!! It’s even possible that the fall weather will be better than the summer’s weather was – although that wouldn’t be hard. So, stop in the next time you’re down the West Broadway way and check out what’s happening – it will be good to see you. 😊
The Good Earth
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