Spring has Sprung!

Spring has Sprung and that means that the days are now slowly getting longer than the nights and the world around us really starts to wake up.  March is Maple Syrup month and the boiling season is moving in to the rear-view mirror – leaving an excellent product behind!!!  Everyone reading this newsletter knows that Maple syrup is divine on or in foods and beverages of all kinds.  Personally, we like the grade B syrup – a smokier and more intense flavor but with less sweetness than the first boil’s light amber.  It’s excellent in baked goods – just as an FYI!!! – and only found at sugar shacks.  It’s the light and dark ambers that are found for sale in all kinds of settings – including here at the Good Earth ☺ 

Now that the maple syrup season is behind us – we’re looking forward to the 2025 garden season.  All of that miserable ice of February and March has melted and everyone is getting restless for the greening of the world.  One HUGE word of warning – central Massachusetts is still in moderate drought.  We never got the moisture we needed over the winter – check out the state monitor-  and look at the list of stresses that are visible – or will be visible – as the season moves on.  Look at some of the reservoirs too – just had a conversation with a Quabbin Reservoir flow operator that they’re closing off some of the piping that’s come above the water line.

Why does this matter since we all feel that there was MORE THAN ENOUGH WINTER PRECIPITATION?!?!? Mostly – it points out that our human assessment has very little connection to the reality of the situation.  Mature trees are much more at risk than younger trees and the new drought/flood oscillations are truly stressing the trees.  More on that as the summer comes on and we see what kind of tree response actually materializes. We’ll have a workshop on how to help the trees manage stresses.

Enough of the grimness of drought – 

and on to the joy of the upcoming growing season!

All of our spring bulbs are in – and you should see the colors in the dahlia tubers!! Just glorious…and there are lilies of all kinds, bags of gladiolus bulbs, liatris, begonias and other lesser-known species – something for everyone.  And the potatoes (15+ varieties) are due in the first week of April…and the chicks are due in as well!  EVERYTHING is coming up spring!

Yes – the chick orders are coming in and the first babies are due in about a week. Anyone interested in chickens knows just how hot the local market is for chicks. Our chicks are custom ordered – you come in and place an order, and we call you when the birds are ready to go home. We have over 2 dozen different varieties of birds coming in this year so make sure to check out the entire list - although the next few weeks are almost sold out.  We keep a sharp eye on the chicks when they arrive and make sure that every baby is drinking (Hydro Hen is in the water for the entire time the chicks are at the store) and eating (Poulin chick starter with extra minerals) before we call you. We make sure that smutty butt and other problems than can get going don’t get a chance.  We’re proud of the quality babies that go home with you for your own home flocks and we’ll help to trouble shoot problems that might arise.  You’ll also find ducks (one week only), quail (ditto one week) and broiler chicks (not sexed and also on specific weeks) so there really is something for everyone!  Time to start planning but chicks are going fast 

And the other big arrival is Vermont Compost’s Fort V, V Light and their basic manure compost.  Vermont Compost joins Coast of Maine, Gaia Green, Fox Farm, Espoma and Premier for the quality soil line up options. Different mixes are good for different kinds of plants.  Some mixes are “generalists” – good for most for solid results (Bar Harbor, Happy Frog, Ocean Forest, Espoma Organic, Fort V, Pro-mix).  Some are high energy (Stonington, Living Earth, 707) for tomatoes, Cannabis, cucumbers etc.  Some are for amending soils (Quoddy, Penobscot, VC Manure Compost, Worm Castings [3 kinds!]. and some are for all of the specifics for houseplants of all kinds (orchid, cactus, citrus, bonsai).  You get the drift!  If in doubt – please ask questions!  We’ll do our best to answer and also have information up in the store for you to look at.  You’ll also find everything you need to get your seedlings off to a good start including the seedling inoculant Biogenensis III from Tainio Biologicals -.  There’s enough for 50 packets of seed in each package and it can be used on any seedlings.

Now – onto the major work of the season – 

getting the yard and garden going

DO NOT CLEAN UP YOUR GARDENS FOR THE SPRING

UNTIL AFTER THE RED MAPLE BLOOMS!!!!

Why you ask??  Because the bloom on the red maple means that the local pollinators and good guy bugs are waking up – and that they will have the critical food found in the maple blooms to get them started.  The waking up part of that sentence is the real key to the situation.  Insects (and bears and other animals that hibernate to survive the winter) use temperature and day length to emerge from that hibernation – and the bears are already awake...  Insects that have burrowed or otherwise protected themselves for the winter are completely vulnerable to a rake or leaf blower if the work is done too early. Insects are a critical foundation piece of every ecosystem – both the “good” bugs and the not so good (will not call them “bad” – both words are human designators not ecosystem designators!!).

This whole process has a nifty name - It’s time to introduce the word phenology!  

Phenology is the study of nature’s calendar and how specific events (the bloom on the red maple/ the emergence of insects) interact with overarching weather conditions (flood/drought/average), climatic changes, super early spring warmth, late killing frosts) and human activities (cleaning up the garden).  The point is that there is a correlation between the plants, animals and their environment – and that it’s IMPORTANT to understand how human actions can either help or destroy systems.  I know just how hard it is to WAIT to get the garden’s cleaned up!  But – it’s critical to WAIT!!!  

The one thing you can do early is to lime the lawns and gardens if needed.  Lime (calcium) takes time to move in to your soil’s system and your plants need that calcium in order to stay strong and healthy.  If you’ve been liming every year for years – PLEASE get a soil test done to check for both the pH and the ratio between calcium and magnesium. We can help you with that - and that leads right in to our next few workshops…

April 12: Building a Raised Bed, 10:00-11:30am Raised beds are a boon to anyone who can’t (or won’t) get down on the ground and can be placed anywhere regardless of soil quality (or no soil at all) below the bed…But…a lot of raised beds don’t thrive and produce, especially after the first year.  Raised beds are different from in-ground garden beds and there are techniques that will assure your success once you put them into practice. $15/person – limit 10

April 26: Developing Healthy Soils, 1:00-2:30pm This is the most important step and everyone needs some basic information. We’ll look at soil tests, soil amendments, composts, cover crops – what goes on when and why – and that weirdly important calcium/magnesium ratio.  Developing healthy soils grows healthy plants, healthy animals and healthy people too!!  This is the workshop that frames the rest of the discussions. $15/person – limit 10

May 4:   Mineral Mixing Day 10:00-11:30pm – Learning how to create a Spring Mineral Mix.  New England soils are very old and damaged soils – but you can change that!!!  Learn how to mix a complex stone dust mix that gets added to all kinds of soil to bring your soil back to life.  You will actually mix the mix yourself and take it home for your garden(s).  Ask all kinds of questions too!!  Space limited so reserve early.  Cost of mix (weighed out individually at the end of the workshop) to be determined by current delivered prices. $15/person plus the cost of mix. Limit 10 per session

June 28: Managing Gardens For Health and Production-Working with Foliar Sprays,  10:00-11:30 am Here’s where the rubber really hits the road – or should I say leaf??  Foliar sprays can kill insects and diseases directly, but they can also be used to prevent problems from developing and can directly increase the base line health of your plants.  If you’re planning on eating anything from your plants then you’ll also see an improvement in flavor.  limit 10 – and includes enough foliar support for you to spray a gallon when you get home. ($30/person includes leaf inoculants) 

July 19: Troubleshooting the Garden, 1:00-2:30pm You’re back from July 4th vacation and problems have arrived (or are about to!).  This is the time when the expected energy drop in the garden occurs and problems of all kinds start to show up. Now’s the time to get on top of whatever is going wrong.  Bring your questions (and any leaves or insects – well contained!) and we’ll see what we can do.  $15.00/person – limit 10

Whew – that’s a lot!!!  Don’t worry, we’ll be reminding you of upcoming events, but it’s sometimes helpful to have the whole schedule put in front of you.