Welcome to October!!!!

There’s lots going on…and a lot to read~~~

It’s the month where seasonal re-evaluations begin…

And the holidays start to come in to focus…

First up –Fall Decorating and Halloween!!

We have cornstalks, ribbons and bows, gorgeous silk flowers and – all of our mums are 40% off!  Our mums are bigger and better for the price than any around because the New Braintree farmer we buy them from is a great grower. And – unlike everyone else selling mums in the region at the moment – we fertilize our mums!  This means that all of the secondary buds hidden under the first set will keep pushing up.  And – if you follow up with fertilizer on your own – you can keep mums going for about 3 weeks more than usual.  Not bad huh?!?!

And then there’s the GIANT SPIDER EVENT!!  On Saturday, 10/25, 1:00-2:30 pm, we’re hosting Tarantula Daddy (TD) and Elizabeth and their 8-legged friends.  Giant spiders are actually easy house pets – no daily cleaning!  Just clean water and a cricket a week!  TD and Elizabeth are going to walk everyone through the details about how to take care of these animals.  This is a free program so bring your friends for the bragging rights of saying that you got a chance to pat a tarantula!!!  No pressure though – no one is going to be forced to do anything you don’t want to do J 

And right after Halloween – Country Roads starts (11/8/ - 12/7)…more on that in our next newsletter but we’re on the route as are 20+ other local vendors of all kinds of fun goods!  Check out the Country Roads 2025 Facebook page for more information…and we’ll have details on our Facebook page as we get closer to opening day.

Moving on to other seasonal projects…

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 11/1, 10-11:30am 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. Also – this is a weather dependent presentation so your telephone number is essential for us to be in contact with you in case the weather goes sideways…which we hope it won’t…but…

From the Healthy Tree and Shrub Department…Tree and Shrub Rehab

Almost everyone knows that the trees and shrubs in their yards have been under massive stress this year.  We had five “heat” events in 7 weeks this summer followed by nothing but more sun and dryness.  We’ve had all kinds of problems and pictures walk through the doors at the store so we know how bad it’s been.  I’ve mentioned the energy stabilizing drench in earlier newsletters (5 gallons of water, 2 cups molasses, 1/3 cup liquid humates and a good squirt of soap poured slowly over the root system) and that has stabilized many an unhappy tree or shrub but now is the time to do the real work that will stabilize the plants for the long haul.  We’re running a workshop on exactly this topic on 11/8, 10-11:30am $15.00 plus the cost of materials specific to your yard’s needs. No limit on the number of people since there are so many people with problem trees and shrubs.  We’ll stand around in the greenhouse if we have to!!!

From the Tasty Garden Department – Garlic tips

Garlic is almost ready to be planted – Soil temps are still high so waiting another few weeks is a good idea.  The goal is to have good rooting, but NOT good shooting before the winter freeze up.

I’ve planted garlic as late as the bridge week between Christmas and New Year’s when I finally had time to plant – and had a bumper crop.  The goal is to get the garlic in to the ground after the ground has started to chill, but isn’t yet frozen – and an incidental freeze up doesn’t count.  Planting too early means that the newly emerging plants may be at the wrong stage for successful wintering.  We’re still weirdly warm for this time of year and recommendations from places further north (so arguably colder – like Maine and mid-Vermont) are for planting garlic by Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter.  We’re totally safe to plant that late here in central Massachusetts! We had hard neck varieties (grow scapes in the summer) at the store and those varieties are cold tolerant, store well and are very tasty.

Some garlic thoughts to remember:

• Garlic needs a nutrient rich environment in order to grow well. This means you’ll need to add an organic fertilizer to the planting area when planting unless your bed is quite rich – and plan on side dressing in late May/early June. Plan on adding a light application of gypsum (calcium/sulfate) in the planting trench as well.  Garlic needs both the calcium and the sulfur…

• Mulching after planting helps to keep the soil system an even temperature with warm ups and cool downs moderated nicely – easy on those newly developing roots.

• The garlic we carried here at the store is from Maine Potato Lady, and one of the reasons that we buy from them is that they certify that their garlic varieties have tested negative for garlic bloat nematode, white mold, and botrytis.  This means you’re starting with clean cloves with a much higher chance of success and that you won’t contaminate your garden with problems that will affect all members of the onion family.

We also have cold tolerant lettuce plants, spinach, bok choy and arugula for sale. I’ve even started some mache (or corn salad – an easier name by far!!!) – a very cold tolerant and tasty European green.

From the Healthy Lawn Department

As many of you know – this has been a tough year for turf as well as for trees and shrubs.  We just didn’t have the water needed to keep vulnerable lawns going well. What makes for a vulnerable lawn you ask? – in two words – shallow soils. So many of the newer homes have very shallow soils over whatever the contractor decided to fill the site with.  Almost everyone reading this newsletter has watched a new house going in…with the mounded septic system if out in the country or a very scraped 10,000sq ft if in a tight development area – or both!!!!  There are no legal definitions for loam or compost so there are no defenses for people who buy loam and compost and contractors are only legally required to place 3” of “loam” on the site with contractor grade seed on top of that.  Healthy grass roots need a minimum of 4” (and that really is minimum!) and would prefer 6+”. We all know that’s not happening!!  What this means for turf grasses is that they need real care in their early days on the ground.  Irrigation and nutrition are key!  And we’re in the middle of a drought – again!! 

Normally, the fall is the time to rehab lawns and it still is if you have access to irrigation.  Trickier if you have to rely on the rain events that are few and far between…One trick to try is to use some traditional winter kill cover crops (like oats and annual clovers) mixed in to the regular grass seed.  These plants grow fast, helping to protect the slower sprouting grass seeds but die out in mid-late December leaving a much more open soil for the baby grass roots to grow into. Another trick is to snow seed – and that’s exactly what it sounds like!  You prep everything carefully and then wait…until the first snow fall is predicted and then you sow the grass seed.  The snow HAS TO COVER THE SEED QUICKLY OR YOU’LL JUST BE FEEDING THE BIRDS!!!!  The grass won’t germinate until spring but the weight of the snow will press the grass seed down in to the soil and the moisture will slowly swell the seed prepping it for germination as soon as conditions are right in the spring.  You’ll then prepare to overseed thin areas by mid-May and be in good shape going in the next summer.

One last thought on lawns – mix in white clover seed!  Before WWII, grass seed was always sold with clover seed.  After WWII, no clover – ask if you want to know why!!!!  It’s a fascinating if horrifying story…but…history can spin again and clover is coming back in to vogue.  Almost anyone who’s tried it has found out that a mixed turf is much sturdier than a solo turf grass mat.  And – if you don’t want the white flowers (although the bees LOVE white clover flowers), then there’s a turf developed micro-clover (derived from white clover) that has a smaller leaf – people often don’t even see it and it flowers much less.  Both are available at the store and we can go over what the differences are in seeding it vs grass seed.

From the Healthy Animal Department - Both livestock (chickens) and pets (dog)

First up – dogs and cats…

In the last few weeks, we’ve had an unusually high level of dog owners coming with dogs of all kinds suddenly having problems with their current dog food.  Many have developed real digestive challenges that also challenge their owner!  Some had stopped eating altogether. Almost all of these problems can be tied back to food quality, formula inconsistencies and allergies to specific proteins…

I don’t want to get in to the specific products that have caused the problems but do want to outline a way to move forward.  Some dog food companies are still family owned and have a clear concentration on ingredient quality and formula consistency.  Fromm is one such company… so are Ultimates and Earthborn (Mid-Western Pet Foods – family owned) … and then look at Holistic and Wellness (a large corporation but NOT like Mars or the other conglomerates). 

And then there’s First Mate – our newest introduction to the dog and cat food lines.  First Mate is another family-owned business with very clean ingredients and some very good reports on its positive effect on dogs (in particular) who are showing clear signs of food allergies.  We have trial sized bags on hand for you to experiment with and will be bringing in the larger sizes as we find out what is working best for people.  You can check them out here https://firstmate.com/blog/. 

If you’re having a problem with your dog’s diet – come on in and talk to us.  We can’t guarantee success, but we CAN help you sort out what could work better for your pup. 

And then there are the chickens (and other kinds of farm birds!)

As you know – we sell Poulin Livestock grain…because it’s locally made (in Vermont) and they adapt their formulas to the changes that they track in the quality of local feed (the steady and significant drop in the quality of local hay is a major point) and lock their formulas for quality – just like the better dog/cat food brands do.  Each grain bag has the same protein, fats, fibers and supplements as the last bag.  We’re so sure of the Poulin quality for poultry that we’re going to be bringing in their Poultry Essentials line for those who need a good quality but not top of the line feed for their birds and its price for a 50 lb bag is better than any in the region…because…

THANK YOU to all of our Poulin poultry customers! Because of your loyalty and the resulting increase in sales of several Poulin lines, we are now able to offer lower prices on Poulin’s Scratch feed ($16.99>$16.49), Premium Layer Pellets ($19.99>$18.49), Egg Production Plus ($21.99>$20.49) and, our newest addition to the line Layer Essentials – an excellent and stabilized formula basic layer mix for an introductory price of $15.99 (will become $16.49 in April).  These are 50 lb (not 40 lb) bags and have stabilized formulas for protein, fat and fiber.  Take the time to check the feed tags for any feed your using – and we’re always happy to show you the tags for any bag of feed that you’re buying from us.

Well – that’s it for this newsletter – and a lot of news it is too!!  Thank you for reading to the end and we’re looking forward to seeing you soon at the store!