Welcome to our Open House!

We’re having a party!

Saturday, December 20^th, 11:00am-2:00pm

A fantastic celebration of local economy,

local production, and

local good-will!

But – before we get to the party, we have thanks to extend… We were blown away last Saturday with the success of our pet food drive and the wonderful pictures with Santa and Dominic the Donkey.  Thanks to Jasmine and Josh – and Dominic!!  And thanks to Joe for making the whole scene come to life in such a seasonally appropriate manner…and THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT, HAD A GOOD TIME AND DONATED SO SPECTACULARLY TO THE PET FOOD DRIVE.  If you haven’t had a chance to check out our Facebook page for the pics from that day (https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodEarthFGC) , it’s worth your time to take a look.  We also have a link on our website – front page no less!!  Check here: https://www.thegoodearthfgc.com.

You’ll have to go through a few clicks but the photos are worth the effort – you’ll smile!!!  So many people were generous, and thoughtful, about what they donated!  And everyone had a good time choosing the toys for the shelter animals.  This is what community does – and ours did it magnificently!

Now – onto the party!

As you know from all of the conversations around Country Roads, we’re all in on local economy and local producers. We’re inviting several vendors in to showcase some of the talent in the area, and there’s a LOT of talent!  Along with those vendors are all of the products already in our gift store produced by other local talents.  And the products range all over from foods (like granola, honey, maple syrup and popcorn), to crafts (like engraved and carved wood pieces, green/silk centerpieces, embroidered pieces of all kinds, candles) and wraps up with body and beauty products (like oils, lotions, soaps and scrubs).  It’s a wild array of imagination made manifest!!  Just the thing for a stocking stuffer or two…

Of course – we have special prices on some special –

 but also, practical – items:

New England Premium Wood Pellets – reg $379/ton   for one day only! $365/ton

            And individual bags go from $9.99/bag to $8.99/bag        Stay warm this winter!!

Amaryllis kits go from $15.99 to $13.99 – one of the best of the holiday plants in my estimation!

ALL ANIMAL TOYS -for all species!!  15% off   There are great toys for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, weasels, chinchillas, hamsters, mice and more. 

And – last but not least Wild Delight’s Sizzlin’ Heat Bird Seed – this is the bird seed coated in hot pepper solution – won’t hurt the birds since they don’t smell or taste it – but mammals of all kinds don’t like it very much.  Especially true for squirrels but even bears have been known to avoid it!

            5 lb. bag reg $16.99    >>        $14.99

            14 lb. bag reg $40.99  >>        $38.99

            Suet     reg $2.89         >>        $2.29

We’ll have snacks like popcorn, local potato chips, finger sandwiches, and cookies along with drinks like hot cider and cocoa to make sure you don’t leave hungry!

And last- but not least – children’s activities include:

• Salt dough tree decorations for children to make their own by adding the color and glitz

• A read-aloud session of the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas at noon in the middle of the party.  Great story telling of a great and seasonal tale!

We have something for everyone!

So come and join as we celebrate community

Before we sign off though for this crazy 2025 year– a couple of practical notes for the garden…you know me – can’t miss the basics!

As of 12/9/25, Central Massachusetts is still in the moderate drought/abnormally dry zone – check here for details: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MA. This means that the trees etc. have barely had a chance to start recovery.  The good news is that the snow came before the cold and the frost did NOT penetrate far and the ground is still relatively receptive to moisture – and tree/shrub roots are able to do their thing of putting on root growth during these critical early winter months…the not so good news is that evergreens and sensitive trees like Japanese maples have had a very stressful fall into winter and are vulnerable to winter desiccation damage in both leaves (evergreens) and buds (the maples).  We just might be coming up on a window that will allow for the application of Wiltpruf to help with those problems… 

Wilt-Pruf's primary ingredient is Pinolene, a polymerized pine resin that creates a breathable, protective film on plant leaves to reduce water loss. It's a natural, organic, biodegradable product, with concentrates typically containing 25% Pinolene and 75% inert ingredients (mostly water and stabilizers) – from the magic of an AI description – this one I couldn’t do better on!!!

If we get warm enough (45 degrees), you can get another (or first!) application of WiltPruf on to your rhododendrons, azaleas, Japanese maples and other cold/drought sensitive plants.  As the sun angle lifts (and we’re almost at Solstice!!!) and the days get longer, the dehydration factor on those leaves and buds gets more intense – sudden full sun, warm days followed by sharp cold nights can do even more damage.  Food for thought as we wind our way through the winter…

And – last but not least…ROSES!!!

Yes – ROSES!!!  So many of you bought roses this year! And now it’s time to protect them…I know – NOW???  YES, NOW!!!!  Seems weird but there you have it…  I’ve done this next step as late as the first week in January – grumbling the entire time I did the job J 

Years ago, I learned a really easy way to mulch tea roses and have rarely lost one since. I had roses on several garden sites and this has worked everywhere… The original idea came from Edmond’s Roses with some adaptations through time…and step one is why waiting is a GOOD thing!

• Wait for the ground to be frozen and night temps to be below freezing – the goal is to keep the ground frozen but not to great depth. This means that the timing is dependent on the wider weather pattern – I’ve mulched as late as early January and as early as the first week in November. This mulching is to hold the soil lightly frozen, and that keeps the roses from starting back in to growth too early (or too late – depends on how you read the winter temps…). The goal is NOT to keep the ground from freezing – non-frozen ground means that a weird heat surge in January can start the roses up and also allows for rodents to live nicely protected for the winter – not good!!!

• Next, take pelletized sawdust animal bedding (not wood pellet stove pellets) and make a mound right over the crown of the rose about 6” high and as wide at the base as is needed to make the cone.

• Then take chopped straw and pack it lightly around the cone and GENTLY water the mulch and straight down into the cone of pellets. I use warm water to speed up the knitting of the mulch to the pellets but cold water should work as well.

• Walk away and forget it. The night cold will freeze the two together and will last quite neatly until you take it away in April. This is also easy to clean away in the spring and makes an EXCELLENT mulch elsewhere (not under the roses in case black spot spores have infected it). I use this as mulch for tomatoes on the sites where I use it.

From everyone here at the store

we’re wishing all of you a healthy, fun filled holiday

and a wonderful and healthy New Year!!