Shivering: A Spring Cautionary

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Gray sky, sun peaking through two ominous clouds, winds at 7, bursting to 11 mph and back. It's spring! Yesterday's heavy rain raised streams and rivers and moved Lake Champlain to flood stage. Dirt roads like ours that last week held promise of drying out have returned to ruts and runoff. They remind me of my youth on Church Hill Road, Woodstock. Seemed to me that age six was too young to learn about building temporary corduroy roads to get the old Chevy home for the night. There was no choice and we all pitched in to find old tree limbs along the roadway to fill in ruts and get the car, equipped with tire chains and already well muddied, home again.

Spring looks different around New England today. In Burlington along Lake Champlain, the hellebores slow significant bloom and draw many "What is that?"s from still unfamiliar gardeners. Ours here on the mountain are still buried under a couple feet of snow and are weeks away from bloom. And it's this disparity of garden images that's important to remember as gardeners, with pent up energies, want to get busy in their gardens.

Like the hellebores in some gardens, hosta pips rise from still-cold soil and give encouragement of luxuriant growth soon to come. Garden lovers often get a little hasty in the spring and on that first warm day rake leaves and want to begin to fertilize. This is not good thinking as fertilizers spread before the last threat of frost has past encourage quick leaf growth of weak, thin, susceptible leaves that will get nailed day after day by subsequent frosts. Here on the mountain I make myself hold back on the leaf raking in the hosta gardens for this very reason. The tree leaves blanket the emerging growth and offer some protection until we get closer to the first week in June. Where you live it may well be a different world but to stave off disappointment here, we have to be patient. Give this reminder some thought and temper it with your knowledge of your last frost date.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the winds have blown every last seed off the platform bird feeder. The ground is covered with finches, some bullied back and forth by mourning doves scratching for millet seed. Karl the Wonder Dog is begging for a second opportunity to sniff spring.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
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Writing on Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Iris Pseudacorus

Saturday, April 9, 2010

Just in from a nice walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. The sky is clear, temperature 24.3° and windless. A tom turkey calls out this morning from the mountain towards RT 232 and doves and jays fight over the bird seed. One hairy and one downy woodpecker, possible friends, peck away on the remaining onion sack of suet. They seem to know I will not replace it when its gone.

Gail is in the kitchen making kitchen noise as she prepares to leave for a program at Vermont Technical College. The New England Wild Flower Society uses that site for an annual presentation and it always pleases. I say "always"but that's not quite true. Gail returned last year with flowery comments about lunch that included some concoction of pizza that was covered with scrambled eggs she was convinced were left over from the breakfast line. That was apparently one of the more interesting offerings to the point that she wrote a couple thoughts to the current college president. Gail's dad was a professor at VTC for many years and she maintains his integrity in always presenting a good product. The pizza was not that good.

As spring has already arrived in many parts of America, listservs begin to discuss plants still buried under snow here in Vermont. My favorite hellebores are receiving plenty of review now and the volume of comments and advertisements confirms the growing popularity of this flower. From Florida came a comment about Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag iris. This is a bright yellow iris, with 3-4 foot sword-like leaves and vibrant yellow blooms. It's also a problem as it spreads quickly by rhizomes or seeds and its thick mass chokes out native flowers and has a tremendous impact on wetlands over time.

When gardeners post pictures, I try to recall when I first saw yellow flag in Vermont. It seems as if it's a more recent thing in the past 25 years but truly I cannot remember. Gail brought me home a couple wild flower books from the library giveaway last month so curiosity led me to the pages on pseudacorus. Old flower books with black line sketches and no color images have lost the popularity for many modern gardeners but Gail knows I like history and reference and I don't mind the drawings. The 1923 book mentions blue flag but not yellow flag and the 1948 book described the range from mid-south up the coast to Massachusetts. So now, +60 years later, (my lifetime, folks) yellow flag has made it to Canada.

We have a big plant of pseudacorus by the side of the house next to and half under a Thundercloud crab apple. That crab barely survived the ice storm of 1998 and still looks terrible despite a number of prunings. Gail bought the iris from a local nursery and planted it next to the artesian well casing, hoping it would cover it. Now I hope I don't need to get the well driller back for repairs as the plant has overtaken the area. It's a dry area and as such the iris is not as big a clump as it would be near water but just the same I'd hate to have the job of removing it.

Pseudacorus is a nice yellow iris but I cannot recommend it. Its invasive character should be a concern and factually there are many beautiful Siberian irises that are yellow. They are not as tall but they don't create problems. If you have other plants that serve as a replacement to yellow flag's height, color and abundance of bloom, drop me a line. I'm sure other's will be interested too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I notice neighbors and visitors to the pond are out for morning dog walks. The smells of spring and the sweetness of sugar shacks boiling sap for maple syrup today will bring on smiles too. Hope yours is one of them!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Spring Spinach

Friday, April 8, 2011

17° here on the mountain and clear as a bell. The only wind this morning is from the wings of flock after flock of birds arriving and leaving the feeders. I am enjoying the movement and the voices I can hear through my office window but I realize that very soon the feeding will have to end. We share Vermont with black bears and raccoons and within a couple weeks, both animals will be wide awake and searching for food. By Monday it is supposed to reach 65° and despite the deep snow in the forests, the bears will all be awake. We have already seen raccoons and although they have not arrived at the feeders yet, it's an "anyday" experience. The Department of Wildlife has already put out reminders to stop feeding birds, hoping of course that people will listen and problems, complaints and tickets involving bears can be avoided. In Vermont, feeding bears and then calling in complaints about their behavior will get you a headache and a ticket.

Seeds don't germinate outside when it's 17° but that doesn't mean that I don't think about one of my favorite spring vegetables, spinach. I broke down and bought some the other day---''$5.99 for one of those terrible clear plastic, Ft Knox boxes you cannot easily get into. It was baby spinach and ever so tasty, but really just a teaser.

As I booted up this morning, my email contained the latest blog from High Mowing Organic Seeds and the lead article was about spinach. I really like High Mowing and today's piece on spinach includes a section on diseases and the pesky spinach leaf miner too. If you enjoy vegetables, consider signing up for their blog and their newsletter and get back to their website once in a while. Two spinach they sell that I really like are Corvair and Samish. Try them! High Mowing maintains friendships with all the organic growers including my other favorite, Johnny's Selected Seeds. Johnny's sent a notice today on items they have in big supply and they offered another spinach favorite, Space. This one was overwintered at High Mowing and Gail and I ate some fresh from the high tunnel a few weeks back. Great flavor!

So as snow is still too deep here to consider anything, think about spinach if your ground is open and you want a nice vegetable crop that's easy to grow and good to eat. In salads is fine, stir fried in olive oil with a few other vegetables is quick and easy and included in a quiche with farm fresh eggs like Gail did yesterday--can't beat it!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the Davey Tree Expert Company crew has been clearing our power lines for well over an hour. A very good company if you need some serious tree work done!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
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Stop at VFF and we'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Garden Phlox

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A bright, sunny morning here on the mountain. 13° seems a tad cold when I am trying to convince myself that it really is spring but the latest forecasts promise highs of 65 by Monday with lots of rain and melting snows. Today will warm quickly and maple syrup producers around Vermont should be smiling by tonight. At some point today I need to get to Montpelier and purchase another bale of seed planting mix so I can finish up the tomatoes. Some friends laugh at me for waiting so long to plant tomato seeds but I always hope for plants that aren't leggy.

Last night I started work on a web page on the garden phlox that we grow. Over the years we tried and tried to do a good job planting phlox for sale in 1 gallon pots but we were never happy with the outcome no matter how we tempered the potting mix. Last year I think we figured out the cultivation of this plant and in late spring we will plant a number of varieties directly into the garden. By August these should be ready for digging on demand. The new plantings will be an addition to everything Gail and I lined out last fall.

Phlox are a useful garden flower that is regaining in popularity as gardeners learn how to use it better. The native varieties common to New England were probably the ones that typically ended up in farm and home gardens. They were often transplanted from along riverbeds, roadways or wood lines. Their traditional growing areas often showed some amount of shade and their popularity rose from the masses that caught people's attention.

Ask a gardener their sentiment on phlox and do not be surprised to hear "They get mildewy don't they?" This is one of the difficulties with the plant although modern hybridizing is making some headway on the problem. Back in 1999, Dr. Leonard Perry, University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science, released some research on mildew controls for phlox. I remember hearing him speak a couple years after the research and he commented that New Englanders love phlox and dislike mildew but fact is, baking soda didn't provide a bunch more change than modern chemical
controls. I recall him adding that if you continued to use the baking soda, you would create another problem for yourself--soil pH. Over twenty years later I think we are in about the same shape. I don't want to rule out more recently released chemical treatments but safely gardening the way we like to in Vermont looks like it will leave us with some mildew problems on phlox.

During our time trying to learn to make ourselves happy with this plant, we arrived at a couple pointers that may be helpful. Some of these things may work in your gardens too. The first pointer is air circulation. There are a couple conflicts involved with recommendations for planting phlox and they seem to involve good air flow. Gardeners like to see large clumps of well flowered phlox which means that one or more varieties have been growing in close proximity for some time. That means that air flow is impeded and mildew on one clump translates to mildew on the adjacent clump. To mediate this, initially try to plant phlox three feet apart. Some gardeners even say to insure that you have planted other flowers between the phlox so the mildew cannot spread. We aren't that sure about the usefulness of that suggestion although that typically happens anyway by the manner in which we lay out our gardens.

Siting phlox in a shady area is not that good in a place like Vermont where shade is commonly manifested by everyday weather, not just adjacent trees and shrubs. We recommend you bring your plantings out and away from wood lines and anything that will create more shade than you'll see on a cloudy day. At the same time, consider air flow and try to plant where air will get in and around the phlox anytime there is wind in your area. The wood line pointer is probably more important than you think because the roots of trees and shrubs extend into adjacent gardens and interfere with water availability and retention in the phlox. Top watering encourages mildew but allowing phlox roots to go completely dry for periods also stimulates mildew. This is why we recommend morning watering so the plants can be assured of drying off before late afternoon temperature changes.

As we have found, phlox will grow in clay soil but they will not be the glorious plants we wish for. Try a soil that is more friable and has more organic matter and chances are you will be happier too. Since the height range in available plants is 15" to 42", you can experiment with all parts of your garden, front to back, and hopefully find a combination of these variables that will work best in your gardens. Remember air circulation, shade, sun, soil, root competition, and plant spacing and my guess is you will be happier with your phlox. Continue to read about new varieties that express more mildew resistance and spread the word about your success instead of sharing plants that display problems.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl the Wonder Dog does not care about mildew but he does want to go for a walk. Phlox success! Woof! Woof!!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Two reminders: Social Networking Works!©
We'll help you GROW Your GREEN THUMB!©

The Egg Man

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Already 4:30 and the sugar snow continues to bounce off the open walkways now absent of snow after a couple day's rain. The temperature remains at 35.7° and I'm surprised the way the snow has fallen for two days at above freezing temperatures. Karl the Wonder Dog is walking around the house now, shaking here and there as he tries to rid himself of a white crystal coat. He's growling and barking nonstop as neighbors drive past the house en route home from school or work, some stopping at the mailbox for mail or to chat.

I have mentioned my egg man, Mike, who sells us the bestest, freshest eggs available from his well tended chickens. You won't find a healthier, better cared for collection where each chicken has a name and receives warm greetings several times each day. The chickens are diverse in breed and age and the egg cartons require a large rubber band to hold the lid down. Many eggs exceed jumbo size and this morning my two egg breakfast turned into a mini lottery winning as one egg was a double yoker and two eggs in the pan translated to three on the plate.

Mike called this afternoon to announce he had made a new purchase and it was prepared for display. I wanted Gail to see the three week old chicks hatched from Mike's own eggs so away we went for a quick visit.

Vermont has a number of excellent artisans and Marshfield has it's share. One is Michael Schumacher who shares the old village fire house with his son's construction company. They are both woodworkers but Michael's specialty now is woodcarving. During the past couple years he has turned to making weather vanes. He carves designs in hardwood, then hammers out sheet copper over the hardwood molds and then fits the two halves together. Here are a couple pictures of a rooster weather vane mounted on egg man Mike's chicken coop.

I first learned of Schumacher Woodworking years ago as I stood at the store across the road from the shop, pumping gas into my thirsty truck. I noticed a white owl in the window and went over to see a life size Snowy Owl looking at me no matter where I stood in the shop. Michael can carve anything and I have even contemplated commisioning a replica of my old beagle, Barney. The dog has long been at rest out back at the edge of the woods where he regulary ran rabbits but I always thought a carving would bring back the memories of my +14 year love for a dog who drove me nuts, made me worry, proud and sad, often in the same week. I haven't asked Michael to do a carving but I know he could catch every part of Barney but the bark in his carving.....and he could probably even catch part of that too!


If you're driving around this part of Vermont this summer, stop by Schumacher's Woodworking. Chances are the weather vanes out front will catch your attention. If they don't, the replica orchids hung on the wall above the entrance probably will. If you have something in mind you'd like carved, this is the place to start the discussion. As for getting on my egg man's list, don't even think about it. He's doing quite well!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the snow has stopped and Gail and Karl have just left for a quick walk to the pond. Two grackles are talking to a mourning dove on the platform feeder--in the evening.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And remember: We'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Garden Resources, Winter Meetings

Saturday, April 2, 2011

A quiet morning here on the mountain. The birds have not moved to the feeders yet, even though it's already 7 o'clock. The anemometer spins slowly at 2 mph as wet snow clings to everything. The temperature remains at 30.1° but I expect it will drop some as the sun tries to wake. Grey skies are prominent and the tall balsams sway slightly as if hiding groans from the heavy snow load. So far the electricity has been fine but I really am surprised we made it through the night. Snow accumulation was perhaps 5" so we escaped some trouble had it been deeper.

Despite the snow, we have been busy at Vermont Flower Farm. Tax time ended Friday as we signed off on the final compilations and smiled about the opportunity this year to fully depreciate some purchases. There has to be an easier way to handle taxes but we leave that to Montpelier

and Washington as we're not the least bit sure our desires or suggestions are ever heard. Operating a small business is difficult in the best of times and here in Vermont, operating costs are very expensive for everyone. This week IBM and Dealer.com reacted to the governor's health program plans by saying that there were other places they could move to that would cost them less. Moving two businesses and 4000 people out of Vermont has serious financial implications and those who say it won't happen/cannot happen should look again.

We don't want to move but some expenses become burdensome. The debate over Vermont Yankee and nuclear power in general is something for others to get into, but a possible rate increase of 19%-30% without them suggests we have to rethink energy sourcing and usage. The Washington Electric rate request of 24% for some Vermonters is not confirmed yet but just the thought has folks wondering what they'll do. Administrations across the country speak of developing jobs but keeping what we have in a little state like Vermont has to be considered.

One thing we do have in Vermont is a diversity of farmers. Although Gail and I raise flowers, we're farmers just the same and we experience all the nuances of farming. We don't milk cows, sheep, goats, water buffalo or yaks, but do work hard and accept sickness, bad weather and high fuel costs just the same. Putting on a coat is easier than writing a bigger check but both are part of the mix.



As you tour Vermont now, you'll notice more and more greenhouses. Growing flowers, herbs, vegetables...even berries, inside greenhouses increases each year and a recent federal program has encouraged that. The Natural Resources Conservation Service started a three year program last year that granted financial assistance with the purchase of high tunnel greenhouses. Despite reading about every resource we can, we ran into this program by accident last summer when we noticed a man in South Ryegate installing such a structure in his field. We stopped because we were curious and we got the details on the program. A month ago we found that our application was granted (one of two in our region) and sometime before summer ends we will have installed a 2100 square foot greenhouse at Vermont Flower Farm. If you are interested in high tunnel greenhouses or don't know a thing at all about them, the NRCS site is one place to start. The Cornell University high tunnel site is another great site that will inform you and get you even more curious.


So-o-o-o-o, with the prospect of a greenhouse, Gail and I have embarked on all kinds of educational exploration. We have already reported on attending a tomato grafting program at High Mowing Organic Seeds which we wrote about on this blog on March 21st: Tomato Grafting. That same day, High Mowing owner Tom Stearns gave a great presentation in his new high tunnel house. Tom showed a variety of greens he had planted the previous September, with harvest beginning in December 2010 and continuing with vigor to the day of our visit. They should continue to produce for a few more months. Very impressive and also tasty!


High tunnel greenhouses come in different configurations but the ones approved for Vermont have a peaked roof as shown to deal more effectively with snow load. If you look at the ridge line you'll notice additional trusses that assist with strengthening against heavy snows. The side walls end as 4, 5 or 6 foot straight walls so the snow slides off and piles. This is a bigger consideration than you might expect as the snow exerts pressure on the side walls and must be removed to prevent collapse from the bottom on in.

But Vermont is Vermont and it has snowed here before and that will continue. That means even high tunnel owners have lots of snow removal to consider and if a 2 foot storm is en route as we experienced this winter, you have no choice but to get out there and deal with the snow. This winter presented many bad stories about lost barns and greenhouses because sometimes it snows faster than the shoveler can shovel, the plow can plow, the sweeper can knock down snow.



Just the same, high tunnel greenhouses offer great opportunity to lengthen the growing season and provide a consistent flow of vegetables to local markets. These images show three of twelve new spinach hybrids that High Mowing is trialing. They are Space, Racoon and Giant Winter Spinach. They are very impressive in taste and production. Tom pointed out that the growing habit of Racoon is perhaps more notable as the leaves grow upright from the stem so moisture cannot accumulate on the leaves, fungal problems are less and harvest is easier for the crew with less bending and cleaner leaves that grow off the ground.



The meeting at High Mowing was an example of many held around New England to assist growers do a better job. Thursday Gail and I attended another meeting, this one in St Johnsbury and sponsored by NRCS. The topic was Nutritional and Disease Management in High Tunnel Greenhouses. Vern Grubinger and Ann Hazelrigg of the University of Vermont Vegetable and Berry Program presented excellent information and introduced those unfamiliar with Vern's site, The Vermont Vegetable and Berry Grower Page. The next program is on April 26th in Manchester NH on high tunnel berry production.



Already later than I expected but I hope these words have offered some new thoughts and some new sites for you to pursue. There is snow on the ground but within a month it will be looking different in most of Vermont. Continue to look for new gardening resources and interesting seminars. Who knows, a green house might even be in your gardening future!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the call from the kitchen said pancakes and strawberries are ready.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
Writing on Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also at George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Helping gardeners grow their won green thumb!

Help Me On This One

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The sun is rising quickly now and the wind is providing encouragement. Birds finally made it to the feeders and Karl the Wonder Dog just returned from his second walk of the morning. The 6° temperature earlier this morning slowed his enthusiasm. I expected to see more snow this morning but nothing fell last night. I'm smiling as I love the sunshine and prefer to see the snow melt this time of year. My gardens beckon as the list of garden jobs grows. Probably yours do too.

A Facebook friend posted this story and I really need some help here. Start with this announcement about coal that starts Obama administration announces massive coal mining expansion. Coal is something I am not particularly fond of. As a kid I learned about coal, the coal truck, the coal chute, coal stoves and shoveling coal. I didn't like it. About the only thing I liked about coal was when an elementary school teacher took pieces of coal and poured on salt, food coloring, mecurochrome and laundry bluing and told us to wait a couple days for "magic". The resulting almost moss-like growth was a magic of sorts at a time when I was thinking adults could do some very special things. Back then teachers used to let kids play with lots of things that they shouldn't have such as mercury and mecurochrome. I don't think mecurochrome is even around anymore because it was determined to cause cancers but I sure had my share swabbed on over the years.

During campaign election times I chanced to hear a list of things that if accomplished would somehow appease about every voter going. During Vermont elections I asked a young friend who was campaigning aggressively for a candidate to make a list of what his "favorite" proposed and check with me in two years with the results. What I heard from Washington candidates was a lot about energy including some suggestions to build our economy and clean up some messes at the same time. Wind, solar and hydro were discussed and there were actual stats on how many people could be put back to work in "clean" jobs involving those energy types.

This coal thing has me bothered because every August, a giant weather system arrives in Vermont and when the rain stops falling, everything here is covered in black. This is an annual event and the "black" is acidic and is noticeable on plants. Flowers such as the lilies we used to grow are covered. When we grew Oriental lilies such as 'Siberia' up top, most often they had to be thrown out if we didn't chance to get them covered first because nobody would buy them. After a few years of this I began looking at weather patterns and the storms always came from industrial portions of the US.

I'm not convinced coal is the way to go given the other alternatives that do not pollute as much. I may be wrong and I am always willing to hear new perspectives. But in a nation that is trying desperately to figure out health care, I am not convinced more air pollution is the way to go. I burn wood in the latest generation wood stove available. I clear our land of dead and dying trees and encourage better growing forests. I use the most energy efficient oil burner I can for supplemental heat and after 20 years, it still tests at 87% efficiency. But this coal thing bothers me. Perhaps our pollution controls are better than before. Perhaps our mining technology is also better and major pollution has been considered. Doubling coal production raises a flag for me. Who can help me with this?


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Never Enough Time

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

13.6° here on the mountain, still dark but windless for a change. Received a couple more inches of snow last night for a total of 5" over the past couple days. Dark clouds pass quickly through the eastern sky but overhead it is clear with a faint blue color which is positive. The weather lady says we may see some sun before this turns back to some type of precipitation. Not a good day for the sugar makers.

I made it half a mile down the road with Karl the Wonder Dog last night but this morning he settled for an abbreviated walk and that didn't bother me either. I have Fred the plumber appearing about 7:30 to fix an overdue problem with the water tank; then I have a long list of errands that have to be done today. Our oil furnace is a System 2000, an excellent furnace that is super energy efficient. It has a short burn time and in less than two minutes can heat/reheat all the domestic water you could want. The water is stored in what appears to be an old fashioned electric heater except that it too is well insulated and it is for storage only--no electric involved. I think this tank is about four years old and the intake port is rusted. It's one of those "guaranteed for life" things that drive me nuts. They don't last for life and have to be replaced every few years it seems. Although the product is guaranteed, the labor is a different story and Fred and I will be talking about that soon. Although I am retired, there's less time now than there was when I worked two jobs and as such I don't like doing the same thing over. Some follow "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over." If you know me, you know that I do not subscribe to that .

In the time remaining between now and final snow melt, I have tons of things to finish up. There are still a few shovels and hoes to sharpen, a new spark plug for the Honda weed/brush cutter, grease on all the fittings for both tractors, and a pile of new signs to print on Avery labels and get onto the Parker-Davis signs we use to mark the rows of the field grown daylilies. When the important things are done I like to spend a little time walking around in flea markets and antique shops looking for older garden items, urns and flower pots. That might just happen today.

Up top is an armillary that came from Gail's father. It reminds us of him and it looks nice in the garden on a granite post I had my granite worker neighbor cut for the purpose. Little objects like this look nice in the garden. They are becoming more and more difficult to find at markets so if you find something you like, don't belabor the price, buy it when you see it.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the the birds are reminding me the feeders are about empty.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

And remember.....We'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Tomato Grafting

Monday, March 21, 2011

Just back in from a long walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. 45 minutes ago the sky looked quite clear with only a few small wispy clouds. It was calm but now the wind has risen to 6 mph and the 26° feels a lot colder than it is. The ground that was deep mud two days ago is frozen hard and travel along back roads will be tedious today. A quick check of Eye On the Sky, a very reliable weather station forecast emanating from the Fairbanks Museum in St Johnsbury verifies that snow is on the way. Perhaps 4", maybe up to 8" will top the frozen ground by tomorrow morning. The bird feeders confirm this as all varieties of birds are pushing and shoving for breakfast seeds.

Yesterday Gail and I headed to High Mowing Organic Seeds in Wolcott Vermont. Owner Tom Stearns and his crew never disappoint and yesterday's program on tomato grafting was a pleasure. Paul Betz of High Ledge Farm was the instructor as he shared his experience with tomato grafting with an eager attendance that exceeded 70 at my last count.

Tomato grafting has become more and more popular and the +70 attendees eager to learn the procedure attest to farmers' desires to insure production of a good looking and tasting tomato every year. Growing tomatoes outside in Vermont is a tricky affair at best and its like playing the lottery as you compete with cold weather in spring, stem breaking winds and rain in the summer and lack of heat when really needed. In contrast, farmers have found that growing tomatoes inside a greenhouse, although it requires an initial investment in the thousands, produces a consistent product over subsequent years. This is not without challenges and that's where the tomato grafting part comes in.

Tomatoes are susceptible to diseases over time and when you grow them in the same place year after year, the dead stalks may leave the garden plots at the end of each season but diseases often remain in the soil. Grafting your favorite tomatoes onto stronger rootstock leads to more and better tomatoes and when these are growing in the greenhouse, the production beats the start of the summer field harvest and extends it somewhat into the fall when the field grown fruits have probably been nailed by the frost.

Paul Betz is a very good instructor and most willing to share his +15 years experience grafting tomatoes. He demonstrated top grafting and also side grafting and everyone got to graft away until they felt comfortable with the procedure.

The picture up top shows the start of a top grafted tomato. On the left is a root stock prepared for grafting, on the right is the top of a hybrid ready to graft and in the middle is a plastic grafting clip that will hold the two tomatoes while they rejoin.

Rootstock prepared for accepting top graft.

Preparing hybrids for the top.

Inserting top into clip.

Finished top graft ready to pot in 4" pot, allow graft to mature, harden off and plant.

In addition to top grafting, side grafting is commonly used. Each has its individual merits. Root stocks and hybrid stock both are cut at about 60°-70° angles, one cut angled down, one cut up so two cuts can be inserted in each other. This one was a little trickier for me but Gail worked through them easily.

The grafting clip used in side grafting is like a mini clothes pin holding the two stems together. Unlike the clip in the top grafted tomato that sheds itself in time, the grower needs to take this one off the plant as the graft heals.

Finished side grafted product, ready for potting.

Johnny's Selected Seeds, one of my favorite seed companies, sells the clips and the
rootstock seed. Their site also has an excellent video produced a few years back by Vern Grubinger, Vegetable and Berry Specialist at the University of Vermont Extension Service. The film is hosted by Michael Collins of Old Athens Farm in Westminster, Vermont. Watch it a few times and the pictures I have provided will begin to make sense. Michael does a great job with the video and gives a sense of confidence that you'll be looking over your shoulder for.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the sky darkens and the birds keep feeding. Oh for some fresh tomatoes for a sandwich at lunch!

And remember gardeners, here at Vermont Flower Farm we'll help you Grow your Green Thumb! Call or email anytime.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Garden Up!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A beautiful morning here on the mountain! 31 degrees with a whisper of a wind and full sun everywhere. Last night's Full Sap Moon was brilliant and as it rose, the temperature dropped to 9 degrees. We were assured today would be beautiful and it is so appropriate as the sap really will flow heavily in another hour. Today is the second day of the Tenth Annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend at sugar houses all over Vermont and families will be getting out soon to make visits and try sugar on snow and taste fresh-from-the-evaporator-pan maple syrup. You should go too!

This time of year events fill the calendar and many involve farming and gardening. This afternoon Gail and I are going to High Mowing Organic Seeds in Wolcott to learn about tomato plant grafting and the use of high tunnel greenhouses for winter crops. The "show" there starts at 2 and ends tonight with a potluck dinner and a great slide show by owner Tom Stearns. Sandwiched in between is a tour of the seed processing facilities and the opportunity to see how very old equipment packages very new seeds from the hopper to the seed packet.

A couple weeks back I made it to the Vermont Flower Show. I had an expectation that I would see a fair representation of vertical gardens as I have been reading and seeing such gardens in trade and landscape architecture magazines for some time. I saw only one such garden (just below) that was planted with a variety of heucheras. For me, the jury is out on how heucheras will fare in Vermont vertical gardens but for the purpose of this display they were exceptional.

This fall I stopped in Boothbay, Maine to visit my favorite Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. They had a couple vertical gardens there that were categorized by the amount of sun the plants could tolerate. They were all very well planted. I'm sure you would like to see them but I can't find where I saved the images save for this directory describing the "Scratch and Sniff" (full) sun panel and part of the "Flying Carpet" semi shade collection. (Apologies for the dark blob of a photographer, me, showing no respect for the location of the sun.)






My search for vertical gardens continued to the bookstore Thursday and as I approached the gardening section, quite dormant until recent visits, I noted a man and two ladies each reading the very same title and the one I really wanted. Garden Up! by Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet. The store had three copies and I waited with dwindling patience for one of the three to either leave with the book or return it to the shelf so I could make a purchase. It didn't happen. I moved to the cooking section and returned to find the three still there. I stood for a few moments looking over the shoulder of one woman until she gave me a stare that needed no accompaniment of words.

This appears to be a great book, not just by the manner in which it handles vertical gardening but other discussions that provide the reader with ideas for resolving gardening challenges. I'm going to give the bookstore one more try tomorrow as I do like to buy local when I can, but if that fails I'll go online. Spring is coming slowly to Vermont and although there is still 3-4 feet of snow here, I know I only have a few more weeks before this Vermont Gardener has to get clicking. Try your luck at the bookstore and go home with Susan and Rebecca's book, Garden Up!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where we are already past 43 degrees.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also at George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Who Are You?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Morning greetings from the mountain where it's 35° in the sun but 16° in the shade. This is why I always have a couple thermometers at the house to track "the real" temperature.The sun is bright and the promise that today will bring temperatures into the high forties/maybe low fifties makes us happy. 2011 is so different a year than 2010!

Today I plan to teach Alex more about growing willows and I want to get some more hosta seeds planted too. I have had this thought about getting Alex started in his own willow business and since he has some interest, I'm moving along. The curly willows I cut at the nursery a few weeks back are well rooted now so we'll transfer them to bigger containers after we cut off the tops and get those in clear glass containers in the sun for rooting. Willows have become well used in America by the floral industry, especially the curly willow, the flat stemmed, fasciated willows, and of course the springtime favorites with nice white, pink or yellow catkins or brown, black, or yellow stems. Besides what we know as traditional uses, many in North America are promoting what the English have done for a long, long time. We are seeing more and more willow furniture, potted, woven willows with manicured tops grown topiary-like in big containers, woven fence wattles....the list goes on and on.

This time of year, post income taxes, mid-website rebuild for me, is still a busy time. The snow is so deep that there's little outside work that I can do so inside tasks continue. Today I should finish up adding all the new daylilies to the website and then I'll move on to the astilbes. Gail continues to tweak the plant orders based on delivery confirmations and I'll place the order this afternoon for a truck load of potting mix.

One of the things businesses often forget to do in the fury of preseason activity is remember to tell potential customers who they are. Putting out your name is a start but showing your face through pictures or videos is critical to building confidence for your product. It's an important part of branding your business but for some reason some folks are reluctant to post a picture.

If you haven't visited Vermont Flower Farm over the years, the picture up top will show you who the real George and Gail are. The picture was taken last year by East Montpelier photographer Ricka McNaughton. She was doing a piece on our business for The Bridge, a Montpelier newspaper.

Couple things about the picture. First, anyone can take a picture now days but a skilled photographer is one who can listen to a brief conversation with the client and capture them in a setting that makes the viewer know what the person is all about. Ricka does a super job and I would favorably recommend her if you have some photography needs.

Secondly, pictures in newspaper ads and on websites, Facebook, other social media, need to be current. I learned this so well recently when I attended the flower show in Burlington. I had plans to meet a speaker/writer for the first time prior to his presentation. I had not met him before but we shared a mutual interest in the topic of his presentation. As we met in the convention room, his very first comments were that I sure didn't look like my pictures. I was surprised by the comments but couldn't agree more. Most of the pictures I use of myself are from a series Alex took of me when we climbed Owls Head mountain when he was ten or eleven. Time has passed and more than my gray hair and beard have changed. A new picture is in order and I'll get to all those changes soon. In the meantime, here's a renewed picture of me and Gail and a kokopelli friend last summer. The kokopelli is providing "pretend" background flute music. If you didn't know us before, now you do. And if you get a chance this summer, stop by and say hello. We always offer warm welcomes, no matter now much we change from year to year!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where sunshine has already raised the temperature to 46.5° in the sun and has brought out 12 mourning doves that are competing with jays, grosbeaks and two red squirrels for black oil sunflower.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Business Marketing

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Heading towards 10 o'clock and I'm ticking away on a list of overdue items. Gail is not all that pleased with me this morning because I have misplaced a list of daylilies I need to update our website. She is convinced she gave it to me and I am convinced my office needs a good cleaning. You don't find many people like Gail and despite my shortcomings, she is always there to bail me out of messes. Some friends would have given up on me by now but Gail is Gail and she accepts the good and the not so good in me................so far.

The snow continues here as the temperature rises. We are almost at 30° so my guess that rain would be here by noon is about on target. The birds are feeding as if it's a big storm coming. A lone red squirrel sits on the weather station post eating sunflower seeds and ignoring me as the anemometer turns at 4 mph. The trees and shrubs are dusted with a couple inches of the latest snow and life is still good. Life will be lots better when the snow slides off the roof.

Yesterday Gail and I traveled to Greensboro, Vermont to Highland Lodge for a marketing seminar. The lodge, pictured up top here, is now moving into its fourth generation of Smiths. The Smiths are a special family and the lodge is a fine piece of Vermont, sitting mid mountain and looking down on beautiful Caspian Lake. The accommodations are excellent and the Lodge's tag line is so very appropriate .......... "Unplug, Relax, Reconnect".

The seminar seemed like something any small business owner should attend. It was billed as "Marketing Your Business Without $pending a Fortune". Internationally known marketing expert Scott Vogel was on hand to help participants quantify their current marketing practices and then plan how to bring in more customers, sales, smiles. Scott has offered his marketing skills to businesses of all sizes including Marriott, Walt Disney, Pepsi and the US Military. He also has excellent experience in the food and beverage industry and he obviously knows people very well. Gail and I had the privilege to be accompanied by an owner of a restaurants/inn/motel, two non profits owners, a transportation company manager, a music producer, a farmer raising goats for cashmere and meat, an artist, a clothing store owner, a specialty cake producer, an agritourism farm owner, a Green certified sealant company manager, and two day care/children activity specialists. The mix was unplanned but excellent and in the end, the potential linkages we built were significant.

It was pleasant to hear Scott confirm some of the things Gail and I have been tossing around for a couple years. He also shared some stimulating suggestions for each business. Here are a few bullets for you to apply against your business or plans for a business.

• Know the difference between advertising and marketing.
• Test your advertising format. What is the return on your ad investment?
• What is a new customer worth over a lifetime?
• What are you willing to spend for a new customer?
• How big is your business community and how do you interact with its members?
• Consider and develop a distinct, recognizable business brand.
• Build video and recording into your marketing now!.
  
• Consider 1-2 minute YouTube videos. Could be tied to FAQ's rec'd from customers.
  
• Use direct mail with oversize post cards.
• Ask yourself, who are you? what's the benefit of your service/product to your customers?
• How do you communicate this succinctly to customers so they remember it?

Any business needs to get out and about once in a while and see what other people are doing, saying, learning, teaching. Scott did a great job reinforcing linkages and explaining how to use networking to be more productive. It's bigger than Facebook or Twitter or a blog or website. It involves business men and women looking into themselves and looking out to their competition. No matter what you think your skills are at the beginning, I'll guarantee your confidence will improve along with your business.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the first snow just slid off the house. 32°. When you build your house just like you build a business, figure out where the snow will slide. I did not. I'm going out to shovel the steps and get the mail.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Sharing Stories About Our Woodlands

Monday, March 7, 2011

Almost 7:30 here on the mountain and things have finally quieted down for the day. The temperature is still dropping--it's 14.5° now, and it's expected to drop below zero a bit before it comes back around tomorrow morning. The snow has pretty much stopped although you could still be confused at the 7 mph wind tossing horizontal waves at anything that gets in the way. I noticed that an hour ago as I took Karl the Wonder Dog out just in the middle of the evening news. He has very poor timing....or perhaps prefers to avoid "bad news".

Snowfall around the state varied today from "not much" (trace to 3" in Springfield) to 30" in the shadows of Mt Mansfield and the Sterling Range from Stowe past Jericho-Underhill. If you live around here you are tired of hearing that kind of news but for folks from afar where spring is on their minds, this snow is a surprise. Tonight just before dinner the phone rang and it was a caller from Orange County, California. He had seen the article about daylilies in Fine Gardening Magazine and noticed our name mentioned as a daylily vendor. He was thinking spring in his zone 9 gardens but was surprised when Gail updated the weather info for Monday in Vermont. That reaction is not uncommon this time of year and I know we lose some sales when people are impatient to plant and we can't give a better shipping estimate than "mid-May"

This time of year I enjoy the quiet even if it comes packaged with snow plowing or shoveling or even getting up on the roof. I can take things slowly and I can catch up on my reading. One of my favorite Vermont magazines is Northern Woodlands. It arrives quarterly with a tag line I like: "A New Way of Looking at the Forest". I think I picked up my very first copy at the little Mom and Pop store in Cabot village in the early 90's. As I think back, I don't even know if there was a real "mom and a pop" back then but then the store sold and there wasn't a mom or a pop and then it sold again and there was and continues to be. Those little stores are like forests, they change over time and some of them do not return to a picture we'd like to remember.

Anyway, this is a fine magazine and no matter where you live, it's something you might consider subscribing to. If you have a son or daughter or grand kids taking any aspect of environmental science in college, this is a useful gift that will put them a step ahead of others.

N0rthern Woodlands has a feature I really enjoy and I refer to often. It's called A Look At The Seasons MAIN EVENTS by Virginia Barlow. It comes three months at a time and fours weeks per month. For each week of each month the author presents a summary of events of the forests, swamps, fields, waterways. I find it very accurate and I enjoy the reminder it serves to me. It looks like this.

For the first week in March, now almost history:

"Brown creepers have started to sing their endearing song. Some of them have been here all winter, but others have come from wintering grounds farther south. We can see creepers all year, but individuals come and go/ Warm days bring snow fleas to the surface. At first they look like flecks of pepper on the snow, except that they appear and disappear/ Barred owls are nesting in old hawks' nests or tree cavities. Incubation is mostly done by the female."


When I read the notes, I reflect on what I have recently seen or heard or sensed. I like Northern Woodlands. I'll bet you would too!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a sliver of moon may show by midnight as the balance of storm clouds pass. Hungry critters of the woods and pastures will begin moving soon after more than 24 hours of storm. Still too early to start seeds here.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

PS: Bird on magazine cover is a Nashville Warbler photographed in Brunswick, Vermont by Roger Irwin. Regrettably for me I have never seen this beautiful bird or met the skilled photographer. Anyone seen this bird?

Making Rustic Arbors

Monday, March 7, 2010

Already 6:15 here on the mountain and despite several attempts, I have been unable to find the courage to pull on the boots, plop on the wool hat and figure out how to get out the back door--or any door. 22.1° now and shortly after I told a friend there was no wind here, the wind started, slowly, but enough to begin competing with the snow that continues to fall from the sky. When I turned out the lights at 11 last night there wasn't much going on--maybe 2-3 inches of snow but this morning is a different world. Karl the Wonder Dog with his built-in barometer at 29.35 is snoring by the fire and shows no interest in joining me when I do get out the door. Courage please!

Most any flower show including the one that just ended in Essex yesterday includes an assortment of garden sheds and arbors. Gardeners seem to like arbors and some buy them and some build them. The one I have pictured was a typical New England orientation from cedar which is a good choice. It grays in color over time and always looks good with very limited care. Gail said the price was $600 or something close but I have seen them priced much more than this in other New England States.

If you have a little creativity and aren't afraid of tools, you can make arbors like this yourself. They are traditional mortise and tenon construction and Lee River and similar tool suppliers have tenon cutters for sale that will get you started.

The tenon cutters slide in an electric drill and away you go. I purchased a set of the smaller sizes from 1/4" to 5/8" or 3/4's--can't remember--- with plans to make lattices and gates and chairs. We don't have cedar on our property so I cut maple saplings and designed from there. The bigger cutter pictured just below here handles 5/8" and the stubby maple pieces below the cutter are about 1 1/4" in diameter. I found that shaping freshly cut wood worked best as long as you layed it flat to dry so it doesn't warp.

I suggest using forstner bits instead of regular drill bits to cut the holes and then I use Gorilla Glue although regular wood glue would be just as good. Pretty straightforward and easy to add detail such as curved branches, pieces of glass, or metal work. What do you think?



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where even the town plow hasn't showed yet. Kids and teachers have another snow day and I have another snow plow day. Quite a winter! Steer careful!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Building A Flower Show

Sunday, March 6, 2011

40.5° here on the mountain this morning. It has been raining most of the night and as the sun begins to rise with reluctance, it is very apparent how much the snow has shrunk over the night. This in no way hurts my feelings as this has been the winter of snow. Although many remind us of the countdown to Spring, I know that we are in for a number of big storms between now and green grass. Last year on April 28th, 18" of "wet white" fell just days after we had uncovered our potted perennials. On Mothers Day in May, I stood with a group of ladies in a snow squall contemplating spring planting. Vermont is clearly a state of surprises!

Every other year Green Works, The Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association produces a flower show at the Robert Miller Convention Center at the Fairgrounds in Essex. This year the theme is "Sweet Dreams" and on Friday Gail, Alex, and me, and a couple friends made the journey to tour the show. Today (Sunday) is the last day of the show and as rain falls outside spring flowers beckon you within.

Flower shows are a tremendous amount of work. In a very short time Green Works members appear from all corners of the state to work like beavers completing a fine dam before the sun rises. No matter what your impression of any flower show you ever visit, always remember this beaver thing. Flower shows take organization, money, forced flowers, trees and shrubs and volunteers; and when the show is over, everything that was built has to come down and quickly I might add, as there's always another venue waiting in the wings.



I took the wrong camera I guess or perhaps the main show gardens were a little less lit than I expected but I will put an album together today on our Facebook page Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. The map up top shows the show gardens with a meandering path requiring a walk through a giant birds nest constructed of mature willows, topped with big and colorful birds and offering giant , unhatched eggs. It challenges the gardener out of the nest and into the next turn of excitement. It reminded me of something a favorite sculptor of mine, Andy Goldsworthy could have been involved in.

Anyway, forget the rain, and think flower show. As you tour the show floor, look for my friend Sarah, the owner of Full Circle Gardens in Essex. Tell her George sent you. I'l bet she'll have a big smile for you!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I may, just may, put on the snowshoes later and walk through the fields out back looking for last year's bird nests. Guaranteed they won't be as big as the one at the flower show!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm