What a sweet thought…homegrown sweet potatoes. Not only are they a near-failproof crop, but their long storage life makes them ideal for home gardeners. Sweet potatoes are delicious and they are also jam-packed with nutritional value. They’re versatile in recipes and are simple to prepare. Garden Harvest Supply is now accepting orders for all of our spring shipment sweet potatoes. Georgia Jet and Beauregard are perennial favorite varieties and are recommended for beginning sweet potato growers.
Place your orders now to ensure the varieties you love will be available to you in the spring. Check our shipment schedule to determine when to expect your orders to arrive. Then, enjoy the rewards of growing and harvesting your own sweet potatoes. We know you’ll thank us with each bite!
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm and is filed under Information.
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Of course, most people recognize that trees protect the soil, help to keep the air and water clean, and provide valuable shade and windbreaks. Less well known are the economic benefits. For example, the strategic placement of trees near a home can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 25%, and increase property values by 15% or greater.
Whether people are in stores, offices, gyms, hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes, they are happier if they can see trees. Children need a few trees to climb to be at their best. Salespersons are more cheerful when there is greenery around, and shoppers spend more at such businesses.
If all this makes you want to plant some trees, don’t hesitate: early fall is prime time for planting deciduous trees, especially if you’re not too far up north. As Jessica Kelling of the ReTree Project explains, “many tree species are able to quickly establish their root systems thanks to fall’s lower temperatures and reduced humidity. This allows young trees to prepare for the upcoming winter and gives them a jump start on spring growth.”
Tree Planting Pointers
There are many excellent Cooperative Extension materials available that will tell you everything you need to know about tree planting in your area. You might also want to watch one of the short tree planting videos that are available on the internet. Both Tree Planting Tips and How To Plant A Tree are pretty good.
You don’t want to begin to plant your trees and then find out that you don’t have all the materials to complete the job. So here’s a list of what you’ll need:
If your tree came in a container or wrapped in burlap, you’ll also need a utility knife to cut the container or the string around the burlap. Gardening gloves and safety glasses are also a good idea.
The most common mistake beginning tree planters make is to dig a hole too deep or too narrow. A tree should be transplanted at the same depth as the root ball or container it came in. The hole has to be two to three times wider than the root ball or container so that the roots can easily spread into the soil with which you will fill the hole.
Keep in mind that these roots will eventually extend beyond the circumference of the hole, and they could have difficulty doing so if the surrounding soil is very hard. To avoid this, score the sides of the hole to facilitate root entry.
Once the tree is in the ground, it’s critical to water the tree regularly, and giving it mulch and fertilizer is important also. Since we covered these topics in our Fall Tree Care Guide, you might want to review it before you proceed.
Stake Your Trees Only If They Need It
The good news about staking trees is that you probably won’t need to do it. The exceptions are if your tree came with its roots exposed, if its top growth greatly outweighs its root ball, or if it is being planted in a location that is subject to strong winds or other adverse conditions.
Staking a tree when it doesn’t need it actually stunts its growth and makes it more likely to break or fall over. What’s more, many well-intentioned treestakers forget to remove the stakes when the necessary amount of time has elapsed, resulting in additional problems for the tree. Before you stake, educate yourself as to the issues involved by reading this informative article by Chris Beasley.
If you determine that your tree needs to be staked, carefully follow Chris’ guidelines as well as those offered by forester Steve Nix in this article. Once your tree has been staked, mark your calendar so as not to forget to remove the stakes after one growing season, or after the passage of a year, depending on the tree. Generally speaking, no tree should be staked for more than two years.
To simplify the staking process and provide our customers with materials that meet the standards of professional arborists, we carry Lawson Tree Stake Kits. These kits contain all the parts you’ll need to do a first rate job, including rubber support straps that will not damage your trees the way wire or cord sometimes do. They are a snap to take off when the staking process is complete, and, in fact, you can remove them each time you mow and then easily reattach them afterwards.
Pruning Trees When They Are Dormant
Fall is the all-time best time for pruning deciduous trees. Why? Because the cuts you make in your tree when you prune it will be able to heal without complication or interference by critters and disease-bearing fungi. Also, the lack of leaves provides a better view of the tree’s form, making it easier to identify weak branch joints and dead or broken limbs. A successful pruning will do away with any dead wood or other problematic branches or limbs, encourage positive branching patterns, promote balanced air circulation, and open the tree up to receive optimal amounts of sunlight.
As with staking, you need to know what you’re doing when you prune, especially if you are working with oaks or elms. The U.S. Forest Service has produced an excellent 12-page guide that is worth studying before you get out there and start cutting.
You’ll be pleased to know that we stock all of the pruning tools the Forest Service recommends: bypass and anvil pruners for smaller branches, lopping shears for slightly thicker branches, and a long handled tree pruner to get up high. We also have a variety of tree loppers, some of which also have a long reach. For thicker limbs, you’ll want to use a limb saw. Chain saws can be used on the thickest limbs, but not if you need to get up on a ladder!
While you’re busy trying to figure out whether to make that hole a little wider before you put the tree in, or whether to use a lopping shear or a bypass pruner to take down a branch, it’s good to pause for a moment and appreciate that you are being a steward of the earth—an earth keeper, to use more modern language.
As our friends at the Arbor Day Foundation will tell you, trees are needed on the planet now more than ever. You are helping to meet that need. Considering the life span of most trees, the trees you plant today may very well provide benefits to future generations. For some people, that’s the most spiritual aspect of tree planting. As Elton Trueblood writes, “A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.”
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Information.
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Attention: avid birdwatchers and novices, alike. This is the time to stock up on thistle seed, to attract goldfinches to your backyard feeders. The lovely songbird couples, mated in monogamous pairs, will adorn your outdoors spaces, adding color and interest to your fall backyard nature preserve.
There are three species of goldfinches in the U.S. and all are equally lovely. They tend to flock together in large groups. Goldfinches are known to mate later in the season than many other birds. The male’s plumage during mating season is bright yellow with black markings on his head, wingtips and tail. One white wingbar marks his wings and tail. When not in mating season, he’s a grayish brown with hints of yellow and white on his underside.
The female’s plumage during mating season is a less vivid yellow on top with a contrasting shade of yellow on her underside. Her black and white tail is in sharp contrast to her yellow body. Her bill is light colored, and her wings have two light wingbars. Her tail is black with white tips. When not in breeding season, her coloring is mostly grey.
The nesting habits of these songbirds are determined by the females, who build nests in tree branches and at the tops of bushes to attract colonies. The well-constructed nests are crafted from plant parts and then lined with thistle down, the remains of their favorite food source, to provide a comfortable incubation space for their eggs.
Goldfinches feed on weed seeds, like thistle, and insects. When the summer’s production of seeds begins to disappear with the fall, it’s time to provide goldfinches with a feeder full of thistle to keep them flocking to your yard instead of migrating south toward more available food. There are many types of feeders that attract goldfinches and are specifically designed to hold thistle. Garden Harvest Supply has feeders offering up to eighteen feeding stations, and with every manner of options—aesthetic and practical—to choose from. There are even finch feeders with perches designed so the birds eat upside-down! There are squirrel-proof feeders and feeders with eighteen colorful perches to attract goldfinches in mass numbers.
Goldfinch feeders can be hung from feeder hangers or tree branches. Modern feeders have components specifically integrated to keep moisture out, and to prevent spilling of seed. Some are designed for the easiest filling, since the goal is to keep attracting wildlife for your viewing pleasure.
It’s imperative that you keep bird feeders clean on the outside but more importantly on the inside, so the seed you serve your grateful guests stays fresh and dry. Cleaning accessories are available for all types of feeders sold by Garden Harvest Supply. Check the website to make sure you have all the seed, cleaning supplies, and accessories you need to make bird feeder maintenance a joy instead of a chore. Don’t forget to provide a constant source of clean water for your birds’ bathing and drinking needs in either a fountain or birdbath. They’ll thank you by providing a water show and a song to entertain you all day long.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Information.
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We have them all and now is the time to stock up. Don’t wait as we will sell out fast.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Information.
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Late Blight or Phytophthora infestans is a serious disease that affects potatoes and tomatoes. This waterborne mold was the major culprit of the 1845 Irish and 1846 Highland potato famines. The spores of the devastating mold can overwinter on infected tubers, especially those left in the ground or can appear in volunteer plants from infected seeds. The spores on leaves can be spread through the crops, especially on days of high humidity, over 75 percent, and rain will wash the spores into the soil where they can infect the tubers. They can also be carried for miles on wind currents.
The warm, humid growing season this year has created an ideal environment for the spread of Late Blight, affecting not only potato crops but the closely related tomato, as well. Symptoms include circular or irregular lesions on the leaves surrounded by a pale yellow-green border that enlarge rapidly and turn dark brown to purplish. During extreme periods of high humidity a cottony white mold will be visible on the underneath side of the affected leaves. Stems may also be affected, causing the entire stem to die.
On potatoes, lesions appear as brown sunken areas and the tissue beneath the skin may appear granular-like. If affected potatoes are stored in cool, dry locations for an extended period, the affected area may sink and dry out, however secondary fungi or bacteria that have entered the lesion will cause the entire tuber to become a slimy mess.
On tomatoes Late Blight will develop on green fruit, causing a large, brown, leather-like lesion, seen mostly on the sides or top of the fruit. If the conditions persist, a white mold will appear and lead to a secondary bacterial infection, causing rot of the entire fruit.
The best management of this condition is similar to most best practices of clean-up. Do not compost diseased plants or fruits: destroy them completely by chopping and burning, or they can be fed to livestock. Remove any volunteer plants that come up, as they may also be infected. Look for resistant varieties and plant only certified seed potatoes. A preventative fungicide program can be used. Contact your local County Extension office for the recommendations for your area. Remember, once you see the signs of a fungal infection, preventative measures are no longer effective. One source says if you discover the beginnings of late blight on potato vines you can ridge, or pile mulch up, around the stems so that the pathogen has a more difficult time reaching the tuber.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Information.
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Purple Martins are arguably the most attractive members of the swallow family. These lovely songbirds have dark black feathers with purplish iridescence. Not just known for their exotic good looks, they have many ardent human fans because their diet consists exclusively of flying insects.
In addition to keeping pesky insect populations under control, their mystique is due to their unique repertoire of songs, and their consistent lifestyle habits. Victor Stoll is an expert landlord of these songbirds, and he has maintained the largest colony of Purple Martins in North America. At his current home in Tennessee, he has 729 nesting pairs!
Stoll has lived in Belize, in Central America, where he established colonies of Grey-breasted Martins, native to that continent. From his early childhood in Michigan, Stoll and his family maintained Purple Martin housing, to keep the migrating birds coming back each spring.
Compiling 70+ years’ experience and passion into Stoll’s Purple Martin Book, Victor Stoll shares his fascination and talents in an easy-to-read handbook. It’s a guide filled with everything a Purple Martin landlord needs to know, from novice to expert. This helpful insider’s guide will inform you of all the lifestyle habits of Martins, including their migrating times and patterns, nesting and mating rituals, and how to identify and stave off their predators.
Crisp, gorgeous four-color photographs are included throughout Stoll’s Purple Martin Book. They include ample views of the birds themselves, as well as the variety of gourds and multi-compartment homes that will attract them and keep them migrating back each spring.
In addition to photos, Stoll explains the care and maintenance of the Martin houses, and he offers explicit details about where to place them on your property, so they’ll be instantly recognizable to the scouts returning each spring to claim territory for their colonies that will soon follow.
Stoll’s Purple Martin Book is written in a tone that is simple and friendly, and it’s suitable for all ages of readers. Although it contains a small amount of technical and scientific terminology and data, it is anything but boring. There is information in this handbook that will fascinate anyone who has an interest in nature and the unusual lives of migrating birds. Purple Martins in particular have interesting mating and brooding habits that are addictive to follow, once a colony has established itself on your property.
Purists will delight in growing their own gourds to dry and suspend from high wires to house families of Martins. Martins also are happy to take up residence in multi-unit homes with perches outside for public visiting. These monogamous birds will chirp and squawk and fight to protect their families, but they always seem to settle their arguments by nighttime. They start their days with a dawn song that begins a couple of hours before sunrise.
Annually, the Stolls host MartinFest, a two-day celebration on their Tennessee farm that attracts up to 500 Martin enthusiasts each June.
This entry was posted
on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Information.
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There are a number of different views floating about and there seems to be no definitive answer to your question. The majority seem to be in favor of the use of tires as planters, hot beds, composting bins and insulating walls for greenhouses. There are quite a number of other projects you can create.
Some people are skeptical, as you are, that there are still toxins left in the old tires that might leach out into the soil and be absorbed by the plants. However, the negative reports focus mainly on the chipped rubber mulch and astroturf made from old tires.
There are quite a few folks who love their tire planting beds. There are downsides and upsides, depending on what area you live in. The black rubber tends to superheat the soil. One solution is to just paint them a light color, or you can use it to your advantage like a cold frame. Quite a few people have perfected the method of creating towers of tires for growing potatoes, creating a compost bin or growing tomatoes.
If you decide the risk of growing edibles is too great, there are a number of other uses. Save your old tires, or go out and rescue a couple from your local landfill, find some bright paint, and create some funky yard art. Then plant some colorful flowers in them!
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Information.
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Worldwide, there are some 1,000 species of bats. Don’t worry: vampire bats don’t hang around these parts. North America is home to around 40 different species and they are predominantly insect-eating, although bats in other geographic regions also feed on fruit, plants, and other animals.
Bats are the only mammal that fly. They are tiny and very lightweight, measuring only 3 to 5 inches in length, and they only weigh up to an ounce. Nocturnal creatures, they usually are most active at dusk and they fly around until dawn.
Bats are thought to be blind, but they see just fine. However, the insect-eating varieties find their food through echolocation, meaning they bounce a high frequency sound off of insects to determine their size and location, and then they go in for the catch. Bats are a necessary and welcomed part of the food chain, keeping insects and other pests under control. The common small brown bat can consume up to 1,200 insects each hour!
Not the most beautiful of animals to look at, with their tiny faces, oversized ears, and huge thin wings, bats do a beautiful job of keeping our environment in harmony. They are good plant pollinators and are revered for their ability to control the insects that can destroy crops, as well as for keeping pesky mosquito populations down. During cold weather some species of bats relocate to warmer climates, but many hibernate until the spring.
Bats roost during daylight in hollow trees, under bridges, in caves, and in man-made structures such as old buildings and bat houses. They tend to cluster in colonies, but they do need shelter and you can lure these natural mosquito controllers to your yard or farmland with houses designed specially for attracting these curious creatures.
Bat houses will draw bats to your property and keep them there. Bats like dark, tight spaces and an area to keep their young warm and protected. If the inside surfaces of the bat house are roughened, they will resemble tree bark and the bats will feel right at home. The textured walls give bats something to grasp as they perch.
Bat houses come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials such as cedar, redwood, and recycled plastic. A bat house kit is also a great project for Scout troops or other young people to build, as it teaches them about the environmental value of bats. More than half of the species in the U.S. are now endangered.
Hang bat houses by late winter, because the bats will come seeking shelter in the spring. They should be 15 to 25 feet off the ground, on the side of a building or chimney, and away from power lines and tree branches. The bat house should face south or southwest and the opening and ventilation vents should be free from obstructions. It can take 6 to 12 months or more to attract bats to bat houses, but be patient. When you hear chatter in the bat house or find bat droppings nearby, you know you have provided a home to a colony of mosquito eaters ready to keep those little biters at bay.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 9:16 am and is filed under Information.
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Wrens are not particularly colorful. They’re small, plain brown birds but they have one particularly endearing quality: they eat insects! These songbirds also have a distinct high-pitched, bubbly voice and are one of the most popular invited guests to backyards all across North America. They favor suburban yards and man-made birdhouses.
Commonly called the house wren, this bird is attracted to residential yards, brush piles, low tree branches and clusters of bushes, for habitat and protection against the elements, and also because those dense, low-lying areas provide great insect hunting.
In order to attract wrens to your property, you only need to supply three things: food, clean water, and shelter. The food is in abundant supply in most natural areas, in the form of insects like grasshoppers, spiders, crickets, flies, beetles, and caterpillars. Water can be supplied in countless ways. Wren houses provide the shelter and come in a wide variety of styles, sizes, and colors. What they share in common is the opening size, usually about one inch, which will allow entry by wrens but not larger birds.
Wrens are attracted to houses made of most any material—wood or plastic resins. Among “green-thinking” birders, the wren houses constructed of recycled plastic bottles are a huge hit with both the homeowner and the wrens themselves.
Wren houses can be hung from low-lying tree branches, posts, outbuildings, or on the side of the house. They sometimes contain roughened interior floors, to give the birds traction as they enter, and to emulate tree bark.
Since birds aren’t known for housekeeping skills, look for easy-opening, low-maintenance wren houses for your yard or birding sanctuary. Make sure you have access to the birdhouse interior, so you can keep it clean. Regular removal of dropped feathers or dirt that the birds might have tracked in will keep your wren house a welcoming quiet place to rest for future visitors.
Wrens are also happy if you provide water features nearby, so keep a birdbath or clean pond available to them as a source of drinking water and a place to splash their feathers. They’ll find the birdhouses easily and want to stick around, if the accommodations are clean, well-stocked, and inviting.
Garden Harvest Supply knows that most wren houses will attract wrens, but not all birdhouses will be attractive to all homeowners. That’s why we have eight different wren houses available. Each one has its own unique look and features. Some are rustic, some are classic Americana, and some are contemporary. There is a style to suit every taste and budget, and with so many wren houses to choose from, it might not be a bad idea to try a few, to attract as many of these insect-eating beneficial songbirds as possible to your yard. We hope you enjoy the music!
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am and is filed under Information.
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Summertime outdoor activities, poolside fun, family gatherings, and picnics wouldn’t be complete without great food. But who wants to be stuck in the kitchen with a hot oven and time-consuming preparation, when they could be enjoying time in the sun—and fresh baked goods without any effort?
Garden Harvest Supply offers made-from-scratch baked goods for all your entertaining needs. You can serve your family and friends delicious treats so close to your homemade they won’t know the difference. We carry cakes and pies in both classic and unexpected flavors, quick bread loaves that are moist and hearty, and popular dessert bars like brownies, lemon bars and pumpkin bars. We have a dozen varieties of soft and chewy cookies, and we even carry several styles of homemade Amish noodles.
If these descriptions weren’t enough temptation, how about an added incentive to try our baked goods? As a valued client of GHS, we’re offering you a 15% discount on all our baked goods purchased today through June 30, 2009. Take a look at these homemade treats: http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/category/baked-goods
Use Discount Code BG0609 during checkout. Then, enjoy the savings and the ease of delicious baked goods delivered to your door.
We look forward to your comments about our tasty treats!
Best Regards,
Garden Harvest Supply
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Information.
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Have a gardening question you can't find the answer to?
Planting, Staking and Pruning Deciduous Trees in the Fall
Attention: avid birdwatchers and novices, alike. This is the time to stock up on thistle seed, to attract goldfinches to your backyard feeders. The lovely songbird couples, mated in monogamous pairs, will adorn your outdoors spaces, adding color and interest to your fall backyard nature preserve.
Do you remember Grandma’s house and the candy dishes in almost very room? They were filled with 
Late Blight or Phytophthora infestans is a serious disease that affects potatoes and tomatoes. This waterborne mold was the major culprit of the 1845 Irish and 1846 Highland potato famines. The spores of the devastating mold can overwinter on infected tubers, especially those left in the ground or can appear in volunteer plants from infected seeds. The spores on leaves can be spread through the crops, especially on days of high humidity, over 75 percent, and rain will wash the spores into the soil where they can infect the tubers. They can also be carried for miles on wind currents.
Purple Martins are arguably the most attractive members of the swallow family. These lovely songbirds have dark black feathers with purplish iridescence. Not just known for their exotic good looks, they have many ardent human fans because their diet consists exclusively of flying insects.
Worldwide, there are some 1,000 species of bats. Don’t worry: vampire bats don’t hang around these parts. North America is home to around 40 different species and they are predominantly insect-eating, although bats in other geographic regions also feed on fruit, plants, and other animals. 
Wrens are not particularly colorful. They’re small, plain brown birds but they have one particularly endearing quality: they eat insects! These songbirds also have a distinct high-pitched, bubbly voice and are one of the most popular invited guests to backyards all across North America. They favor suburban yards and man-made birdhouses.
Summertime outdoor activities, poolside fun, family gatherings, and picnics wouldn’t be complete without great food. But who wants to be stuck in the kitchen with a hot oven and time-consuming preparation, when they could be enjoying time in the sun—and fresh baked goods without any effort?
