Newsletter Update

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Brrrrh, Winter has finally arrived for us down south but don't worry, the greenhouses are toasty warm and filled with little plants, happy as clams. This time of year is a great time to plan your garden and decide which plants go where, how many to plant, what should be grown again from last year and what to try new this year! Our online catalog has full descriptions of our plants and great photos to tempt you.

If you can't decide, don't miss our Easy Order Combos which have the selections made for you.

Planning your garden is easy if you have lots of experience but beginners may need some help to get started. Check out our growing tips page for lots of helpful information on growing herbs, vegetables and tomatoes as well as fruit trees, asparagus, strawberries and citrus trees.

New! We have Olive trees to grow your own olives or make fresh extra virgin olive oil! These are in 1 gallon containers of Arbequina olives which are easy to grow and cold tolerant to most of the U.S. You can even grow them in containers and bring them

inside for the winter if you live up north.

Our 2007 Spring catalog is now online! The best way to guarantee your favorites are in stock when it is time for your shipment is to pre-order early as we fill orders on a first come first serve basis. To encourage early ordering, we are offering a 5%

discount for orders received by February 15th. Just enter early5 at checkout and recalculate your total to receive the discount.

Our selection of plants includes so many great varieties of Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Squash and Cucumbers as well as Melons and Pumpkins. These vegetables are easy to grow so we encourage you to try to grow some of your favorites. Our plants are healthy and strong and will thrive in your garden, we guarantee it.

Spinach, Lettuces, Onions and Strawberries can plant early, even before your last frost. Also, many hardy herbs can plant early and will give you a jump start on the season. Orders can ship anytime after February 26th. You can always call us with questions, our phones will be staffed full time beginning February 5th or just leave us a message anytime and we will return your call. We spend a lot of time in the greenhouses this time of year as you can imagine but you are important to us and we check our email and messages frequently.

Just to inspire you in your garden planning, here are some wonderful beds in a small city garden that will produce enough vegetables for 2-3 families or a small restaurant! These wonderful photos are from Skippy's Vegetable Garden. The beds are built so that they can be accessed from all sides and should never need to be walked on. Filled with lovely soil that has been amended

with good compost, they will be added to every season to keep fertility high as well as adding lime to correct pH. The brick pavers are attractive but not necessary, anything that will keep weeds from growing will work well such as wood chips, gravel or even grass cut short. Fencing is a luxury in the garden as it can be used for supporting tall plants and to keep unwelcome critters and rabbits out, not to mention deer!

Supports for Tomatoes, Pole Beans and other tall plants should be sturdy but also easily moved to another bed for rotating crops to other locations. Plants may seem crowded but the "French Intensive" method o

f gardening is a good way to get a large harvest from a small space. The compost and fertile soil allow plants to grow in tight quarters as long as they don't shade each other too much. As the garden grows fuller, the ground is almost completely covered which shades the soil and keeps it cool in hot summer weather, holding in moisture and keeping roots cool.

Herbs, Flowers, Vegetables and even trees and bulbs can be arranged in a garden of raised beds and kept as permanent plantings. Asparagus would fill one of these beds and will last for up to 20 years. Rosemary, Thyme and Sage can be grown in permanent beds just remember that they will grow up to 5' across and should be trimmed frequently to keep their shape. Mixing annual herbs and vegetables such as Basil with Tomatoes or Dill with Beans can even improve the flavor of both!

Whether you plant in raised beds, long garden rows or even containers, the key to success is lots of sunshine and good fertile soil. Healthy plants are naturally disease and pest resistant and our mission as gardeners is to always provide the perfect condition for each plant. Watering should be kept to a minimum to make sure that air pockets in the soil can be maintained which are just as important to plant's roots as water. Regular harvesting and weeding are also important to prevent decaying fruit and weeds from attracting pests and disease.

Special thanks to k500martin for the use of the photos. Click here to see more from this photographer.

We have scheduled the following shows for this year, we hope to see many of you in person at these events.

New England Clam Chowder

1 tbsp oil
4 oz. salt pork, diced
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp. chopped Thyme
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1 Bay leaf
2 cups potatoes, cut into 1/2" dice
about 1 cup water
2 cans or 3 pouches of chopped clams, drained reserving liquid (or 5 lbs of fresh clams, see note below)
1 cup heavy cream, (you can use milk or half & half and thicken them with a little flour before adding it to hot soup)
Ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp. butter

Add oil and pork to a stock pot over medium heat and cook until crisp. Add onion and thyme and cook until onion is clear, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, bay leaf, reserved clam liquid and water to cover potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add cream, parsley, black pepper to taste and bring to a slow simmer, being careful not to boil. Add clams and cook about 2 minutes more just to heat through. You may wish to thicken your chowder by adding 2 tbsp. of flour mixed well with 1/4 cup of milk adding slowly and stirring until thick. Serve with a dollop of butter and oyster crackers or sourdough bread.

This soup can also be made with Chicken and/or Corn and bacon is a good substitute for the salt pork.

Note:

Canned clams or clams in pouches make this recipe much easier to make. If you choose to use fresh clams, scrub the shells well and soak them in cold salted water to get rid of the sand, rinse well and steam them in a large pot with 1 cup of water and some onion scraps, celery, thyme and bay leaf for about 15 minutes until they are open. Discard any that do not open completely. When they are cooled remove them from their shells and coarsely chop reserving the broth for the soup.

The Tasteful Garden recently opened a new produce and garden store here in our small town of Heflin, Alabama. (just 1 mile off exit 199 of I-20 at Highways 9 and 78) Our small store is bursting at the seams with wonderful fresh produce, jams, honey, fruit, and eggs. We also hope to add milk and butter from a local dairy soon. It has been a lot of work getting the store opened and renovated but we are very pleased with the results and hope you all will come and visit as you are passing through on I-20. Our main goal is to provide healthy vegetables to our community and provide a support market for all of the local farmers in our area.

Spring vegetable plants, herbs and lots of ferns, bedding plants and flowers will be available at this store beginning in early spring but our greenhouses will still be our primary location for purchasing vegetable and tomato plants.