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Our most recent Monthly Update
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 June 2011
Wow, is Tomato planting season already almost over?Around here, we feel like we have been knocked over by a bus and left for dead. We have had a rough season and the crazy time is nearly over. Although we still have a few more tomato plants left, we are looking forward to a few minutes by the pool to relax. January started out with the collapse of one of our greenhouses under the weight of an ice storm. After rebuilding that greenhouse, we had a heater that failed one night, and because the temperature went down into the teens and we lost our entire first batch of tomatoes and peppers. We scrambled to get everyone plants on time and luckily were able to do so but it put us behind for most of the season.
We had a huge response around that time from an article in a major magazine that caught us by surprise, not that we are complaining, but it threw off our inventory levels and wreaked havoc in the office with all the phone calls. On top of that, some personnel changes and training new office help was a challenge during our busiest time of the year. Finally, as we were getting caught up, very extreme weather conditions (as well as a passing tornado just north of us) caused a devastating loss in our seed greenhouse and over 1000 plants were lost which was most of our final two batches of tomatoes. It was too late to reseed so we did the best we could, again, to get everyone plants. We haven't had this kind of a season in all of the 15 years we have been growing and we hope to never have this situation again. In the meantime, we hope everyone has better luck than we have had and that you all are not floating away in floods, shriveling up in the drought, or being blown away by tornados in your area.
Still available!!! We have several varieties of tomatoes that are still available for shipment next week as well as Sweet Potatoes, lots of great Herbs, Herb Planting kits, Organic sprays and fertilizers and Bat Guano or Worm Castings as a treat for your plants. Our Mater Magic, Super Bloom and Great Big Tomatoes help your tomatoes grow nice and big. Order them today and we wil rush them to your door!
We do herbs too!
We have a new herb planter that is just gorgeous on a patio table or in your kitchen. This pretty terra cotta bowl comes with 4 herb plants that you can select and soil mix so you can put it together easily and have an instant herb garden. Herbs are some of the easiest plants there are to grow as they are very forgiving of many different conditions and can be grown indoors, on patios in containers, or in the ground.
All they need is about 4-5 hours of sun and some can take even less. Basil will grow just about anywhere it is given enough room to grow. Here are a few featured herbs we hope you will like to try, get them while supplies last as these are only sold during spring-early summer:
Siam Queen Basil is one of our favorite herbs as it has not only great taste of basil with a hint of anise, but it has fantastic purple flowers and is a prolific plant that grows to 2-3' around. The best use is in Vietnamese or Thai curries and stir fry or anywhere you want a more complex flavor. It is great in Thai soups too! Available for a limited time while supplies last.
Lemon Verbena is so fragrant it will knock your socks off when you open the box. The leaves are narrow and somewhat coarse but the scent is a complex lemony flavor that is perfect for cream sauces, flavoring complex butters, and most especially for ice cream or sorbet. It also is a nice addition to soup broth and is used primarily for flavoring tea. Brighten up your iced tea this summer with some of our Lemon Verbena which grows about 4' tall and is a tender perennial.
Pineapple Sage is a wonderful plant for growing around your house in either large pots or in the ground. Makes a great foundation planting and will draw butterflies and hummingbirds. It has a beautiful red flower but the fragrance is not like sage at all but a sweet smell that reminds you of pineapple. You will love this huge plant that grows to 8' tall in a single season then dies back in the winter in colder zones until it returns next year. In September, it is literally covered in red flowers and butterflies. Very easy to grow plant.
Fall Planting scheduleWe apologize for missing a couple of newsletters, we have been extremely busy and I hope you will forgive us for that.  Looking ahead we are getting ready for planting our fall season plants and ordering garlic and asparagus for planting this September. I know everybody is working on the summer garden right now but it is a good time to begin thinking about what will rotate out and what should be planted in the early fall season. 
There are many different types of vegetables that are perfect for growing in the cooler season. Lettuces, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Cabbages, Collards, and many more are all sweetest when cooler weather comes in. View Cool Season vegetable plants in our catalog Asparagus crowns will be in stock beginning September 5th and are great to plant in the fall so they can grow underground during the wintertime for harvesting in the spring. We have Mary Washington heirloom crowns available this fall in bundles of 10 or 25 crowns.
Garlic bulbs always sell out fast so order yours now. We have several tasty gourmet varieties to choose from as well as Shallots too. Garlic should be planted in late fall, September-November depending upon your area. Very cold areas may want to wait until spring to plant Garlic.
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