Our Nursery v.s. Big-Box Nurseries/Stores

It's no secret that there are several different plant nurseries available for you to choose from, but the right place to choose from is the concern. Many people may think we're just like the other nurseries, besides that fact that we locally grow our plants, but there's a lot more to our nursery that sets us apart from all the big-box stores. Here's why locally grown is better!

Our nursery:

• Only two employees
• Our plants are propagated by us.
• Our plants are adapted to our climate since they were raised here from seed/bulb/cutting.
• Because we grow them ourselves, we have experience and knowledge regarding our own plants.
• We only use organic sprays (if even needed).
• You know exactly where your plants are coming from.
• We take customer requests for plants, even plants that are harder to find or aren't great money-makers. We accommodate our customers.
• We don't easily give up on our plants.
• We thoroughly inspect our plants.
• Our plants are more affordable and don't include tax. For ornamentals, we pay the sales tax, not our customers.

Other Big-Box Nurseries/Stores:

• Dozens of employees
• Plants are grown elsewhere, often in other states or even in other countries.
• Plants are not always adapted to our climate and have an easier chance of going into shock/dying.
• Employees at big-box stores aren't always knowledgeable when it comes to horticulture and/or don't have the physical experience they should have.
• Because the plants are grown elsewhere, often times many of the big-box stores don't even know what is sprayed on the plants. Many of the plants do, in fact, have chemicals and are not GMO-free.
• Flowers are often force-bloomed, therefore, their blooms hardly last, especially if the plant is supposed to only have one blooming period.
• Many plants are raised in green-houses and are not hardened off, increasing the chance of them going into shock.
• Plants are brought out too early in the season, having a high chance of dying or bolting before they even reach their harvest period.
• You won't know exactly where your plants were raised in most cases or even how they were taken care of.
• Customer requests are not taken account of. What you see is what you get. "Rare" plants are not sold, only plants that are popular or are huge money-makers are even considered.
• If a plant doesn't look good, it's instantly tossed, or if not, put on clearance without the proper treatment, leaving the customer to treat the plant themselves
• Plants are not inspected; again, if it looks bad, it goes in the garbage. Most of these places do not have the proper knowledge to keeping plants healthy, or if they do, they don't feel the need to invest any time into doing so. They'll just grow or order new, healthier plants instead.
• Taxes and higher prices in most cases

Keeping Summer Garden Alive and Well

Now that autumn is just weeks away, many gardeners' first impulse is to do away with their annual summer crops. That is a mistake many of us make, especially in zone 9 where it is still a desirable temperature for warm-weather crops up until November. Here is a guide to keep your summer plants happy and alive until the first frost!

1. Decide which summer annuals you will keep until frost and which you'll rid of now.
Of course, most summer annuals won't die until the first frost, but there are some plants you may want to demolish now. Any diseased or unhealthy plants, or even plants that are no longer producing because they have already gone through their production cycle, are probably best to get rid of now. For tomatoes, put shade-cloth over them to keep them producing until frost, and cut off basil flowers for a continued harvest. Most plants, especially herbs, should be perfectly fine to keep in your summer garden right now.

2. Collect all produce before the frost hits.
If the greens on your onions and garlic have died, they are ready for harvest and can be taken out of your garden. Your potatoes are also most likely ready for harvest as well, another thing you can clear out right away. As first frost inches closer (November), a wise decision to make for summer annuals would be to harvest all of your plants beforehand. For annual herbs, chop down the whole plant; they won't come back next year anyways and should be harvested one last time before the frost takes it instead. Herbs are still growing, and plants are still producing though! Wait until a few weeks before the first frost for a final harvest.

3. Keep your peppers year-round!
Yes, you read that correctly. Pepper plants can be perennials if you keep them protected from the frost. If they're already in the ground, dig them up and pot them. Put the pot under a patio or porch where it is close to the house and covered from the frost for year-round peppers! If you'd rather keep your peppers as annuals, simply keep them until frost, harvesting every last drop of their peppers. Their peppers can then be de-seeded and de-veined and stored in a tightly-closed, air-tight plastic baggy and frozen for fresh pepper eating mid-winter. For now, peppers are perfectly fine in the wide-open as it is still very warm, but this is a great consideration to keep in mind if you love your peppers.

4. Annual flowers kept on your patio/porch will survive winter.
Annual flowers, especially vincas, can be potted on your porch or patio or somewhere where they will be protected once it starts getting colder, and they will live! This way, you won't have to say goodbye forever to your beloved beauties. Wait until around mid to late October to consider this option.

Know that it's perfectly okay to keep your summer crops or even still buy warm-weather plants from nurseries. As long as the plants are established and ready or about ready for harvest, there is no reason to get rid of your healthy annuals and jump to cool-weather planting. Take your time, and slowly get ready for your fall garden when the time is right. Most autumn plants, if grown from seed, are not yet ready to be transplanted into the ground anyways. Don't keep your garden bare until then! You can keep your summer plants lasting for another two months or even keep annuals as perennials with the proper care and procedure. Even if you don't choose to keep your summer annuals, you can always, as mentioned, do one last harvest and even freeze your peppers for a longer enjoyment of summer produce. Good luck!

Making Use of Your Summer Produce

By now, many of you gardeners have tired of summer produce and are ready for autumn edibles. The urge for tomatoes and basil have weakened, and you may have gotten tired of eating pepper after pepper. Wait right there! We have several ideas for you to spice up you summer produce to keep the desire for them alive. After reading this article, we hope to keep you pumped up for summer harvests and to use every last drop of them, whether you cook with them or use them for other purposes rather than letting them go to waste!

Tomatoes

• Make chunky, red salsa
• Add them to your homemade smoothies/juices
• Toss them in a salad
• Oven-roasted tomatoes
• Sun-dried tomatoes!
• Add 'em to a quiche
• One word: bruschetta!
• What about caprese salad? Mmm
• Slice 'em and drizzle on olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Make your own marinara for spaghetti or homemade pizza
• Massage raw tomatoes on your face for a beautiful glow and as an anti-aging product (They also help with acne, sunburns, oily skin, and help to open up your pores)!
• Burger for dinner from the drive-thru? Ask for no tomatoes and add your own instead (Real garden tomatoes without the chemicals taste MUCH better).

Peppers

• Salsa verde!
• Add them to your favorite chili recipe
• Yummy topping for taco night
• Pickle 'em
• Put them in a stir-fry
• Add them to a soup
• Love spicy peppers but too hot? Dip them in sour cream or Greek yogurt!
• Roast them
• Homemade hot pepper sauce (Harissa)
• Add them to your scrambled eggs for a little spice
• Serve some fajitas for dinner with your prized peppers as the main ingredient
• Add them to your guacamole 
• Bell peppers stuffed with meat! Yum
• Delicious touch to your favorite pasta
• Make jalapeno poppers (stuffed with cheddar or cream cheese)

Basil

• Can't forget pesto, of course!
• Use sweet varieties for teas (cinnamon or holy, for example)
• Freeze your basil into ice cubes for a beautiful, summer flare 
• Great addition to your pasta
• Add them to your grilled chicken, especially with a drizzle of lemon!
• Basil and watermelon salad - A refreshing combo
• Lovely stir-fry ingredient
• Great to add to your ramen noodles
• Make potpourri!
• Yummy in vinaigrette
• Add it to your honey!
• Even put them it in your baked cookies (Basil cookies are yummy)
• Toss them in your homemade jelly
• And our favorite, add them to your lemonade!

Squash & Zucchini

• Zucchini/squash bread (or muffins!)
• Summer squash salad, anybody?
• Stuff your pattypan squash!
• Zucchini fries - A healthier twist
• Add zucchini to your pasta
• Make zucchini latkes!
• Try them in quesadillas!
• Zucchini oven chips
• Squash soup
• Squash makes a great pizza topping!
• Spaghetti squash

Cucumbers

• Cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese! (Either add them to a sandwich, or use cucumber slices as the bread)
• Slice 'em to add to your water
• Cucumbers in your lemonade?! Extra yum!
• It's no secret that cucumbers are great to reduce inflammation. Puffy eyes? Place cucumber slices on them!
• Add them to your bath
• Make a face mask!
• Create your own cucumber toner
• Great for homemade tzatziki sauce
• Cucumber bread, in case you don't have squash to use

Why Garden in the Fall?

Most gardeners prefer, or will only garden during, the warmer months, but autumn/winter gardening can be just as fun and easy, if not easier. In fact, there aren't many people who do garden in the cooler weather in comparison to those who grow things in the warmth; cool-weather gardening is underestimated for sure. We're here to tell you why having a fall garden is definitely worth your time!

1. Less pests
Sure, you may encounter insects munching on your cabbages every then and again, but most invasive insects love the warmer weather. In the cooler seasons, you can be sure to have a more successful harvest since you'll have less pests destroying your plants or eating your produce before you do!

2. More drought-tolerant
With the California drought, you'll be saving a lot of water when starting a fall garden as opposed to summer gardening. Of course, the best benefit is using less water, but it also means not having to water your full-sun garden four times a day in blazing triple-digits.

3. Less maintenance
With less pests and less watering comes less maintenance! For those who tire of pulling weeds, ridding of insects, and watering consistently, autumn planting is a much more relaxed time and contains less work.

4. Organic gardening is easier than ever.
Those who prefer natural, organic harvests like we do know the struggle of dealing with pests and plant diseases. In the cooler weather, these things are a lot less common, as you already know. Even if you do use organic sprays, gardening in the fall may not require you to turn to any sprays at all.

5. And of course, the yummy cool-weather crops!
Mmm, you've got to love fresh garden cilantro, brussel sprouts, broccoli, celery, peas, and cabbage! Appreciate the freshness and the quality of your produce grown from your very own backyard! Buying these in grocery stores is no comparison to what you can get from gardening. Plus, these won't grow well in California's summer!

Update on Fall Planting - Zone 9

It's slowly, very slowly, inching closer to autumn. The days are shorter, nights are longer, and temperatures are starting to cool down a couple of degrees (besides a few triple-digit days here and there). I know many of you are anticipating fall planting and want to get started as soon as possible; so are we! Oh boy, it would be nice to have all fall plants started at this point, but peppers and tomatoes are still producing. But luckily, you can get a bit of a head start on your planting, and we will soon have our autumn plants for sale at the farmers' market for those of you who would rather skip the germination process!

Yesterday on August 26th, we started planting some cool-weather crops (besides perennials, which we started a few weeks ago for autumn), and so can you if you prefer planting from seed yourself. But wait, there are some exceptions. Your best bet at this point would be to sow, like mentioned, perennial plants and/or plants that have a long "days 'til harvest" period. For example, if you look on the back of a seed packet, and it says, "60 days 'til harvest," chances are it will be perfectly fine to plant now because by the time 60 days passes, the weather should be dramatically cooler compared to our current temperatures. The goal is to ensure that the harvest period for your cool-weather crops will happen when the temperatures are preferred for the plant. A great example of an autumn crop to plant now would be brussel sprouts.

You definitely don't want to plant anything that only takes a month until harvest. Take lettuces as an example. By the time 30 days passes, it will still be pretty hot in zone 9, and the harvest won't be as good, especially if it bolts. So, definitely wait on plants that grow quickly.

Right now, we are selling a few plants (perennials) that will withstand the cold, but we plan to have autumn/winter plants for sale within the next few weeks. Be sure to stop by our farmers' market booth in the Visalia, California Sears' parking lot every Saturday from 8-11:30 a.m.!

P.S. More updates soon on fall planting.

Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh

Buying bouquets or even making your own can be pleasing to the eye, but how can one extend the vase-life of their cut flowers? Here's a quick, little guide to help you keep your flowers fresh and alive long as possible!

1. Make sure foliage does not sit in water.
If the flowers' leaves are below the waterline in your vase, be sure to remove them. You can of course leave all other foliage on the flowers that are above the waterline, but you do not want the leaves to sit and rot if they are touching water. Removing the lower leaves greatly reduces the amount of bacteria and fungus from growing in the vase that kill the flowers off sooner.

2. Change the vase water every 2-3 days.
With bacteria, fungus, and mold growing and thriving in your vase, you'll want to change the water every few days or so. Not only does changing the water allow for longer vase-life, it also prevents the smell of the bacteria living in your vase, plus, cleaner and clearer water simply looks prettier!

3. If you're cutting your own flowers, cut the stems at a 45 degree angle.
There are several benefits for cutting your stems at a diagonal, or at a 45 degree angle...

• Cutting at an angle allows the plant you're cutting from to heal quicker from the "injury."
• A diagonal cut allows more surface area for waterflow into the stem of the cut flower.
• Because an angled cut isn't flat, the stem won't sit horizontally on the bottom of the vase. This way, water will be able to flow easier into the stem.
• A straight-cut causes more tubes (vein-like structures in stems that act similar to straws, sucking up water) to crush, but a diagonal cut allows more tubes to stay open and function properly.

Our First Herbal Tea Recipe!

I've been testing some herbal tea recipes, and I decided to publicly share my first blend called Sweet Reverie from herbs found in our backyard! And yes, it really does taste like a dream. It's simple, and it only includes five ingredients. I must warn you though; this tea is very sweet! Well, what can I say; I do have a sweet tooth! Use less or no stevia for less of a sweet taste. Change other ingredients as needed. More lemon grass or lemon balm for a more lemony taste, for example. The lemon taste is very subtle in my recipe, just a FYI. More recipes soon to come!

Well, here you go!

Sweet Reverie- Sugary tarragon taste with a slight essence of lemon; great for a sweet-tooth:

• Lemon grass: 10-15 stalks
• Stevia: 15-20 leaves
• Lemon balm: One hand full
• French tarragon: One tablespoon of fresh leaves
• Holy basil: 10-15 leaves

Makes: Two cups

Instructions: Gather herbs, wash, dry with paper towel, break apart herbs into fourths, place in a paper lunch bag for 24 hours to dry.
Heat water for about a minute, and add dried herbs into a tea strainer or empty tea bag. Steep for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!