Keith Farrand
Contact: info@farrandfarms.com
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Want to keep up on the latest things that are growing on at Farrand Farms? The man with the greenest thumb in Kansas City will help you with all his latest tips and share insight and info right here at Farrand's Notes. If you have some special questions or would like to suggest ideas for Keith to address just send him an email on the link under his picture.
Tips for awesome combination planters
Keith
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hard to believe it's nearly the end of April! If you've been unable to get into the garden because of all the rain, add a couple inches of Cotton Burr Compost. It will help dry the soil out quickly.
We've got everything you'll need to plant absolutely beautiful combination pots. Remember - there are NO RULES! Plant things you like and be creative.
Great combination pots include:
1. A 'Thriller' - the key component plant, showy and upright (for example, Cordyline).
2. 'Fillers' - to fill in around the Thriller. It can be any of your favorite flowers. We have a great selection of the two most popular 'fillers' in the country last year - 'Orange Symphony' Osteospermum and 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia.
3. 'Spillers' - the plants that trail down over the containers and add flow.
4. Plenty of room for water - if your container is 16" diameter, leave the soil line 2" below the rim. This way, watering will be much easier. All that you have to do is fill the pot to the rim when watering and it will easily get the entire root zone wet.
5. Good grade potting soil that is sold in volume (ie, quarts, cubic feet) - Soil sold by weight (40 lbs.) is too heavy for good root development. Happy roots mean great flowers and vegetables.
The first week of May is the right time to plant tomatoes (see our variety list from the April notes).
Lots of folks are asking us for sweet potatoes plants. We'll have plenty, but it is way too early to plant them. Mid-May is the right time - they like it warm!
Planning ahead
Keith
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Sunday, April 5, 2009
If it is paradise you seek, we have it here at Farrand Farms. Even if I say so myself, there is not a better or more pleasant garden center in the Midwest! We are especially proud of our 'Home Grown' flowers and vegetables. Our staff is friendly and greenhouses are always clean and neat. You'll be glad you came.
It's still just a bit too early to plant the warm weather flowers and vegetables (tomatoes and such)-to be safe, check our local planting schedule from our March 19th notes. What a great time to take a look and see what your options are. We have a great selection of herbs and over 65 varieties of tomatoes and peppers including many heirloom varieties. Please review our list of varieties below. Plan to bring one of your Prize winning fruits to our Tomato Fair on Saturday, August 1!
This week's helpful hints:
1. To help save money, select one general purpose fertilizer for both flowers and vegetables. Very few plants require special nutrition. We recommend Zoom (5-10-5) for easy use and the need to only apply every 4-6 weeks.
2. Add Cotton Burr Compost to the flower or vegetable gardens when working the soil. Cotton Burr compost is not only organic but replaces many nutrients that have otherwise been used up. It also improves the root zone environment. Happy roots mean beautiful flowers and more productive vegetables.
I'll be back with more helpful tips in 2 weeks. Have a great week!
Hybrid Tomatoes: Beefmaster, Beefsteak, Better Boy, Big Boy, Big Beef, Big Girl, Brandywine, Celebrity, Champion, Delicious, Early Girl, Golden Jubilee, Jet Star, Juliet, Large Cherry, Lemon Boy, Park's Whopper, Patio, Pink Girl, Roadrunner III, Roma, Rutgers, Sun Leaper, Super Fantastic, Supersonic, Supersteak, Sweet 100, Yellow Pear
Heirloom Tomatoes: Arkansas Traveler, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, Green Zebra, Gold Medal, Ken's Giant Italian, Marglobe, Mortgage Lifter,
Mr. Stripey, Oxheart, Polish Linguisa, Red Grape, Red Robin, Tomatillo
Hot Peppers: Anaheim, Ancho/Poblano, Big Jim, Caribbean Red Hot, Cayenne Long Slim, Chili Red, Habanero, Hot Red Cherry, Hot Hungarian Wax, Jalapeno, New Mexico, Serrano, Tabasco, TAM Jalapeno
Sweet Peppers: Admiral, Bell Boy, Big Bertha, California Wonder, Golden California Wonder, Gypsy, Lady Bell, Lilac, Parks Whopper, Pimento, Purple Beauty, Sweet Banana, Sweet Cherry
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