2027 Growing Methods

We’ve lots of changes this year to report on!

Soil

I’m so happy to say that the soilless mix that we use this year for all our annuals will contain 20% Biochar. This will be replacing the perlite portion of the mix. We anticipate that the Biochar will improve drought tolerance, nutrient retention, help maintain the proper pH, and provide valuable pore spaces for beneficial microbes to take up residence! You may notice that the mix is shinier. Your customers will be adding a valuable resource to their gardens!

Containers

There’s a debate about what is preferable, biodegradable pots made in China or pots made locally from recycled pots. Right now, the lack of affordable alternatives makes this an easy decision. This year we are switching suppliers to work with East Jordan Plastics in Michigan. They grind up used trays and pots to make the new ones. No other company has perfected this process the way they have. We reuse trays as long as we can but when they wear out we palletize them and send them off to East Jordan.

Many of you will cheer our decision to switch our perennial pot system away from the 3D pots and trays. It made it so much more work to consolidate flats! We felt the pain too. We made a partial switch this year to the new 4.33” round pots. This coming year you will see those almost exclusively. We just have a few square black pots to use up. The pots are deeper which most perennials appreciate.

Biological pest control

Probably the biggest change here is our use of sachets that are breeding colonies of beneficial mites. The A. cucumeris predatory mites feed on immature thrips, spider mites, and broad mites. In the absence of prey they can feed on pollen making them a great preventive measure. We’re using them in all hanging baskets, begonias, dahlias, brugmansias, celosias, aslepias and other plants that are known to be favorites. In the summer, when thrips populations are worse, we use them in most everything we plant. These mites, combined with pirate bugs and nematodes, are capable of keeping the pests at bay.

Parasitic wasps work well to control aphids if we get a jump on them. We used aphidius and aphidoletes with good success. Also a spray called No-Fly. No-Fly is a fungus that attacks aphids and other pests. The spores germinate and kill the pest.

Other bioinsecticides that we may employ are Regalia for controlling powdery mildew and botrytis, Grandevo and Venerate for mites, thrips and aphids. Guarda is made of thyme oil. It is another control for fungal and bacterial pathogens. Oxiphos is capable of controlling root rots and downy mildews. It’s made of hydrogen peroxide and phosphoric acid.

Root zone management

Microbe Remedy is the product that we apply to all new plantings. It is a blend of beneficial microbes that we want to colonize the roots with to prevent disease. Nematodes are applied a few weeks later to prevent fungus gnats and thrips larvae. Our fertilizer, Nature’s Source, is applied through the irrigation system almost constantly. Other fertilizers may be used in special cases. Our water is amended with a bit of sulphuric acid to lower the pH.

Cuttings and seedlings

We’ve been able to move away from rooting hormones through the use of a seed and plant starter. We soak all unrooted cuttings in this solution of beneficial microbes and mycorrhizae.

This solution also aids germination of seeds.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or complaints don’t hesitate to reach out.

Suzanne and Ash