Bob’s Blog
Soil System Improves Growing And Sales
My father started our company 45 years ago growing bedding plants, mainly early season production and finished plants for our West Virginia market. It was in the early 1980s that we started growing earlier spring production and shipping materials to southern markets, and by the late 1980s, we also produced pansies for fall.
We started using hydrogels when they first came on the market in the early 1990s and found that they really helped with our production by keeping plants healthier for these new markets.
Late Summer Gardening
As summer begins to wind down toward fall, the spring-planted garden changes character. Once bright green and limber, the foliage darkens, dries, and makes a rasping, rattling sound as you wander through. In the late-summer vegetable garden, your plants are entering the seed making phase and require a little special attention to prolong their productivity.
What are Invasive Species?
On Monday Bea Corra from Parkersburg shared a picture of a plant on our Facebook page wanting to know what type of plant it was and whether it was invasive or harmful. I instantly had a flashback to August 2005 when I was studying Plant Taxonomy at Marshall University. The plant (right) is Japanese Knotweed, an invasive species. I also remember Dr. Evans’s advice for getting rid of it … “sell your house”. This week, we’re going to take a look at what makes a plant invasive and some of the most common in our region.
Up-cycled Tipsy Pot Tower
For this week's blog post I need to give a shout out to Susie Vanco from Gallipolis, OH. She shared a photo of her pool on Facebook, but I spotted something awesome in the background. A few emails later, and I present to you the Up-cycled Tipsy Pot Planter!
#Cultivate15 Live Blog: Tuesday, July 14
Today was the last day of the trade show and educational sessions. This morning, I toured the trade show, and met with quite a few of our suppliers. Get ready for some future articles taking in depth looks at what goes into our products.
#Cultivate15 Live Blog: Monday, July 13
Today I attended the keynote presented by Nancy Fire, the founder and creative director of Design Works International, she specializes in trends i.e. print/color direction, color palettes, and graphics. In the horticultural industry we constantly look to the fashion industry for inspiration. One company that Nancy's company works with is the HGTV Home brand so her advice definitely carries weight.