A good look at farm fields still reveals that many will not be planted and the State of Ohio has requested that the federal government declare Ohio a disaster area so that farmers could get some federal funds. Some of the money would be used to help farmers plant cover crops on the now idle land that would help to prevent erosion and ultimately improve the soil tilth which in turn would definitely help next year’s crops.
On a trip to Michigan this past week, I noticed that the level of Lake Michigan like Lake Erie is quite elevated as some small towns have water in the streets even the lake and small docks are either under water or almost submerged. A visit to Walter’s Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan was eye opening in that their display gardens (in which plants are clearly labeled) were in excellent condition. The sandy soil requires irrigation in the display as well as in the expansive production fields.
Several photographs of some newer products of perennials gives a clue of how they might perform in a customer’s garden but the test gardens that are so isolated are where some of the new products for 2020 and even beyond are located. In this garden though, no cameras are permitted to ensure a competitor will not photograph and claim the plants or plant as their own in order to file a patent before Walters Gardens. Luckily Walters had provided us with the photographs above.
With all the new material continually coming “out of the oven”, it makes things quite difficult to arrange the pallet of plants for the next year as space is now at a premium and too many choices for customers is sometimes not good as it tends to confuse folks.
Saturday, July 20th, will be our 9th annual blueberry festival complete with music, hayrides, children’s events and of course blueberries. Hope you can all come to the free event. See you at the festival!
Tom