Its that time of year, when we are all searching plant catalogs, online order companies, trying to find that special plant or plants that will fit into our gardens. Here at Snowbelt Farm we have been adding around 3000.00 a year worth the plants and trees over the past 5 years or so.
Here are some tips, Be careful of companies, and sellers that hype their plants up with digital enhanced images. We have all seen that plant that look to good to be true, bought it anyway and when it bloomed it looked nothing like the photo. Personally I think there should be laws against this, and yes I am talking to you Daylily world! I mention the daylily world because there is a ton of this going on with these plants. Shame on you if you are doing this. I have over 600 daylilies, believe me I know. Don't Get Your heart broke! Select carefully.
Also pay strick attention to plant size IE. Plug or pot, how many inches are the pots, are they shipping bare root or in soil. Make sure you don't get a big surprise when you pay 20.00 for a plant that comes in the spring and is a 2" plug. Its not the companies fault if they have it posted on their site that it is a plug, and you missed it.
If you have so many varieties of plants, you are running out of choices, consider a plant that is a zone higher, and put it in a part of your garden that it has some protection to give it a chance until established. I Feel that the zones on plants are on the SAFE side of degrees and zones, its a liability issue. I have had great success growing zone 5 plants in zone 4 on the farm, I just think about placement very carefully. If you do this I feel you should also buy a quality plant as large as you can afford, Plant has better root system and has a better starting chance. Just remember you may loose some, but I think its worth the gamble....................Steve
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year welcome 2010
Happy New Year from Snowbelt Farm!
Today we are still in the planning stages, all we can do because of winter, of a new pond system, one small pond for breeding fancy goldfish, and another pond that will house my favorite variety of Koi.....Showas. I will only keep Breeding showas in this pond, in hopes of coming up with some wonderful offspring. All my ponds are mud ponds, and all are connected in some way. All the ponds are landscaped as well, as they are part of our gardens.
Feed the chickens this morning, had one of my Rhode island reds fly down from roost and land on my head and the sit there, as if to chew me out for being late with the water and food, my chickens are spoiled and fat, and have personalities all their own.
Went on line to HVH and purchased a few more Hibiscus for my collection, a collection that is growing quickly, and will demand its own sun room very quickly. Yes you can raise tropical hibiscus in Vermont zone 4, just have to bring them in before night time temps get to cold in the fall.
Its almost time to set up my indoor lighting for seed starting, I have a bunch of seeds to get going this year, including over 500 day lilies that I hybridized myself in my gardens this year.
Happy New year everyone.........Steve
Today we are still in the planning stages, all we can do because of winter, of a new pond system, one small pond for breeding fancy goldfish, and another pond that will house my favorite variety of Koi.....Showas. I will only keep Breeding showas in this pond, in hopes of coming up with some wonderful offspring. All my ponds are mud ponds, and all are connected in some way. All the ponds are landscaped as well, as they are part of our gardens.
Feed the chickens this morning, had one of my Rhode island reds fly down from roost and land on my head and the sit there, as if to chew me out for being late with the water and food, my chickens are spoiled and fat, and have personalities all their own.
Went on line to HVH and purchased a few more Hibiscus for my collection, a collection that is growing quickly, and will demand its own sun room very quickly. Yes you can raise tropical hibiscus in Vermont zone 4, just have to bring them in before night time temps get to cold in the fall.
Its almost time to set up my indoor lighting for seed starting, I have a bunch of seeds to get going this year, including over 500 day lilies that I hybridized myself in my gardens this year.
Happy New year everyone.........Steve
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Hey ya'll, Steve Pokines here from Snowbelt Farm
Coming to you from northeast Vermont,in small town called Wheelock on 6.3 acres, my wife and I along with four children have owned for 9 years. We have crazy gardens both perennial and vegetables, an apple orchard started, 100 blueberry bushes, 100 plus Black raspberry bushes, three ponds, two with koi, and one with trout, Brookies and rainbows. The Koi and trout spawn every year, do to the 85 gallons a minute being pumped in to our ponds by our gushing true artisan well. We share the land with 4 dogs, all fixed females, two yellow labs and one German shorthair, and one truly awesome 8 month old griffin wire haired pointer named Bella. Can you tell we like to duck and bird hunt? We'll we are all in on that! We have chickens and pheasants. All our land is open, its actually old pasture from a disbanded farm. Our house sits in the middle of the land, and neighbors are few and far between. I think you will see in the future why we consider this little place heaven, and my wife and I plan on doing our best to fossilize here.
We named this property Snowbelt Farm because we have a tendency to get a ton of snow here, we are located in spot that just gets the high end or more all the time when the weather man says 6-12 inches, we get 12 or more. Its not unusual for us to have snow here in May. So you might say, we are fond of snowmen here! Talk soon.........Steve
Coming to you from northeast Vermont,in small town called Wheelock on 6.3 acres, my wife and I along with four children have owned for 9 years. We have crazy gardens both perennial and vegetables, an apple orchard started, 100 blueberry bushes, 100 plus Black raspberry bushes, three ponds, two with koi, and one with trout, Brookies and rainbows. The Koi and trout spawn every year, do to the 85 gallons a minute being pumped in to our ponds by our gushing true artisan well. We share the land with 4 dogs, all fixed females, two yellow labs and one German shorthair, and one truly awesome 8 month old griffin wire haired pointer named Bella. Can you tell we like to duck and bird hunt? We'll we are all in on that! We have chickens and pheasants. All our land is open, its actually old pasture from a disbanded farm. Our house sits in the middle of the land, and neighbors are few and far between. I think you will see in the future why we consider this little place heaven, and my wife and I plan on doing our best to fossilize here.
We named this property Snowbelt Farm because we have a tendency to get a ton of snow here, we are located in spot that just gets the high end or more all the time when the weather man says 6-12 inches, we get 12 or more. Its not unusual for us to have snow here in May. So you might say, we are fond of snowmen here! Talk soon.........Steve
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