It's Time to Plant the Garden

by Gayle Anderson

IT’S TIME TO PLANT THE GARDEN and we’ll have plenty of organic vegetable seedlings for you to choose from. Janet Britt of Buttermilk Falls Organic Farm has moved to Cambridge in Washington County, but her greenhouse moved with her. Janet’s early seedlings were already at Honest Weight in mid April. Organic seedlings also come from the Farm at Miller’s Crossing (near Hudson). Katie Smith and Chris Cashen grow for us the same varieties of vegetables that they plant for the market, their CSA subscribers-- and themselves! With new arrivals coming twice a week, you’ll find the best selection of heirloom tomatoes anywhere in the Capital District! 

For your flower beds, all of our seedlings will be locally grown!  Every single flat will be hand selected at the wholesale market Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the wee hours of the morning. The Menands Regional Market is a farmer-owned co-operative made up of local family farms. We’ll be buying plants that look healthy, and we’ll be buying them directly from the grower. These will not be part of mass shipments trucked in from Canada. We’ll be looking for varieties and colors that we would want, or that you might want, so please feel free to ask! We’ll also have a small selection of organically grown varieties from Miller’s Crossing (watch for signs).

Note: though most of our vegetable seedlings will be organic, we will fill out our display with conventional-but-local selections from the Menands Market. The market farmers will also provide our one-gallon perennials, our trees and bushes and roses, and our beautiful hanging baskets. Our selection this year should be better than ever because of our new fenced-in outside space! 

Looking for seeds to plant? Check out our Fedco seed display. No GMOs, no chemically-treated seeds, many organically and sustainably grown varieties, all selected for the Northeast. The Fedco catalog is amazing. Check out copies in the store for variety descriptions, how to plant, and all kinds of other information. You can access it on-line at www.fedcoseeds.com. Fedco seeds, trees and bulbs are available by mail order seasonally, but you can order organic gardening supplies from them year-round. Planting potatoes? It’s too late for you to get seed potatoes from Fedco, but we picked up seed potatoes (and onion sets) from a local source for you.

New this year is our organic seed display from High Mowing Seeds in Vermont. This is the only 100% organic seed company in the U.S. that sells both small and large quantities of Certified Organic seeds. Their selection is more limited than Fedco’s, but the $1.89 packet price is not bad. We thought we’d give them a try to give you a totally organic option. Plant ‘em and let us know how you like them.

Need organic Potting Soil? Compost? Topsoil to patch holes? We have all this and more from McEnroe Organic Farm in Millerton, NY. Their Lite Growing Mix is good for starting seedlings, or for hanging baskets where weight is an issue. Bags are $4.99 each, but when you buy four you get a fifth bag free! Ask the Produce gang for assistance if you’re getting a bunch of bags because they’re heavy and we’d be glad to help.

McEnroe Organic Potting Soil

Compost, Topsoil, Lite Growing Mix

Buy 4 get 1 FREE!