May is my favorite time of year. By this time I have my gardens pretty well cleaned up and I can begin to think about all the beautiful annuals I will add this year. Containers are a favorite of mine and each year I try to make them different. Let me share some of my favorite plants and maybe I can inspire you to begin a new planting adventure.
With April showers out of the way, May comes in with a bang. It is the busiest month for planting our main season crops and with due diligence and the help of the man upstairs everything will germinate and prosper in the field.
This morning is chilly, cool, brisk, or CHILE. Why Chile? Chile has become the second most important vegetable seed source to the United States. The seed companies started migrating to the southern hemisphere more than twenty years ago and now produce over half of the vegetable seed in the country of Chile.
With the recent news of the Emerald Ash Borer being discovered in Dakota County, this might be a good time to bring back the American Elm tree. New varieties have been introduced that are resistant to Dutch Elm disease (DED). Some of the new Elms that are DED tolerant and commercially available are the New Harmony Elm and the Valley Forge Elm.
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and most importantly the snow appears to be gone. As spring approaches, the first things you might notice are the lawns turning green and plants starting to peak through the soil. It is very important not to get in a hurry when working on your lawns, you want to make sure it’s not too wet and the soil temperatures are right for the best performance.
April is the month of great change in our gardens. It is also a huge change at Pahl’s Market. We have the greenhouses filling up with beautiful plants and the market is bursting at the seams with all kinds of treasures. All of our favorite seasonal staff is returning and we begin again.
We are off to the races. As you read this, our first cabbage for the field is being seeded. The first go around will be 320,000 plants of Green cabbage, Red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower and Broccoli. All of our Green and Variety peppers (450,000 plants) will be seeded during the week of March 9th and then more cabbage after that. The pace picks up and doesn’t let up until the first week of November. We get charged up by the smell of the soil and the constant humming of the seeder.
Bailey Nurseries does it again with a new addition to the Endless Summer Collection. The 2014 introduction of Endless Summer Bloomstruck follows on the heels of the original Endless Summer, the second Endless Summer Blushing Bride, and the third Endless Summer Twist-N-Shout.
Pahl’s Market will be attending the upcoming Lakeville and Apple Valley Home Spring Home & Garden Shows. This is a great opportunity to stop by the Pahl’s booth and talk Gardening, Farming, CSA and Landscape. We will also have some FREEbies to hand out. Hope to see you there!
Let’s warm up! March brings us a variety of temperatures and a mixed bag of precipitation. We can enjoy calm warm sunny days and survive blasting cold winds with raging snow in the same month. I think that is what makes Minnesota folks so tough and adaptable. One sure reprieve from the weather is the snug cozy feeling in a heated greenhouse. The smell of potting soil and the first visions of green and even some color will fill your senses with hope for days to come. As gardeners we are a hopeful lot and Spring brings a sparkle of joy to our days.
