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What's Growing On:
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MOTHER'S DAY ALL MAY! In honor of Mother Earth we are having a Summer Salad Bed Special the entire month of May!!! 2'x 2'x 10" Raised Bed: complete with organic soil, organic fertilizer and plants. $89.95 CALL OR DROP BY TO PLACE ORDER TODAY!
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Earth Day Everyday Sale: Save 15% on Farmer D Gardens to Go Everyday through the end of May including beds, soil, fertilizer and plants! Come to the store or learn more here.
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ORGANIC BLUEBERRY BUSHES HAVE ARRIVED! Visit us for our everyday sale price of $6.95/ea.
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CHICKS ARE HOT! A fresh new batch of chicks are in! They are flying fast, reserve your birds today. $19.95 a bird, 404-325-0128
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HEIRLOOM TOMATO GROWING WORKSHOP! Join us this Sunday, May 16th, at 1pm and learn everything you need to know about Heirloom Tomatoes! Spots are filling up quickly, reserve a space! $10 Click Here for More Information
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Recruiting Marketeers! Farmer D Organics is looking for people to help at festivals and farmers markets, please email info@farmerd.com if you are interested.
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Have you ever munched down on a fresh, home grown potato? There is no comparison to the potatoes you buy in a market! Yummm! There is a very good reason why Potatos are one of the most popular vegetables in the home garden. They're easy to grow, they store well for months and they taste much, much better. Mounding your potatoes is an important part of the growing process. It involves drawing mounds of soil up around the plant to prevent new tubers from growing and turning green and poisonous. Tom Cole shows us how to earth potatoes.
Step 1: WHEN TO MOUND: Mounding is the process of covering growing tubers with soil. This will help prevent the greening of tubers, and blight infection. Begin earthing up once the shoots of your plant reached approximately 20 cm.
Step 2: MOUND: Using your hoe, draw the gathered soil into mounds around the stems of your potato plants. Use enough soil so that just 5cm of stem are left visible above the mound. This will ensure enough foliage is left to allow the plant to carry on growing strongly, but will starve the developing tubers of light so that they are prevented from turning green and poisonous. Whilst doing this, take the opportunity to remove any weeds or debris that may have returned since planting.
Step 3: UPKEEP: Using your hoe, draw the gathered soil into mounds around the stems of your potato plants. Use enough soil so that just 5cm of stem are left visible above the mound. This will ensure enough foliage is left to allow the plant to carry on growing strongly, but will starve the developing tubers of light so that they are prevented from turning green and poisonous. Whilst doing this, take the opportunity to remove any weeds or debris that may have returned since planting.
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Plant of the Week:
Potato
Potatoes are high in potassium,
easy to prepare and they are packed with nutrition. They provide one of the most concentrated sources of potassium — significantly higher than those foods commonly associated with potassium content. Potato plants are herbaceous perennials that grow about 60 cm (24 in) high, depending on variety, the culms dying back after flowering. They bear white, pink, red, blue, or purple flowers with yellow stamens. The tubers of varieties with white flowers generally have white skins, while those of varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Potatoes are cross-pollinated mostly by insects, which carry pollen from other potato plants, but a substantial amount of self-fertilizing occurs as well. Tubers form in response to decreasing day length, although this tendency has been minimized in commercial varieties. The potato originated in the region of southern Peru.
Check out this delicious Potato and Kale Soup with Parsley-Arugula Pesto Recipe! |
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Chalkboard Talk:
Celebrate International Compost Week!
COMPOST CAKE Lesson Plan
** A fun & engaging lesson plan to teach your kids the process of decomposition.
The kids will be able to: Study the role of organisms in the garden, Understand that decomposition represents chemical & physical changes.
Remember to celebrate International Compost Month!
Also, check out this great resource for other Earth Day Lessons that teach environmental protection at your school. |
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Compost
Corner
Farmer D's Compost Tips
I would like to highlight that along with fuel efficiency, water conservation, and the reduction in meat consumption, home composting is one of the most environmentally beneficial activities of modern society. Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. It's easy to make and use.
Yard and food wastes make up approximately 30% of the waste stream in the US. Not only does composting successfully divert a significant portion of your family's waste stream from Do your bit to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Even for households that are already composting, new research has found that almost half of the food waste in their rubbish bins could have been composted.
Did you know, composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months?
When waste is sent to landfill, air cannot get to the organic waste. Therefore as the waste breaks down it creates a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the Earth's atmosphere. However, when this same waste is composted above ground at home, oxygen helps the waste to decompose aerobically which means hardly any methane is produced, which is good news for the planet. And what's more, after nine to twelve months, you get a free fertilizer for your garden and plant pots to keep them looking beautiful.
Your compost is a nutrient-rich food product for your garden and will help improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels, and keep your soil's PH balance in check while helping to suppress plant disease. It will have everything your plants need including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and it will help buffer soils that are very acidic or alkaline. Compost improves your soil's condition and your plants and flowers will love it!
Here are some great composters & tools to get started » |
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Farmer D Organics Garden Centers
2154 Briarcliff Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 (Headquarters)
4050 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Norcross, GA 30092(Satellite store)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat. 9-6pm
Sun. 11-5pm |
Call or email us for more information
(404) 325-0128
info@farmerd.com
Copyright © 2009 Farmer D Organics |
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