Saturday

We will be open in the field from 8-4, still many iris to see and order for your garden! We will also be selling bags of 'mesclun mix' w/radish. It is a combo of several different greens, that you can eat as is or mix in with lettuce. Kinda spicy, very good! We will also be a the Farmers Market in Mankato from 8-12. We will have the last of the peony bouquets there. =(
I may have 2 weeks w/o bouquets till the annuals get going.

For Friday

We will be open Friday from 10-4, unless of course it rains. Just a bunch of 'scare' clouds this morning and a few sprinkles. We still have lots of iris to see and peonies as well. Stop out and browse our wagon full of field grown hardy perennials. We will also be at the Farmers Market in Mankato on Sat. and open in the field Sat 8-4, and Sunday 12-4 for the last official iris open house day. After that we will be closed on Sundays until later in the summer. I am making a real effort to take one day off.....well at least from the field work.

This is the netting I wrote about earlier. Although I have not seen any cabbage moths flitting around my broccoli, I am ready for battle. The moths as you may know, lay eggs on your plants that in turn grow into worms that eat your broccoli and then you eat them because they are so hard to see. yuk.
So tiny! Nearly knocked this nest out of the Penstemon I was weeding today. The eggs aren't much bigger than a large peanut M&M. I'll have to try to see who the parents are. Any guesses?

Looking at the Radar.........

It looks like we may be getting wet in a couple of hours. If you planned to come out an order all of your peonies today, please call first. 507-382-9337. Don't be shy about calling me to see if we are open. We still have some iris to see in bloom, and a wagon of perennials waiting to go home with you!

Check out our Peony blog

Click site on right hand side bar.
Not sure about being open tomorrow yet, need to see what tonight's weather brings.

Wednesday

Closed for entire day due to muddy field conditions.

For Wednesday 6-17

I am predicting we will be closed at least until 2 pm on Wed. We got 4/10" inch of rain. Very muddy out there, and maybe more on the way. If you didn't make it out to see the iris, we will be selling bareroot plants (rhizomes) this summer. We will have photo cards so you can see what they look like. Very soon we will start digging and moving the ones that we were not selling this year, and start diggin orders mid July and wrap it up by mid Aug.

Well this was one surprise in our field that Lisa stumbled across, a baby fawn. We stayed away after getting a few photos.

Gardeners Tip: a few people have stopped by looking for cucumber transplants. Trust me: ALL VINE CROPS ARE BEST STARTED FROM SEED. YOU WILL NOT HAVE VINE FRUITS ANY SOONER FROM TRANSPLANTS! There, now I feel better. Most gardens in this region will have the pest we all dread, the spotted or striped cucumber beetle. By the time you have seen them, they have laid eggs at the base of your plants and the larvae are chewing the roots as I write to you. Wind will really beat up your transplants making them weaker and more inviting to the beetles. Seed grown plants are stronger and thicker, adapting to the weather as they emerge. Use a garden dust to combat the beetles at first sign before they take over.

I have tried a new 'bug excluder' this year, so far so good. I am using the craft netting that you get at the fabric store to cover my broccoli to keep the cabbage moth from laying eggs on my plants. I secured it with metal plant tags that I have. The net is only $1 a yard. You probably could also fold it and staple to wooden posts. You can't use excluding material for crops that need pollination, so no vine crops. See what happens when you drink Coke to late at night, you write and write and write. =)

Tuesday

We have closed due to rain. I can't complain though, I just replanted a bunch of seeds yesterday.

Tuesday

We are open today from 10-4, same hrs. for W-F, if it doesn't rain. We have our potted herbs on sale, buy one get one free. We have perennials : oregano, spearmint, chives, and some annual basil & rosemary. Last few days to see the iris this year. Also have many peonies that can be ordered for the fall dig.

Monday Open House

We will be open Monday from 10-6, T-F from 10-4, Saturday 8-4, Sun 12-4.
this will be the last week for the iris, they are winding down the show for the year.
Rain is predicted nearly everyday this week. We will close when it is raining hard or getting muddy, so call if you are unsure. 507-382-9337. Besides being closed for so many rain days, we had a ton of visitors and have met many new people, it's been great! Our market hours will shorten soon, until we have more veg to sell, always check blog for updates, and pass us on to your friends too. We still have about 30 flats of plants to install in the field and ornamental grains to plant. It never ends....

OUR GOOD NEWS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE; We had our inspection last Friday from the Minnesota Dept of Agriculture for our nursery license. Lola, our inspector is responsible to inspect 29 counties in Minnesota, whew! Anyway, we passed and I would like to pass on her remarks. "I have many growers & your farm is in the top '10.' Your farm is very well thought out & executed and the hundreds of iris varieties are very impressive. For having been in business for such a short time your vision has certainly paid off & your plants & varieties are impressive." Needless to say, Lisa and I were nearly in tears to see all the hard work we have done this year really paying off. Thanks Lisa, Glenn and Frank for all your hard work. If you know me at all.... you know that I am already planning on how to make the top five next year, and the year after that...............

Sunday Open House

open today from 12-4. we also have some of our $15 bouquets for 10 today. Come see the iris before they are gone for the year!