Tag: Stark Brothers Nursery

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It’s Time to Read Seed Catalogs by the Fire

It has been so warm this winter, with the exception of a few
days last week, that I have not been able to engage in one of my favorite winter
activities: reading seed catalogs while I sit by the fire.  I have still read them, of course, but without
a fire, something seems to be missing.  While
I enjoy the fire, I organize the seed I have left from last year, and I decide
which varieties I will order for the garden this year.     Packages of seeds cost a few dollars, and it
is easy to experiment with many different varieties of plants to figure out
which ones are happiest in your garden.    
Two years ago, I ordered some fruit trees and bushes from
Stark Brothers’ Nursery (www.starkbros.com or
1.800.325.4180) and I am pleased with their products and service.  As soon as I get my soil ready, I will order
some more fruit trees so I can expand my orchard. 

I do not think I have room to cram in any more perennials
now, but perennials from Bluestone Perennials, (www.bluestoneperennials.com or
1.800.852.5243) fill my garden. They no longer sell perennials in three-packs; instead,
they sell one larger plant for a lower price than the three packs.  The catalog gives cultural information on nearly
any perennial commonly grown in the US.

I have not ever actually ordered anything from White Flower
Farm, www.whiteflowerfarm.com or
1.800.503.9624, but their catalog has unusual and beautiful plants.  I found out about them from a Martha Stewart
book years ago, and they appear to be a good, although expensive, nursery.

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply (www.GrowOrganic.com or 1.888.784.1722), is
a California company with nearly every gardening/farming item imaginable.  Peaceful Valley’s catalog is good for
information, obscure organic pest control products, and season-extension
products. 

For seeds, I order from Seed Savers Exchange, (www.seedsaversexchange.org or (562)
382.5990), a nonprofit organization from Iowa which sells exclusively heirloom
seeds and John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds (www.kitchengardenseeds.com or
(860) 567.6086), a catalog that is a work of art and provides detailed planting
and culinary information. 

The only truly local seed supplier is Heavenly Seed LLC (www.heavenlyseed.net or 864.209.8283) out
of Anderson.  It provides the least
glamorous catalog but the most generous amounts of seed for the money; I buy
most of my seeds from Heavenly Seed.    

Johnny’s Seeds, www.johnnyseeds.com
gives good cultural information for gardeners, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds,
(417.924.8917 or www.rareseeds.com, has
one of the largest collections of heirloom seeds around.  Pinetree Garden Seeds (207.926.3400 or www.superseeds.com) sells small,
inexpensive packets of seeds that are useful for small gardens or for trying
out many varieties of seeds. 

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It’s Time to Prune Fruit Trees

Here’s a picture of my Red Delicious Semi-Dwarf apple tree I bought from Stark Bro’s, www.starkbros.com, along with three other apple trees, about two years ago.  It’s healthy-looking, and gave me a some wonderful apples last summer.  I pruned it as much as I dared, although I didn’t do enough pruning, and I sprayed it with lime sulfur and dormant oil to protect it from pests.  I even managed to keep it alive during last year’s hot summer, and when I had 100 pine and hardwood trees cut from around it, the tree cutters carefully avoided damaging it.  I am happy with the plants I bought from Stark Bro’s, and I want to buy some more trees from them to fill some of the space vacated by the 100 cut trees when I figure out what I want. 
Unfortunately, though, as experienced apple growers will note, the central leader is missing.  Apple trees produce best when they are trained to a central leader, where the main trunk continues straight up, and the other branches grow off the trunk like alternating rungs on a ladder. 
Unpruned apple tree
Last summer, my chickens panicked when I moved their house and they couldn’t figure out where to sleep, and three of them tried to roost in the tree. Chickens want to go to the highest place they can reach when it’s time for bed, and unfortunately for my tree, the central leader was the place all three tried to roost. I described it in detail in this post  http://www.maryannscountrygarden.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-many-roosting-chicken-does-it-take.html.   The central leader snapped, the chickens fell squawking to the ground, and I eventually got them to their beds.
Saturday, I selected the most upright branch, tied it to the stake, cut off the other one, and trimmed the rest of the tree, thinning branches and cutting back the limbs.  I am no expert in tree care, but if you are, please give me your opinion of my trimming and rejuvenation of my tree.  I try to err on the side of cutting too little, but, based on my observation of overgrown orchards, too little pruning is nearly as bad as too much pruning.  The chickens you see in the photos now know where they are supposed to sleep, and I let them into the orchard to provide a little pest control and fertilization.
Pruned apple tree
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