Thanks for all your hard work on the peonies!

We know we said our last post, would be our last post on peonies since the stand will be opening MONDAY, but we wanted to say 
 

THANK YOU 

to all of those who have worked on the peonies and who will be working on them through June -- even if all of them are not pictured here!  For all of you who are curious what it means to work in a peonies field, or to "grade" them, maybe this post will give you a flavor for it!   Please post any questions you have below.

Keep up the good work guys, we really appreciate it!

 

 

Post your comments or questions below.

Old Fashion Peony and Kid's Corner Contest Reminder

June will be the last month for peonies, but once June 1 hits we'll be busy sharing with you all sorts of information because the stand will be OPEN so this will be our last post on peonies.

If you don't know about this beautiful peony waiting for you at the stand, you need to come by and SMELL IT!!!!!!  

It smells like a: ROSE!

Meet Festiva Maxima!!!  White with red highlights in the center, often referred to as the "Old Fashion Peony"!  You will enjoy its beauty and its fragrance!

  

Stand opens next MONDAY!!!!!

 Drop on by! We look forward to seeing you!

Don't forget to check out the Kid's Corner while you're waiting and see if any of the kids in your world know the answer!!

A Good Question and This Week's Growth

Last week someone posted a good question:

"Can you provide some tips behind your success at gardening."  

H.G. said:

"Start with a farm (garden) that has good soil! Take a soil test (#1 most important thing).  Add compost but not too much, 1-2 inches a year.Follow soil test recommendations.  Weed and pick off insects weekly at the VERY LEAST!  Cover bare soil with something. Straw, newspaper, whatever. 

Squash and Cucumbers

Sunflowers

Basil

Onions

Water every three to four days.  Skip irrigation if rainy. Rotate away from same crops every year (peppers and eggplant should be considered the same). Hope and pray no disease come in (do a lot of this).  If you rotate religiously or if it never rains, disease will be minimal.

Eat veggies when hungry!  HG"

Hope this helps and if you have any questions, please post them below!  

Here are a few more pictures of this past week's growth!  Enjoy and we look forward to seeing you all in a few days! 

Kale

 

Gooseberry

Green Beans

 Garlic

Peas

Peppers

We hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend.  We are very thankful to all of you who have served our country!

From Bud to Bloom

We grow nearly 70 varieties of peonies, several of which are ready for you to pick up at the stand this week.  

Last week we posted about a couple varieties, "Lovely Rose" and "Scarlet O'Hara." Here are two more to help you know what you're buying!  

This beautiful white variety is called "Ann Styer."

And this fancy named peony is "Mons. Jules Elie."

The "Ann Styer" and "Mons. Jules Elie" look beautiful together. 

Come on by and take a look at all the varieties we have to offer.  And please share this with someone who might be interested!

Everyone has been working really hard while basking in the beauty of these flowers.

 

 

12 MORE DAYS TILL OPENING DAY!

Brussels Sprouts

Our brussels sprouts are looking great. This is a vegetable which has truly gotten a bum-wrap over the years. When properly cooked they are amazingly delicious!  With bacon, goat cheese, onions!  Unbelievable! Sear them in a pan, then add a few table spoons of water and let them steam.  Add the above delicious ingredients and your family will not believe they are Brussels Sprouts. We should just tell them that they are H.G.'s sprouts and they'll never know!
 

Did you know that they are called Brussels Sprouts because they first became popular in the Belgium city of Brussels?  If you are interested in some delicious ways to cook these cabbages take a look at our Pinterest site.

Pretty Peonies

This week we've been debudding the peony fields which means taking off the tiny little buds on the sides of each plant to help the main flower grow up strong.

Then the flowers are cut and brought into the farm to grade and get ready for delivery.

 Here are two of the many varieties that we grow.

Lovely Rose

Scarlet O'Hara

We will be selling peonies at the stand for the next several weeks, from 9 a.m. till dark, until we run out!  Come on by and pick-up some of these beautiful flowers for your home or a friend!