And now for something completely different..april

Welcome back to another Episode of lost in the farmer’s market, today we continue the topic of last week with a few springtime photographs and a bit about suspicious individual…in your garden. But before we get to that, let us make with the spring photographs.

Obligatory Pansy bloom, because you know...

Camellias at the ranch.

From the wild flower mix I spread in the crescent garden last year this is some sort of primrose. Which brings to light one fact of using seed mixes, not everything comes up in a timely fashion.

Rabbit eye blueberries blooming, if this is not a sign of spring I don't know what is.

Stellaria Media - Chickweed

Yes you’ve probably seen this one, he’s trouble, you might commonly find him in the cooler seasons lurking. Perhaps he’s in your lawn, or in your newly tilled beds growing, spreading and looking utterly harmless, until suddenly he’s got a firm grasp on the soil and those April showers provide him the water needed to have that growth spurt and then he’s all up in your lettuce strangulating it with its enthusiasm for growing.  This is chickweed, a common garden weed known for its love of the cold season and very short life span.

Now the truth is that chickweed has an undeserved bad rap. As far as weeds go it is an effective anti-erosion plant as its fibrous roots are quite capable of holding the topsoil for a season until something else takes over. It is a fast grower and will tolerate a lot of soil types but is temperature sensitive and will not tolerate the summer’s heat. I figure in intentional cultivation its short life span may not be as much of a problem.  Now what do you use it for? Well Chickweed is 100% edible and is often trimmed with the clippings being used as a salad green. The specimen above was dug from where it was growing in bed and potted in enriched potting soil. Much like the trial a few years back to see what cultivation would do for a fire on the mountain (poinsettia relative) plant which is considered a weed. In shade with good soil and no competition it may be possible that chick weed could be a sustainable salad source. The specimen you see after transplanting wilted for a day then promptly recovered. At least I know it’s vigorous which bodes well for its adaptation perhaps as an edible houseplant. I’ll have more on this as the trial develops.

As you know the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market occurs every Saturday between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. This week there is a special event at the market so we will be starting early with a setup time of 8:30. I believe we have a vintage automotive show going on so this week’s market will be off the hook for sure. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous so there’s plenty of reason to stop by and see the sights. The market is located on 325 Franklin Street in downtown Fayetteville and is typically located in the frontal parking lot of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. With that said the following will be available this week.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Black Magic Fertilizer

That’s right you’ve heard about it in trials all summer. This specially formulated liquid fertilizer was made and tested at the test gardens using natural ingredients and no chemicals. The result explosive growth, great harvests and of course no environmental side effects! We’re making batches of this stuff to order, at $6.00 per gallon of fertilizer. You can either order it at the market and pick it up the next week or have it delivered to your home in the Fayetteville area for a delivery charge of an additional $2.00.

House Plants

5x Aloe Vera ($5.00)

Garden Plants

4x Dinosaur Kale, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Cabbage, Tatsoi, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Mustard, India green, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Lettuce, Freedom Mix, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Lettuce, Romaine, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Raddichio, Crimson, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Swiss Chard, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Herbs

4x Green Lavender-Cotton, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Black Fennel, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Sage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Hyssop, White , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Bloody Sorrel, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Oregano, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Oregano, Bristol Cross

3x Rosemary, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Horehound, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Lamb’s Ear, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Some of the strawberry crop, All Ozark Beauty. For note they are everbearing type.

40x Ozark Beauty Strawberry, 3.5” pot ($3.00) ( April 12^th)

6x Ozark Beauty Strawberry, 5” pot ($5.00) (April 12^th)

10x Martha Washington Asparagus (April 5^th)

10x Dark Red Norland Potato (April 5^th)

Tomato, Amana Orange

Tomato, Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad

Tomato, Black Krim

Tomato, Blue Berries

Tomato, Brown Berry

Tomato, Hillbilly Potato Leaf

Tomato, Japanese Black Trifele

Tomato, Martino's Roma

Tomato, Paul Robeson

Tomato, Purple Calabash

Tomato, Rainbow Cherry Blend

Tomato, Reisetomate

Tomato, San Marzano

Tomato, Tlacolula

This is the end of the first post of April, and indeed we enter April with a precipitation of 1.5”. April showers and May flowers indeed if that rainfall is any gauge Fayetteville might become flower land in May. There is a supposed cold front coming but I figure that’s about normal; we did get of easy this week so keep an eye out for those night time temperatures. As always folks keep ‘em growing!