We are busy doing and scheduling winter clean-ups.  Call us  774-6981.  It’s good to get some of the winter debris off to allow the sun to warm the soil, and remove any overwintering disease spores and insect eggs.  Compost if you can.  It is also a good time to make perennial divisions if you have large clumps or overgrown plants.   Pansies, onions, and potatoes, and early spring seeds are all in stock.  Stop in and see us!

Spring has sprung, we think…. We’ll be open daily now!  Stop out and see us, or call to set up a site consultation 774-6981. Note our new e-mail address: lockesgreensideup@yahoo.com.  Should you want to contact Chuck Annable personally please use: campusvideo@yahoo.com.  See you soon!

We’re scheduling Spring Cleanups and Landscape Work–give us a call 774-6981. We’ll have some pansies next week and have received our 2013 seeds. Open Mon-Friday 11-5 and Saturday 10-3 through the end of March, and then open Daily beginning April 1st. Call or stop by and start garden dreaming!

Open Saturday 10-1 Bird Feed and Plant Seed

Let the indoor seed starting begin! Tips from our supplier Botanical Interests:
Some of your garden favorites perform best when started inside.

Give these seeds a head start:
Tomatoes – 6-8 weeks
Peppers – 8-10 weeks
Eggplants – 8-10 weeks
Celery – 10-12 weeks
Artichokes – 12 weeks
Onions – 8-10 weeks
Herbs – 8-10 weeks

Seed Starting Indoors is
EASY if you keep a few simple things in mind.

The latest blog post from The Garden Coach
gives you 6 quick things to keep in mind for really easy seed starting success, like:

Light: Plants love it…how to get enough for healthy seedlings…
Containers: What makes a good container for seed starting…
Soil: What’s the right choice for your seeds…
Water: It’s important! How do you use it effectively…
Warmth: What temperature is best for your seeds…
Directions: What to look for on your seed packet that is the most helpful…

Check out the latest blog post:
How to Start Seeds Indoors – Six Short Tips
http://botanicalinterests.com/inthegarden/flowers/how-to-start-seeds-indoors-–-six-short-tips/?utm_source=seed+start+indoors&utm

It’s time to get started!
Get a jump on the season by starting these plants indoors.

We got to plant over 60 trees this fall. I love planting trees! I am thankful for the folks that asked us to do it for them. Not only is it fun work, it is immensely satisfying thinking of that tree in the future, shading the earth and making oxygen long after I have quit breathing.

‘Tis the season to bring a tree inside and adorn it with lights.
We have 51 lovely Firs and Pines for sale (actually only 48 now…), and they smell terrific.
We will be open Thu-Sun 12-5 (Saturday 9-5). We have fresh wreaths, swags, door charms, and centerpieces; Poinsettia, Cyclamen, Christmas Cactus, Paperwhite Narcissus, and Amaryllis (hopefully some orchids, too).
Monica has been baking, so we have cookies every day, and hot chocolate on the weekends. (beer or wine for Mom & Dad)

Though I gratefully sell 700+ yards of double-shredded hardwood bark mulch every year, you might consider the free mulch that is falling from the sky at this moment. Get your leaves off the lawn, but leaving them in your beds does no harm. Think about it. Rakes have only been around for maybe 1000 years, but leaves have been building forest and prairie soils for millenia! Use your mower to chop them up and blow them right into your beds. Evergreen groundcovers love to be buried with them. Herbaceous perennials enjoy the protection. Leaves are full of micronutrients and are organic matter personified. Compost them if you can’t stand an untidy bed.

Or call us to collect them for you, we can use the work, and need to replenish our compost pile, so we can have humus to sell in 2 years… Schedule your fall clean-ups now: 774-6981

Root growth! While the visible parts of plants are beginning dormancy, the roots are moving out into new territory. The soil is moist again, plant tissues have plenty of stored energy from photosynthesis all summer, so roots take the opportunity to grab a firmer purchase on the earth. It is late enough now to fertilize without pushing any foliar growth, but help plants with root growth and mineral uptake in preparation for next year. This is a great time to correct any deficiencies observed during the growing season, including adjusting pH (see earlier blog posts). To this end we have lime or sulfur, micro-nutrients, and slow release fertilizers. We have spikes for trees and shrubs, organic lawn fertilizers, and sweet-peet compost for top dressing vegetable or perennial beds. Fall investments in the garden show great rewards next year. Open 9-2 Saturdays or by appointment. We can also deliver if you leave a message: 774-6981.

Though Arbor Day is in April, October is the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Why? Because you don’t have to water for 8 months and you get 6 extra months of root growth before new leaves emerge. We have many native (Sycamore, River Birch, White and Scarlet Oak, White Pine, Hemlock, Crabapple, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Red and Sugar Maple) and other environmentally appropriate trees (Honey Locust, Carolina Silverbell, Dawn Redwood, Blue Spruce, Whitespire Birch, Zelkova, etc.) to choose from. I do not discount in the fall, but all of these trees have grown considerably this year and they can be purchased before their price goes up next spring. Of course if you purchase 10 trees… we can make a deal. We also can plant them for you (that is extra), and sell amendments, stakes, and fertilizer. Planting a tree is one of the most generous things a human being can do–it expresses hope for a future you yourself may never behold. Mitigate your carbon footprint today! All of our trees have been sourced from nurseries in northern Ohio.
Though we are now open officially only on Saturdays 9-2, we are working daily and in and out of the GC several times a day and would gladly make arrangements to meet you any time. Just call: 774-6981 and leave a message or send me an e-mail. Sincerest thanks for supporting local business! Please share this with your friends and business associates.

You know that green plant? I want to kill that (weed/insect) with something non-poisonous… I want a low maintenance garden that blooms all year! Why does the woodchuck eat all my veggies just when they are almost ready to pick? May 15th it is too early to plant, May 16th is too late. If I mow my lawn to within an inch of its life I don’t have to mow it so often. Water?–But it rained last week (maybe .1″). The leaves all turn yellow and fall of if it is over watered AND if is under watered. Heavy clay soil is very rich soil. Plants should go on sale at garden centers in the summer even though they have grown considerably, and have been watered, fertilized and groomed for hours. We are here for you to explain these and many other confusing tricks to gardening in northern Ohio. Stop by and see us–it’s still 60 days til the first frost–time enough to grow many vegetables from seed yet (hard to believe, but true)!

Annuals are enjoying the heat and sun—keep them looking good with water and fertilizer. They are “hungry” plants and if they are grown in pots they lose nutrients through leaching as they are watered. Petunia leaves begin yellowing about this time if they are not given enough iron. There is a particular petunia fertilizer that has micronutrients including iron that will keep the plants green and healthy and able to continue producing blooms through early fall. Ask for “Jack’s Petunia Fertilizer” the next time you visit. We are doing large and small pruning projects right now—call for an estimate. And just keep watering….