Start Your Garden:

Boston Ferns, Pansies

Seeds, Onion Sets

Topsoils and Mulch

ProMix & Peat Moss

Would you like to replace the soil in

your garden, raised beds and planters

with super high-quality dark, rich, fluffy

garden soil? Let “Mr. Fluffy” do the

hard work of tilling and mixing for

you. Mr. Fluffy is our handsome new (to

us) soil mixer. His powerful Detroit Die-

sel engine drives a hammer mill that

breaks up all the clumps, mixes in lots

of air, and otherwise takes the hard work

out of having perfect garden soil.

Chris worked all last fall to restore

this veteran machine to peak working

condition. Meanwhile, Stephen mixed

various combinations of soils, planted

test plots to find the best recipe, and

settled on the perfect soil mix for containers and raised beds. What’s his recipe? He’ll never tell, but we can say that

you won’t find a better bulk garden soil anywhere for any price.

If you have a pickup or trailer (or there’s one you can borrow), you can get perfect container mix for a fraction

of what it would cost you in bags or bales. Let’s do the math: Our best bagged Professional Container Mix costs

$9.99 for a 1.5 cubic foot bag. It’s better (and cheaper) than Miracle -Gro Potting Mix, but 13 bags would set you back

$129.87. One scoop of Mr. Fluffy’s GoodSeed Garden Mix gives you the same amount of potting mix for only

$39.99! That’s a savings of almost $90!

Don’t have a pickup available? Let us deliver GoodSeed Garden Mix right to your door. Sound too easy? Well,

you still have to do the planting…

Meet Mr. Fluffy!

Monday through Friday, rain or shine ................................ 10 AM to 7 PM

Saturday, rain or shine ............................................................ 9 AM to 6 PM

Sunday ............................................................................................ Noon to 5PM

Maps, Directions & Schedules at www.goodseedfarm.com

SPRING GoodSeed Nursery Hours:

Growing With UsGrowing With Us

April 2015 Volume 13 Issue 1

“Steve’s Soapbox:”

I get a little choked up looking at photos like

this one of Stephen, at five years old, behind our

old tiller. We moved to Adams County in 1997,

just after his fifth birthday, and it’s been a rol-

lercoaster ride ever since trying to get our family

business off the ground. Stephen has spent most of

his life in the thick of it. Our kitchen table has been our boardroom the entire time, so he’s seen all our ups and downs

up close and personal.

Those of you who made the pilgrimage out to GoodSeed Farm back when it was in Peebles are accustomed to

seeing Stephen as he grew up. During the busy season his home-school classroom was Marjorie’s office in our old

store barn, and he was always in the middle of things on busy weekends. In those days he managed the beverage con-

cession and offered farm fresh eggs from his flock of Golden Comets.

As he got older he was on the tractor, helping at the checkout or loading our customer’s purchases into their cars.

I remember his presentation on bird-watching at one of our Country Garden Festivals. He worked for several days in

the rain helping Charles Reed paint our quilt barn mural, a project that got nationwide attention.

Stephen never intended to have a career in the nursery business. His interests ran more to music, film and cars. He

spent hours wandering the fields and woods of our farm. Working in the garden center was more an obligation than a

pleasure, and he absolutely hated working on our landscape crew. It took a few years at Ohio State for him to really

appreciate life in Adams County; the peace and quiet of our rural farm was tonic after life in Columbus.

We appointed him manager of our garden center out of necessity. Our new location needed someone to really dig

in and pay attention to it, while Marjorie stepped back into an office

role and I focused on design-build landscaping and CROSSROADS

magazine. This is his first full year in the role of retail manager. I’m

happy to report that he’s bringing a fresh new focus to the job, and a

level of energy that Marjorie and I really appreciate. They say “a

new broom sweeps clean”, and it’s true.

Stephen came home from OSU with skills that will take us to a

whole new level. His soil experiments and ambitious raised bed

vegetable gardens have made him the “voice of experience” our

customers can tap for guidance and technical support. Look for him

behind the checkout counter wearing his “Dr. Bonide” lab coat, our

new “go-to guy” for plant diagnostics.

They say an apple never falls far from the tree. I’m proud to

say it’s true.

Page 2 Growing With Us

The Next

Generation

Our phone number, 937-587-7021, has been the same for so many years we decided not to change it when we moved. It’s still the best way to get in touch.

Those of you from Adams County know that 587-7021 is a Peebles phone number, and that’s where our office and landscape divi-sion are still located. Dial 587-7021 and your call will reach us wherever we are.

NEW LOCATION, SAME PHONE NUMBER!

Marjorie’s

Perennial Pick

Clematis Clematis needs lots of sun but wants cool, moist soil to grow in. Dig a

planting hole as large as possible (two feet deep and wide is ideal). Pretend

you’re planting a tree. Mix plenty of composted manure, Flower Tone and

peat moss with the planting soil. Avoid burying the plant too deep.

Use groundcover plants or mulch to keep the sun off the root zone; shal-

low-rooted perennials like creeping phlox, hardy geranium, candytuft, or

vinca vines cool the soil without competing. In dry seasons, water deeply

once a week.

Clematis vines are happiest when they can climb as high as possible

during their growing season. Vines can easily climb ten to fifteen feet each

season, so give them as tall a structure as you possibly can. Old-fashioned

chicken wire makes the best support for Clematis vines, since they can’t

grasp thick branches, smooth or heavy trellises. If you use a decorative trel-

lis, attach chicken wire to the back. Allow a few inches of ventilation space

behind your trellis.

Many Clematis like a high fence or wall in full sun, but some large-flowered hybrids fade badly if they get too

much sun and these should be planted in where they’ll get morning sun only or partial shade. Clematis roots

should be in cool, moist, rich soil, without competition from shrub or tree roots. Roots should be well protected

from damage or disturbance.

Early-flowering Clematis and large-flowered hybrids bloom in spring, from buds produced the previous sea-

son. Prune these back as soon as possible after bloom but don’t cut into the woody trunks. Prune again in February

or March by removing dead and weak

stems, then cut back remaining stems

to the topmost pair of large, plump

green buds.

Late-flowering Clematis bloom

on the last two to three feet of the

current season's growth. In February

or March cut each stem to a height of

about two to three feet, saving some

good stems and buds.

Clematis plants are often sold

“bare root” or in tiny pots. It’s well

worth it to get larger plants with a

big root system; these will perform

much better much sooner.

Page 3 Growing With Us

PULVERIZED TOPSOIL, COMPOST, SOIL BLENDS, MULCH, SAND & GRAVEL ..for pickup or “next business day” delivery: call 937-587-7021

Clematis “Nelly Moser”

Page 4 Growing With Us

SAVE $20 OFF DELIVERY CHARGE SAVE $20 OFF DELIVERY CHARGE for any bulk order

(minimum 6 scoops) prepaid now through April 30th!

Garden Mix, Topsoil, Gravel or Mulch!

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COMMUTER Certificate

$10 Value!

Would you like to do your garden shopping at GoodSeed Nursery after work? We’ll keep the doors open for you! This coupon should help. If you come to the checkout between 5 and 7 any weekday, present this certificate for $10 off any purchase over $20.

Valid until September 30, 2015. Not to be combined with any other discount or offer.

Limit one per customer.

We’re Open After Work! After a hard day’s work, wouldn’t it be nice to stretch your

legs in our garden center on the way home? Unwind among the

flowers, daydream about beautifying your yard, and reward

yourself for your hard work with some of our luscious flowers!

It’s a brand-new kind of “HAPPY HOUR”!

Stock up for your weekend gardening projects after work,

on your way home, or after supper if you like. We’re open

weekdays until 7PM, just so you hard-working commuters can

make it to GoodSeed Nursery after work. Stop in on your way

past, or send someone after supper for that load of mulch. That

way you can start gardening bright and early in the morning,

with everything you need.

Last-minute gift buying? Here’s another option: beautiful

plants make terrific gifts! You can get that shopping errand

taken care of on your way home and impress your family and

friends with the gift of healthy, colorful plants!

We’re keeping extended hours through the gardening sea-

son, until it starts to get dark early. Clip this handy coupon for

$10 off the first time you stop in between 5PM and 7PM, and

enjoy extra savings along with more convenient gardening…

BOSTON FERN HANGING BASKET

SALE!

Save $8 on two (Net cost $15.99 each)

No Coupon Required. Sale Dates: Wednes-

day, April 1 through Thursday April 30, 2015

Page 5 Growing With Us

WALL ROCK SALE! $1.49 each by the pallet

$1.59 individually. TIME TO GET THAT WALL

PROJECT UNDERWAY! Valid April 1-30. Delivery available. No coupon required. While supplies

last—no rain checks.

A lush display of Boston ferns hanging in a shady porch is

a classic image of Victoriana, and adds a lush tropical feel to

your outdoor living area. Many families have a tradition of

displaying Boston Ferns in profusion every year, putting

plants out as soon as danger of frost is past. Some fern devo-

tees start even earlier, bringing plants indoors on extremely

cold nights.

Boston ferns look really good indoors, and if you have a

brightly lit spot for them you can grow them as houseplants.

They certainly don’t mind being indoors for a few days at a

time. For longer stays you’ll need a humidifier, since Boston

Ferns shrivel up and make a mess unless they have 40-50%

humidity. That’s why it’s not usually practical to over -winter

the plants indoors.

Indirect sunlight is ideal for Boston ferns. Too much di-

rect sun will toast their leaves, and too little sun makes

them spindly and thin. You want to keep them actively

growing, since the new foliage has the most vivid green color.

Generous fertilizing and ample sunlight will keep them lush

and full.

Like any hanging basket plant, you get what you pay for

with Boston Ferns. Have you ever tried ours? Quality

growers use more and better soil in the pot, and space the

plants in the greenhouse so they get plenty of light. There is

also a size difference in the starter “plugs”; bigger and health-

ier plugs mature into fuller fern baskets faster.

Regular feeding is important with any hanging basket.

When feeding ferns, mix liquid fertilizer at half the recom-

mended strength. We like using Neptune’s Harvest fish

emulsion on ferns. Take a bottle home with you when you

pick up your Boston ferns this year.

Enjoying Boston Ferns

Page 6 Growing With Us

Raised-bed gardening is the key to

growing lots of healthy plants with the least

effort. Raised beds are containers of soil

above ground level, with space to walk

around them without packing the growing

soil down and squeezing out all the air.

They also prevent the surrounding grass and

weeds from invading and competing with the

garden plants. Gardening in raised beds takes

less space, less effort, and less time.

Most gardeners in southern Ohio

struggle with hard clay soil, making it diffi-

cult to grow nice vegetables. It’s rare to find a

row-crop vegetable garden with loose, rich,

well-drained and healthy soil. Raised beds

help with the compaction problem since you

never walk on the planting soil.

So, what’s the best soil to fill your raised beds with? That depends on what you’re planning to grow, but

here are a few basic rules: First, raised bed soil should be very light and fluffy. Plants breathe through their roots,

so air is the secret ingredient of healthy garden soil. Heavy soils expand when they freeze, which will tear your

raised beds apart over time. Light, fluffy soils in raised beds drain quickly, so plants won’t drown. Commercial

growers never use topsoil or dirt; they prefer “soil-less” growing mixes made from sterile ingredients like well -

composted sawdust, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and mushroom compost. These soils have the ideal texture for

plant roots, won’t swell when frozen, and won’t pack down.

Different plants need different soils. Acid-loving plants like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries like

acid soils, so raised beds for growing them should be filled with shredded pine bark, peat moss, well-composted

manure and Holly-Tone fertilizer. Holly-Tone is an old-fashioned, meal-based ground fertilizer rich with trace

minerals and soil microbes.

Vegetables do best in a rich mix of

composted manure and well-

composted sawdust, with perhaps

some coarse sand added for texture.

That’s basically the recipe for

our bulk GoodSeed Garden Mix.

Each vegetable has its preferred

plant food, but you can’t go wrong

mixing in a good organic fertilizer

like Espoma Garden-Tone when

you first prepare the soil for plant-

ing. Fertilizers that are high in ni-

trogen are good for leafy crops, but

fruits and root crops do better with

less nitrogen but more potassium

and phosphorus. The important

thing is that mixing plant foods

into the soil is better than spreading

them on top.

Secrets of Raised Bed GardeningSecrets of Raised Bed Gardening

Mixing plant foods into the soil is better than Mixing plant foods into the soil is better than

spreading them on topspreading them on top

Plants breathe through their Plants breathe through their

roots, so air is the secret roots, so air is the secret

ingredient of healthy garden soilingredient of healthy garden soil

Page 7 Growing With Us

Good planting soils have lots of organic matter like compost and

peat moss. These ingredients keep the soil loose so it can breathe and

drain, and roots can spread easily. Compost also contains hundreds of valu-

able trace minerals and live organisms like soil microbes and earthworms.

These ingredients help plants digest their food, and prevent diseases caused

by malnutrition. No amount of concentrated fertilizers like Miracle-Gro

or 12-12-12 can replace the natural goodness of rich compost. There aren’t many things you can do as effective, easy and cheap as

adding bulk mushroom compost to your garden soil. A by-product of

mushroom farming, this wonderful dark, rich, mixture has a magic effect

on your vegetable garden. It is a quick, sure-fire way to boost the perform-

ance of almost everything you grow.

Costing only a few cents per pound, mushroom compost is an or-

ganic blend of wheat straw, peat moss, cottonseed meal, cottonseed hulls,

corncobs, cocoa bean shells, gypsum, lime, chicken litter and/or horse sta-

ble bedding. Genuine mushroom compost is completely sterile, so

unlike most compost it won’t add weed seeds to your garden. It is much

too rich to plant into it directly, but mixed with other ingredients it is a

magic booster for flowers, vegetables and even lawns. We sell it in bulk

and in bags.

Here’s where many raised bed gardeners go off -track. Mixing any

kind of dirt, whether it be “topsoil” or clay, will make the soil in your

raised beds eventually pack down into a brick. The word topsoil can

mean many different things, because no two topsoils are exactly the same.

Topsoil in farm fields has been turned over, mixed, and very often ex-

hausted by repeated crops. Topsoil is heavy. Topsoil often contains clay. It

also contains weed seeds, soil bacteria and funguses.

Smart gardeners avoid adding any-

thing that might contain weed seeds.

Weeding is the most tedious drudgery in

gardening, so why plant weeds in your

fancy raised beds? Manure can introduce

pasture weeds into your garden unless it’s

scientifically composted. Soil-less mixes

are sterile, either from high-heat compost-

ing or because, like peat moss and ver-

miculite, they come from deep under-

ground.

Does all this mean you have to buy

expensive bagged container mixes for

raised bed gardening? Not really. We offer

pre-mixed, weed-free raised bed soil in

bulk, or all the ingredients to mix your

own. Call us at GoodSeed Nursery if

you’re having trouble finding bulk soils.

Whatever your mixture, it should be fluffy

enough to drain well and stay loose. In future years you can just add a few inches to the top at planting time.

If you’ve invested in raised beds, make sure you fill them with soil that will make your plants thrive. Good

soil is the key to raised bed gardening. If you take care not to pack it down, plant roots will rapidly fill it and

you’ll have the best garden you’ve ever had.

Manure can introduce Manure can introduce

pasture weeds into pasture weeds into

your garden your garden

Mix in a good organic Mix in a good organic

fertilizer like Espoma fertilizer like Espoma

GardenGarden--Tone Tone

9736 Tri-County Highway

Winchester, Ohio 45697

937-587-7021

www.goodseedfarm.com

PRSTD STD US POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT 5400

CINCINNATI OH

April 1 Spring-Summer Hours: Monday-Friday 10AM-7PM, Saturday 9AM-6PM, Sunday Noon-5PM

March 1- April 30 MULCH MADNESS! Save $20 on bulk mulch delivery of 6 or more scoops of Garden Mix, Pulverized Topsoil, Black Gold, Dyed Black, Dyed Red or Pine Magic.

April 1-30 Wall Rock Special! $1.49 each by the pallet, $1.59 individually April 1-30 Boston Fern Special $8 off on two Boston Fern Hanging baskets! April 1-30 Early Season Tree & Shrub Sale! 25% off on selected evergreens, shade trees

and shrubs! May 8-9-10 Country Garden Mother’s Day Party! FREE Butterfly Bush for every mother.

Specials, food and fun 10AM-7PM Friday, Saturday, and Mother’s Day Sunday June 13 GoodSeed Garden Expo! Spend the day with experts on gardening, plants, hard-

scaping and soils! Meet master gardeners, plant experts, representatives from premier nurseries and garden supply manufacturers. Seminars, workshops, ex-hibits, door prizes, specials, FREE samples. An indoor-outdoor event tailored for home landscapers, vegetable gardeners, lovers of plants & flowers. Rain or shine! Delicious food by Big “E” BBQ and ‘Buckeye Confections”. 10AM -6PM Rain or shine!

August 8 Mum Season Begins! Gorgeous mums, fall décor, late vegetables. October 17-18 Clearance Sale! Everything discounted 50% or more! Come early for the best

selection. (Bulk items and RR ties not included). October 19-31 Fall Hours: Open weekdays 12-5, Saturday 10-4, Closed Sunday. October 31 CLOSED FOR THE SEASON! Bulk Mulch, Soil & Stone Delivery, Landscaping

still available by calling 937-587-7021

PLAN TO VISIT GOODSEED FARM OFTEN THIS SPRING! Mark your calendar so you can enjoy our special events, take advantage of special savings, bring your family or friends for special times!

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WE’VE GOT FLUFFY DIRT!

Fill your raised beds, pots and planters with

supercharged, rich, moist garden soil with

NO LUMPS, CLUMPS, CLAY OR

WEED SEEDS! How? Meet “Mr. Fluffy”!

See inside for details...