In my last post, I talked about my big plans for the vegetable garden this year.  Even though I never thought it possible, I am actually even more excited than before!  Last week I attended an education day which is held each year by our distributor for all our chemicals, potting soils, fertilizers and more.  I walked out of that meeting super pumped to go organic. 

While I have never been an avid user of synthetic chemicals, I used them when necessary.  I was raised on a farm, where chemical use is common place and while studying at the University of Illinois, I learned the importance of chemicals for treatment of most pests.  But, at the seminar, I heard a presentation by Gretchen from Dr. Earth Organics.  She was an excellent speaker and she explained the importance of mycchorizae and probiotics for the health of your soil.  Let me tell you, I was convinced, and will definitely be using their line of fertilizers, inoculants, and hopefully their planting mixes to enhance my soil even more at planting. 

I am also extremely thrilled that we have received our shipment of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  So far, I have bought, Golden and Red Marconi pepper, Charentais cantaloupe, Tigger melon (one that stays really small, like softball size.  I think it will be perfect filled with Vanilla icecream!), Moon & Stars watermelon, Swiss Chard (which I have never grown before), Chioggia Beet, Chantenay Red Core Carrot, Rosa Bianca Eggplant, Rocky Top lettuce mix, Red Romaine lettuce, Red Kuri squash, and a few varieties of peas.  I can’t wait for mid March, when I can start all these seeds in the greenhouse and get that much closer to Summer and harvest!

What do you intend to do to your garden this year?  Do you plant a big vegetable garden or concentrate solely on flowers?  Share your insight…I can’t wait to hear your tricks!

Naturally yours,

Colleen

Lately, we have been getting a lot of phone calls from customers complaining about the health of their newly planted trees.  Upon further discussion we are finding that many customers have not been watering this spring.  Certainly, we have had some cooler weather and in April we got more rain than we thought we needed.  However, we have to remember that trees which were planted last year or this spring, do not have an established root system, they only have access to the water which falls directly onto their root balls.  Particularly, when a tree is planted in the lawn, it needs even more water (no, your irrigation system is not sufficient), because it is competing with your turf for moisture. 

So, you wonder, how do we diagnose that your tree is not getting enough water?  We ask lots of questions!  The first indicator that your tree needs more water is often yellow leaves or some fall color.  Early fall color, in particular, tells you that your tree is in desperate need of help.  We can also diagnose lack of water by brown crunchy leaves which are falling off the tree, bending of the new growth, etc.  If you think your tree might be dry, give it water, then call us.  If the soil is saturated and squishy, it is not too dry. 

We recommend deep, infrequent watering.  Please lay a hose at the base of the tree with a trickle the size of your small finger for 30 – 45 minutes; twice a week, less if we have had more than 1” of rain, that week.  Remember that your tree has its own method of communicating with you; it is telling you if it is healthy or sick.  So make an effort every day to look at the tree and make sure it isn’t waving a yellow leaf at you!

Happy Gardening,

Colleen

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is today!  I am told that Wayne Tholen, Steve’s dad and co-founder, used to tell people that all the time.  I find that every time I hear that statement, I snicker a little.  It is true on many levels, and then again it is a bit outdated today.

Wayne used to say that because a shade tree takes many years to do its job, shading a structure, a patio, or providing a place for a boy to learn how to climb.  The point is, the sooner you plant the tree, the sooner you will reap some benefits.  So, no matter if it is April, August, or October, if the tree was dug at the right time, you can successfully transplant it. 

Twenty years ago, you could make a statement about what could have been done on your property.  Now, there are more new subdivisions than we could have imagined 20 years ago.  Just think of the growth that Kankakee County experienced in the last 30 years.  So instead, we can consider who will own our properties in twenty years and think, “Boy, it would have been nice if someone had planted a shade tree twenty years ago when they built this house.”

An experienced gardener can age a subdivision based on the size or species of its trees.  For example, in subdivisions built in the sixties we often find Honeylocust trees, in the seventies and eighties Silver Maples were the norm.  In the nineties, a lot of Ash trees were planted.  So how will your subdivision be recognized?  Since the turn of the century, I think a lot of subdivisions will be dated by their lack of trees!  Understandably, people who have just built a new home have blown the budget by the time they get to landscaping, however, planting a tree now will help them decrease their cooling costs in the future by hundreds of dollars.  Remember that tree planting will save you money in the long run…a bit of an investment!

As I was writing this, I thought of what a great analogy it is to call a tree an investment.  Just like choosing a stock to invest in, you have to consider your needs, in the short term and long term, how much you can afford to spend, what you need to get out of it and how fast.  Does it have pros and cons?  Then there is the question of future investments, watering requirements, fertilizer and more.  Depending on the type of tree and the size you choose initially, you will start to get shade within 10-20 years.  So you are asking, what is the dividend?  The shade and energy savings ($$) will far exceed your initial investment!  You will continue to reap that benefit for 30+ years.

Welcome to the Tholens’ Garden Center Blog!

We are so excited to have FreeMode Media building a new website for the garden center.  If you ever visited our old website, you know that we needed help!  We hope that the blog will help our customers to find some answers, learn about some of our favorite plants, maybe our customers will teach us a thing or two too! 

Most posts will probably be about whatever I, Colleen Nelson, feel like pontificating on, but if you have a suggestion for a topic, please let us know.  Maybe there is something in the gardening world, or something that you saw on TV that you think warrants conversation…well this is your forum too!  Please have fun and keep it respectful!

We’d love to hear from you!

Colleen Nelson