Hi Gardeners
It’s snowing on and off today here, with big light fluffy flakes. I went outside this morning to go feed the
chickens and a bit of pale sun poked through the clouds. As much as I hate winter I had to admit that
all the trees and shrubs covered with fluffy snow looked pretty. So, after the barn chores were done I went
inside and got my camera. I ended up
spending quite a while taking pictures of snow covered plants and birds around
the bird feeders.
Pretty snow aside, I am tired of shoveling, scary roads and dealing
with frozen pipes. We have had enough
winter thank you. The plants have had
their required cold dormancy. Let’s transition
to spring. The weather report is hopeful,
it seems like toward the end of the week the weather pattern will be changing
over the entire continent. We are
predicted to have a milder but more stormy, whatever that means, weather
pattern for the rest of the winter.
The garden catalogs are piling up here, it makes winter evenings
more bearable to sit and look at them.
There are lots of deals to be had early in the season so get shopping if
you need lots of plants this spring. If
you don’t get catalogs, there’s a huge list of catalogs and websites on the
page listed to the right of this blog or you can click here:
If you find a company has went out of business or you have a company
you would like to add to my list please email me kimwillis151@gmail.com I am trying to get through the list to check
all the links but a plant lover looking at places selling plants gets
sidetracked a lot.
Below you’ll find some plants I found looking through print
catalogs that look interesting and are new.
More New Plants
Last week I wrote about some new plants in shades of purple, the
plant color of the year. This week I’m
going to show you some other new plants that took my eye. Remember when you shop catalogs and on line
the word new may mean a plant that’s been newly introduced, or it may mean that
the plant is just new to this company’s offerings. I think the plants below are new
introductions to the plant market.
Zinnia, Garnet Treasure Hybrid- zinnias are loved by butterflies and bees and make great cut
flowers. This disease resistant variety
has huge fully double deep red flowers.
Seed sold by Burpees.
Petunia, ‘Pink Sky’-I loved last years petunia ‘Night Sky’ which bloomed very well for
me all summer. This one is its cousin, ‘Pink
Sky’ and its deep pink with the distinctive white spotting of it’s cousin. The plants bloom continuously all through
summer. The weather can change the
spotting pattern but it’s always pretty.
Many stores will be carrying this plant and I hope to be able to get
some to mix with the blue of ‘Night Sky.’
Brown Leaf Ice Plant - Nananthus transvallensis – for those of you who like something different this South African succulent
plant may be what you’re looking for.
Thick brown leaves set off the yellow flowers marked with red pin
stripes. It’s a plant for sunny, dry
areas, preferably among rocks. Hardy to
zone 6, sold by High Country Gardens.
Monadenium (Monadenium
ritchiei) -another
succulent, this one is for warm zones or it can be grown as a houseplant. It
forms a red flushed columnar shaped stem with a spiral of bumps or tubercles. Small leaves are also present part of the
year. In late summer the tips of the
stems produce pink flowers. Grow as a
potted plant in zones lower than 10. It
can be found at Logee’s Greenhouse.
Polaris Big Bang™ Series
Coreopsis x verticillata -coreopsis are the
workhorses of the sunny summer garden.
The old fashioned coreopsis were all yellows, but many new colors are
being introduced. Polaris is a white coreopsis with a yellow button center and
it blends easily into many garden color palettes. This is
a compact plant with fern like leaves.
Hardy to zone 5.
Desert Eve™ Terracotta Achillea millefolium
- another summer garden favorite is achillea, sometimes called
yarrow. This one is lovely shades of
brick red and toasted orange with yellow highlights. It’s a long blooming selection and yarrow is
one of those low maintenance perennials every garden should have. Hardy to zone 4. You can find this at
Bluestone Perennials.
Grace and Grit™ landscape rose- I like landscape roses because they are long blooming and easy to
care for. This one has bi-color
floribunda type flowers in a swirl of red and yellow. It’s grown on its own roots and very hardy, to
zone 4, growing 3-4 feet tall, disease resistant and self-cleaning. Introduced
by Monrovia and sold in many garden stores.
Autumn Glow Tricyrtis formosana –
toad lilies bloom in late summer and early fall when color is
needed in the garden. They also do well
in partly shaded locations. This one
adds pretty variegated foliage to the mix, deep green leaves edged with lime-gold. The flowers are a creamy yellow with purple
freckles. Hardy to zone 5. Available from Bluestone perennials.
Pollypetite® rose of Sharon-
if you didn’t have room for a rose of Sharon bush before you may
now. This compact shrub grows only 3-4
feet tall and wide, in a compact rounded shape.
It’s loaded with large blue-purple blooms in late summer and has nice
blue-green foliage. It also produces
very few seeds which limits its spreading.
'Stand by Me' Bush Clematis –
for those who don’t have the place for a clematis vine this
clematis will please you. It’s an
upright non-blooming shrub type, although it may require some staking or the
support of other plants. It’s considered
a repeat bloomer with several flushes of pretty blue nodding flowers. Hardy to
zone 3b. Many garden stores will be
carrying this plant.
Czechmark Sunny Side Up™ Weigela florida-
this is an improvement on old fashioned
weigela, it’s loaded in late spring with crisp white blooms with a yellow
throat. Very showy and distinctive, growing about 5 feet tall, its hardy to
zone 4a. It will be sold by many garden
stores this spring.
New vegetables
Kolibri-spinach- a lightly crinkled type with high resistance to downy mildew. Johnny’s
seeds.
Biquinho Red pepper- small beaked, very red, fairly hot peppers
from Brazil. Johnny’s seeds.
Pepper, Sweet, Confetti Hybrid- a nice sweet pepper that’s excellent for container growing. It’s compact bushy shape is pretty when it’s
loaded with tiny peppers that begin green with red stripes and ripen to glowing
red. The fruit is small but delicious. Burpees seeds.
Tomato, Atlas Hybrid- here’s a beefsteak type tomato that will grow in patio containers. The sturdy stems will support a full load of
large (up to a pound), juicy heirloom flavored red tomatoes. Burpee’s seeds.
 |
| Damsel |
Tomato, Damsel Hybrid- a pink beefsteak
tomato that combines excellent disease resistance, including late blight
resistance, with heirloom flavor.
Compact indeterminant plants are very productive. Burpees’s seeds.
Naked Bear Pumpkin Seed- for those fond of pepitas, this pumpkin is for you. The small 2-4
pound fruits are light yellow, flecked with deeper gold and plants produce
abundantly. Inside there are lots of semi-hulless seeds perfect for roasting. It has good disease resistance. Johnny’s
seeds.
Mashed Potatoes Hybrid Winter Squash, - I don’t think anyone can
convince me that any squash will taste like mashed potatoes, but this one can
look like mashed potatoes. The white
fruits have white flesh that when baked and then fluffed with butter look like
a bowl of mashed potatoes. The vines are
vigorous, with 3-4 fruits per vine. Burpee seeds.
Starting a new plant from a leaf
When a plant can regenerate from a single leaf, without a node, it
is said to have adventitious rooting.
Not all plants can be started this way, most plants that are grown from
vegetative parts of another plant need a cutting that has at least 2 nodes- or
points along a stem where new growth can occur. But some plants have the
remarkable ability to grow from a single leaf or even a piece of a leaf.
Certain plants develop little plantlets along the leaf edges. When these are knocked off or plucked off and
placed on potting medium they will grow roots.
In other plants leaves easily fall off and if they land on soil or
potting medium they may begin to grow roots and develop into a new plant. In some plants a mature leaf with it’s stem
can start a new plant. In still others a
leaf can be cut into pieces and the pieces will start new plants. Most of the plants that can form adventitious
roots from a leaf are kept as houseplants by gardeners.
Many of the plants that start from a leaf are succulents. Jade
plants (Crassula argentia), echeveria
species, kalanchoe species, sedum species, and String of Beads (Senecio rowleyanus), are examples.
Sanseveria species can be started from a leaf or pieces of a leaf.
Peperomia species can be started from a leaf. African violets, (Saintpaulia species), some streptocarpus
species, Rex begonias and some other begonias also can be started from a leaf. The forest or holiday cacti, Rhipsaldopsis
species, Rhipsalis species, Zygocactus will start from stem segments, which look
like leaves.
Methods of leaf propagation
When you want to propagate one of the succulents it’s best to
remove a mature leaf near the bottom of the plant. If you accidently knocked leaves off a plant you
can use those too. Succulent leaves generally do not have stems or have very
small stems. Let the leaves of succulents sit in a warm dry place for 2 days
before you attempt to root them. This
forms a callus on the place where the leaf detached from the stem and the
process of making the callus brings plant hormones to that area which will help
rooting. The callus also keeps the leaf
from losing too much water. You probably
won’t notice this callus though.
Fill a small pot with a good potting medium that’s been
moistened. Don’t use garden soil or
compost as these can bring in bacteria or fungi that may cause the leaf to rot
or bring in a disease. On top of the
moistened media you can add a thin layer of fine gravel (parakeet gravel works)
or sand. This helps keep the surface
drier, and leaves are less likely to rot.
This isn’t absolutely necessary, as long as you don’t keep the potting
medium too moist.
For succulents I don’t think it is necessary to use rooting
hormone on the callus end before inserting them in planting medium. But if you have rooting hormone already it
can make your success rooting the leaf a little more likely. Don’t push the bottom of the leaf into the
potting medium, make a hole with a fork handle or pencil first. Insert just the very bottom of the leaf and
firm the potting medium around the leaf.
That’s it. You can use the same technique
with the holiday/forest cacti stem segments.
Some very tiny succulent leaves, like those from Burro’s tail,
string of beads, and some sedums can just be laid on top of the moist potting
medium, without sand or gravel, and lightly pressed against the medium and many
will root. You will need to water
carefully so the tiny leaves aren’t being disturbed as they try to put down
roots.
For peperomia, African violets, begonias, and streptocarpus remove
a mature leaf near the bottom of the plant leaving as long a stem as
possible. These do not need to form a
callus or be left out, they can be planted immediately. A leaf that’s been lying around for a day or
two may still root but it’s chances of surviving may be less.
These types of plants are more likely to root when the leaf stem
is dipped in rooting hormone before planting.
Many garden stores carry rooting hormone. Fill pots with moistened potting medium as
described for succulents above. The base of the leaf of these types of plants
should not touch the potting medium or rot is likely to start. So for them using gravel or sand on the top
of the medium is a good idea.
Many people use the foil method of rooting leaves with stems. Cover a pot filled with moist potting medium
with foil, secure it with a rubber band.
Poke holes in the foil and insert the leaf stems through them, into
holes you have made with a pencil in the planting medium. The holes in the foil and in the potting
medium should fit the leaf stems pretty snugly. The foil keeps the leaf base
off the moist potting medium.
 |
| Jade leaves ready to root |
You can also melt or cut holes in plastic lids and use those on
top of moist potting medium, the leaf stem or base goes through the hole into
the potting medium. I use these for
starting various types of cuttings, including leaves of succulents. The lid
keeps the soil moist beneath it where the stem or leaf base is while allowing
the majority of the leaf to remain dry and keeping them upright. The plastic lid can be lifted carefully once
roots have started and cut apart if needed to release the new plants. Make the holes in the plastic a bit bigger
than the stem or leaf base so a new plant can begin growing there.
Sanseveria and rex begonias can be started from just pieces of
leaves. For sanseveria chose a mature
leaf and cut the long leaves into several pieces about 2 inches long. As you
cut each piece make a little notch on the bottom of each piece, the side that
was closest to the root on the original plant.
The notched side is the one you insert into the planting medium. They root better if “down” is kept down, in
the original growing orientation. Place
them in potting medium as described above for succulents. (One note; for some reason variegated leaves
cut into sections usually produce plain green sanseveria plants.)
There are a couple of ways to cut a leaf of rex begonia for
propagation. Choose a mature, larger
leaf. Turn it over and make several
small cuts with a razor across the raised veins of the leaf. Lay the leaf on moist potting medium with the
cut side down. Weigh or pin the leaf down so it is snug against the
medium. You can use small rocks, large
staples, marbles, bent pieces of fine wire and so on. Hopefully a new plant will develop at each
cut.
Rex begonia leaves can also be cut into several sections. Each section needs a portion of a bigger
vein. Like sanseveria the pieces seem to
root better if the original orientation of the leaf is kept, with the down side
inserted in the medium. The vein will
usually be thicker at that end. Pots of
rex begonias you are trying to root should be enclosed in plastic bags to
increase the humidity. If the bags get
coated with moisture droplets open the bags for a few hours to lower the
humidity.
 |
| The white lines indicate where I would cut this leaf |
I’m trying a new idea for starting rex begonias from a cut leaf. I placed the leaf on the moist potting medium
and then covered it with a piece of plastic from a can lid that I cut to fit in
the pot. I’ve pushed the leave against
the medium by pressing the lid a little into the soil and weighing it down. I am hoping the plastic will let light
through and hold humidity around the leaf to encourage rooting. See the picture below. I’ll let you know how it works.
You can root several leaves in one pot or one to a small pot. The hardest part of propagating by leaves is
keeping the potting medium moist but not too wet. I don’t encourage enclosing the pots in
plastic bags, except for rex begonias, I think it keeps things too moist and
results in more rotting than rooting.
Your pots should be in bright light, in a warm place, but not in direct
sunlight or very hot or cold areas.
When several new leaves have developed on your original leaf or
leaf piece you know the plant has rooted.
It should look like a baby plant near the base of the old leaf. You can
carefully transplant them now if needed and move them into full sunlight if
that species prefers it. Not every leaf
will root even in the most propagation friendly plants. If the leaf looks like it’s rotting instead
of rooting, toss it. Use new potting
medium if you try to start more leaves. (The old medium can be used to pot up
other mature plants.)
Good things and bad things about trees
When you walk into a forest you immediately notice the
smell, a woodsy aroma that’s soothing and invigorating at the same time. That aroma comes from gases that trees give
off and it’s most noticeable when trees are concentrated in groups, but all
trees emit gases. The gases contain
biogenic aerosols -- particulate matter that originates from plants. (Tree
poop) When exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere
these particulates cling to other particulates in the air, gradually growing
larger, forming clouds that reflect the suns heat, cooling the earth and
forming raindrops. This function of
trees emitting gases is helpful, and works to offset global warming, because as
the world warms, trees produce even more gases.
In forested areas of the world gas emission by trees can
reduce the effect of global warming by about 30%. Rain falls more frequently and regularly
where there are forests because of favorable cloud formation. And even in urban areas where they are not as
concentrated, trees provide a cooling effect as well as making your property
more valuable and desirable.
A
tree’s bad breath
But there is a bad side to the gases that trees emit also. Trees emit isoprene, a chemical manufactured
to protect leaves from oxygen damage and temperature fluctuations. Isoprene is abundant in the atmosphere but
it’s not helpful to humans. A study by researchers at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill found that isoprene unites with air pollutants such as
nitrogen oxides emitted by cars and coal burning plants to form harmful
particulates at least partially responsible for lung cancer, asthma, and other
lung disorders. These isoprene-nitrogen
oxide combinations also produce smog and are damaging to the environment in
other ways. It’s important to remember that without humans producing those
nitrogen oxide emissions though, isoprene would be harmless.
And here’s some more news about the breath of trees. When
trees are attacked by insects, particularly bark beetles, the trees produce
chemicals to protect themselves and these chemicals are released into the
atmosphere. The chemicals are predominately a monoterpene called
ß-phellandrene. This chemical is also
part of unhealthy smog and haze and harmful to those breathing it.
It gets worse.
Researchers at Queensland University of Technology in Australia found
that trees produce electrically charged ions in their vicinity. Charged ions are more likely to attract other
molecules to stick to them and they are also more likely to “stick” to your
lungs when breathed in. One of the
molecules that charged ions like to collect is radon.
Trees may expose us to radon. Here’s the connection
between radon and trees. Radon is
produced when rocks containing radioactive material gradually breakdown in the
soil. It is water soluble and radon is
often found in ground water. Radon
emissions from the soil as a gas, and from the ground water, vary in
concentration from one area to the next depending on the rocks underlying the
area. Radon is known to cause cancer.
Trees with deep root systems act as pumps for radon,
bringing the radon in ground water and from the soil to the surface,
discharging it attached to charged ions in their gas admissions when they
transpire (or breathe). Recent research
suggests in areas with deep rooted trees, tree transpiration accounts for more
than a third of the radon in the air.
So
why plant a tree?
In fact, there is more reason than ever to plant
trees. Trees help regulate the climate
and they become even more important as our climate changes. The small health risks associated with the
“breath” of trees are generally caused by our own pollution of the planet. While trees may emit radon when they emit
water vapor during transpiration they are also unlocking water stored in the
soil and returning it to the atmosphere.
Without rain we couldn’t grow crops very well and our world would be a
dry and barren place.
A real estate agent will tell you that large, mature,
well cared for trees add value to your property and make it easier to
sell. And who can deny the beauty of
trees as well as all the useful products they supply us with, including
food? It is said that you plant trees
for your grandchildren. All I know is
that I continue to plant trees because I like them. One should always replace a tree that you
have had to remove, maybe with a more suitable tree for the area, but always
keeping the balance Nature is working to achieve.
Several studies of urban trees have found that more than
2/3 of the trees in cities were from natural regeneration, they grew from seeds
floating in the air or carried in by animals and were not deliberately
planted. However, the remaining third of
trees in a city, those planted by us, had a somewhat higher survival rate and
were healthier overall. This is probably
because they were more valuable specimens, and because if you plant something
you tend to care for it.
There is a tree for every garden and every garden should
have trees. While trees affect the
natural world in ways that may not always be good for us, we are only one
species on the planet. And the value of
trees far outweighs their bad breath.
Starting a plant based business
When
I worked at the Extension office several people would show up every month who
just had a brilliant idea. They were
going to make some money off their plant hobby.
Maybe they were going to quit their jobs and start a whole new career-
farming. Or maybe they just wanted to
make some quick money on the side selling houseplants on line.
Now
there is nothing wrong with wanting to make some money on a gardening/farming
based business and working for yourself.
But many of the people who walked through that door had just that - an
idea. They had not done the slightest
amount of homework on what they wanted to do nor did they have any experience,
even with a business startup.
I
had a gentleman come into the office and tell me he had just finished planting
5,000 raspberry plants. He wanted some
information on how to care for them and a list of places where he could sell
them. On questioning him I found he had
planted the raspberries too closely and on land that had been in field crops the
year before. No soil test had been done,
but he had applied lime on the ground before planting because a neighbor told
him to do it. He had never grown
raspberries, but he liked to eat them.
He had just moved to the area and wanted to make enough money from the
raspberries to retire next year.
When
you approach people and want them to help you with your new idea, it helps to
have done some groundwork. When a client
emails and says “I want to start a greenhouse.
Can you tell me if I can do that where I live and how to do it?”, it’s a
sure thing they haven’t the slightest clue about what they are doing. The
chances of them putting together a successful business are almost nil. I referred
the raspberry guy to Extensions fruit educator for the area. Later he told me he visited the new raspberry
business, which was already overgrown with weeds. He said the gentleman seemed astonished that
he would have to weed, train and prune the plants and probably wouldn’t make
any profit for a couple years.
So,
if you are dreaming about a plant business what do you do? You could of course
pay someone to do all your research.
Most people do not have the means to do that. You also shouldn’t expect to get every scrap
of information about how to raise a product and take it to market handed to you
free from Extension or worse, from another person who has a successful business
in the field. Instead, ask yourself
these questions first. Then expect to
do some work to answer these questions.
What do I know about the product I want
to sell? Do I have experience growing or
producing it?
First
read all you can about how to grow/produce the product you have an interest
in. It helps if you also have experience
in raising, growing or producing the product even if on a smaller scale. For example, if you have been raising vegetables
for several years and selling excess vegetables to neighbors and friends you
have some idea what is necessary to raise vegetables for sale. The internet, the library, books and
magazines about the topic, and people who are in the business are good places
to start. Your county Extension office
can also help on most topics. Become a
mini expert on your topic.
If
you find out that you cannot produce a product- say pineapples - in your area,
it’s time to move on to another idea or move to another state.
Can I legally produce the product on my
property?
Doing
something as a hobby is different than doing it as a business. You need to know
how your property is zoned and what activities your municipality allows in that
zone. You need to know what the legal
production of your product entails, what kind of inspections, licenses and
facilities it requires. You can get your
zoning regulations and find out what planning zone you are in from your
township, city or village offices. You
may be surprised that even a road side stand for fruit and vegetables won’t be
allowed or that you can’t put up a greenhouse or use your garage to package and
ship houseplants.
Two
types of laws could help you; any Right to Farm laws and any Home Cottage
Industry act/laws for your state and if you have those in your state you should
read and understand them. You will also
need to see if the product(s) you are considering needs inspection or
licenses/permits from the USDA or your states department of agriculture. You need to know what it costs, how to apply and
what it takes to pass that inspection or get a license. Every state has a list of what plants cannot
be sold/ and or produced in the state. The USDA also has rules about what
plants can be shipped and how they are shipped. Take time to familiarize
yourself on all rules and regulations.
If
you are producing a processed edible (jellies, pies, herbal teas and so on) or
medicinal product (healing salves, lip balms and so on) your county health
department may also require inspection of your production facilities and/or the
purchase of a license.
Once
you know what rules and regulations affect you then you may be able to petition
for a zoning change or exemption, or ask for an exemption from the USDA or
state ag department. You could also
locate your new business where it is allowed by buying, renting or leasing a
store, land or a greenhouse. But don’t
start a business knowing you are doing something illegal, you’ll find nothing
but trouble and expense.
While
I said that your county Extension agent won’t be able to give you all the
information you need to grow and produce a product they may be able to direct
you to classes for entrepreneurs wanting to produce agricultural products. Your
state may have a dedicated Extension program or State Department of Agriculture
program that helps guide people in beginning agricultural businesses – or any
business. Utilize these programs if you
can.
Can you make a living or break even
with your business idea?
Once
you know how to produce the product and if you can produce it on your property
you need to decide if you can obtain the kind of income you want or need from
the product. There are no sure things in
any business start-up, especially an agricultural based business, but you should
begin with at least some expectation of profit, unless this is purely a labor
of love.
What
does the product sell for in your area?
Are there competitors and how many?
Is there a demand for the product you want to produce? You may be able to produce 20,000 cucumbers
and make a profit if you sell them at 10 cents each but if no one wants to buy
them in your area will you make a profit if it costs you 5 cents to ship each
cucumber somewhere else?
If
you go to the local farmers market and 6 people are there selling organic
buffalo meat can you succeed in an organic buffalo meat business in this
area? If the demand is great or you have
some better idea about marketing it’s possible, but you would want to carefully
research this before jumping in.
Knowing
the potential market for your product is crucial for starting a successful
business. It doesn’t matter how much of
anything you produce if you can’t sell it.
You may get some idea of market potential by researching sales of the
product in other areas, and comparing the population and competitors in your
area. Check out local sales of your product, look actively for places you could
sell the product. If you are considering
an on line market how many sellers already offer the product? If you can’t come up with a reasonable
estimate of marketing potential you could start small and build your market
with time and experience, but be wary of investing everything you have in the
startup.
How
much will you have to invest in your business just to get started? Add up fee’s, licenses, equipment, buildings,
utilities, supplies, labor, shipping and marketing costs. Your expenses could be small- a bag of
potting soil, some plastic pots and shipping boxes. Or they could involve building and heating a
greenhouse, potting soil and pots and a truck to deliver plants.
If
you need to make a living from this project how much “pay” do you need? Play around with the figures and get a rough
idea of what you will need to produce the kind of income you expect. If a plant commonly sells for $3.00 and it
takes $1 to produce each plant, you have a net profit of $2. Now do the math. If you want to produce income of $100 a week
you will need to produce and sell 50 plants. And don’t forget- you need a
market for 50 plants before you can sell them.
There
are many things to consider about marketing. If you can produce 50 bushels of
wheat off the small piece of property you own in a good year and wheat is
selling for $3 a bushel, wheat probably isn’t the crop for you. But what if you took that wheat- make it
organic wheat - and ground it into a specialty flour and let’s say each bushel
gave you 50 little bags of flour you sold for $5 each - well now you might have
some decent income, realizing that your expenses will be greater, and you will
have to do some clever marketing.
You
will need to decide if you want to be a wholesaler or retailer of your
product. Wholesalers get less for the
product, but they also have fewer expenses and don’t have to deal with the
public, which takes up time you can’t allot to production. Internet sales have made it easier for a
producer to deal directly with customers but there is the expense and hassle of
shipping and one still deals with customers worries, complaints and questions
and the time involved.
Be wary of scams
I
had the sad experience of sitting down with an 80 year old gentleman who had
just invested a considerable amount of money in buying ginseng plants, which
someone had told him he could plant on his wooded land and make a lot of money
from. Like the raspberry man he was here
to get information on growing the plant and a list of places to sell it. In his case the plants hadn’t even been
delivered yet. Since growing ginseng
wasn’t something I knew a lot about I went on line, downloaded and printed some
information for him from a reliable source.
We looked over it together and I explained to him some of the work
involved and more importantly the years it would take to get a crop to sell. His spirits weren’t diminished, and he still
was sure he’d be rich soon and I was a bit worried.
I
asked the gentleman to bring his son in to see me, since he told me his son had
agreed to help him plant the ginseng.
The next week they did come in together and when I explained to the son
about the ginseng he knew immediately that his father had fallen for a
scam. He convinced his dad that they
would ask for a refund of the $5,000.00 the man had invested. I don’t know if
they ever got it.
I
have heard dozens of “get rich quick by growing X” scams over the years. Before you invest any money and time into a
business of any kind do your homework.
Be skeptical of any claims of fabulous money to be had in a short time
with little work. Unfortunately, some
popular magazines and websites feed into this idea with glowing reports about
making a living off a half acre of land for example. It may be possible, but something that’s
possible isn’t always probable. It also
depends on what you call a “living”. Do
your due diligence in research for your area before investing time and money
into any business project.
People
at Extension and at farm or horticultural service operations can help you and
direct you to valuable resources once you know what you want to do and have
some basic knowledge of your desired business.
If you have an idea for marketing a product, there are people that can
help you decide if it will work, although this consultation is not always free. But the ultimate decision to start a plant
based business, or business of any kind, should be made after you have
thoroughly researched the idea.
Next week look for an article on niche growing/farming- a
way to increase your profit on a small business.
Cowboy
beans for a crowd
If you need a good cold weather recipe to feed a lot of
people cheaply these cowboy beans should do the trick. I cook them in a crockpot, for several hours
but they are also easy to cook over a campfire if you are outside hunting or
fishing in cold weather. I cheat a bit
because I use canned, cooked beans but it makes the recipe easy to fix. The
recipe includes beer, but don’t worry, the alcohol will evaporate off when
cooking, leaving just the flavor.
Serve this dish with shredded cheese and corn chips or corn
bread and you will get rave reviews. You
can freeze any leftover beans. It will
serve 10-12 people.
Ingredients
1 lb. thick cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound of ground hot sausage, chorizo works
1 pound of hot dogs, cut into 1-inch slices
2 large onions, finely diced
2 cups of beer, a stronger beer, like brown ale, works
best
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
3 (22 oz.) cans of baked beans- your choice of flavor
2 (22 oz.) cans of spicy hot chili beans
1 (24 oz.) bottle of ketchup
Corn chips, or cornbread, shredded cheddar or Monterey
jack cheese optional.
Put all the meats and the onion in a large skillet and cook
until the bacon is crisp and the sausage browned. Drain off any grease.
Add all the rest of the ingredients to a large crock pot
or kettle type pan. Stir in the cooked
meats. Stir well to mix ingredients.
Cook over low heat on a campfire or stove or put in a
crock pot/slow cooker. Cook until the
sauce is thickened and bubbly. (This can
also be baked in the oven.) If using a
fire or stove top stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
On the stove or fire this will take 1-1 ½ hours, in the
crockpot 4-6 hours, in the oven 400 degrees F about an hour.
Pour over corn chips or cornbread and sprinkle with
shredded cheese to serve.
Spring is a state of mind
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
© Kim Willis - no parts of this
newsletter may be used without permission.
And So On….
Find Michigan garden events/classes
here:
(This
is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)
An interesting Plant Id page you can
join on Facebook
Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you
can join on Facebook
Newsletter/blog information
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publish what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com
I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
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