We received our beneficial insects this week and just wanted to briefly go over their advantages.  Taken from the Orcon website, here is a bit of information on each of them.  In all, they are an excellent way of solving garden and landscape problems with out the use of harsh chemicals.  I have used praying mantis and nematodes before to great effect.  I highly recommend them.

Praying Mantis - These ferocious-looking creatures eat a wide variety of insects, including beetles, caterpillars, grubs, aphids, grasshoppers, crickets and many more. And since they don’t fly, they stay right in the area where they are released. Praying Mantids are completely harmless to people, pets and the environment. In fact, they are so much fun that sometimes people buy them for pets. Each egg case, about the size of a ping pong ball, contains about 200 eggs, which hatch when the weather becomes warm. Includes two egg cases per cup.

Lady Bugs - A favorite “good bug” and alternative to chemicals.  When released at sundown (because they don’t fly at night), ladybugs eat aphids, mealy bugs, scale, leaf hoppers, various plant-eating worms and other destructive soft-bodied pests. And they keep on eating until the bad guys are gone, laying their own eggs in the process. When new pests arrive, fresh ladybugs will be waiting. Each container includes 1,500 live ladybugs.

Beneficial Nematodes - These microscopic organisms destroy pests that live underground. They will seek out and destroy more than 230 different kinds of soil dwelling and wood boring insects, including Japanese beetles, cut worms, wire worms, weevils, white grubs, fungus gnat larvae, flea larvae, subterranean termites and many more. They are so small that several thousand would fit on the head of a pin! But they do a big job –moving through the ground, they enter the body cavities of their target pests and release bacteria that kill that pest. They are completely safe for people, pets, and the environment, and are compatible with other beneficial insects. Each container includes seven million live beneficial nematodes.

Red Earthworms - Earthworms (Red Wrigglers – Eisenia fetida) help keep the soil loose – they’re Mother Nature’s very own spade! These little guys eat and burrow 24 hours a day. All of this tunneling aerates the soil (getting oxygen to the roots), allows for easier root growth and improves water retention. And they speed up the decomposition process in cold composting. Earthworms are shipped by the pound, and include approximately 1,800-2,000 worms per pound. They are shipped as “Bed-Run,” which means there will be a variety of sizes and life stages in each pound. Use them in the garden or in worm composting.

We received too many trucks to count this week.  We are jammed with beautiful material.  Here is a quick rundown of the goods.

Hanging Baskets – 14″ Coco Combo Baskets, 12″ Combos, 10″ Combos, Impatiens, New Guinea Impatiens, Scaevola, Dragon Wing Begonias, Lantana, Ferns, Fuschia, Petunias, Calibrachoa, Non Stop Begonias, Awesome 14″ Combo Baskets, Portulaca and more I’m sure I’m forgetting.

Hybrid Tea Roses – Over 20 varieties including Climbers.

Perennials – Here is some of the fresh stock for this week – Astilbe, Achillea, Alchemilla, Artemisia, Asiatic Lilly – 3 Varieties, Baptisia, Coreopsis, Delphinium, Echinacea, Gallardia, Geranium, Daylilly – 3 Varieties, Heuchera, Hostas, Kniphofia, Lavender, Leucanthemum, Lupine, Monarda, Peony, Phlox, Poppy, Salvia, Acorus, and Carex.  And this was only from one grower!

In the last few days and with more trucks on the way, we have a huge assortment of fresh material budded and blooming.  Here is a quick rundown of some of the material

Tropicals – Hibiscus, Kimberly Fern, Mandevilla, Bougainvillea, and Star Jasmine.  All really nice plants budded and blooming.

Shrubs – Some awesome 3 gallon Azaleas heavily budded and just starting to bloom.  Bloomerang Lilac, St Johns Wort, Morning Light Grass, some new clematis varieties, and a fresh supply of butterfly bush.

Perennials – A TON!  Here is a quick list with no variety names and probably missing some.  Phlox, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Hollyhock, Columbine, Coreopsis, Digitalis (Foxglove), Echinacea, Gaura, Geranium, Gypsophilia, Hosta, Leucanthemum, Ligularia, Monarda, Savlia, Veronica, Dianthus, Brunnera, Campanula, Coreopsis, Echiacea, Daylilly, Lupine, Poppy, Artemisia, Cimicifuga, Delphinium, Heuchera, and Scabosia.  All this with out including the shipments from Monrovia that are coming Thursday and Friday.

Tomorrow we will be receiving a huge shipment of warm weather annuals in flats.  Here is the rundown of the flowers.  We have several varieties of each flower coming.

Ageratum, Amaranthus, Asclepias, Begonias, Coleus, Cosmos, Cleome, Dahlia, Gazania, Impatiens, Lobelia, Marigolds, Morning Glory, Nasturtium, Nicotiana, Petunia, Portulaca, Salvia, Torenia, Verbena, and Flowering Vinca.

Hanging Baskets came today and they look great.  Here is what we received.  Ferns, Thunbergia, Fuschia, Ivy Geraniums, Zonal Geraniums, Non Stop Begonias, Million Bells, Supertunia, Torenia, Bacopa, and Portulaca.

More hanging baskets are coming tomorrow including over 100 assorted 12″ Combo Baskets in plastic containers, and 100 16″ Coco Combo Baskets.  We will be stuffed with beautiful hanging baskets ready to add color to your home.

Tomorrow we will be receiving a very large shipment of most of the warm weather vegetables in flats.  Here is a rundown of the goods.

Tomatoes – Big Beef, Roma, San Marzano, Cherry, Rutgers, Supersonic, Sunray, Carolina Gold, Sweet 100, Better Boy, Beefsteak, Beefmaster, Big Boy, Early Girl, Brandywine, Pineapple, Old German, Cherokee Purple, Celebrity, Cherry Yellow, Grape, Jet Star, Lemon Boy, Supersteak and Ramapo.

Peppers – Bell Captain, Blushing Beauty, California Wonder, Chili Red, Early Red, Hot Cayenne, Hot Cherry Bomb, Habanero, Jalapeno, Portugal, Hungarian Yellow Wax, Orange Bell, Sun Bell, Sweet Banana, Sweet Cherry, Cubanelle, and Italian.

Squash – Acorn, Buttercup, Butternut, Cucuzzi, Spaghetti, Yellow Summer, Zucchini, and Yellow Zucchini.

Cucumbers – Pickles, Bush, Burpless, and Marketmore.

Corn – Yellow.

Eggplant – Black Beauty, Classic, Dusky, Ichiban, Italian/Little Fingers, White/Ghostbuster, and Rosa Bianca.

Beans – Green, Lima, Pole, and Yellow.

The weather looks good for the next 2 weeks so hopefully we don’t get a frost.

Today we received a ton of beautiful hanging baskets including our awesome 16″ Coco Fiber Baskets filled with mixed annuals.  They are an awesome summer long bloomer.  Check out some pictures.  In addition we received petunia, lobelia, calibrachoa or million bells, geraniums, fuschia, and dragon wing begonias in baskets.

We also have coming Thursday morning 6 trucks filled with perennials.  Here is a quick list of the material coming:

Achillea – Coronation Gold
Achillea – Moonshine

Last week we had these herbs: Catnip, Chives, Cilantro, Lavender – French, Hidcote, and Provence, Mint – Apple, Basil, Chocolate, Peppermint, Pineapple, and Spearmint, Oregano – Greek & Italian, Rosemary – Prostrate and Toscano, Sage – Garden, Purple, Golden, and Tricolor, French Tarragon, Thyme – English, Mother of, and Silver Edge – and 8″ Rosemary ‘Salem’.

This week we added to the mix and they include: Borage, Chives – Standard and Garlic, Dill – Bouquet and Fernleaf, Fennel, Marjoram, Santolina – Lavender Cotton, Watercress, and 6″ Bay Leaf and 8″ Rhubarb. We 3 full tables plus a cart of herbs. While there is still a fear of frost, most of these will handle that no problem. Time to plant!

We received 4 trucks in the last two days and wanted to share some photos and lists of the new material.

Vegetables we now have in stock: Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage – Red and Green, Bok Choi, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory – Italian Dandelion, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Kale – Green and Red, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce – Bibb, Boston, Iceberg, Lollo Rose, Mesclun Mix, Red Romaine, Romaine, Red Sails, and Salad Bowl, Onions – Bunching, Yellow, White, and Shallots, Peas – Snow and Snap, Radish, Spinach – Baby & Noble Giant, Strawberries, and Swiss Chard – Bright Lights.

Herbs currently in stock in 4″ and some in flats:  Catnip, Chives, Cilantro, Lavender  - French, Hidcote, and Provence, Mint – Apple, Basil, Chocolate, Peppermint, Pineapple, and Spearmint,  Oregano – Greek & Italian, Rosemary – Prostrate and Toscano, Sage – Garden, Purple, and Tricolor, French Tarragon, Thyme – English, Mother of, and Silver Edge – and 8″ Rosemary ‘Salem’.

Annual Flowers now in flats – Alyssum, Chrysanthemum, Dianthus, Dusty Miller, Pansy, and Snapdragons.  4″ Geraniums and 6″ Geraniums also available.  4″ Vinca Vine & spikes in as well.

Perennials received this week: Armeria, Brunnera, Epimedium, Fern, Heuchera, Lavender, Penstemon, Sedums, Asiatic Lillies, Ajuga, Aquilegia, Cerastium, Dianthus, Galium, Heuchera, Isotoma, Selaginella, Sisyrichium, Helleborus, and more Lavender.

This week alone we received ten trucks worth of plant material. There is too much material to name on this busy Friday but here is a few pictures of some of the best stuff.  Now is the best time to plant to allow your trees and shrubs an early start on getting their roots set.

We finally have put out our pansies and cold hardy vegetables now that it appears winter is finally behind us.  We have beautiful pansies in 4″, 6″, oval planters,  and hanging bask

Add some color to your home with some cold hardy pansies

Here is the full list of vegetables we have received so far.

Lettuces:  Iceberge, romaine, red romaine, green leaf – salad bowl, red sails, bibb, mesclun mix.

Escarole, Endive, Onions:  Red, Candy, bunching, and Sweet Spanish Onions.

Leeks, celery, peas, spinach, cabbage, red cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, bok choy, brussel sprouts, kale, and kohlrabi.

We probably will get in Arugula, Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, and a couple other cold hardy veggies and herbs next week.

Finally we got in our potatoes in and have 5 different varieties to choose from including Yukon Gold, Red Norland, Merlot, Russian Banana Fingerling, and French Fingerling.  Easily one of the most fun and prolific vegetables to harvest.  1 pound planted equates to roughly 10 pounds yielded.  Check out this Merlot variety.