Weekend Walks:The Planning Continues

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Sunday morning I planned to go for a drive to a favorite spot and take some pictures of Trillium undulatum. I don't have a good picture of that one yet, mostly it seems because the days I earmark for this event are raining and I'm always rushed. I figured then I would make a swing downtown, grab a paper and then visit the new land for a quick walk. Back at Vermont Flower Farm I have been working every day in the lower hosta garden and there's still a week's work left before it is close to passing muster. No time yet for the new endeavor on Route 2.

People keep asking when we're going to just do something visible with the new land but they fail to understand that we have the first business to operate and I go to a full time job five long days each week. Pretty much I am still planning things, asking advice and drawing lots of sketches. My thought is that when I start to cut into the earth with shovel or plow, there's no easy way to put things back together if I don't like the first work. Planning doesn't cost anything and it should be part of any new business. All too often I encounter people who want desperately to be in business without so much as a plan. Those folks are often doomed from the start because they don't know what things cost or what they really need.

Everything Gail and I have done over the years has been without a big loan because we have planned our business purchases first and made them when we had the money to do so. We have gone without some things for ourselves but the business is healthier for it and we can't say that we've been disappointed in how we have lived. Walking the land or taking a break and walking in the woods on a quiet morning are my way of planning for the future. The peacefulness of being outside generates some strong ideas to bounce off Gail and Alex and others that we know who garden.

As I walked Sunday morning, I noticed how very dry the woods were. The trilliums I wanted to photograph showed the signs of drought and the flowers were already faded and shrinking. I was disappointed but there was no immediate recourse. I knew a couple other places that were fairly well hidden from sun and wind and I figured I'd give them a try on Monday or Tuesday.

A big pileated woodpecker approached, see-sawing in flight to a dying sugar maple. The bird caused me to stop abruptly and lean against a tree to watch. It was a beautiful bird, intent on rapping deeper into a hole it had previously started. I don't know how long I watched but it seemed longer than it probably was. When I caught myself in time, I happened to look down and there on the ground was a white flower I had not seen before. Ever. I knelt down on the woods floor, carefully moving some fallen maple branches to make myself comfortable.

This was a beautiful little flower barely three inches tall with white flowers the size of the tip of my pinkie finger. Like meeting a new friend, I wanted to learn it's name but had not so much as a guess to start with. I was amazed that for a lifetime of walks in the woods, I had never seen this flower before.

I got so carried away with my walk that I had to forget a visit to the new land as work beckoned and those two cups of coffee didn't quite make a breakfast. I kept wondering if the pictures came out at all as the little pocket camera I carry is difficult for me to focus. I went straight to the computer and then grabbed Kate Carter's Wildflowers of Vermont. The book hasn't disappointed me yet and Sunday was no different.

The flower was Panax trifolius. Kate says it's a smaller version of Panax quinquefolium. My prize was a Dwarf Ginseng and I was so pleased to have seen it. I returned to the general area yesterday with a better camera. I am usually very good about relocating things in the woods but yesterday, after the preceding night's heavy rains, the aging flowers of Panax trifolius were no where to be found. I traced back and forth until a chipmunk chastised me for interrupting the wood's quiet and with that I went home. I marked my computer log with a reminder to begin looking for these flowers next year around May 20th contingent upon the weather. I hope I can get a better picture next time. Until then, it's a nice memory.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the various frogs are signing an unknown song which stops on occasion when the neighboring raccoons stroll through the valley along the vernal spring. I prefer the song, not the interruptions.

Good gardening!

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com

Buying a Tractor

Sunday, May 27, 2007

A quiet morning at Vermont Flower Farm. Almost an even 30 degrees colder than yesterday at this same time with a hint of sunrise in the making. There's a chance of rain today and the air feels like that may well happen. Karl the wonder dog and I have already been on our morning walk and my list of things that need to happen today is longer than I want it to be. Yesterday I promised to talk about tractors and at very least I want to follow up on that.

As Gail and I committed to buying a new piece of land and moving our business to a highway with more visibility and traffic, we knew we would need to purchase a tractor. For the past years we have survived with two rototillers, and old John Deere B tractor with plow and brush hog and the help of a local contractor who has used his equipment to do what we couldn't. The new land is 5 acres of meadow right now and just mowing the grass to maintain a nice look was destined to wear out the riding mower we use here. Tractor shopping was in order.

One of my experienced gardening friends advised me only to buy a used tractor. She said that no gardening business can afford the prices that new tractors cost and to openly think about "used". Her old tractor is a dependable piece but she bought it many years ago when farmers were everywhere and turnover in equipment put some good products up for sale. I don't want to say you can't find a good used piece, but there are other considerations to buying a used tractor.

Tractors are not quite like cars and trucks when they need service. You don't drive a tractor to a repair shop and say "Change the oil please". In Vermont you can drive a tractor on a state road but if the trip is longer than going from adjacent pieces of land you personally own, the tractor has to be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and it has to wear a license plate. Lacking that formal permission, you need a trailer to move the piece around. Trailers become another story and another $3000.

The other issue for me was service. I know nothing about diesel engines and beyond changing fluids and filters, there's not much I can do. A used purchase meant the possibility of more repairs over time and right now I need every spare minute I can get so a piece that might be down for repairs was not on my list.

As I began my search for tractors I spent a lot of time on the Internet. Tractors come in all colors and the most common are green, orange, blue, yellow and white. Brand names include John Deere, International, White, Kubota and New Holland but there are a lot of newer ones out there with names you might not have heard of before. There are tractors from Russia, India, and Korea that I know of but personally I was more interested in something that had been around long enough that I could get parts if I needed any.

New tractors come with about the same warranty so the issue becomes size in horse power, attachments you need and most importantly, the reputation of the dealer and his service. When I buy major purchases I always ask myself to size up the salesman and settle on a person I think is trustworthy. A family business person is the best by far because they have usually been around for a while and they don't hide when you have a problem.

I found a great tractor that was a 2004 model year and only had 98 hours on it. Tractors, if you don't know, are like all heavy equipment, any diesel engine, many modern day cars and most exercise bikes. They all have an hour meter that tells how long the engine has been operating. This was a great looking tractor that looked like the mower had been run over the same rock a couple times but it was in great shape and had a written service log showing how it had been cared for. It was $3400 cheaper than a new model of the same thing.

When looking at used equipment, think about how you're going to pay for the purchase. In our case there was no choice. It's early season here and we have thousands of bucks hanging out there waiting for plants to grow and sales to be made. Buying in September would be a lot better than now so a down payment and a financing plan was important. As I looked at interest rates for used equipment and did the math, I found that if I paid off the purchase in three years, I'd almost spend enough on interest to buy a new tractor instead of used. I'd also get a warranty which I wouldn't with a three year old model. Tractor dealers have been offering no interest loans for 3-4-5 years and with these sales coming to a close the end of May, the decision became less of a decision and more of a "Let's get on with it" affair.

Our final decision was a 30 horse power New Holland tractor with front loader, rototiller and rear mounted mower. We made the purchase from L. W. Greenwoods in East Randolph. The place has been in business since 1929 and is a family business which is what we wanted. It's a company that has had to change like many of us because the +12,000 farmers that farmed in Vermont after WW II is down to 1000. More sales are now made to contractors, small business owners like Gail and me, and homeowners and hobby people.

The tractor will be delivered next week. We need a trailer to get it back and forth from our current location but for this year I'll hire someone to make a few moves. The brush hog from the old John Deere will fit and we'll be up and running next week. This is a no-nonsense work tractor without a bunch of bells and whistles and space age styling. It has 26 horse power transmitted to the power take off (PTO) and that's more than enough to grind clay soil with the tiller and turn the brush hog as it cleans up my woods roads out back. It will handle the brush chipper I want to buy next year and it will suffice to skid out some logs on the mountain here. It's not big but it will work well. About all I need now is a couple fuel containers and tools for the tool box.

If you're thinking about a tractor, there isn't a better time than today to get on with the purchase. I laugh when I see people with two acres of land and a giant tractor going in circles but disposable wealth does interesting things. For us and most farmers there's limited income and certainly no wealth but we enjoy what we are doing and we like to see people smile along the way. To that end, a new tractor will help us make the journey a little less physical and a lot better looking.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where today's chores include fertilizing each hosta in the display garden and making signs for 200 new products. Rain or shine, today is a good day to get out with the family and maybe visit a nursery or two. All farmers help make Vermont a better place!

Good gardening thoughts,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com

Buying a Tractor

Saturday, May 26, 2007

The sun is rising quickly at Vermont Flower Farm and on the east side of the house the thermometer has climbed to 91.4 It has the makings of a very hot day. I have been remiss in not keeping this blog up to date. Gardening at two locations and working full time has become a bit much.

I just updated The Vermont Gardener so please take a look there until I can get back here tonight. I spent some of the week figuring out which tractor to buy and I've pretty much got this settled. Some of you might be in the same position and I should have some helpful thoughts later today.

Next week we start some major work on this new land with brush hogging, grass mowing, and rototilling. I have organic material by the ton to add to the new gardens and an assortment of other important things going on. The excitement of a new endeavor weakens by 8 each night but rejuvenates with the next day's rising sun.....until I remind myself that I have to encircle the entire property in fence.

Got to get going here. Stop by 256 Peacham Pond Road here in Marshfield and check out the beautiful epimediums and the bountiful trollius preparing to open their buttercup flowers this week. The lower hosta and shade garden is very special right now and on a hot day like today it's a good place to stop for a vsit and cool off.

Hope to see you soon!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where members of the Vermont Audubon Society are busy in our woods scouting birds, their nests and their songs.

George Africa
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Wild Flower Walk

Saturday, May 12, 2007

A bright and beautiful day today. A step outside is an immediate reminder that we were spoiled during the past week. Our thermometer reads 35.1 and there is frost on the truck windshield and on the lawn. 50 degrees is a nice temperature to wake up to.

The birds are busy this morning. I can hear loons on Peacham Pond and the tiny ruby throat hummingbirds which returned here four days ago are busy at the feeders and at the flowers. They especially like the pulmonarias and primroses but they compete with the bumble bees for any flower that's open.



As I walked down the back path, the maple leaves are obvious today despite the lack of rain and even the wild leeks (above) look a little lethargic. There is no doubt that a fire hazard exists and I sure hope no one decides it's time to burn anything. There's something about older folks who apparently included burning leaves, brush or fields in their youth that makes them want to throw away common sense and spark a match someplace. This is the wrong year to even think about what really isn't a good idea to begin with.

The luxuriant variety of bleeding hearts are blooming now. These are the small, fine leafed varieties which spread by seeds and rhizomes and cover quite an area in a couple years. The whites and pale red have just started to bloom and these will entertain us most of the summer. The notable bleed hearts along our fence are up about 6 inches. This time of year they grow by inches per day. I keep saying I'll buy some of the yellow/golden foliage types but still haven't.

The hepaticas are still in bloom and both Trillium erectum and Trillium grandiflorum are out. Trillium luteum, a yellow trillium with mottled leaves are up about 4 inches but some way from bloom. They aren't native to Vermont but Gail knows I like them and she bought me a dozen a couple years back. Our last native trillium, the undulatum, with it's pink fringed edge, will be some time in coming into bloom. Last summer I received a fifth variety from a southern construction site rescue but damned if the US Priority Mail failed and they were cooked before they arrived. I hoped for a bit of life from just one but luck is not always kind.

Today will be a busy day for us as we finish up the planting and then start cleaning up the yard. The final task will be getting the signs out on each plant selection and then raking the place clean. Gail has a small crew of 3 or 4 coming and I think they will probably whip through the 200 hostas and 500 lilies left to plant. I'm only a couple weeks away from being able to begin work on the new land. Passers by remind me they want to see some action. I do too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where bright sunlight jump starts lazy Saturday attitudes. It's a great day for a walk around Kettle Pond. Don't forget bug dope and water. If you're going to make the full circle, sign-in and out so the ranger knows that you made the complete trip.

Gardening wishes from a busy gardener!

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com

Sleepy Bloodroots

Friday, May 4, 2007

8:12 PM and although darkness is coming quickly now, I am pleased to be able to see the lower road from my office window. Nothing is moving outside and save for an occasional robin grabbing an after-dinner insect, the stillness is stop-frame firm. I like this time of year as the mornings come early and the evenings keep stretching what I can accomplish in a day.

After work today I opened a couple boxes of daylilies which arrived yesterday from Walters Gardens in Michigan. This is a wonderful nursery with one of the biggest selections of perennials around. They called on Monday and said the shipment would arrive by Fed Ex today. Gail planned accordingly but yesterday when Diana was here by herself, Mr. Fed Ex backed down the hill and unloaded 40 yards short of the driveway. There were 28 selections of daylilies, 8 selections of hostas and one order of an astilbe Gail likes named Veronica Klose. Diana helped unload the pallet and then moved all the boxes by cart to the driveway. It sure is nice to have people who know how to do a great job and Diana is one of those!

The first daylily I started planting was Shy Maiden, a special pink that customers will admire. We hadn't ordered daylilies from Walters before so I didn't know what to expect. Plants come packed in 25's and these were big roots and size equivalent to a couple-three fans. They were uniformly processed and packed in wood shavings inside a plastic bag. The box and the bag were both labeled. The plastic labels are most always packed separately and these were good labels with the plant variety at the top of the label. Last week we received an order with labels made for sticking into a preformed slot in a square pot like you see in big box stores or giant nurseries where stock is bought in already planted. The names are on the bottom which means that with our one gallon pots the name is buried and invisible. These are much better.

I finished planting Shy Maiden and then asked Gail if she'd like to go to the new property. I didn't tell her I had a special "find" that I wanted her to see. She agreed since she had to go to the store anyway and away we went.

All along the Winooski River there is new life sprouting. It happens this way every year and would probably be more advanced this year if it wasn't so dry right now. We parked the truck and climbed over the end of the stone pile and then walked along the river. The skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidas, was up about 6" tall. I like to photograph the leaves because they have such contrast with their ribs and veins and smooth surfaces. The light shines through at times and creates a neat picture. I have read that black bears love to feast on this green because it's the first abundant vegetable they can purge themselves with after winter hibernation. In my life of looking at skunk cabbage I've always looked for places where bears might have gobbled mouthfuls of leaves but truthfully I have never seen a missing leaf. The odor wouldn't bother a bear but just crunching a leaf brings on a perfume I wouldn't care to wear.

Just past the first set of skunk cabbage, the treasure I wanted Gail to see started. Tiny bloodroots were everywhere, tiny sleepy bloodroots. I had forgotten how late it was getting and the flowers were already closed on most of the plants. Sunlight struck an occaisional patch and they were still wide open for Gail to see. It was quite a treat. If we don't receive some rain soon they will not hold as long as I'd like. I could see bumble bees pushing their way between the petals to get to the yellow pollen and this made me think that bloodroot, February daphne, forsythia, and the pulmonarias represent the slim pickins bees and insects have right now. That will change in a couple days but for today, that's it.

Gail and I walked a bit but we had to go. We wanted to stay and look and dream about our new gardens but our current responsibility is getting everything planted and ready for mid May customers. If you were with us this afternoon, you would have enjoyed the walk too. Maybe some other time!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where darkness is thick and the music of Paul Simon and Roomful of Blues disrupts Gail's repeated attempts to ask me a flower question.


Gardening wishes for a nice weekend,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com