Crumb Trail

Barr Street Market to open this weekend

Everyone is ready for the opening of the Barr Street Market in Fort Wayne and it is happening this Saturday, July 11th. The market is located at the corner of Wayne Street and Barr Street.  I can't wait to be there and see which vendors have returned and if there is anyone new.  The hours this year are from 8am to 12noon.  Be sure to make this a part of your Three Rivers Festival outings.

Take A Break, Enjoy This!

You've got to check this out!  Here is a quirky YouTube video made by a gal who tackled a no-dig garden for the first time this year.  The video, set to delightfully appropriate music, follows her through the creation of the garden and its first four weeks of existence.  It ends with the enticement that she will be adding more video as the season progresses.  The music alone is worth it. Enjoy!

Jefferson Pointe Farmer's Market's First Day

With drizzly rain on and off today, it was still great to see the Jefferson Pointe Farmer's Market open, with shoppers and vendors undeterred.

The Giants were there with lettuces, onions, radishes, asparagus, strawberries and beautiful cut peonies.

Swissland Cheese was there with all their wonderful cheeses.

Joseph Decuis offered their specialty items and samples of their soups.

Hilger's Farm Market was selling rhubarb, strawberries, baked goods, and garden plants.  I was told that the market was open with strawberries right now, but just while the strawberries were available.  The fields are available for u-pick or you can purchase pre-picked berries.

Fishburns of Fishburn's Farm Market, had big red greenhouse grown tomatoes, lettuces, spinach, onions, radishes, and strawberries.

Holly Slick was offering a wide variety of unusual perennials for your garden.

Schmucker's Produce Farm, Spring 2009 Update

This past Friday I made another visit to Schmucker's Produce Farm, 12815 Doty Rd, New Haven.  Their hours April through October are Monday-Saturday 9 am to 5pm, they are always closed on Sundays.  Inside the "store" area, along with all their usual packaged and canned goods, I found eight different varieties of seed potatoes for sale and eleven different varieties of onion sets as well as their own packaged seed packets for corn as well as other vegetables. 

The rear doors of the store were open and just outside those doors in an open area, were well established potted horseradish plants, asparagus plants, rhubarb plants, and different greens (lettuces, cabbages, and kale).  This area led to the greenhouses which were open and filled to the brim with vegetable and flower plants.  They have tomato, cucumber, zucchini, cantaloupe, strawberry, eggplant, pepper, okra, and assorted herbs, just to name a few, ready to be planted in your garden or container.  Beautiful flowers for planting as well as pots of mixed plants and hanging baskets, are ready for your porch or patio (12" potted geraniums for $12.95).  The prices were excellent so be sure to visit them and see what they have or even just roam through the store and greenhouse to soak in the signs and smells of Spring.

While you are on Doty Rd, don't forget to slip on down the road a mile or so and visit Milan Center Feed & Grain.

Milan Center Feed and Grain

This morning I visited Milan Center Feed and Grain, 15402 Doty Rd, in New Haven.  It is just about a mile East on Doty Rd, from Schmuckers Produce Farm Market.  If you visit one, you really should visit the other.  My visit there today was just on a whim.  I wanted to visit Schmuckers again (more on that next week), and while I was in the area, decided to pay a visit to Milan Center.

Well, I was delighted.  I thought it would be all feed and grain supplying the area's farmers.  Instead I was greeted with a wide variety of gardening tools, garden seeds, pet supplies and food for every pet you might have, an extensive inventory on all things related to bird feeding and watching, beautiful fire pots for your patio, toys, books, and puzzles to introduce farm animals to your children, as well as all kinds of horse tack, grooming supplies, and horse treats. They also carry Hobby Farm Magazine as well as others, and greeting cards. 

As I was wandering around the store, I was approached by a sales person offering to help me if I was looking for something special and to let me know that tomorrow, April 25th, from 9am to 3pm, would be Milan Center Feed & Grain's Lawn and Garden Day.  Ricky Kemery, Purdue Extension Horticultural Educator will be there to answer your questions and so will local Master Gardeners.

Louise Rennecker "The Herb Lady"

If you have met Louise Rennecker, you already know what a delightful, gifted, and dedicated woman she is.  Louise is an advanced master gardener who, with her husband, owns and runs the Herb Lady's Garden Bed and Breakfast on Maysville Rd.  Several years ago, I had the privilege of staying there one night and the visit included a mesmerizing tour of her herb garden beds.  She graciously shared her knowledge of herbs and their uses with us while answering all our questions.

This Saturday, April 25th, from 1:15pm to 3:00pm, Louise will be giving a talk on "Herbs For Small Spaces and Containers", at the Ten Thousand Villages Store (lower level), 6603 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne.  The talk is free and although reservations are not required, they are encouraged (260-486-8394).

Georgetown Library Branch Tonight

Just a reminder to anyone who would like to attend the "Victory Garden" Seminar given by Ricky Kemery of the Purdue Extension office, it starts at 6pm this evening and I would advise you to arrive early as the room at Aboite Branch Library seminar filled up rapidly.

You Still Have a Chance to Attend..."Victory Garden" seminar at Georgetown Library Branch

For any of you who wish you could have attended the previous seminar given at the Aboite Branch Library, but missed it, I just found out the Ricky Kemery will be offering another home gardening seminar on April 16th at 6 pm at the Georgetown Library Branch.

"Victory Garden" seminar follow-up

The Victory Garden Seminar was soooo helpful.  Ricky Kemery, the Allen County Horticultural Educator with the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, provided those in attendance with step by step instructions for the three types of gardens: raised beds, traditional gardens, and container gardens.  His information included choosing the size, and location for the garden, as well as what to use to create the correct soil mix, when to plant which vegetables, and how to deal with pests, diseases, and critters.

Mr. Kemery suggested a publication that can be found on-line, entitled the Home Gardener's Guide, published by Purdue University.  It is eleven pages packed full of gardening information that no new or old gardener should proceed without.  Even if you are unable to have a garden of your own you will want to print and keep pages 8-11 as they contain harvest and storage (with "shelf-life") instructions for 39 different vegetables.  I found this information to be very helpful whether I buy my vegetables from local growers or the conventional grocery store.

Square Foot Gardens

Now here is a concept I have totally fallen for.  The idea is that your build a 4 foot by 4 foot square box and this becomes your container garden.  Almost everyone of us could handle that.  You fill the box with a combination of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 coarse vermiculite and then divide the top of the box with a 1 foot by 1 foot square grid giving you 16 squares.  This is an easy to manage size garden that can be filled with flowers, herbs, vegetables, or any those combinations.  Each square foot contains one variety of plant.  This method was developed by Mel Bartholomew and you must check out Square Foot Gardening which gives step by step instructions in building this type of garden along with illustrations and amazing pictures of the end result with his garden and others. 

This is just such a sensible and easy way to go, especially for beginner gardeners, without a great deal of investment in space, soil preparation, and with no weeding involved.