What's New 

WWW Spring Ledge site

April 25th, 2008

     I would not have believed it two weeks ago, but as we stand in the fields right now, all the snow is gone.  And the fields are dry!.  We've planted peas, spinach, radishes, lettuce, greens, beets and kale.  The flower gardens are full with daffodils, pansies and cold hardy annuals.  New at the farmstand is a fresh layer of bark mulch in the perennial and annual areas.  New shrubs and perennials arrive from quality growers every other day over the next few weeks.  Stop by and browse the new selections.  

April 16th, 2008

             Beautiful Spring weather has arrived, treating us to 60F days full with bright sunshine.  Still a few snowbanks to melt along with edges of fields where the snow hangs on.  But the winter-long snow cover means the ground did not freeze, so as soon as things dry out enough, we will begin working the fields and planting peas, greens and other early spring crops.  

            We expect our first shipments of shrubs and perennials to start arriving next week.  Pansies, cold-hardy annuals and a few perennials will be on display at the farmstand this weekend.  

April 10th, 2008

      The snow has melted off the rhubarb row!  We can see some of the red sprouts of the first rhubarb poking above ground.  Of course, the rest of the field still has snow, but with sunny days like today, things are melting quickly.  

A new variety of pansy for us this year...'Fizzy Lemonberry'.  A great looking combination of orange-reds and yellows.  Each pansy "face" has a unique pattern.   

      We're filling up the greenhouses with our own annuals and perennials.  This week our great crew is transplanting Angelonia, Delphinium, Mixed hanging baskets, Moss baskets, tomatoes, marigolds, snapdragons, gerbera daisies, Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost', Rudbeckia, vinca and hundreds more.  We plant into Vt. Compost soil mix (Fort Light) which provides a great root-growing environment.  The compost adds nutrients and encourages biological action.  We add a mix of beneficial fungi and soil microbes to enhance root growth and deter pathogens.  Check out the Vt. Compost website.  We like the compost mix so much, we chose to sell it at the farmstand.  

Monday, March 31st, 2008

     And the snow continues here on the farm...We received about 6 inches last Friday and today we added another inch on top of that.  A check of the fields this weekend found about three feet of snow (actually layers of snow, then ice, then snow, then ice) before we reached bare ground.  The up side is that the ground is thawed, so once the snow melts, there will be little if any frost to work out of the soil.  

      We are continuing to sow seeds - this week we sow more peppers, petunias, tomatoes, some lettuces, onions and cole crops for the garden, agastaches, cosmos, bachelor buttons, scabiosa and calendula.  We also receive liners (rooted cuttings) from DS Cole growers in Loudon, NH with varieties of calibrachoa, coleus and salvias.  

Thursday, March 6th, 2008.

     A beautiful sunny day, with strong march sun heating the greenhouses to over 90F!  We have two greenhouses open now, both of which vent at around 76F.  In them, we are growing micro mix, tomato transplants, geraniums, pansies, and other cold hardy crops.  We are gearing up for the season; the farmstand will open on Friday, April 4th.  We ordered some great new pottery and we're growing some interesting new annuals for spring color and combinations.   

Friday, Feb. 22nd, 2008

       More snow and ice in the forecast.  Give us a sunny day, and the greenhouses are toasty warm.  Snow and overcast and at least we can work with green plants and warm soil.  The days are longer and the sun, when it decides to shine through the clouds, is stronger.  This week  we seeded snapdragons, petunias, nicotiana, perennial seeds and cut flower seeds.  We're off one day next week to attend the Vt. Vegetable and Berry annual conference in Montpelier, Vt.  While we are there, we will pick up a pallet or two of Vt. Compost.  The scheduled seminars include grower panels on strawberries, IPM, Currants and raspberries and biorational pesticides.  

Friday, Feb. 1st, 2008

        An inclement day weather-wise here in our area - snow, sleet, freezing rain.  Not much growing in the greenhouses today with the overcast skies.  We harvested Micro Mix today which is a nice treat in the mid of winter.  We are expecting a truck to arrive with some Vermont Compost potting mix.  We use this compost-based mix for our geraniums and other 4.5" and 6" pots.  The compost is certified for organic growing.  Although we are not a certified organic farm, we do practice what we like to call P.M.O. (Pretty Much Organic).  This means we utilize as many organic methods as we can.  Here is a link to the Vermont Compost website.  We like the mix so much that we recommend and offer it for sale during the planting season in consumer-sized bags.  

Monday, January 28th, 2008

 A beautiful January day here in New Hampshire.  The greenhouses are warming right up...all but one of our greenhouses remain un-heated this time of year.  The temps during the night drop to about 20 F (given an outside temp of 5-10F) and during a sunny day, the temps will rise to about 80F.  All from the power of the sun.  

          This week we are sowing seeds for more pansies and violas, herbs including oregano, thyme, sage and lavender, Linaria and alyssum along with some snapdragons and perennials.  We will have our 2008 plant lists available in the next few weeks as we finalize our seeding and young plant orders.  

Special Offer - purchase a gift certificate (store credit) and get 10% more for your dollar.  For instance, spend $50. on a credit and receive $55 to spend anytime during the season.  Good for geranium plants, cut flowers, strawberries, sweet corn, shrubs and anything else we sell at the farm.  Great for gifts to friends, family or yourself.  Offer expires Feb. 29, 2007.  Give us a call or email.  603-526-6253 or info@springledgefarm.com.

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

          What do farmer's do in the winter?  Plan, order and sow seeds.  Review 2007 crops.  Plow snow.  Repair and replace.  And best of all, take a little time to sit on the couch and look over the seed catalogs.  

Monday, April 9th, 2007

          The weather has been less than Spring-like since our snowstorm last Thursday.  Nights continue in the mid-teens to low twenties and the days are overcast and gray.  Inside the greenhouses, however, we are greeted by thousands of green plants, some with blooms, growing well and growing strong and stocky.  Some great plants so far this year, our diascia from seed is looking fantastic - starting to show buds on dozens of branches per each 4 1/2" pot.  These will be quite a show when fully blooming.  We have plenty of Cardoon (Cynara) which works well as an ornamental and which is edible.  

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

         The farmstand is now open.  Check out the pots this year!  We also have loads of primula plants that we seeded last fall and grew over the winter, miniature daffodils that we overwintered in the leaf pile, ranunculus, flowering bulbs, Easter lilies, organic pest controls, organic fertilizers, organic compost soil mix (which we use in our own production and recommend highly, and many more gardening aides, plants and ideas.  

        We planted the Big Tomato House today with over 600 plants.  We will tend these plants, providing food, warmth, pruning and beneficial insects.  Harvest of tomatoes begins in mid-June.  Can't wait for those vine-ripened, sun-warmed, juicy, delicious, nutritious tomatoes!  

          Our other plant greenhouses are well on their way.  Perennials are transplanted both from seeds and from bareroot material.  We are carrying some of the new Echinaceas this year, and looking forward to their bright colors and strong plant habit.  The geraniums are tended in our large greenhouse (we call it the Taj Majal), and we make sure the plants are very well branched to provide great color and bloom power in May.  

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

       What a slacker!  Nothing written since last fall!  We are still here, and have been working all winter to plan and plant the crops for 2007.  We are busy now opening greenhouses as the day length increases and temperatures warm up.  Of course, there is the annual maintenance and repair to accomplish (too many lists, not enough time).  

         Our primula crop is fantastic this year - all started from seed here on the farm.  It will be quite a show when we open on April 2nd, with the primulas, ranunculus, pansies, violas, flowering spring bulbs and other cold hardy plants are all on display.  

September 29th, 2006

        A rainy day and time to catch up on What's New at the farm.  We continue to harvest sweet corn from several fields around town.  No serious frost yet, although the grass and car windshield have been covered several times.  This means that we can keep on picking all the favorite fall crops like corn, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, lettuces and much more.  Our crop of mum plants and fall annuals still looks great with plenty of color choices for fall decorating.  Now is a great time to plant bulbs, perennials and shrubs for Spring beauty.  A little delayed gratification goes a long way.  Plant them now and enjoy color next spring.       

September 1, 2006

        No, we haven't been sitting around doing nothing all summer...just have not had time to update the "What's New" page.  We do have a new feature to try out now, the Springledge Farm E-mail updates.  Sign up and receive a 25% coupon for anything in the store.  (of course, one per customer, etc.).  The newsletter will discuss things we are doing currently on the farm, home garden question and answers and new and exciting plants and vegetables we grow.  

     Meanwhile, in the fields, we are busy adding manure and organic matter to the soil and planting cover crops.  These crops keep the wind and rain from eroding the soil, some add nitrogen, all of them add more organic matter.  We use oats, winter rye, buckwheat and hairy vetch.  

     We continue to harvest all sorts of vegetables including our own Sweet Corn, tomatoes, lettuces and eggplants.  

May 25th, 2006

     The sunshine has returned and so have the gardeners.  We are busy bringing things up to the farmstand from our growing houses down back.  We are also planting more strawberries in the fields (& we have a few extras for sale at the stand in bundles of 25).  The first of the cut flowers are planted and we are harvesting Rhubarb, mesclun mix, micro mix, chives and soon...Arugula and radishes.  

    Here is an ad that will be coming out soon.   The 2006 t-shirt will feature the "plant it, water it, pick  it" characters.  If you really want one, call Greg at 603-526-6253 to order.  If you work at the farm, they are free! 

May 10th, 2006

        Mother's day is fast approaching - Sunday, May 14th.  We have all sorts of options for Mom's gifts.  Hanging baskets, roses, fruit trees, mixed containers, clay decorative pots and more. 

        We will have The Potting Bench set up this weekend at the farmstand.  You choose the plants and the containers, we will pot them up for you with compost, beneficial root organisms and organic slow release fertilizer.  All at no charge.  This is a free service for this weekend only.  

  More seeds are in the ground and the second and third corn fields are being prepared.  We have the cut flower area ready for planting and a new cold frame is almost done to house annuals that are ready for a little tough love (hardening off so they are better suited to your outside NH garden).  

April 30th, 2006

          Beautiful Spring weather around here as the ground is quite dry and warming up nicely.  The past week has brought nighttime temps down to the low 20's, so only pansies and perennials, linaria and cole crops are making it through the freezes.  The forecast calls for night temps in the mid-30's, so we are bringing up all sorts of hardy annuals and more perennials to the farmstand this week.  

        Our tomato transplants are moving to the cold frames for a little tough love.  We expose them to bright sunshine, brisk winds and cool night temps so that they are ready for planting in your gardens.  We have close to 40 varieties for sale this year, and even more that we are planting on our own fields for the Tomato Tasting Trial this September.  

April 24th, 2006

         We are busy in the greenhouses moving plants to the cold frames.  This process has a dual purpose; to harden off the plants so that they perform well in the gardens and to create warm greenhouse space for the latest seedlings that keep coming down the pipeline.  We are busy transplanting impatiens, ageratum, marigold, tomatoes, peppers, angelonia, asarina, salvias and many more.  

         The weather has turned more seasonal - rainy drizzle with temps in the 40's.  We are receiving shipments of perennials and shrubs from other NH growers this week.  So far, everything looks great.  And the shade/woodland garden we planted last fall is showing some color.  Check it out behind the shrub area up at the farmstand.  

April 9th, 2006

         The greenhouses are filling up with all sorts of young plants.  These long days of light really push the plants along.  The farmstand is full with clay pottery and flowering plants.  Its fun to mix and match the plants with the pots; combinations are endless (& of course, everyone has their own particular tastes).  We don't judge here at SLF...

Here is a sneak peak at next week's ad...

March 16th, 2006

          An odd winter climate-wise with only one or two short sessions of very cold weather and little or no snow cover.  Very mild in January with its own little mud-season brought fresh concerns about over wintering strawberries and perennial plants.  We're hopeful that they stayed dormant because by February, we had another cold spell, followed by a warm spell, followed by a cold spell again in Mid-March.  

         The greenhouse schedule marched along, though, with pansies and violas seeded last December almost ready to bloom in late March.  Ranunculus is budding up and the cool weather crops are in their pots and growing.  

        We've chosen some very nice pottery this year to compliment the plants and your outdoor living spaces.  A new source is Campania, which offers high quality, unique, designer pottery.  

June 21st, 2005

            I decided to wait and write an update until the weather behaved...and it has, so here we are.  Temps are between 75-85 F. during the day and 50-60F. at night.  Classic N.H. summer weather.  

         We're right into produce season here on the farm with fresh crops being harvested daily, including our own tomatoes and our own strawberries.  

April 20th, 2005

          What a stretch of weather we've had...very uncharacteristic for mid-April, but we'll take it.  Sunny days with temps into the upper 60's and 70's.  Forecast is for more seasonable weather through the weekend, though, with temps in the 50's and April showers. 

           We're filling up the farmstand with loads of cold hardy annuals and perennials.  A big load of shrubs is arriving tomorrow and perennials are coming from down back and from other fine growers in N.E.  

          We've got great crews both up front and down back, so stop by with all your gardening questions.  

April 13th, 2005

        The cool weather has returned ; 26F last night but everything is fine as it was under cover.  The pansies and violas are the best choice for outside planters given this type of April weather.  We're busy tying up the tomatoes to their trellises in the Big Tomato House and the plants are growing great.  We received some beautiful shrubs yesterday which are on display for sale at the front of the farmstand.  Some unique conifers and very full rhododendrons.  

This week we're offering a windowsill starter kit of tomatoes as well as the first few packs of cool vegetable crops.  

April 9th, 2005

        A beautiful day today in New London, N.H. and the plants are photosynthesizing like crazy.  Here are a few pictures I just snapped from various greenhouses.  Many of our plants are still in the young stage, growing strong roots, filling out the pots and establishing healthy growth before bloom.  We do have several types, however, that are in full bloom and ready for planting.  Pansies and violas come to mind, as well as linaria, nemesia, calibrachoa, primula and osteospermum.  

April 7th, 2005

April 5th, 2005

      Hal has graced us with his presence once again and this time he bears gifts...a new way to search the Spring ledge farm site.  Try it here (top of the page) or on the home page.  Thanks to Google as well.  We're opening up more greenhouses and a cold frame this week.  Moving cold hardy plants to the cold frame makes for a strong and sturdy plant for your N.H. gardens.  We continue to bring new plants to the farmstand and will soon have an updated "New for 2005" list of plants.  

March 30th, 2005

     Hal is Back!!!  We're busy transplanting thousands of seedlings every week.  The first tomato plants are in the ground in the Big Tomato House and growing well.  We treat them to millions of beneficial microbes and good bugs to ensure strong growth and a healthy environment.  

March 22nd, 2005

       The farmstand is now open for the season.  Easter is early this year, March 27th, so we are offering Easter plants including Lilies, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc.  We also have our own Pansies and Violas that we started from seed back in November!  In stock are some very nice new wrought iron plant stands, trellises and hanging baskets.  We carry a full line of seeds, potting mix, containers, fertilizer and other planting supplies.  Stop in to see signs of Spring and Summer in our greenhouses.  

September 23rd, 2004

         We had a great turnout and many enthusiastic taste buds for the tomato tasting a few weekends ago.  We are looking forward to trying this again next year with a new crop of tomato varieties & old favorites. 

          Our own mums are in good supply with many varieties, shapes and sizes to choose from.  We continue picking our own Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Beans, Cut Flowers, Herbs, Carrots, Beets, Scallions, Greens, and a host of other fall vegetables.  The Pumpkins are in as are the winter squashes and gourds.  

      Stop by to pick up some natural fall decorations including corn stalks, straw bales, colorful gourds & squash, fall plants and mums.  

Sept. 22nd, 2004.  

a copy of our local advertisement...

September 9th, 2004

      We're preparing for our Tomato Trial Tasting this Saturday.  We'll have variety signs for each tomato, grower notes on how the plants grow in our area of N.H. and of course, samples of the various tomatoes for you to try and rate.  We'll also have some garlic samples in olive oil available as well as juices, vegetable snacks and dips.  

      Today's weather is soggy as the remnants of Tropical Storm Frances ride by.  We continue to harvest our own sweet corn - now picking 'Providence', one of the best corns we've ever grown.  

August 26th, 2004

        The sweet corn has finally caught up with summer - we're picking great varieties now like Mantasket, Lancelot &, hopefully soon, Providence (last year's favorite).  The bear and raccoons are into the fields, so we're busy putting up electric fences, but otherwise the crop looks good.  

        The poinsettias are all planted and being pinched and prodded even as we speak.  Mums are ready for sale, along with fall asters, sedums, cabbages and kales, and next week some Fall Magic plants and grasses.  

      A belated congratulations to the field crew for 3rd place in the Hospital Days parade.  

August 17th, 2004

       Well another busy summer means little in the way of updates on this page...not that anyone reads them.  This is akin to a FarmBlog, a new multimedia outlet for vegetable farmers and greenhouse growers.  

         We're now harvesting our own garlic, which grew very well over the last year.  We plant it in the fall and harvest in July, cure for 2 weeks in the barn and clean and grade the bulbs for sale.  We save the largest and best garlic of each variety to plant in October for next year's harvest.  This year's top performers are 'Italian Porcelain', 'Korean Red', 'Kettle River Giant' and 'Purple Italian Easy Peel'. 

          Other field crops being harvested include greens, lettuces, kohlrabi, daikon radishes, green beans, yellow beans, purple beans, and a host of delicious, nutritious summer fare.   

July 9th, 2004

      And we continue to harvest strawberries and peas.  The crops are looking great this year, especially the lettuces, tomatoes and greens.  Here's a picture of a new lettuce for us named 'Red Cross'.  It is a boston/bibb type lettuce that has a beautiful red color and is quite tasty.  

     The greenhouse continues to grow high quality, fresh plant material for your gardens and containers.  We're planting mums for the fall season and making up combination planters for docks and porches.  

June 22nd, 2004

April 26th, 2004

              Busy times here at the farm as we maximize the growing area (run out of space), focus on favorable growing conditions (pray for sunshine), prepare the groundwork for future growth (catch up on seeding) and generally have a good time (have a good time).  Enclosed please find some current pictures of our new greenhouse, flowering plants and great crew.  

             The farmstand is looking good with a full assortment of perennials nicely arranged outside, tender plants in the greenhouse and cool annuals and hardy plants outside and in the driveway greenhouse.  

There are many plants that can be planted outside right now and will take frosts.  Their roots will get a nice grip and when the weather does turn to warmth, the plants will take right off.  Included are argyranthemums, osteospermums, nemesias, violas, poppies, linaria, dusty miller, cardoon and calibrachoa.  

Monday, March 15th, 2004

         Seeding this week involves literally 57,600 seeds to be sown.  We're putting the finishing touches on the new propagation area in the greenhouse so we can find a place to grow all these seedlings. 

The other sections of the new greenhouse (dubbed the Taj Majal by the 2003 greenhouse crew) are also either complete or nearing completion.  

The tomatoes are about 6 inches tall now and growing well.  They are slated for planting late next week into the Big Tomato House.

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004.

         We're in the midst of a spring thaw here, with the requisite muddy roads, melting snow and greenhouse repairs.  Five greenhouses are now open and we continue to work on the new gutter connect greenhouse.  We're building benches and wiring for climate controls.  

          I'm heading out today with the camera and will have some pictures to post here soon.  

          Some exciting new plant varieties for 2004 include Dichondra 'Emerald Falls' & 'Silver Falls' (we had 'Silver Falls' last year and it proved a very, very nice plant - trailing habit, silvery, shimmering leaves, easy to grow),  Eucalyptus varieties for foliage accents and cut flower scented material, Proven Winners (just a small sampling of the new varieties!).  

'Vanilla Butterfly' argyranthemum
Nemesia 'Sunsatia Cranberry'
Scaevola 'Whirlwind White'

Wednesday, November 19th, 2003.

     A picture is worth a thousand words...

The holiday season at Spring Ledge Farm.   Our Own poinsettias and Our Own Tapestry wreaths are some of our specialties.

Tuesday, November 11th, 2003.

       And now winter is officially here as we see the second round of snowflakes for the season.  We are busy as elves making wreaths and roping here on the farm. Our wreaths and garlands are "Deluxe", high quality, thick & heavy, made with fragrant balsam and mixed greens.  All our wreaths and ropings are dipped in a solution to help keep them from drying out over the season.  

      We're gearing up for opening the farmstand on November 21st and will stay open until December 24th.  We grow our own poinsettias, which are coloring up nicely even as we speak.  

      If you'd like to order a wreath to ship to friends and family, click here.  

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003.

        Fall is officially here and although we've enjoyed a stretch of stunning weather, today is dark, rainy and cold.  We're gearing up for our fall open house in October (the 19th), and the 7th annual apple pie contest.  We continue to harvest crops including our won sweet corn ('Silver Queen' now available), lettuces, zucchini and specialty squashes, mesclun mix, edamame soybeans (limited qty), cut flowers, tomatoes and more.  Our perennials and shrubs are on sale and fall plants including mums and Fall Magic brand plants are ready for planting.  

Wednesday, August 13th, 2003.

        The monsoon season seems to be letting up here in NH as we see the sun clearly now for the first day in weeks.  Thundershowers and rain have been the order of the day every day and the fields are muddy enough to sink your feet into.  We continue to harvest fresh crops daily, including our own corn, tomatoes, lettuces, radishes, beets, mesclun mix, cut flowers, cherry tomatoes ('Sun Gold'), scallions, delicious crispy and tasty carrots, yellow carrots(!), zucchini, summer squash, specialty squashes, cucumbers and the list goes on and on.  We've begun the garlic harvest, delayed because of the inclement weather, but the heads look good so far.  

Wednesday, July 9th, 2003.  

        PYO Strawberries is done for the year, however the field crew continues to pick quarts for the farmstand.  PYO Flowers is ready to start up on July 14th.  The plants look great this year with some interesting new varieties.  We'll try to keep some pictures updated here so you can see what's in bloom and when.  You are more than welcome to visit the farm and just browse through the rows of field flowers.  Its a great way to see what grows well in this part of NH and how plants look once they are out of their 4-packs and pots.  

Monday, June 23rd, 2003

       OK, here is the deal according to NHPTV...Spring Ledge will be airing this Wednesday, June 25th at 10pm on Channel 11 - N.H. Public Television during their NH Outlook program.  We hope you can tune in.  

        Time to put the shade cloth over the greenhouses as temps inside can reach 100 F during the afternoon.  We continue to supply the farmstand with strong, healthy, stocky transplants of annual and vegetable varieties.  Perennials and shrubs are still going strong and we urge you to check out the front of the perennial display for plants that bloom during the month of June.  

       Tasha's crew is just itching to start picking strawberries and peas, and they are keeping busy with trellising tomatoes, weeding the cut flowers, picking mesclun mix, spinach, lettuce, spring greens and of course, Our Own Tomatoes.  

Friday, June 20th, 2003

     Well, we waited and watched and waited some more and then...nothing on TV about Spring Ledge.  Not sure what the deal is, but all of NH Outlook's press releases say that they were going to show a little story on SLF last night.  Oh well, maybe another time.  

Tuesday, June 17th, 2003

      Hey, we're going to be on TV!   Last summer, the crew from NH Outlook came to Spring Ledge and spent a day filming.  Now they've condensed that day into a few minutes of rare footage showing the farm in action during the summer.  Tune in Thursday, June 19th at 10pm to Channel 11 (NH Public Television).  Click on the banner here for more info about NH Outlook. 

         Besides our 15 minutes of fame, we continue to plant, water, sell, discuss, seed, truck, and maintain thousands of plants.  We'll be full of produce by the weekend and Tasha's Tomatoes are almost ready to harvest.  

Monday, June 9th, 2003.

         We're transplanting Fall Mums into 8", 9" and half bushel basket sizes.  I know its a bit crazy to be gearing up for fall already, but we start the plants now in order to have a full and beautiful finished plant by Fall.             

Wednesday, June 4th, 2003.

      Very nice weather for the past few days has us scrambling to bring plants to the farmstand from our growing areas down back.  Tasha and crew have planted half of New London with tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, leeks, lettuce, cut flowers, beans, squashes and more tomatoes.  This week for a limited time we have for sale our own beet greens and mesclun - an early crop of delicious greens.  

Tuesday, May 20th, 2003. Begonias grown at SLF.

         After a very busy weekend, what with the open house on Sunday, beautiful weather on Saturday through Tuesday...we're pooped!  We plan on trucking a huge load of plants to the farmstand from our production greenhouses down back tomorrow.  Included will be more vegetables (squashes, tomatoes, etc.), memorial day planters and pots, more geraniums, a full line of petunias, including many varieties of Wave petunias and whatever else Greg sees along the way.  

          May 13th, 2003.

         Check out the latest issue of People, Places and Plants Magazine to see a short bio on Spring Ledge Farm.  We're very happy they chose our farmstand to highlight garden centers in NH.  

          Overcast weather and showers continue here in NH.  We're busy pruning and staking our greenhouse tomatoes, transplanting impatiens into hangers (including some new mixes for 2003 'Tempo Salsa Mix', 'Tempo Crystal Mix', 'Tempo Wedgewood Mix').  

         We've finished pinching the next batch of snapdragons, cosmos, Salvia coccinea and dahlias.  We pinch the tops of the plants to encourage side shoot growth and to create a stronger, more floriferous plant for you in your garden.  For instance, the snaps or cosmos you buy here, even in 4-packs, will have several stems per plant, rather than just one tall and lanky leader.  This means more flowers in your garden and a stronger plant that won't fall over when its removed from its 4pack.  

      Speaking of removing plants from pots, we've put together a short instruction page on the best way to transplant.  Check it out.  

May 6th, 2003.

         We're gearing up for Mother's Day weekend with hundreds of hanging baskets (everything from an 8" plastic hanger to an 18" moss hanger) with geraniums, fuchsias, portulaca, calibrachoa, nemesia, lobelia and many more.  

        We also offer kids pots at kids prices.  Choose from many varieties of annuals all in bloom in 4" pots.  Just 99 cents.  These can be planted outside this spring and will bloom all summer.  

      We're busy sowing more seed trays for early June sales and beyond.  We sow our lettuce and vegetable crops weekly in order to have strong, healthy transplants ready for your gardens.  "'Cause we eat 'em too" is why we choose and grow varieties of vegetables that we've tried here on the farm.  We know them to be delicious and good growers in our short NH seasons.  

April 28th, 2003

       A beautiful and sun-filled day today found us covering another cold frame.  We will take plants from our warm houses and place them in the cold frame.  This makes room for our young plants to grow in a warm spot, and it helps break in the older plants to the cruelties of the real world.  

     The farmstand is filling up with shrubs, fruit trees, roses, perennials, cold-hardy annuals, pansies, hanging baskets, geraniums, unique annuals (still in the green stage, but worth a look) and much more.  Our marguerite daisies look great this year; fully branched, great white root system, strong stems, hardened off to the cold nights.  We offer them in large 10" deco pots ($21), 5" pots ($5.35) and 306 packs (6 plants for $13.50).  All grown using beneficial insects and fungi.  

April 25th, 2003

The straw is coming off the strawberries, the perennial beds are beginning to green and the snow still spits at us from above.  Quite a scene.  We are stock full with blooming pansies in all shades and sizes.  We have many pansies in our production area in a cold frame growing into stocky, healthy plants.  We keep them cool to improve their quality, hardiness and long-lasting appeal.  

The new greenhouse is up and running and we are filling it with petunias, perennials in 4-packs, lettuce for the field and for sale in packs, nicotiana, and more.  

April 21st, 2003

Well, it was sunny and warm in North Carolina last week, but I won't bore you with the details.  

Tasha planted her first crop of peas today, as the soil proved very dry and friable.  Little Tomato House is slated for planting this week, and we'll open up another cold frame and possibly the new greenhouse.  We're bracing for a few days of cool and rainy weather, not at all uncommon up here this time of year.  We try and keep our watering to a minimum and to keep good air circulation going to prevent rots.  Sometimes these cool wet spells can last for a week or more.  Hopefully, we will be back to sunny skies by this coming weekend.  

April 7th, 2003.

     Sorry for the delay in the What's New pages.  No real excuse, just didn't get around to it.  

     Today was a big day at the farm.  N.H. Chronicle, produced and shown by WMUR Channel 9 in Manchester, NH, came by the farm and filmed a few show intros and a short piece on Spring Ledge.  It was quite interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes during program production.  Everyone was in high spirits despite our recent snowfall (another foot of the white stuff!).  

      Here is a short slide show with a few snapshots.  They tell us the programs will run during the week of April 21st.  

March 4th 2003.

Another frigid night last night and we awoke at 2:30 a.m. to the alarm system.  An oil furnace was malfunctioning and the temps were dropping fast.  I hopped in the car for the ride to the farm over roller-coaster frost heaves.  Flashlight in hand, I checked the greenhouses, one by one, and found the delinquent furnace.  I carefully leaned over the hulking beast and pushed the red "reset" button.  She roared to life with a bellow of smoke and the rest, as they say, is history.  

February 20th, 2003

A beautiful "spring" day here at the farm.  Temps reached into the high 30's and in the greenhouses, we were in t-shirts.  We're transplanting pansies and cool weather crops in our #1 greenhouse.  We're also checking for bugs (scouting) on a regular basis and releasing beneficial insects (good bugs) to combat the pests.  The key with this program is to start early and keep a lid on the pest outbreaks.  So far so good, but the season is just beginning.  We've released millions of predatory mites, nematodes and ladybugs into our greenhouses to combat the pests.  

February 10th, 2003.

The snow and cold continue to linger as we open up a large greenhouse for cold hardy plants.  These include pansies, osteospermum, argyranthemums, violas, ranunculus, nemesia, calceolaria.  We will try and keep this greenhouse set to 60F to create strong, stocky plants that are acclimated to cooler weather.  If you have any suggestions as to which plants you would like us to grow, please send us an email or call.  Thanks.  

February 3rd, 2003.

The new season is already upon us as we sow and plan for the spring and summer crops.  In fact, we've already decided on which fall mums we will grow and are looking into the poinsettia order for next Christmas!  We try to plan these things ahead of time because once the spring and summer are here, we don't have much time for office work.  

If we had a digital camera on site, we could show you pictures of our new greenhouse construction, some blooming pansies in our greenhouse and plenty of snowbanks.  But alas, we'll have to wait...

October 4th, 2002.

Wow, last entry was from May 8th!  That's just plain embarrassing.  Well, we've made it through another summer season here at the farm and are waiting (hoping?) for the first killing frost of the fall.  We continue to pick Our Own Sweet Corn and will do so for a few more weeks as long as the weather holds.  We're gearing up for our fall open house and apple pie contest.  New T-Shirts this year in a great color 'River Blue' with an interesting twist to our logo on the back of the shirt.  Enter a pie to receive a free t-shirt or come by that Sunday (Oct. 20th) and purchase one at a greatly inflated cost.  

May 8th, 2002.

The weather is warm and sunny - the fields are beginning to fill up.  Tasha planted the first batch of lettuce and onions, peas are starting to poke through, John planted corn and we're hoping to put out the cut flowers soon.  

At the farmstand, things are hopping as we load up the display benches with our own annuals, geraniums, hanging baskets, herbs and so much more, its crazy.  We have a wide assortment of roses, shrubs, fruit trees, perennials, Proven Winners and Bodacious Temperennials.  

Stop by to see our newly expanded sign program with details on most plants about height, color, and garden preference.  

April 24th, 2002.

More seasonable weather these days, with nights dipping into the low 30's and upper 20's.  Our greenhouses are full and we are moving plants into cold frames to harden them off and make room for new seedlings in the greenhouses.  This week we are transplanting impatiens (we use the Tempo series for great garden performance, very unique colors and large flowers), marigolds, tomatoes and peppers, and dozens of other varieties grown from seed.  

Dug out in the fields today with the tractor trying to get the peas planted before the next batch of wet weather in a day or so.  The garlic is vigorously growing now (planted last fall) and the perennial cut flowers are green and healthy.  

Stop by the farmstand for plant lists, a perennial latin name decoder, a look around the greenhouses and advice on your garden.  

April 16th, 2002.

Whew.  You wouldn't know it from this update page, but we've been busy this past month.  The weather has been the complete opposite of last year (scroll down to last spring and you'll see why).  We have warm, 70 F days and fairly warm 30-40 F nights.  This is pushing the plants along and opening up everyones gardens.  We raked the straw off the strawberies last week, and are looking forward to planting peas in the fields soon. 

This week in the greenhouses, we are planting many varieties of annual plugs that we seeded ourselves.  Included in this vast list are: snapdragons, marigolds, many varieties of impatiens, lobelias, salvias, anagalis, perennials and many more.  We also released another batch of good bugs including H. miles (predatory mites) for fungus gnat control, Steinernema nematodes, E. formosa (parasitic wasps) for whitefly control and Trichoderma (beneficial fungi) for root health.  

March 19th, 2002.

Finally had some snow today, about 4" total overnight.  That didn't stop us from planting away in the greenhouses.  We made up some fuchsia baskets, including some moss-lined baskets, 8", 10" and fiber hanging baskets.  A returning favorite fuchsia is 'Gartenmeister', which is an upright variety growing to 14" tall with dark leaves and orange trumpet flowers in bunches.  Not a great description, but it really is a nice plant to use alone or especially in a combination pot.  Can take shade and sun.  

Seeded cut flowers today for the field PYO garden.  Asters, Tithonia, Salvias (the viridis species - clary sage).  Looking forward to planting and picking this summer.  We will be hosting several cut flower garden talks this summer.  Check the Calendar for those dates and times.  

March 15th, 2002.

We now grow in 5 greenhouses and plan on opening another one next week.  Our first pansies and violas are starting to bloom, the geraniums are growing well and we just transplanted hundreds of tuberous begonias in many colors and shades.  These are in 4 1/2" pots and in hangers.  

We're trying two new series of New Guinea Impatiens this year...the 'Sonic' and 'SuperSonic' series featuring huge blooms on compact plants with great shade garden performance.  

We're working on signage now for the display tables at the farmstand.  Look for more information about each variety, including our summer produce line, when you visit the farmstand this year.  

March 8th, 2002.

First entry for the new year.  We are currently growing in 4 greenhouses, with a fifth to open later today.  Plants already growing include a wide range of pansies (dozens of varieties and colors), Nemesias, Osteospermums, Calibracoa, Argyranthemums, Pelargoniums (zonal geraniums, ivy geraniums), Tomatoes for growing on and harvesting the fruit, Begonias, Perennials in 4-packs (economy size), and many more.  

We are seeding this week for the field cut flower garden (available as pyo or purchased bouquets at the farmstand starting late June, early July).  Also seeding this week...petunias, snapdragons, salvias, strange trials of new plants, herbs.  We seed twice a week for a succession of crops throughout the season.  

October 8th, 2001.  A good solid freeze last night and another tonight means we reduce our harvesting and increase our fall cleanup duties.  We still harvest cold hardy crops such as spinach, cauliflower, brussel's sprouts, cabbage, leeks, carrots, beets, swiss chard and lettuce.  We ran out of corn today, yet we continue to grow the tomatoes in the greenhouses and keep the frost off them.  

The poinsettias are growing well in another greenhouse, still a few months away from sale, but looking good thus far.  

The picture above is of our front fields with a cover crop of oats that was planted about 5 weeks ago.  The rows in brown have just been planted with more oats. Our goal is to head into the winter without any exposed soil, thereby reducing erosion from wind and rain.  

September 29th, 2001.  Cool fall weather is now upon us and we are picking the appropriate crops for the season: cauliflower, brussel's sprouts, cabbage, onions, leeks, carrots, beets, lettuce, mesclun salad mix and spinach.  We're also picking a few un-seasonal crops like tomatoes, peppers, cut flowers and corn.  These latter crops may not make it through a frost, whenever that may occur, but the fall crops are sure to be around for another month or so.  

We now begin to clean up our fields and greenhouses and bring more mums and corn stalks up to the farmstand for sale.  We are receiving our pumpkins from Courser Farm in Warner, NH.  Tim grows some great jack-o-lantern type pumpkins as well as top notch pie pumpkins, cinderalla pumpkins                 ('Rouge Vif d'etampes') and Turks Turban gourds.  

September 10th, 2001.  The warm summer-like weather has brought along several crops which are now ready for harvest including our later melon varieties, the next crop of lettuces, 'Kentucky Wonder' beans, and sunflowers for cutting.  Of course we continue with heirloom tomatoes (a new favorite is the unique 'Garden Peach' - soft and fuzzy on the outside with a blush of red.  It really does look and feel like a peach, but tastes like a tomato.  An heirloom).  

September 5th, 2001.  Even after Labor Day, we continue to harvest plenty of fresh produce.  A great crop for us this year is the melon crop.  We have some delicious, sweet and juicy cantaloupe and honeydew melons available that we grew in our back field.  Another late summer treat is the heirloom tomato selection.  These tomatoes were chosen for taste, not necessarily for looks or shelf-life.  When we pick them vine-ripened in the field, they are ready for eating right away.  Brandywine still leads the pack as far as this novice reporter can tell.  

Meanwhile...in the greenhouses...

We are bringing up our mums that have been growing since June.  Fall mums are available in a wide range of colors and sizes.  We grow our mums in a compost-based mix from the Moo-Doo people in Middlebury Vt.  (Hey Lex!).  We are also growing many fall plants other than mums for a little change of pace in your garden this season.  All of the plants are frost hardy and a few of them are perennials that will return next year (sedum, asters).  Stop in for a look at our combination pots, mum hangers and ornamental cabbage and kale.  

Did you know that mums are daylength sensitive?  That means that as the days grow shorter, they start forming flower buds and flowering.  

July 25th, 2001.  Too much is new.  Seems like every day we are harvesting a new item from the fields for sale in the farmstand.  Lettuces, peppers, cherry tomatoes, squashes, beans, flowers, herbs, the list goes on and on.  Soon we will harvest garlic, heirloom tomatoes, cabbages, sunflowers and more.  

The fall mums are all planted now in a variety of sizes and colors.  We usually have these available for sale sometime in mid-August (after our Container Contest).  We also just received our first shipment of poinsettia plants for our holiday sales.  We will grow these plants for months until ready for sale in December.  

July 11th, 2001.  The strawberries continue to produce - we continue to pick quarts for the farmstand and the PYO is still open.  New crops being harvested are fresh spinach, beet greens, mesclun mix and basil.  We are opening the cut flower area for pick your own this weekend and we have pre-picked bunches of flowers in the farmstand.  

July 8th, 2001.  Another busy holiday weekend with plenty of fresh produce and quality plants available at the farmstand.  Next week we will open the PYO flower garden and on Wednesday the 11th of July, we will host an evening flower talk at 6 pm in the flower garden.  We will show off some of the cut flower varieties and talk a bit about how best to grow cut flowers and methods of harvesting.  Free.  Please join us.  There is no rain date, however, we will have another flower talk evening on July 25th at 6pm.  

July 5th, 2001.  We will be picking our fair share of strawberries and peas and tomatoes today as our customers stock up for holiday picnics.  We continue with hanging baskets of geraniums, impatiens, and begonias, a 50% off sale on vegetable plants for your garden and mixed containers for your porch and deck.  

June 27th, 2001.  Pick Your Own Strawberries is now open.  The hours are from 7 am until 3 pm daily, and Fridays we are open until 6pm.  The berries are delicious and this first picking is sure to impress.  In other farm news, we continue picking our own vine-ripened tomatoes, our own lettuce, greens, beet greens, rhubarb, and even a few cut flower bunches.  The first crop of zuchinni and summer squash is ready to harvest as well.  We grew them in a cold frame to push the season by a few weeks.  

The farmstand is also stocked with a full line of produce from the Boston Market and locally grown produce as well.  Stop in for the best in fresh produce and browse through our perennial, annual and shrub areas.  We continue to offer high-quality plant material for your gardens and containers.  

June 24th, 2001.  The farmstand is filling up with fresh produce as we continue to harvest our own tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, rhubarb, greens, mesclun mix, and probably this week, even some zuchinni and summer squash (we grew them in a cold frame to speed things up a bit).  Pick Your Own Strawberries starts this coming week, probably on Tuesday if the nights stay warm.  We are picking quarts of strawberries for sale at the farmstand right now, and they are delicious.  We continue to provide annual, perennial, shrub and herb plants along with hanging baskets, mixed containers and rental pots to the farmstand.  We plan our seeding so that these crops are fresh, young, stocky transplants ready for your garden.  These are not just tired old, cut-back plants that we are tyring to get rid of.  Fill in the spots in your garden with healthy young plants.  We also have 8" pots of finished annuals like marigolds, impatiens, basil, petunias and salvia.  

June 19th, 2001.  The produce is coming.  We are picking our own tomatoes, radishes, rhubarb, mesclun mix, greens and soon...strawberries.  We supplement this produce with fruit and vegetables from the Boston market.  We will have a full line of produce by this weekend.  

We continue to have a great supply of healthy, young transplants for your garden as well as finished containers for your deck and porch.  Plenty of hanging baskets remain in geraniums, begonias, impatiens and foliage types.  Our mum planting continues as we will plant several thousand pots this week.  

June 13th, 2001.  The hot and steamy weather has arrived at Spring Ledge Farm just in time for our outside tomatoes and pepper crops.  We've been weeding the strawberries, irrigating the new blueberry plants and planting cut flowers.  Our greenhouses are busy with the third crop of fall mums to be planted outside under drip irrigation.  The crew is holding up well as we take many breaks and watch the cows cruise around the buttercups.  We are mowing and weed-whacking in preparation for our open house this Friday.  We also began picking our own ripe-red tomatoes this week for sale at the farmstand.  Strawberries are expected at the farmstand by June 23rd.  

June 5th, 2001.  We have had a busy Memorial Day springtime...now we have a smidgen of time to update our website.  The field crops are being planted including corn, cut flowers, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, beans, and a host of other vegetables that will be harvested this summer.  Our tomato greenhouses are almost ready to begin bearing fruit.  The flower greenhouses are shifting gears into summer pot production and, believe it or not, into planting mums for the fall season.  We still have thousands of annuals in 4-packs and pots for your garden, so if you are like me and have yet to plant, do not despair.  

May 15th, 2001.  Our weather has cooled considerably and we are now seasonably cold but unseasonably dry.  Our peas are up and our beans and corn are planted.  We continue to transplant annual plants and perennials, geraniums and hanging baskets for sale this spring and summer.  Our newsletter is scheduled for publication this week.  If you would like to be on our mailing list, please add your name under the Contact Us page (basically, just email us your name and address).  

May 8th, 2001.  Busy time of year so fewer updates.  What's New is that our greenhouses continue to fill up and we are now open seven days a week at the farmstand.  The warm and dry weather has jump started the spring planting season and customers are looking for everything from pansies and linaria to geraniums and fuchsias.  Our perennial area is fully stocked and the shrubs are due to arrive Friday the 11th.  

April 24th, 2001.  Well that snow didn't stand a chance against the 75 degree weather we've experienced these last few days.  With the added wind, our fields are drying out quickly with snow patches left along the tree lines and shady spots.  We brought quite a few plants to the farmstand including snapdragons, dianthus, linaria, more geraniums, fuchsia baskets, more pansies and perennials.  

April 20th, 2001.  Starting to warm up now and the snow is finally melting.  We are busy planting more hangers down in the greenhouses.  Varieties include trailing verbenas (Tapien blue - a Proven Winner), and Calibracoa 'Colorburst Red'.  We also made up mixed baskets.  

April 18th, 2001.  Cold wind today as we continue with a few feet of snow on the fields.  But the forecast is for warm days ahead, and we continue sowing garden vegetables, marigolds, zinnias, verbena, and more.  Here is a listing of our seeding schedule for today.  

April 16th, 2001.  We moved some cold hardy plants to the recently-shoveled out cold frame.  Here they will become stocky transplants, ready for your gardens.  Here is a picture of one of our favorite pansy varieties 'Maxim Blue & Yellow'.

April 11th, 2001.  Today we transplant tuberous begonias into hanging baskets, move some cold hardy plants into one of our cold frames (that we just finished shoveling out!), transplant tuberous dahlias into pots, transplant seedlings like basil, snapdragons, dianthus, petunias, nicotiana (flowering tobacco), and many more.  We also seed perennial plants, plants for the cut flower garden, and more annual bedding plants including impatiens, marigolds and sweet alyssum.  

April 9th, 2001.  The farmstand is now open for business.  We have two greenhouses filled at the farmstand.  They hold hundreds of pots of blooming spring annual plants and Easter plants.  Stop in for a smell of spring.  

April 6th, 2001.  As you have probably already read several times over, we planted the Big tomato house today.  The picture several lines below is of the Big tomato cold frame in the summer of 2000.  A different house than Big Tomato.  The Big Cold Frame will be planted once the snow melts and the ground is friable.  That means maybe around May 20th this year(?).  We also opened up our last big greenhouse for annual plants this week and are busy transplanting hundreds of seedlings (petunias, poppies, marigolds, snapdragons, dianthus, etc.).  Here is a sampling of what arrived from other growers this week (things we can't grow from seed here because of cost, patents or space).  

April 2nd, 2001.  With our five feet of snow, we are all crammed into the greenhouses trying to soak up some of the spring feeling from the plants.  We are filling up our five greenhouses that are currently open and preparing a sixth house that will give us another 2800 sq. ft of growing space.  We have to make sure it is weed free and clean before we start transplanting.  

March 28th, 2001.  Another boxload of plants arrived today from a grower in Long Island, NY.  It is our last batch of geraniums which we will plant into 4 1/2 inch pots and 6 1/2" pots.  They include some interesting varieties like the Floribunda types, one called 'Pillar Salmon' (no, not killer salmon), and a mixture of scented types (lemon, celery, lime).  

March 26th, 2001.  Seeded another round of cut flower plants for use in our fields this summer.  Varieties included snapdragons, bachelor buttons, larkspur, tall ageratum and some new trial varieties.  Click here for a full listing of our varieties for cut flowers in the field.  

March 23rd, 2001.  Still digging out from our most recent snowfall, almost 18" of wet, heavy snow.  Inside the greenhouses, though, the plants continue to grow.

March 21st, 2001.  We should be receiving our good bugs for the week from The Green Spot, a NH company that deals in beneficial insects and IPM control measures.  The shipment comes via UPS and we release most of the bugs in the late afternoon of the same day.  Shaking out tiny mites and bugs sure beats having to spray pesticides.   

March 19th, 2001.  Today will transplant Fuchsias into hanging baskets and 5" pots.  Our Fuchsia plants are looking great with good branching and dark green leaves.  They are a Mother's Day favorite.  

March 15th, 2001.  Picked up some liners (small plants grown from cuttings) from NH growers (Pleasant View Gardens and D.S. Cole Growers) both in Loudon, NH.  Varieties include Osteospermums, Bacopas, Elatior Begonias, Licorice vines.  We will transplant these into larger containers and mixed baskets.  

March 12th, 2001.  We began transplanting ivy geraniums into our moss baskets. Sizes of baskets range from 12" to 18" diameter.  The geranium crop is looking great thus far.  

March 10th, 2001.  Even with a foot of new snow, we continue to march ahead, opening another greenhouse yesterday for fuchsia hangers, pansies and cold hardy crops such as perennials, dianthus and linaria.  

March 8, 2001.  Our pansies grow best in the cool house.  The temperature is kept at 50-55F.  This keeps our pansies and other cold-hardy crops stocky and in bloom.  

March 7, 2001.  Our first batch of geraniums is growing well.  We received them via FedEx three weeks ago and healthy white roots are filling out the pot as we speak.  More geraniums arrive every week until mid-April.