PALM SUNDAY OPEN HOUSE

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PALM SUNDAY OPEN HOUSE

SUNDAY APRIL 2, 2023

The nip of spring is upon us, the geese are flying north, our garden center on State Road is open and the landscape crews are hard at work on spring clean-up’s. Our greenhouse teams have been busy for weeks sowing seeds and waking up the bulbs we prepared in the fall. Once the season starts there’s no time for resting. As welcome as spring is, the best is yet to come!

Vineyard Gardens Nursery is stocked with vegetable seedlings, from early season greens to peas. We offer a nice range of plants from the mustard family that need to be started early in order to get established before the warm weather hits. We have a gorgeous assortment of Pansies and Iceland Poppies to add spring color to your window boxes.  We also carry a wide array of spring bulbs in pots that can be transplanted into mixed planters. We have an amazing stock of spring blooms, beautiful shrubs, in-house grown veggies and all the gardening supplies you will need to to create a beautiful oasis!   

Mark it on your calendars, Sunday April 2nd, a day to celebrate the beauty of spring! 

CELEBRATIONS INCLUDE:

• A FREE PLANT GIVE AWAY

Customers will get to pick between two surprise plants

• A RAFFLE

This Palm Sunday anyone who makes a purchase at the nursery will get their name thrown into a hat to win a $25 dollar gift card. The name will be drawn Monday, April 3rd.

pieris japonica photo by Ray Ewing

photo by Ray Ewing

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FEDCO SEEDS

We have a great selection of FEDCO SEEDS! Fedco is the source for cold-hardy selections, especially adapted to our demanding Northeast climate. They have been in business since 1978. Fedco Seeds provides information for the grower about past trials and photos of the final product.

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Fedco Seeds Bean varieties

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Fedco Seeds

Fedco Seeds Kale varieties

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BOTANICAL INTEREST SEEDS

We love the high quality seeds from BOTANICAL INTEREST! Botanical Interests promises to inspire and assist the inner gardener in everyone! They have been around since 1995. Botanical interests seed packets provide specific directions and ample information to get you comfortable with seeding. They also are a valuable online resource for plant information!

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Botanical Interest Seeds

Botanical Interest Seeds

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Botanical Interest Seeds

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NETHERLAND BULB COMPANY

The NETHERLAND BULB COMPANY’S large and healthy bulbs never disappoint! They are our go to supplier of Dutch bulbs and bare root perennials grown and shipped directly from their farms and facilities in Holland. We have alot of thier summer blooming bulbs available right now, including Dahlias, Gladiolas and Lillies. We also have onion sets and potatoes from Netherland bulbs.

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Netherland Bulb Company Gladiolus & Freesias

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Netherland Bulb Company Onion Sets

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Netherland Bulb Company Dahlias

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COAST OF MAINE

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We would like to highlight our COAST OF MAINE SEED STARTING SOIL! This is an organic product used for seed germination and root cuttings. Coast of Maine has a great reputation for quality and consistency in their compost-based soils.

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We carry these trusted companies because they go above and beyond for their customers. They provide us with a resource to get you comfortable with trying something new!

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garden tips

MARCH

WHY TO TEST SOIL & THE IMPORTANCE OF A PH TEST

“It is always a good idea to test the soil for your lawns, flowers, vegetable gardens and almost anything you’re trying to grow!” Chuck Wiley, co-owner of Vineyard Gardens

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Soil samples can be sent to the University of Massachusetts. The test will tell you what is in your soil, the amount and then what to add. This can save you money and most importantly protect our environment by not overusing fertilizer.

Fertilizer bags have three numbers showing the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the bag. A bag labeled 5-10-5 is 5% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 5% potassium.

• Nitrogen is the element usually most needed to be added for plant health, as it is either used up by plants or can be leached out of the soil with rain and irrigation.

• Phosphorous and potassium once added are more stable in the soil and usually only need to be added every two or three years.

These three nutrients are in most of the garden and lawn fertilizers we sell. We sell several lawn fertilizers with a 0 middle number, meaning no phosphorus, because that nutrient can cause problems with our ponds by encouraging algae blooms.

05-10-05

Step 1: Lawn Fertilizer 20-0-3 (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium).

Step 2: Lawn Fertilizer 21-0-3 (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium).

Vegetable Fertilizer 3-4-4 (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium)

Organic fertilizers are slow release and also add some organic matter to the soil. Lawn fertilizers, like Jonathan Green Green-up 20-0-3, often have a higher first number as nitrogen is what causes them to be darker green, faster growing and healthier. Most vegetables like a lower first number Espoma Organic Garden-tone 3-4-4 to encourage fruiting like tomatoes and squash.

** Now is the last chance this season to apply Jonathan Green Green-Up Crabgrass Preventer before moving onto step 2 Jonathan Green Green-Up Weed and Feed!

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photo credit: keith kurman

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our bulk material selection

THE IMPORTANCE OF A pH TEST

A pH test tells us how acidic or alkaline our soils are

• Numbers under 7 are acidic

• Numbers over 7 are basic or alkaline

When soils are at or near neutral most nutrients are more easily taken up by plants and at the high range of acid or basic some nutrients are unavailable to plants even if they are in the soil. Our soils tend to be acidic which is good for blueberries, most evergreens , potatoes and Blue Mop head Hydrangeas, which are our traditional August flowering hydrangeas and Nikko Blue and Endless summer being the most popular. The reason for wanting low pH for the hydrangeas is this causes the flowers to be bluer. High pH turns them pinker and neutral pH gives them a color between the two. This is the only plant I know that the flower color is affected by the pH which allows aluminum in the soil to be more readily taken up at lower ph.

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If you want bluer flowers add sulfur or aluminum sulfate, ideally mixed into the soil when planting. You can add these materials to existing plants but it will take longer for them to have an effect on the color. If you want pink flowers, add lime to the soil. Most vegetables like a neutral soil, with the exception of potatoes which are more prone to a particular disease at higher pH. I like to keep a special area in the garden for them that I don't lime. Lawns like the pH to be close to neutral so light yearly liming is recommend here.

fertilizing hydrangeas

ORGANIC COMPOST, MULCH & LOAM IN BULK

We get many questions about our bulk materials at Vineyard Gardens and thought it would be pertinent to bring all the information together in one place.

Good soil is critical to successful gardening. What we see above ground is really only half the picture. If a plant's leaves are turning yellow or if pests are suddenly present you can bet there’s a problem with the soil.

One of the most important ingredients in soil is its organic content. It is the organic matter that, in the process of breaking down, enable the roots to access moisture and nutrients. The organic matter acts like sticky spots for nutrients to stick to making them available to the roots instead of leaching away. Then every year it is wise to build up the organic content of the soil to keep plants growing and healthy.

For a finished look and to retain moisture we recommend mulches. They are larger chunks of shredded bark that help retain moisture in the soil and also prevent weed seeds from germinating. As the mulch slowly decomposes the micro organisms responsible for the decomposition rob the soil of essential nutrients as in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium . We recommend you fertilize before mulching.

We have two groups of bulk materials; organically rich soil amendments and mulches. The main ingredient in our soil amendments is compost.

Click on this LINK for a handy calculator to help figure out how much of these materials you’ll need for your project. We are loading bulk materials 8am-3pm Monday through Friday and 8am-12pm on Saturday. There is no need to pre order bulk materials unless you want a delivery.

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Gardener’s Choice,  $75/cu.yd.

Gardener’s Choice is an organic leaf and yard compost. It has been heat treated to render it relatively weed free. It is the best choice for vegetable gardens but it is also ideal for top-dressing flower beds.  

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Black Gold Compost, $65/cu.yd

Compost is a heat treated Bio Solid compost. The heat-treating kills off most of the weed seed. This is a commercially produced material that has been thoroughly checked and approved for sale by our local Board of Health. It is an excellent choice as a soil amendment to bring up the organic content of our sandier Vineyard soils and to lighten heavy clay soil.

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Vineyard Gardens Loam, $50/cu.yd

Vineyard Gardens Loam is our own leaf and yard debris compost. It is very much like a compost you would make at home so it could have any number of weed seeds in it. It has been turned over several times a year and been thoroughly sifted to remove large sticks and rocks. Its benefits are that it is high in organic content and is relatively inexpensive.

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Vineyard Gardens Planting Mix, $80/cu.yd.

Vineyard Gardens Planting Mix is our premium blend. It consists of:

3 parts Compost; 2 parts Peat Moss; 1 part Sand

This product is super versatile and useful. It can be used as an amendment when planting trees and shrubs. It can be used to top-dress gardens that have particularly difficult components, like clay or sand. It can be lightened with perlite to use as a potting mix.

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Pine Bark Mulch, $65/cu.yd

We use our standard Pine Bark Mulch for most gardens, shrub boarders and tree wells. Dark, shredded pine bark mulch

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Wood chips, $25/cu.yd.

We also provide Wood Chips which is perfect for suppressing weeds in uncultivated areas like paths, parking spaces, construction areas. It's best not to use wood chips in planted areas because the fibrous material has not broken down yet and in the process of breaking down it burns Nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants and without it growth will be weak and lacking in chlorophyll turning the leaves yellow. It is useful for suppressing weeds when its freshly put down.

DELIVERY CHARGES

(includes only driver)

WE DELIVER BULK MATERIALS BY CUBIC YARD DUMPED ON SITE. WE ALSO DELIVER AND PLANT TREES AND SHURUBS!

1-4 yards to West Tisbury $65/trip

1-4 yards to other island towns $90/trip*

5-7 yards to West Tisbury $75/trip

5-7 yards to other island towns $100/trip*

*Trips to Chappy are billed hourly for labor, trucking, materials and ferry fees

*Tree/Shrub delivery and/or planting ask for fee schedule information page