Rick Burnett has joined the Plant Health Care Department as PHC Technician and resigned from his role as Field Manager. You may meet Rick doing a spray route. Kimberly Kuliesis has resumed full responsibility for scheduling and also develops estimates and proposals. Please contact her with your special requests at <kimberly@pumpkinbrookorganicgardening.com> Meanwhile, Priscilla will continue…
As a Board Member of NOFA/Massachusetts, I will be participating in their Human Health and Climate Acton Challenge this month. This event combines personal commitment, public education and crowdfunding to raise awareness about how organic practices, especially agriculture, are linked to human health and the climate crisis. Many of our staff members will be participating…
Diana Shomstein We’re thrilled to announce that Diana is joining our staff of full-time Crew Supervisors this month. Diana had farm training and work through The Farm School in Athol and the Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester. She came to us to learn ornamental plants. Diana has quickly shown her talent and skill with our daily…
One of my favorite times on the garden calendar is ordering bulbs for spring bloom. That time is now through Labor Day! In fact, we had a lull in plant buying activity a few weeks ago, so we’ve already placed preliminary bulb orders based on notes and conversations from last spring. Let’s add to these…
What to do when your beautiful spring garden suddenly has a large empty space in August? Here are some perennial pairings that I’ve discovered over the years to hide declining foliage and gaps in the border. Lupinus perennis and Lobelia siphilitica Let the native lupine foliage “ripen” like bulb foliage in order to photosynthesize. The lupines will…
Lift, divide and replant tall bearded iris New bearded iris can be planted now through early October Keep new plantings and containers well watered (see summer watering tips) and let PBOG know if you need our help due to town watering restrictions Weeds are gigantic now, so keep up with hand weeding and top off…
The PBOG office staff is hard at work preparing your Spring Letter, Plant Health Care Contracts, and Garden Maintenance Contracts for 2020. Watch your US mailbox for your letter. We have a target mailing date of March 2. In the meantime, if you have questions or just want to get started, please feel free to…
There are some wonderful garden lectures coming up in just a few weeks: Grow Native Massachusetts has a free lecture series in Cambridge that kicks off on Wednesday, February 5 with superstar speaker and scientist, Doug Tallamy. Doug’s new book will debut at this event. More info here! Groton Garden Club and Nashua River…
Dormant pruning can occur from November through April, so we will be completing some of these tasks on plants that have lost their leaves (deciduous) when weather conditions permit. This is the prime time to prune apple orchards or any fruit tree, dogwoods, Japanese maples, and viburnums with densely structured branches. Below 20 degrees, we do…
Our Plant Health Care Department team, Reese and Roy, are busy this month with spot spraying. Using only organic products, we aim to catch the pest at the proper time for best control. We often use a Neem oil product for this purpose. It’s time for various sawflies to emerge. Larvae feed voraciously on leaves. The azalea sawfly…