Greetings everyone,
Well, it finally seems as though old man winter has slowly unfurled his long, icy fingers to usher in another beautiful Spring here at Van Wilgen’s! With temperatures rising and the sun shining, we are all anxious to get out into our yards and get our hands a little dirty in the garden. What a fantastic time of year, watching everything spring to life after a long slumber! Most of you know that our main location at 55 Valley Rd. In North Branford, is the premier destination for all of your gardening needs but we also have three other Van Wilgen locations for your convenience. With locations in Guilford, Milford, and Old Saybrook it is easier than ever to scratch that gardening itch! With an extensive selection of annuals, tropicals, vegetables, perennials, and small shrubs we are sure to have what you need for that weekend project. All of us here at the Van Wilgen Garden Mart locations welcome you back to enjoy another fantastic season with us! We look forward to seeing you all again this season, and as always, it would be our pleasure to help you with any of your gardening needs. It is easier than ever to find location addresses, phone numbers, and hours of operation for all of the Van Wilgen locations on our updated website, vanwilgens.com. We are all excited to share another wonderful season with you. Come by any Van Wilgen location to see what’s new and exciting as well as the tried and true. It would be our pleasure to assist you. From all of us here at Van Wilgen’s, welcome back and we can’t wait to get our hands a little dirty with you!

Rich Baker, Milford Garden Mart Manager

This past weekend our Kids Klub event couldn’t have asked for a better classroom for our mud walk through the farm. Everyone got full use out of their rain boots. Everyone trudged out through the Christmas tree field in search of all the different types of mud and boy did they find it.
I remember as a kid, the farm was an endless playground for me. I seem to remember lots of mud when I was a kid. The Branford River that runs through the property often flooded and came over the banks making for some really slick mud. I often would climbing down the riverbank, fishing pole in hand, trying to get just a little closer. If I just get over there, I will catch all the fish! Then whoosh! Down I would go, a huge mud stain on my knees or my butt. In the back right-hand side of the property where the river bends to the right, under a canopy of trees, was the best fishing hole, or I thought so anyway? I walked out in a patch of dark, almost black mud to make it to the river. Halfway across, I sunk down right up to my knee. Standing there barely being able to move my legs, I asked myself the age-old question, keep going or head back? I must get to those fish! I made it 2 more difficult steps and when I lifted my knee, my boot didn’t come with my foot. The boot stayed way down deep in the mud leaving me to have to dig it out by hand while trying to balance on my other foot that was also stuck deep down in the mud. I had to basically crawl out of there leaving me completely covered head to toe in stinky mud. Thinking of a way I could get out of my sticky situation, I remember my Grandma Joan told me that Indians made waterproof shoes out of skunk cabbage. So, I tried to make shoes from the newly emerging skunk cabbage and fishing string from my tackle box. Let’s just say that did not go well and I just added another stench to my already ripe mud cologne.
I know this did not make laundry very easy for my parents, a bet they wish they could just hose me down sometimes, it would have been much easier. Lucky for the parents of our Kids Klub kids, no shoes were harmed in our mud walk this past weekend.
Ryan Van Wilgen

In my first year at Van Wilgen’s, I worked as a loader, putting bags in cars and doing odd jobs around the yard. One day, the job was mulching in the beds around the Garden Center, and I was doing it at the request of Bill Van Wilgen himself. Needless to say, 17 year old me was nervous. But I’ll never forget what Bill told me about compost that day. He told me that compost is the only mulch for annual beds because their tiny roots can’t handle the nitrogen that mulch puts in the soil as it decomposes. Compost is one of the most underutilized tools in any gardener’s toolbox. It’s the best top dressing for perennial beds, the number one mulch for annual beds, and an absolute must in your veggie garden. Here at Van Wilgen’s, we keep our bulk compost dry so that it’s ready and easy to spread the second it hits your property. We deliver our plant and leaf derived compost anywhere, and you can even get it on our website right here:

Will O’Hara

Perennial Manager

As if a greenhouse full of pansies wasn’t enough for our spring season, we’ve crafted some fun spring Custom Containers as well! We filled our favorite little twig baskets with outdoor spring favorites, like pansies and forget me nots, and violas with bright English daisies. With a festive pick and a dash of green moss, they make a great gift for on the go! And don’t worry, we’ve got twig baskets for indoors too! Spring plants are a great way to say happy spring to a neighbor, thank your holiday host, add a splash of color to your porch, or simply plop on your kitchen table as a festive decoration!

Grab a basket of spring at our Guilford Garden Mart or our North Branford store right next to the potting bench in our greenhouse. Come visit me at the potting bench for container tips and tricks, or even a custom planting, big or small, of your own. I’d love to help you add a splash of spring to your home!

It’s our favorite time of year again, spring is here! This marks the start of prime time gardening season as the weather begins to warm up.

Now’s the perfect time to put on some gardening gloves and repot indoor plants or start fresh with new seeds outdoors. Either way, March & April is the time to get a head start on rejuvenating your outdoor garden to ensure your harvest is ready by mid-spring or early summer.

Beets

Healthy and delicious, the best time to plant beets is right now. They’ll harvest quickly, leaving us with an early summer treat. Plus, beets are known to lower blood pressure, fight inflammation and they’re rich in nutrients and fiber.

Broccoli

One of our favorite greens, broccoli is a nutritional powerhouse. It contains Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Fiber, and Folate. This cool-weather crop can germinate in soil with temperatures as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to keep the soil wet, though, because this plant is thirsty.

Cabbage

Whether leafy green or perfectly purple, this annual vegetable is perfect for colder temperatures. Pests love Cabbage, so be sure to keep an eye on it. Try using natural repellant methods instead of harmful chemicals to keep your cabbage healthy and safe.

Carrots

Why plant orange carrots when you can choose from the entire rainbow? Choose from purple, black, red, white, or yellow. Not only are they good for eyesight, but carrots are also one of the best plants for reducing the risk of Cardiovascular Disease.

Lettuce

This true cool-weather plant is actually stunted by hot temperatures. Perfect for early spring gardens, lettuce requires light watering since its leaves will develop quickly. And, don’t forget to use organic mulch to conserve water. Once true leaves grow, it is time to harvest the crop before it becomes bitter and tough.

Spinach

Perfect for salads and sides, spinach loves the spring weather. This green is extremely sensitive to excessive heat. Spinach is fast-growing, forming flowers and developing seeds in no time at all.

Onions

Onions have disease-fighting power and high nutritional value, making them one of the healthiest vegetables to eat. Onions can endure all of the hardships that come with early spring weather. Note that this crop will not be as fruitful if temperatures drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peas

Sweet peas, snow peas, and snap peas are perfect for planting in March. They’re easy to grow and so delicious.

DO NOT SET YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE

(TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GRASS SEEDING OF A SMALL SECTION OF LAWN)

Do not take on more than you can handle. Most of us have very busy schedules. Those little things like work and kids tend to get in the way of having a “perfect lawn”. Who’d a thunk?! You may not have the time or energy to get a “perfect” lawn but with little baby steps, you can have a “better” lawn. Just don’t set yourself up for failure.

One other little thing that gets in the way of having a “perfect” lawn is water. Most of us do not have a sprinkler system and we may be limited to how much water we can use because of a well. This is why I want you to take on small areas of seeding at a time. Prioritize. Seed the section of the lawn that is most important to you. Maybe it is in the front where everyone drives by or maybe it’s in the back where you enjoy dinner on your deck. Take one section of the lawn that you can nurture…one section where you can properly prepare the ground…one section where you can manage to water it daily. If you start small, seeding one section at a time, before you know it, your whole lawn will be close to “perfect.”

Since you have now chosen the section of your lawn that is most important to make “better”, let’s seed it! Get out there and rake the heck out of that little patch of lawn. If you have a steel rake or landscape rake, do not be afraid to use it. Get up all the sticks, leaves, and moss that may be invading your space. Do not worry if you tear up some grass along the way. The cleaner the slate is, the better. If you have any way of aerating that section of lawn, go for it. Use your aerating spike shoes, your garden weasel, or a good old-fashioned hoe to loosen up the soil. Put down a thin layer of topsoil. A half-inch will do. Spread the grass seed in a single layer, tight together but not piled on top of each other. Press the new seed into the topsoil with a tamper, the backside of a shovel, or your feet. Your section should be small enough, that hand sowing the seed will work just fine.

Almost done. Fertilize your new patch of seed in one of 2 ways. Sprinkle Grass Seed Accelerator over top of the new seed and water it in. It will fertilize and hold moisture for the new seed. Another option is to use Starter Fertilizer, sprinkled right over the top of the grass seed with a layer of chopped-up straw to top it all off.

You are not completely off the hook yet. Remember the most important part to having success with your little patch of lawn is water. Water is the key. This is why I wanted all of you with super busy schedules to start small. Grass seed needs to be kept damp daily. If Mother Nature is not contributing, it is up to you to get out there and water. A half-hour, preferably at the early part of the day, will be just about enough to keep that seed wet. Once the seed germinates and grows to about 1inch tall, change up your watering program. Water every other day for a full hour. Just set a sprinkler out there and turn it on in passing. Once the new seed reaches 2 inches in height, change it up again. Water every 2 days for 2 hours. If you can do this, you may almost reach perfection in your little patch of lawn. Relax and enjoy.

Thanks a Bunch!

SHOPPING LIST:

*Van Wilgen’s Top Soil

*Van Wilgen’s Premium Grass Seed

*Greenview Grass Seed Accelerator

*Espoma Starter Fertilizer

*Mainely Mulch Straw & Hay

My wife had a moment of panic last week, she had to dig deep down in our chest freezer to find the very last batch of tomatoes from last year’s garden. She and I spent hours processing and freezing as many vegetables as we could to use throughout the winter. It’s a sad moment when we finally run out of our own veggies from the garden but hopefully, it means we are closer to warmer months ahead.

Speaking of warmer months, my Dad is already busy planning out the garden and finding ways to make it better. We have been combating everyone’s arch-nemesis, WEEDS, by putting a VERY thick layer of mainely mulch in-between the rows and it has helped keep the weeds down and let the veggies thrive. Last year my wife taught me how to flash freeze green beans and one night while she was out with some friends, she left me in charge of processing a whole bushel that my daughter and I had harvested earlier in the day. Nora and I paid extra attention to keep the purple beans separate from the green beans. That evening after I trimmed the whole pile of beans, again being careful to keep the purple separate from the green. I worked in batches boiling the beans for a few minutes and then dunking them in a large bowl of ice and water. I finally get to the big batch of purple beans and that’s when I discover that purple green beans turn GREEN after cooking them! All that work separating and they all end up green. The boiling water cooks them just enough to kill any of the bad stuff and the ice water stops the cooking process so that the beans won’t be mushy when we use them later in the winter. After the green beans cooled, I spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and stuck them in the freezer. An hour or so later I separated them into freezer bags, labeled them with the date, and stack ’em in the chest freezer. Even though the purple beans didn’t stay purple, it was so nice to have a small piece of summer with our dinners throughout the winter. We can’t wait to get started!

Ryan Van Wilgen