#Cloverleaf Herb Farm - Atom Cloverleaf Herb Farm - RSS IFRAME: http://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID=3768581860014378837&blogName=Cloverleaf+Herb+Farm&publishMode=PUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT&navbarType=BLUE&layoutType=LAYOUTS&searchRoot=http%3A%2F%2Fcloverleafherbs.blogspot.com%2Fsearch&blogLocale=en_US&homepageUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcloverleafherbs.blogspot.com%2F skip to main | skip to sidebar Cloverleaf Herb Farm Showing newest posts for query bud. Show older posts Showing newest posts for query bud. Show older posts Friday, June 4, 2010 Return from Spring! Well, I'm back! We've made it through the peak of the season, and although there's lots of spring left, I've gotten enough accomplished outside so I can get back to blogging. Thanks to everyone who has visited the farm this spring and also to all our Landis Valley customers. We had a good show at Landis Valley. Friday is always our better day and it was great this year! The weather was pleasant, sales were brisk and we had extra help this year. Maryanne and Tina, my soap ladies were kind enough to lend a hand in addition to my friend Candy, who helps me every year. Candy and I waited on customers and Tina and Maryanne kept things stocked and watered, directed people and helped to answer questions. It was great! Our extra hands made a huge difference. Saturday morning was pretty good and then it got windy - really windy. We wound up taking the tent down, which was a first. Even with the weather, it was still a good show. We've been busy at the farm helping customers, working in the gardens, and beginning to harvest and dry herbs. I've cut back the vigorous perennials, like oregano, mint, tarragon and catnip. Those I either hang in bunches to dry or dry them on my nice rack of screened shelves that John made. Remember, herbs will re-absorb moisture from the air on humid days. I often finish the drying process in my dehydrator. Make sure your herbs are thoroughly dry before storing, so mold does not develop. It's lavender season too. Harvest it in bud, before the individual florets open. Bunch and hang upside down where it's warm, dry and dark. What looks good in the garden: * Snapdragons- easy, pretty and reliable * Jupiter's beard- rosy red flowers, cut back later for rebloom * Valerian- tall, white, fragrant * Lady's mantle- colorful filler with roses * Roses- lots of varieties, I like them fragrant Posted by Maryanne at 7:46 AM 0 comments Labels: landis valley, Lavender Sunday, December 20, 2009 Lavenders LAVENDER VARIETIES Lavender is almost universally loved. What’s not to like—it has wonderful fragrance, aromatherapy and medicinal uses, and is an attractive plant in the garden. We carry nine varieties of lavender. All are fragrant and most are winter hardy here. The main differences will be the size of the plant and flower color. Here’s a guide to help you choose the right variety for your garden. Compact forms are about 12”-15” tall (foliage) with flower stems standing above that. All plants are proportional, so compact varieties are shorter, not as wide and have shorter flower stalks than taller cultivars. ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Lady’ are very similar with attractive dark purple flowers. ‘Hidcote Pink’ has flowers that are pink in bud. Mid-sized varieties run 18”-20” tall and are wider with slightly longer stems than compact types. ‘Munstead’ is extremely hardy, has lavender blooms and is the most common cultivar sold. ‘Twickel Purple’ has a slightly darker flower. Taller forms include ‘Grosso’ and ‘Alba’. They reach about 24” tall, with long stems reaching up an additional foot. ‘Grosso’ has purple flowers and blooms slightly later, which is nice for extending your season of bloom in the garden. ‘Alba’ has white flowers which are just as fragrant as purple blossoms. We carry two cultivars that aren’t winter hardy here. Both have larger, showier flowers than perennial lavenders. French lavender has purple blooms and very fragrant, fringed foliage. ‘Kew Red’ has big, showy flowers in a purple-red shade that’s most unusual. These lavenders are generally treated as annuals and are very effective in mixed container plantings. All lavenders love sun and well drained soil. Plant in as much sun as possible. You’ll need a minimum of 4-6 hours of sun per day for best blooming. Lavender doesn’t need particularly fertile soil, but it must drain quickly. Add compost or even sand to loosen clay soil and improve drainage. Planting in a raised bed or sunny slope promotes better drainage. Lavender likes soil on the alkaline side, so mix in some lime when planting. “Gardeners are generous because nature is generous to them.” … Elizabeth Lawrence Posted by Maryanne at 12:56 PM 1 comments Labels: Lavender Monday, May 25, 2009 Using your herbs It's not too early to start thinking about using your culinary herbs. You can take cuttings to use fresh as soon as the plant becomes established. You can also freeze or dry culinary herbs so you have them to use after the growing season is done. I have already harvested tarragon, oregano and lemon balm which are now drying on my drying rack. Vigorous growers like these can be harvested at least three times throughout the season. Speaking of lemon balm, many people are distressed at this fragrant plant's ability to spread rapidly. Although it is in the mint family, it doesn't spread by runners like spearmint, etc. When people complain about lemon balm going everywhere, I always think much of it is due to reseeding. The p!ant is perennial, and will increase in size each year, but if it's getting out of hand and going everywhere, it may be due to seeds dropping. Lemon balm has small, white flowere which are not particularly attractive, so remove them before they turn into seeds. If you can plant it in a corner or against a barrier, that will help contain its vigorous growth. Lavender's first and best bloom time is in June. Harvest lavender flowers while it's still in bud. Eventually, each bud will open into a floret. However, these florets eventually fall off, so you'll lose a lot of fragrance by harvesting after flowers open. Varieties of English lavender and hybrid lavandins are hardy here in zone 6. They're all fragrant, but the main differences are in size of the plant and flower color. Compact lavenders are 12-15" tall with shorter stemmed flowers. Mid-size are 18-20" tall and tall varieties have foliage about 24" with the flowers standing above that. Compact varieties we carry have purple or pink flowers, mid-size have lavender blooms and tall varieties have purple or white flowers. Lavender plants like lots and lots of sun, very well-drained soil and soil with a little higher ph. Mixing in a little lime when you plant lavender is a good idea. Posted by Kathy at 3:29 AM 0 comments Thursday, June 5, 2008 A Wet Spring The wet weather has produced lush growth on established perennials in the garden. I have already harvested oregano, lemon balm, tarragon and catnip. Mints are next. Most of these vigorous perennials can be harvested at least three times during the season. My Italian parsley never died off this winter. It was beautiful throughout April. Now, it has sent up thick stalks which are developing flowers. Seed heads follow and the plant declines. So it's time to yank out the parsley shrubs and replace them with new plants. It should be a wonderful year for lavender. The winter was not severe, so I had very little dieback on my plants. They are budded up, waiting for some warm, sunny days. Don't forget to harvest lavender flowers when they are in bud. Right now, early perennials like catnip, dianthus and Jupiter's beard are either blooming or will be soon. Snow white candytuft is finishing its bloom. Most perennials benefit from being cut back after they bloom. It encourages the plant to push new foliage. And many times, the plants will rebloom later in the season. If you want to gather seed or have your plant reseed, you must allow flowers to die on the stalk. The flowers will be followed by seedheads, with green seeds ripening to a darker color. Flowers on vigorous plants like lemon balm and garlic chives should be removed so they won't reseed everywhere. Posted by Kathy at 5:04 PM 1 comments Newer Posts Older Posts Home Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Herbs & Old-fashioned Plants Kathy & John Musser 1532 Cloverleaf Road Mt Joy, PA 17552 Click here for a map 717-492-9248 Soon after we moved to our first house I decided to grow some herbs for cooking. Their fragrance and usefulness fascinated me. My hobby became an obsession, then my profession. What a great job. Running the farm is my full time job. John, my husband, helps out when he's not working his full time job as an electrician. In spring and summer, we concentrate on plants and the gardens. In fall, we fill the shop with lots of herbal products and gifts. Winter is our slow time, but it doesn't last long. Seeding starts early so the greenhouses can be full for spring. Click here for our 2010 Plant List SPRING HOURS April through June Tuesday through Saturday 9am to 5pm and Wednesday 9am till 7pm. From July through December Tuesday through Saturday 9am till 5pm. Greenhouse reopens Starting April 1! CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2010 Greenhouse opens April 1 Spring open house April 23 & 24 Landis Valley Herb Faire May 7 & 8 Plant sale begins July 3 Holiday open house Dec. 3 & 4 Spring Open House 2010 Join us for our spring open house Friday and Saturday, April 25 & 26 from 9 to 5 Nearly all plant varieties are available by then. Shop & Greenhouse specials. More about us! April through December, we are open 5 days a week, Tuesday through Saturday, 9-5, selling herbs and perennials from our own greenhouses. Our gift shop features a variety of herbal products. January through March, we are open Thursday through Saturday, 9-5. We are located just off Route 283 between Lancaster and Harrisburg, PA. Click here for a map. Some of our herbal friends you may like to visit: * Torchsong Studio (& Lancaster Soaps) * The Essential Herbal Blog Blog Archive * ▼ 2010 (31) + ► December (3) o Winter Wishes o Thanks to All! o Thoughts on a late fall day + ► November (3) o Settling in for Winter o Time Flies. Open House coming up! o Frost and a Trip Down Memory Lane + ► October (4) o Animal Sightings o A Tale of Two Seasons II o Hot summer results o Garden Questions + ► September (4) o A Visitor o Butterfly Frenzy! o Transitioning into Fall o A Tale of Two Seasons + ► August (3) o Butterfly Report o Long, hot summer o Never the Twain Shall Meet! + ► July (3) o Late July o Watering Tips and Pretty Combos o Hot Summer Recipes + ▼ June (4) o June in the Garden Part 2 o June In the Garden o Late Spring o Return from Spring! + ► April (4) o Spring Notes and Musings o Garden Notes o Texture in the Garden o Garden Question + ► March (3) o NEW plants for 2010 o PLANT PROFILE: LEMON GRASS o THINK SPRING!! * ► 2009 (26) + ► December (5) o Lavenders o Sweet Potato & Carrot Bake - Recipe o Herbal Tea o Santolina o Holiday Open House + ► September (1) o And now... + ► August (1) o August, and ... + ► July (4) o The Herbal Harvest o Seasons in the Garden o Garden Musings o What's Happening in the Garden? + ► May (2) o Using your herbs o Thanks for Landis Valley! + ► April (9) o Spring Open House! o Bay Laurel o Cutting Celery o Spring at Cloverleaf o Fragrant Flowers o Our Shop and Classes + ► March (2) + ► January (2) * ► 2008 (18) + ► December (1) + ► November (3) + ► October (1) + ► September (1) + ► June (2) + ► May (1) + ► April (2) + ► March (4) + ► February (1) + ► January (2) * ► 2007 (3) + ► December (1) + ► November (1) + ► October (1) Contributors * Maryanne * Kathy web tracker