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Issue No. 025
| January 2012
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Greetings!
It is hard to believe that its already 2012! Now that the rush of the Holiday season is over, its a great time to reflect on the passing year and look forward to new adventures to come. This past year was a whirlwind of excitement, that just flew by. 2011 marked our first annual Farm to Fork Dinner in conjunction with the SC Festival of Flowers; a house fire in our cute, little, blue cottage; the construction of the beautiful Artist Studio; and the hiring of Katherine Rowe to be our Garden Center Manager. I anticipate even more excitement in 2012!
Katherine and I are busy preparing the Garden shop for the Spring. We will start ordering Spring inventory such as seeds, garden supplies, garden decor and gifts soon. If there is something that you wish to see at Wyatt Farms, please let us know. We certainly will do our best to carry your favorites.
I hope you and yours are filled with great health and happiness throughout this new year.
Happy Gardening and Happy New Year;
Bess
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Happy 2012! I am thrilled to be kicking off the New Year at Wyatt Farms and look forward to seeing and meeting you all in the Garden Center. I'm already excited about all the fun that the next gardening season has in store for us. I'll try not to wish away this winter season, though, as it is important for reflecting, planning, and - most of all - for envisioning what we would like to see unfold (and grow) in the coming year. I'm envisioning colorful blooms in the garden and as cut flowers, as well as a small and thriving raised vegetable garden. If you envision something for your home or garden, we'd love to help bring it to fruition.
In the meantime, I will make a point of appreciating the mild weather (and more time outside) we've had so far this winter. We can also enjoy the changing seasonal landscape, the qualities of a beautiful plant in winter, and the warmth of the fireplace in the Garden Shop (it's real wood-burning and wonderful!).
We look forward to seeing you in the New Year. Here's to growing in 2012, and a very Happy New Year!
Katherine
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JANUARY AND FEBRUARY ARE LANDSCAPE DESIGN MONTHS!!
Landscape Design Services
 We are a full service Design, Install, and Maintenance company. We can help you come up with a landscape design for your yard that suits your family's needs. We use Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs so you can easily see the design on paper and many of the plants that we design with are right here in our nursery for you to see, touch and smell. We also have a professional installation and maintenance crew to help you create your landscape and keep it looking beautiful.
Schedule an appointment with Wyatt soon to plan the garden
you have always wanted.
864-227-8861
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January Gardening
Our last expected frost date is roughly April 15th. To get your garden started, we will be carrying vegetable and flower seeds as well as growing supplies. Starting flowers and vegetables from seeds offers you rare and unusual selections.
Winter Greens & Lights
The Garden Shop has a special selection of conservatories and luminaries to bring greenery and light indoors this winter season. Give your houseplants a unique glass home, or choose plants from the greenhouse to create a fresh decoration. Pillar candles in the lanterns create a beautiful glow to brighten any interior.
Vegetables
Are you enjoying Collards or Kale fresh from your garden? What great additions to your winter table. Both are delicious in soups and stews. I enjoy mine cooked in a frying pan with a little EVOO. Mix with pasta or other vegetables. The leaves get sweeter as the weather gets colder so they should be delicious now.
Radishes, carrots, onion, rutabaga, spinach and turnip seeds can all be direct sown in February. Check with us the first of February to see the heirloom and organic varieties available. Transplants of cabbage and lettuce can go in the garden in February too. Asparagus crowns need to be planted in February and can go in as late as March Recommended varieties for South Carolina are Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight, and Purple Passion. Most Asparagus take 2 to 3 years before they produce so if ordering, make sure you order a crown that is 2 to 3 years old. You really haven't tasted Asparagus until you have eaten fresh Asparagus. And what a great way to get kids to eat their vegetables. Owen calls them straws and will eat them straight from the garden. How to Grow Asparagus
Lawns
No fertilizer yet but this would be an ideal time to take some soil over to the Clemson Extension office on University Ave for a test to see what you need to add in the spring. How to Take a Soil Sample Try your best not to walk on frozen dormant grass to reduce winter damage. Read up now on lawn care so you can be prepared to give it the best care this spring. How to Care for Your Lawn
I bet you didn't know that you can reduce the amount of weeds in your lawn if you can keep it as healthy as possible. To do that isn't easy but if you follow the maintenance schedule for your type of lawn at Clemson Home and Garden you will be doing a lot to keep the weeds out. These maintenance calendars are specific to your type of lawn so be sure you know what type of grass you have first! Lawn Maintenance Calendar for Centipede If you are wanting to go more organic, don't follow the directions on herbicide applications. Many homeowners are happy to have a green lawn whether it is mixed with weeds or not. These lawns are sometimes labeled as "Mixed Media Lawns".
Fruit Trees THIS IS THE MONTH TO ORDER YOUR FRUIT TREES FROM US! Do your research first or come in and talk to us. The best way to research is to Google the type of fruit tree you are interested in followed by HGIC and it will give you links to Clemson Home and Garden Information Center so you can learn the requirements of all the fruit trees and varieties that grow here. Growing fruit requires proper care so review your interest and level of commitment before taking on this adventure. Here is a sampling of fruit trees for your full sun areas:
Apples-(Self-unfruitful) Need two or more varieties to ensure pollination. Apples do better in the northern and northwestern counties. High temperatures can make diseases difficult to control. If you own large areas of land that your family hunts on apples are good food (mast) for deer and they don't care about distorted fruit.
Cherry-(Self-unfruitful) Sweet Cherries need one or more varieties and they must be cross-compatible.
Fig-(Self-fruitful) Only one tree is needed. Figs do very well here especially when planted in a protected spot. However, we planted 2 here at Wyatt Farms in a very open and unprotected location and they have done great.
Peach-(Self-fruitful) Only one tree is needed to pollinate. Peaches do well in our climate. A favorite is Belle of Georgia. Look at smaller patio Peach varieties as well.
Pear-Are generally self fruitful but expect better fruit set with more than one variety. Susceptible to fireblight.
Pecan-(Self-unfruitful) Usually there are enough pecan trees in the neighborhood to pollinate. Needs lots of room.
Persimmon- (Self-unfruitful) Needs male and female variety and is a good deer attractant.
Plum- (Self-unfruitful) Need two varieties to furnish adequate pollinatiion
Pomegranite- (Self-fruitful) Only one needed. Fruit often splits before ripening.
Don't forget Blueberries (Self-unfruitful), strawberries, muscadine grapes (female variety sets fruit) and raspberry (Self-fruitful). Blueberries can be used in the landscape as a hedge or in foundation plantings. Strawberries can be used as a ground cover. Blueberries, strawberries, muscadines, and raspberries are ideally suited for South Carolina. If you like to bake or have children, you must plant one of these. Owen and Wren, (well and our dog Jesse too), love to eat Blueberries and Muscadine grapes straight from the vine. And there are so many great recipes that include these small fruits. Blueberry cobbler, Strawberry jam, Muscadine Wine, and the list goes on.
Roses
If you are planning to put in roses this spring, start preparing your soil now. Pick an area in full sun that has plenty of room for each rose. Dig and work the soil unless it is too wet. (If the soil sticks to your shovel or your shoes wait a few days. Digging in wet soil can ruin its structure making it as hard as bricks). Spread a 2 to 4-inch layer of compost on the soil surface and add any nutrients recommended by a soil test. We carry a great mushroom compost and Wyatt's own Black Gold. Mix these materials into the area 8-12-inches deep and allow the bed to rest until spring.
Pruning
Don't sheer your shrubs! At this time of year you don't want to stimulate new growth that will be tender and susceptible to frost damage. You can prune out some branches by hand if needed but no heavy shaping or pruning until late winter, early spring. If your oak tree has clumps of green in the upper canopy once it has lost its leaves then you have mistletoe. Prune out any mistletoe in your oaks to keep it healthy. However, I must admit that my parents had a perfect sphere of Mistletoe growing in one of their elm trees and we just couldn't bring ourselves to remove it. Wyatt loved the excuse to steal a kiss and I'm sure my Dad loved it for the same reason. It formed such pretty , almost translucent, white berries. Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - it died last year. The tree is still healthy and alive but the Mistletoe is not. For your safety, leave the mistletoe in the upper canopy of large trees for certified arborists and tree services to remove. Mistletoe in Trees
Ornamental grasses don't have to be trimmed back yet as long as they haven't been too damaged by winds. However, if you prefer to cut your grasses back now, it is perfectly fine.
Perennials, Shrubs and Annuals
The general rule of thumb for dividing perennials is to divide spring and summer-blooming in the fall and fall flowering in early spring when the new shoots have emerged. In our mild winters you could still divide now. The most important thing to remember is not to divide plants while they are flowering. Be sure to water before and after dividing. No fertilizing this month except for your annuals like pansies and snapdragons. Dead head the pansies and snaps and fertilize them. We now carry in our nursery the plant food we use in our greenhouse. Daniels fertilizer is an organic base liquid and is great for all your gardening needs.
Houseplants
This is the best time of year for houseplants since it looks so barren outdoors and there is so little to do garden wise. Keep the dead leaves pruned off and watch for any spider mites or other pests. Look carefully because they like to nestle under the leaves. We often use a warm wet rag to wipe off any pests. A Q-tip with a little rubbing alcohol will kill young scale and mealybugs. No fertilizer needed this month but remember in the spring that we carry Daniel's Plant Food which is a great houseplant food. Feeding them every two weeks in spring and summer will keep houseplants such as peace lilies and anthuriums blooming and happy. Flush them out with lots of water two to three times a year. Don't let your houseplants get too dry or stay too wet. We like bringing them to the sink and giving them a long drink and let them drain well. Wipe the dust off of your shiny smooth leaved houseplants and use a small brush to clean the hairy leaves of your African violets. This is a good time to propagate houseplants by air layering. How to Air Layer Propagate
Vines and Groundcovers
Check the conditions of your vines growing on trellises and see that they are still attached. It is better to wait until the coldest part of winter is over before doing any pruning of your vines and groundcovers. No fertilizing is needed this month.
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We hope you enjoy our newsletter as much as we enjoy doing it for you. If you have any topics you would like to read about please e-mail us at
Newsletter Suggestions
Sincerely,
Bess and Wyatt Thompson and Katherine Rowe
Wyatt Farms |
103 Wyatt Court
On Center Street Just North of Lakeview School
Greenwood, South Carolina 29649
www.wyattfarms.com
864-229-6252
wyattfarms@ymail.com
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January Hours
Monday 9:00 am to Noon
Tuesday thru Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
CLOSED SUNDAYS
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