Heidi's Plant Pep

Create a herbarium

2008-07-09T22:01:00.002-04:00

I. What is a Herbarium? In times past herbariums were the only record of botanicals. Specimens were collected, pressed and then labeled. Some of the oldest herbariums are found in biology departments of Universities the world over. No matter how accurate the artistic rendering of plants were , there is nothing like coming face to face with an actual specimen. To view one, you should get in touch with a University. It will tke your breath away when the drawer slides out and there is the plant with all its parts, painstakingly mounted, with descriptive notes written down hundreds of years ago.
Most of us rely on the camera to give us back the image of a plant and there is nothing wrong with that. However, to preserve plants in its truest form, you need to prepare a herbarium specimen.

Tomorrow Herbarium II: Materials needed.

Off to the Coastal Botanical Garden, Maine

2008-06-04T12:04:00.005-04:00

Hi folks, I am off the the Garden Fair of the Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.
This will be the first Garden show for Heidi's Plant Pep. My husband I are looking forward to exploring the gardens, which as a large children's section, and a fairy house garden.
I hope, that some of you will take advantage of this event, which truly has something for everyone.
There will be no new posts till Monday, June 9.

Climate Vote in the Senate

2008-06-04T12:04:00.002-04:00

This is it! The Senate is set to vote next week on landmark global warming legislation. Your help is needed getting the bill passed! Please e-mail your Senators today - ask them to support the Climate Security Act.

It will take just a few moments of your time and could change the lives of generations to come. We need as many people as possible le to take action and urge their Senators to pass the bill.
As we continue working tirelessly on Capitol Hill to garner as many votes as possible , we hope we can count on you to help us neutralize the opposition presented by Big Coal, Big Oil and other special interest groups.
This is truly an historic opportunity to cap and reduce America's global warming pollution and we cannot afford to wait any longer.
This appeal came from the Environmental Defense Action Fund. I am passing this appeal on to you, because I feel deeply connected with this planet and all life forms it supports.

Tree Peonies

2008-06-02T17:07:00.006-04:00

This the glorious time of ponies and especially tree ponies. I fell in love with them many years ago visiting the DuPont Estate in Delaware. After putting down roots in NH, I planted 3 tree peonies - all white. Now, fully grown, they opened on the the first of June. Only one is white, it turns out, the other two are pink and yellow, and I enjoy all three!
Over the years I have enriched their location with homegrown compost (our compost consist only of plant matter) . I also tested Heidi's Plant Pep on them and found that fertilizing the peonies just when buds appear, and then once a week for the next four weeks, does increases the size of the blossoms, and keeps the flowers from deteriorating . I have repeated this now for the last three years and feel confident enough to share these findings.
Often you see ants when peonies bud, and you might have wondered why? The ants fulfill a vital function for the peonies. The bud is covered with a sticky syrup which the ants love and carry away as nourishment for the colony. The bud, not constrained by the sticky syrup, can unfurl its bud and and delight us with its delicate, complex blossom. Without this symbiotic relationship, the colony had little nourishment and the peonies would not unfurl.

List of Key Note Speakers

2008-05-23T16:29:00.009-04:00

The Garden Fair at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay harbor
has scheduled an impressive speaker forum for the three day event. Talks are free with Garden admissions. Between talks visit with the event vendors, the cafe, gardens, and exhibits.
Friday, June 6 at 1 pm
Stephanie Burnett
Climate Change and Maine Gardens
Saturday, June 7, 11 am
Dan Farenkopf
Lunaform: Maine-made Concrete Vessels Enhancing Gardens on a Global Scale
Saturday, June 7, 1 pm
Rebecca Sawyer-Fay and Lynn Karlin
The Making of Gardens Maine Style, Act II
Sunday, June 8, 11 am
Bill Cullina
Made in Maine: Indigenous Plants Downeast
Sunday, June 8, 1 pm
Paul Tukey
Natural Lawns: How to Grow a Beautiful Green and Organic Lawn

From "Green Tips" - Sierra Club

2008-05-23T16:29:00.003-04:00

Eco-parents, consider giving kids a garden patch that they can design and cultivate on their own (younger children will need some supervision, of course). Cornell University's "Greener Voices" study suggests that children are more engaged in learning when they are responsible for planning and decision making.
Even if your child's mini-garden turns out to be a disaster, he or she will still learn a small-scale lesson about the challenges and rewards of caring for the Earth. Check out Cornell's Garden-Based Learning Web site for additional child-friendly garden activities.

Coming Soon: Garden Fair at Boothbay Harbor, ME

2008-05-22T19:23:00.005-04:00

Ready for Something New and Exciting?
The Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay Harbor, ME, is holding it's first annual Garden Fair and Native Plant Sale from Friday, June 6 - 8 from 9 AM to 5 PM. This will be a special event for all garden lovers! The program includes spectacular display gardens, workshops, native plant sale, gardens' market place, organization displays, floral show and a preview party on Thursday, June 5, 5-8 PM. We feel honored that Heidi's Plant Pep was invited to be part of the garden's market place.

Eight whimsical children's gardens will be created by top New England landscape architects and designers, selected through a jury process and eligible for awards. Appropriately, these display garden will be constructed on the site of the future Children's Garden.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will tell you about the fabulous keynote speakers.

Plant for a "Garden Taste Safari" for your children

2008-05-21T07:22:00.010-04:00

Last summer my grandson Shane became hooked on my garden. He munched on Stevia, Sorrel, Peppermint, Green beans, Lovage and often delighted us with his"herbal sandwiches". He even liked the golden globe cherrie tomatoes with because of their high sugar content. Since our garden is organic, and only using Heidi's Plant Pep, I have no concerns about his "garden to mouth" practice.
This year I will tickle his taste buds with nasturtiums, Johny Jump Ups, spring onions, and Lovage.

Saving pesky little seeds

2008-05-19T09:33:00.005-04:00

Saving tomato seeds has always been my nemeses. Even when I used tweezers, the sticky fluid surrounding them made it virtually impossible to extract them.
Last fall I decided to squeeze all the seeds of my favorite cherry tomato on a paper towel, juice and all. I allowed the towel dry for a week or two, hoping that I could remove the seeds after that. The seeds stuck to the paper towel and, with the exception of one or two, the seeds could not be removed. Not to be terred just yet, I rolled the paper towels (seeds and all) up and put them in a glass jar up (without the lid) on the top shelve of my pantry.
In early spring I soaked the paper towels and to my delight, the seeds loosened and swam to the bottom of the jar. They sprouted perfectly and are now setting up their second, or true, set of leaves. Once they are establish it is time to fertilize them with an organic plant fertilizer. Our choice is Heidi's Plant Pep.

NPK value in Herbs? You bet yah!

2008-05-06T09:29:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago the Department of Agriculture ask me to have Heidi's Plant Pep tested in a specified Lab in Ohio to prove that that there is a NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus,Potassium) present in the fertilizer. In order to offer a plant food as a "fertilizer", there are strict guide lines which have be met. It was implied that my blend of consisting of 21 herbs and some greensand, no matter how carefully carefully researched, would not stand muster.
The test came back with an value of N 3.18-P 1.73 - K2.22. Kudos to Mother Nature and Happy Mothers Day!

From Lawn to Veggie Garden

2008-04-29T09:01:00.006-04:00

When we moved into our house in Gilmanton 27 years ago, we immediately turned our front lawn into a raised bed vegetable garden. Jut today I heard on the radio that because of rising food costs, families are thinking about doing the same. This is very welcome news, but keep in mind the following:
If over the years your lawn has been treated with synthetic chemicals or weed killer (and which laws has not) I suggest that you lift the sod and discard it and till the soil. If you can wait for the 2009 growing season, I recommend a buckwheat cover crop for this year. This cover crop will diminish the synthetic chemical level in your soil by absorbing much of it during the growing season. As an added bonus your neighborhood bees will have a blast! Buckwheat pulls out quite easily in the fall, then replant the plot with winter rye. The rye will sprout early in the spring. Prepare you garden by digging the rye under which provides your soil with instant,natural nitrogen. Continue to add compost and organic fertilizer, such as Heidi's Plant Pep.
Another gardening option could be raised beds which you fill with new organic soil. This is preferred if you know that your lawn has been regularly fertilized over the years.
Finally, don't forgot to rotate your crop each growing season.

Does Soil pH Affect Fertilization?

2008-04-14T12:29:00.009-04:00

New organic gardeners are sometimes disappointed that after applying copious amounts of partially rotted compost, minerals or kelp, their garden does not look picture perfect.The reason is that all this excellent material needs months, sometimes years, to make the essential nutrients accessible to plants.

But there is another reason why success can be elusive. This has to do with the pH level of the soil. Without the proper pH, a plant can not absorb the nutrients, even if they are correctly applied.

What is soil pH? The letters pH refer to potential hydrogen. The pH or acid-alkalinity of soil is caused by the breakdown of some of the hydrogen atoms of the water in the soil, into positive and negative ions. The mineral and organic content of the soil affects this breakdown. For instance, calcium, limestone or wood ash cause alkaline or sweet soil; peat, sulfur, and leaves cause sour or acid soils. The chemical pH scale spans from 1 to 14. With 1 being the most acid and 14 the most alkaline. 7 is neutral. Although most soils are in the 4 to 8 range, a good garden soil is in the range of 5.5 to 7 group.

Moist vegetables, flowers, and herbs grow best in soil with a pH of 6 to 7. Beans, beets, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, and turnips prefer a slightly more acid soil (5 to 6). Most fruits and berries also do well on 6 to 7 soil. Blackberries, strawberries, currants prefer more acidity (5 t0 6). Blueberries insist on a extremely acid soil (4 to 4.5)

After reading the above, you may share my excitement when it was discovered that Heidi's Plant Pep bridged the pH gap and provides plant-accessible micro-nutrients for plants growing in 4.5 to 7.5 pH soil.

Removal of mulch

2008-04-09T17:02:00.015-04:00

Please resist the temptation to remove all the mulch from your perennial plants as soon as the snow recedes. Just lift the top layer and allow the plants to acclimate to light, temperature changes and possible upcoming snow showers.

The feeding of perennials can begin now, using my organic plant food. Heidi's Plant Pep is a fertilizer made from 21 herbs, and green sand. It is light weight, odorless, child and pet safe.
It adds 32 micro-nutrients along with just the right amont of the "big three" ...N/P/K to the soil. Plant Pep becomes available to the plant immediately and will not "burn the plant" or harm the enviornment.

Next topic:
Connecting the dots between soil pH and fertilizer.

Too much snow?

2008-04-08T20:25:00.008-04:00

People in the north-east are ready to have the mountains of snow disappear to check out their perennials. Let me assure you that they will be just fine. The heavy snow blanket throughout the winter provides a constant temperature (none of that freezing and thawing which is so hard on the plants). As a matter of fact, this year will be a banner year for all your plants! In the meantime check out Heidi's website, which will help you get ready for the upcoming season.