Yellow Springs Farm

It is almost June 21, the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice means gardeners’ outdoor activities are peaking. People, and all living creatures, are enjoying long daylight hours and mild weather.Weeds are also growing rapidly with all the energy from the sun, but take heart that this too will slow down after the Solstice.

St. John the Baptist’s feast day is officially celebrated June 24, just after the Solstice. Look for your Hypericum species (St. John’s Wort) to bloom with abundant yellow flowers to mark this pleasant time of year, even if you don’t keep track on a calendar.

The Honeybees as well as the native Bumblebees are thriving here. Whether the reported decline and demise of so many bees will be determined to have resulted from cell phones, GMO crops, pesticides or climate change, I do not know. But, I celebrate that our naturalistic landscape and natural and organic farm practices are supporting large numbers of birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators this year.

Our grapevines are now three years old. Their progress has been slowed by Japanese beetles in past years. But, the trellis system is supporting some fruit, and we tried our hands at pruning for the first time this spring. We continue to apply milky spore for grub control in Spring and Fall to lessen the beetle damage a little each year. This is a slow process, but one we believe will work without harming any beneficial insects or the soil health.

Many native plants started slowly this spring with an icy storm in April, but all are strongly growing now.We especially love the brightly colored flowers on Wine Cups (Callirhoe involcurata), mixed with Sundrops (Oenethera fruticosa), Butterfly flower (Asclepias tuberosa), Small Gayfeather (Liatris microcephalus), and Anise Hyssop (Agastache spp.) in our new patio garden this summer. All thrive in this hot, sunny site where we admire the changing palette at dinnertime.

In contrast to the hot stone walls, our second new planting this year is a rain garden.We directed a downspout and underground patio drain to a swale beyond the house. Here we added Cranberry Viburnum, Elderberry, Iris, Flowering Raspberry, Bee Balm, and other sun-loving native species. The plants look nice, and are already working to slow runoff during thunderstorms, and re-charge the water table. Surface water is cleaned and filtered through the soil and plant roots as it slowly soaks in the ground. I grin from the kitchen window with each storm watching this simple, but important, garden work for me, and our environment.

If you would like to see our plantings in progress, please plan to come to our new Summer Workshops in July.We will also begin shipping more orders from our online store again in early September when temperatures moderate for the benefit of plants traveling

Happy Summer
to all!
Catherine M. Renzi
Yellow Springs Farm
Native Plants Nursery

Breakfast with the Birds at Yellow Springs Farm
Saturday, July 7th 8:30-10:30am
Enjoy a light breakfast and beverage on the patio followed by a guided bird walk and tour of Yellow Springs Farm.We will have our eyes on the birds, but as we wander around the meadow and woodland area we will stop and see the Nubian Goats, and look at progress with the honey bee hives and the vineyard as well. $15 per person. Bring hiking shoes and a good pair of binoculars. RSVP Required.

Pond Restoration Workshop
Saturday, July 28th 10:30am-2pm
Ever been interested in pond gardening? Well, now is your chance to participate and learn about our pond restoration efforts at YSF. A short talk, a tour of the pond area followed by actual hands-on experience in the restoration process using native plants will be the order of the day. Bring a good pair of waterproof boots, work gloves, a shovel or spade, and some rain gear in case of a shower. Take a 45-60 minute break for conversation and a light box lunch and beverages (included in event fee–vegetarian options on request) $25 per person. RSVP required.

Yellow Springs Farm Fall Open
House & Native Plant Sale
Saturday/Sunday, September 8th and 9th,
10am-4pm Rain or Shine
Over 200 species of plants and YSF organic products will be for sale.

With all the talk about going organic, the greening of America, and the dangers of global warming, you might sometimes wonder if you can do an environmentally friendly good deed at your own property.

We suggest you start by managing storm water runoff at your home. There are several easy ways to do this, and it makes for a good summer project. One way is to simply hook up a rain barrel to your downspout. These are readily available in garden catalogs and most eco-conscious nurseries. It’s an economical means to conserve water, easy to install and serves as a water source for your garden plants.

Another option is to create a rain garden. The design, planning and installation is a little more involved then setting up a rain barrel, but the principle of catching runoff from your gutters, driveway, or other steep slopes is the same. A rain garden does not

have to be big.We recently installed a 120 sq ft rain garden in an area that has 2 down spouts coming together.We measured, excavated the site and installed the plants a few hours each day over a period of three days. Essentially you are creating a shallow soup bowl that is prepared to collect water during a heavy rain. The soil and plant roots in the rain garden serve to slow down the runoff, and slowly soak up the water together with the sediment, pollutants, and excess nutrients it might contain. This process prevents runoff from eroding streambanks and other fragile areas, while also protecting streams and groundwater from pollution.

There are many attractive, perennial flowers and shrubs that can take these periodic rain events. Recommended plants and shrubs for a sunny rain garden include the following: Blue Flag

Iris, Monkey Flower, Swamp Milkweed, Giant Coneflower, Buttonbush, Elderberry, Cranberry Viburnum, Flowering Raspberry, and many other choices. All of these plants are available at Yellow Springs Farm, and we will be happy to show you our rain garden, and advise you on how to create a rain garden at your property.

It is getting to be that time of year again when the Japanese beetles assault our favorite plants such as roses, grapes, and many more species. Most birds don’t eat these crunchy critters, so, what can you do?

We have traded stories with the best horticulturists and scientists trying to figure out the right environmentallyfriendly solution for Japanese beetles

if you are going organic or determined not to use pesticides, Pheromone traps have gotten mixed results. Instead, here is our 3 step plan:

Step 1 The least glamorous of the solutions is to pick them off manually in the morning and evening and drown them in soapy water. This is not very much fun to do, but hey, we never said it was going to be easy.

Step 2 Milky Spore is a product that we are starting to see some success with. It comes in a granular form and you spread it into the affected area with a lawn spreader. It contains a beneficial bacterium that infects the grubs, kills them, and then releases more bacteria in the soil to go after even more grubs. It is harmless to humans, and pets, and does not target other beneficial insects.

The trick is to use the product several times during the growing season, once in the spring, and then again in August or September. It may take several applications to build up the spore population. Think of this as a longer-term investment given that the Milky Spore manufacturers suggest that the effect can last for up to 10 years.We currently sell a 20 lb bag of Milky Spore for $39. It covers one application for 7,000 square feet.

Step 3 Use a pyrethrum-based insecticide. This in an (organic) product derived from chrysanthemum flowers. This is the last resort but less problematic than other chemicals.

Please call us if you would like more information on managing Japanese beetles.

www.yellowspringsfarm.com

1165 Yellow Springs Road | Chester Springs, PA 19425 | P 610-827-2014 | F 610-482-9311

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