-Dan Toot- It can’t be April again! It’s STILL April! (March 413th as of the time of this writing.) Still, the wonderful deja vu of this time of year is seeing the rush to the seed rack and our soil amendments as gardeners prepare for a great year of growing. Seeing this, I decided it was time to join the fun and start plants from seed myself! If you dig back, you’ll see I first dipped my toe into organic gardening with some Golden Ghost Pepper seedlings -- which I cloned and am … [Read more...] about Getting Started Seed Starting
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Bringing Houseplants Outside for the Summer
-Pam Scott- Chances are that most of the plants you keep indoors during the winter are tropical or semi tropical plants. As temperatures warm up and the days get longer, it makes sense to want to bring your beloved plant friends outdoors to enjoy the extra light and humidity that spring and summer have to offer. Many tropical plants will suffer as indoor air conditioning draws all of the humidity from the house, drying out leaves and soil. As the sun goes higher in the sky, many house plants … [Read more...] about Bringing Houseplants Outside for the Summer
Drain To Waste Hydroponics
-Ryan Blankenship- With all of the different types of hydroponics systems out there, drain to waste has to be my favorite. The main reason I like this one so much is the delivery method of the plants’ nutrients. In the other hydro systems (Deep Water Culture, Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film Technique, and Aeroponics) the nutrients are in a reservoir and are cycled through the system. Deep water culture or DWC uses a bucket, water, air stone and nutrients, and the plants’ roots grow into the … [Read more...] about Drain To Waste Hydroponics
Focus on Ficus
-Pam Scott- Large tropical trees growing indoors can add a dramatic element to a room like nothing else. A tall green plant can soften the edges of a large space, as it tends to bring together all the different elements of a room's decor. There are no better plants to do this than plants in the ficus family. There are about 900 species in this family, mulberry (Moraceae), some are deciduous, some evergreen, some tree-like, some vining, most are tropical. The popular indoor tropical figs … [Read more...] about Focus on Ficus
Bee House OR Vertical Planter DIY Project
-James Gordon- Hello all! Welcome to my first ever “Do It Yourself” blog for Fifth Season Gardening Co. So I really wanted to do something very simple, this being my first blog. Thing is, I came up with a fairly simple project with a result that can be used in multiple ways – so, simple with a twist. I’ll be walking you through how you can use the same basic materials to make a bee house or a vertical wall planter. First things first: we need our hardware: 10x20 Quad Tray Winstrip … [Read more...] about Bee House OR Vertical Planter DIY Project
Three tricks for improving the Mash and Boil
This week’s blog post is from long-time Fifth Season customer and expert brewer, Eric Ginsberg, and includes a few hacks to improve the performance of the Brewer’s Edge Mash and Boil electric brewing system. -Eric Ginsburg- I’ve had my Mash and Boil now for about 2 years, and I love what it has done for my brew day and for my brew quality and consistency. That said, I discovered several areas for improvement that I want to share with other users. Grain Basket Feet – The original feet … [Read more...] about Three tricks for improving the Mash and Boil
Intro to Hydroponics: Cloning
-James Gordon- Hello everyone! Welcome back to introduction to hydroponics. After going over so much in the last few hydroponics blogs on how to grow in your system, today we will go over cloning in hydroponics. So let’s keep an open mind, take some notes, and hopefully this will help you learn a few things about cloning. When it comes to cloning, I personally felt intimidated and challenged before I ever tried it. Do not be afraid. It is not as complicated as it may sound. The hardest … [Read more...] about Intro to Hydroponics: Cloning
Time to Prune
-Pam Scott- After having had a few months break from rigorous garden chores, you may now feel the call of the outdoors... the need to get this spring thing started. Top on the list of things to do in February is to assess what needs pruning in the garden this year. Late winter is the ideal time to prune a large number of plants in your garden. In our zone 7 climate, most plants are dormant from November to March. There are numerous benefits to pruning plants during this winter dormancy. Plant … [Read more...] about Time to Prune
Clever and Deadly Carnivores
-Pam Scott- Do you remember being a kid and finding out that there are plants that eat animals? Chances are you probably thought that was, without a doubt, the coolest thing in the entire world. Every day we have children coming into the shop, bursting with excitement to see our carnivorous plants. The fact is that many of us at Fifth Season consider carnivorous plants to be the coolest plants on earth. Carnivorous plants are bog plants that have evolved to live in low nutrient, highly … [Read more...] about Clever and Deadly Carnivores
The Art of Making Absinthe
-Ryan Blankenship- Absinthe is a drink that is made from a distilled spirit and has the herbs wormwood, anise, and fennel added to it post-distillation. Absinthe was first created by the ancient Greeks for medicinal purposes, starting around 1550 BCE, by soaking wormwood leaves in wine and making a tincture with it. This tincture was called absinthites oinos. Absinthe made using distilled spirits instead of wine can be dated back to the 18th century. Its use became more popular during the … [Read more...] about The Art of Making Absinthe
