stow greenhouses » digging around

we got steam-no punk though

dave — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:40:54 +0000

We do steam the old fashioned way, we boil water for it. Actually it’s an integral part of our process here. We normally steam the soil at the end of the planting cycle after cutting and cleaning off tables. The steam helps kill the weeds and bad things in the soil making for a nicer material. We stopped doing it in mid-January to conserve fuel (we use our wood chip boiler to make steam). About a month back the big boiler went kaput, the cast iron step grates that hold the chips while burning cracked and collapsed. So I’m riding it out on the little boiler for now, planning to fix the bb over the summer. The problem was that the little boiler wasn’t setup to make steam. After a little google-fest I found a mechanical water filler to install and help automatically keep the water from getting too low (we did that by eye on the bb – great when your eye is on on it, but when it’s not …). We recently finished the hookup and now are back in the steam biz. The steamed soil smells great when we use it, and the lilies love it.

planting crazy

dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:59:57 +0000

We got the guys to come and help us get some of the spring outdoor flowers going, and we are also giving Nate a plot for veggies outside. Here’s a few shots of them getting it going, and yes we can’t wait for spring either.

am pm snow to sun

dave — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:00:26 +0000

It was cold and frosty this am. Much better by the afternoon.

in the drivers seat

dave — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:39:00 +0000

Barb and I took over last week. It’s a been a great start. I have talked a lot of our customers and one thing comes through loud and clear, they love the products. It’s not just your basic, yea I love your flowers thing either. They really know the quality and go into detail about it. I am looking forward to getting our 2011 plan under way. I am busy with Fred going over every detail and looking at what we did in the past. We are primed, have the keys, and are in the drivers seat.

the run up

dave — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 05:24:21 +0000

Here’s some pix from the last month or so in the run up to taking over the greenhouse. As you can imagine, it’s not something that just happened overnight or last month. Fred & Nancy have been great in opening up their business and letting us get to see what’s behind the scenes. Barb and I are excited to be taking over such a nice operation.

big and pink

dave — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:46:56 +0000

Got some nice “samples” from Fred & Nancy to work on my photography. Need to sort out a good place and way to get nice pix. Though with flowers like this, it’s not hard to get something looking good. This is just a snap with a olde iphone 3g.