Getting Seeds Started In Your Garden

Naturally gardeners want to be timely in planting for the summer harvest and there are things one can do to be on schedule. Besides making a list of things you want in your garden, you will need to know how much space each one take. Plants like carrots and beets make most of their growth underground while summer squash can take a couple of feet for one plant.

If you’re starting from seed the spacing requirements likely will be found on the instructions on the back of the packet. A good thing to do would be to list all the things you want to grow and then in the column next to it put amounts desired and a column space in rows, row width,& planting dates. Next look on the seed packet to see how long it takes to grow a plant to transplant date. You will then be ready to sow your seeds.

To make the job easier and grow a sturdier plant the system above can accomplish this for you. Pictured on the left above is heat mat that will hold the germinating flat and on the right a light set up that will keep your plants growing with out stretching. Most plants respond to bottom heat to germinate at soil temps of about 70 degrees. In your window or basement it may not be that temperature consistently, or you may run your home cooler than that. Once the plants are germinated it is important to get them into good light so they don't stretch. The light should be about 8 to 10 inches above the plants for best results.

Water sparingly but don't let the seedlings dry out, and once the seedlings are up keep them just slightly moist so the roots will go down for moisture. Once established the water can be reduced and temperatures cooled down to keep the plants sturdy and growing.

Bulk Seeds Heirloom Seeds Unusual seeds
You may be an organic garden and want to use organic seeds. They are available in the Burpee selection of our seed dept. Some to-go-withs are shown below for early gardeners.

Red, Yellow & White Sets Jiffy pots and other pots Shallots and garlic
With seven seed companies providing seeds, one should be able to find just what they need but if something is missing ask Greg and he will try to get it for you. Gardening vegetables was our forte about fifty years ago and we are glad to share any ideas or information you may need to be successful in your garden. And if you don't have time to grow your own plants our greenhouse will be filled with plants in April May and June to make your work easier.

THINK SPRING
Visit our Springtime Greenhouse

SEEDS ARE HERE!!

Check out our great selection of seeds from:

Lake Valley

P.L. Rohrer

Botanical Interests

Thompson Morgan

Livingston

Burpee

Seeds of Choice (organic)

Old Seeds

Many unusual and hard to find varieties available!

Start Right End Right

Light is the life of your plants and can either

make you successful or not. An investment in

gro-lights is truly one of the best investments

you’ll make as a start from seed grower. Along

a heat mat your rate of success will improve

greatly. At Ashcombe for more than forty years

we have been starting seeds under lights with

great success.

See our web page for more info. on growing

plants from seeds. www.ashcombe.com

Fill Your Winter With Color!

Few indoor flowering plants offer the charm of the beautiful, delicate African Violet. With a little bit of care and patience, they will reward you with unsurpassed beauty!

The African Violet (saintpaulia) has become the most popular member of the Gesnariad family because of its ease of culture, continuous flowering habit, variety of blossom forms, range of colors and leaf patterns.

If there is any magic formula for culture, it is a faithfully followed program of care. Watering, fertilizing, and repotting must be done with regularity and promptness if beautiful flowering plants are desired year round. “Hit-or-miss” attention will give only mediocre results.

LIGHT: Protection from the hot rays of the sun must be given, in spring, summer and fall, while during the dark days of January and February direct mild winter sunshine will promote flowering. To find the best place in the house for correct lighting, place plants in various windows and observe results. They will soon be evident. For symmetrical foliage, window grown plants need to be turned regularly so that the entire plant will get equal amounts of light.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT: Artificial light is a satisfactory way to grow African violets for they receive evenly balanced illumination. Lights should be placed approximately 10-14 inches over the plant table and kept on from 12-14 hours per day.

WATER: Check soil daily and water if soil feels slightly dry to the touch. Always use warm or room temperature water, never cold. They will grow best if soil is kept slightly moist at all times. They do not like soggy soil and shouldn’t be left standing in water. Water from top or bottom, but from top - water under the leaves, never over.

SOIL: As a rule, these plants do best in soils which are loose in texture, porous and well drained, with a high percentage or organic matter. Because of their fine hair roots they need a substance that can be easily penetrated. There are several good commercial mixes especially made for saintpaulias.

TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY: Best temperatures range from 65 to 75°F. with 50 to 60% relative humidity. They can endure higher or lower temperatures but they will not prosper if the air is excessively dry. If the temperature is too low, growth slows down, flowers will be sparse and of poor quality and the foliage will curl down around the rim of the pot instead of lying flat and neat. Air that is too hot and dry can cause the buds to fall off or the blossoms to drop soon after opening.

Maintaining adequate humidity during winter without the aid of a humidifier is difficult. Otherwise, grouping the plants close together, placing them on a surface of moist pebbles in shallow tray, placing open containers of water among them will heighten the humidity.

FERTILIZING: It is better to feed very small amounts of plant food each time the plant is watered. Use a complete water-soluable fertilizer recommended for saintpaulias and read the manufacturer’s instructions printed on the label before applying. Do not over-fertilize and always be sure the soil is not too dry before using plant food.

PROPAGATION: New African violets are easily grown by three different methods; leaf cuttings are most frequently used (there are a number of satisfactory ways of rooting them), plant division and seeds.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

√ Scorching and yellowing of leaf edges, due to too much direct sun in summer. Filter the

light with a curtain or move to a less bright spot.

√ Yellowing of foliage. Often caused by excess fertilizer, or lack of humidity. In clay pots,

salts build up on pots and the plant should be drenched once or twice to flush away as

many salts as possible. Look at roots; if they are brown it could mean severe salt build-up

and re-potting will be necessary. Violets are not heavy feeders so don’t overfeed. To raise

the humidity follow above directions.

√ Irregular, yellow mottling on leaves, called chlorosis. This is caused by the soil being too

alkaline. use an acid-rich plant food to off-set the alkalinity.

√ Spots, colored markings, yellow leaves. Caused by under-watering. Remove any damaged

foliage and water over the soil surface slowly until excess water drains out. Don’t let plants

sit in a saucer of water more than an hour.

√ Brown spots on leaves, caused by using cold water chilling the plant or splashed on foliage.

Use room temperature water.

√ Browned centers of the plant caused by overfeeding. Feed less.

√ Wilted plants and rotting at main stem. This is a fungus disease (crown rot) aggravated by

over watering, excess humidity or temperature extremes. Cut off damaged foliage and

re-pot.

√ Jelly-like leaves which droop over the rim of the pot. Caused by excess fertilizer. Flush out

the roots and coat the rims of clay pots with paraffin.

√ Flower buds that dry up, caused by lack of humidity, or a sudden shift in the plant’s location.

Set the pots on a bed of moist pebbles in a tray.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone here at Ashcombe! Thanks to our loyal customers for making this year a success. We look forward to seeing you and serving your gardening needs in 2011.

New Poinsettias!!!

Check out these 2 new gorgeous varieties of poinsettias:

Ice Crystals

and Ice Punch

UPCOMING EVENTS AT ASHCOMBE

Pine Wreath Workshop ~ Tuesday, December 7th, 6pm. Each participant will make a beautiful fresh wreath from assorted greens, pine cones, flowers, holiday embellishments and a bow.

Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $25.00

Children’s Homeschool Class: Pine & Candy Wreath Workshop ~ Wednesday, December 8th, 12:30-1:30pm.

Each child will make a pine wreath from scratch and decorate it with candy, pine cones and more. Ages 5-12+. Pre-registration required. Register at Ashcombe or online at

hahaofpa.org. Fee: $8.00

Pine Swag Workshop ~ Thursday, December 9th, 1pm. Hand-craft a beautiful mixed green swag for your window or porch. We’ll use assorted fresh greens, cones, pods, flowers and finish it off with a bow. Refreshments will be served. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $20.00

Children’s Class: Make Your Own Snow Globe ~ Saturday, December 11th, 9-10am. Each child will make a snow globe. Ages 5-12+. Pre-registration is required. Fee: $5.00

Victorian Kissing Ball Workshop & Luncheon ~ Tuesday, December 14th, 12:30pm. We’ll start with a

delicious lunch of assorted salad sandwiches, chips, macaroni salad, a bakery tray and drinks. Each participant will then make a beautiful kissing ball to hang for the holidays. We’ll use sprigs of mistletoe, pine, rosemary and lavender and more. Pre-registration and payment

required. Fee: $30.00

Children’s Homeschool Class: Glass Ornament Workshop ~ Wednesday, December 15th, 1-2pm.

Each child will decorate a glass ball ornament with paints and flowers. Ages 5-12+.

Pre-registration required. Register at Ashcombe or online at hahaofpa.org. Fee: $5.00

Boxwood Wreath Workshop ~ Thursday, December 16th, 6pm. Make a beautiful, full boxwood

wreath for the upcoming holidays. We’ll finish it off with a bow. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $25.00

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE at Ashcombe

Saturday, November 13th

Special Guests:

CAROL FAIR - MONOGRAMS

Beautiful and creative monogrammed products 9-4.

RON FINKENBINDER - CARVINGS

Duck & Santa Claus Carvings 9-4

WHEAT WEAVING BY BEKKA

with Bekka Rousek 9-4

THE NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 9-4.

Share train history, trivia and information and

see a 14’x10’ historical model railroad.

THE STATION 10-4. Share train history and information with members of this New Cumberland based organization

Vegetable & Fruit Garnishing

with caterer Ed Byrem. 9-4

COLLATE PINS & FELTED WOOL

FLOWER PINS 9-4 with Jill Smith.

SUMMERS ARTWORKS

Unique art for unique people, with Renee Summers 9-4

NOTE CARDS & JEWELRY

Framed dried flower note cards & jewelry by Janice Bowen 9-4

KNIT HATS

Knit hats by Brenda Albert 9-4

BOOK SIGNING

with Catalano Brown, author of “My Way” -

a scrumptious cookbook with beautiful photography

Karen Galbraith

Jumping Junebug Jewelry

Adams County Winery

Tasting and sales

Custom Silk Floral Wreaths & Arrangements

Our floral designer can make the perfect

accents for your home!

Christmas Decor At Ashcombe

Gingerbread & Gumdrops

Festive holiday faux candy, cookies and baked goods make this tree deliciously colorful.

Enchanted Forest

Fairies, gnomes and unicorns abound in this

woodland world of whimsy.

Williamsburg

Clove studded oranges with berry and pine

accents create the classic touch of colonial Christmas

Snow & Ice, Twice As Nice

Icecicles, snowballs, ice garland, flocked mini trees and ice trees create an ultra-cool winter look.

Majestic Winter

Platinum, greys, silvers and golds are highlighted in exquisite glass ornament.

Beauty Of The Red Bird

Cardinal ornaments, home decor, pottery and more.

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Check out our gift area for Old World Ornaments; Beanpod, Yankee & Crossroads Candles;

beautiful stained glass; quilted placemats, throws & quality linens; bath & body scents, soaps & lotions; women’s jewelry, scarves & handbags; over 20 Christmas tree themes and so much more!