joene's garden » CT NOFA

Why Visit the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show?

joenesgarden — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:22:07 +0000

Why Visit the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show?

In case you haven't heard, the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show 2012 opens at 10:00 am Thursday, February 23 and runs daily through Sunday, February 26. It features many Connecticut-based nursery and horticulture-related businesses and organizations under one roof so visitors get a taste for what's available once the local gardening season really begins humming.

If you're one of the Nutmeg State garden and plant lovers still undecided about visiting the show perhaps one of the reasons I attend will help you decide to do the same.

It's Local. It puts a face on nurseries, garden- and landscape-related vendors, and horticultural organizations Connecticut residents are most likely to use and seek advice from. Some of my favorite booths at past shows include Ballek's Garden Center (this year at booths 900 and 902, and Landscape #2) for their fragrant welcome, inspiring display, and sage advice; Adam's Watergardens (this year at booth 1052 and Landscape #6) and Pondering Creations (this year at Landscape #9) for creative water garden ideas; and Connecticut Greenhouse Growers and Connecticut Nurserymen (this year at Landscape #7 and #16, respectively) for their CT grown plants.
It's in February, in my mind the dreariest month of Connecticut's year. I need the emotional lift I get walking by racks of blooming plants and smelling spring bulbs and potted herbs.
I can touch things. I can test how a pruner or other gardening tool feels in my hands, try on gloves,feel the weight of pots and planters, or check out the construction of a product I might only have seen in magazines or on a website. Plus, many vendors run special show prices which can save money.
I collect information. By the time my visit is complete my tote bag is heavy with plant and product catalogues. Not yet a Connecticut Gardener subscriber? Sign up at booth 831, get a glimpse of the latest issue, or pick up some back issues at a reduced price. Learn about Connecticut Historic Gardens at booth 413. Pick up soil sample kits at the UConn Master Gardeners booths (#415 and 417) or, better yet, bring a soil sample for free testing there. You can learn about Master Gardener classes, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (booth 555) and its local chapter CT NOFA, The Connecticut Horticultural Society (Landscape #1), and many other local groups, or sit through one of the numerous gardening seminars.
I go with friends. This is the best part. I share my hours sniffing scents, noting plants, and taking in the start of the growing season with gardening friends. We compare observations, discuss experiences and make plans for future gardens.

Don't go to the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show expecting something on the larger scale of the Boston or Philadelphia flower shows. Go with a local eye to meet and greet the plant, landscape and hardscape resources you are most likely to deal with on a regular basis in your own home state.

On the whole, it's a great way to spend a February day in preparation for gardening thoughtfully in 2012.

Categories: Conferences/Shows, Gardening, General.
Tags: Adam's Watergardens, Ballek's Garden Center, Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, Connecticut Gardener, Connecticut Horticultural Society, CT NOFA, gardening in Connecticut, Pondering Creations.

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Newsy Notes: Growing Organic Veggies, Invasive IDs, an Artificial Leaf

joenesgarden — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:36:20 +0000

Newsy Notes: Growing Organic Veggies, Invasive IDs, an Artificial Leaf

Here's a list of few opportunities for local gardeners and wanna-be gardeners to hone their organic veggie growing skills and for those seeking outdoor invasive plant ID training, plus there's a peek into a new and very cool technology.

Growing Organic Vegetables
Want to grow vegetables organically at home but don't know where to start? Bill Duesing, the executive director of CT NOFA (Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association), will share his hands-on experience on April 19, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby, Connecticut. Bill is an organic farmer when he is not advocating for healthy environmental land care practices. A CT DEP press release offers more information and registration contacts. With a $4 donation ($2 for students and children) you'll learn organic gardening practices from one of the best, plus it's hard not to catch Bill's enthusiasm for organic growing.

Other Organic Gardening Sessions
Connecticut Organic Gardening Education Day – April 2, 2011 – is a CT NOFA sponsored event at multiple locations, offering education on soils, compost and starting seeds. Growing Food in Small Spaces - April 9, 2011 in New Haven – offers tips on growing edible plants in a variety of containers.

Identifying Connecticut's Invasive Plants
A few hardy souls will have the chance to attend either of two one-day, hands-on, in the woods sessions on identifying invasive plants. Why is it important to do this now rather than wait until everything leafs out? Clearing invasive plants is best done when the soil is no longer frozen and most plants and trees are still dormant. But knowing which plant is invasive takes some practice and training, information field botanist Bill Moorhead will impart on a limited number of attendees during the April 1 and April 8, 2011 workshops. Read more about these sessions at the CT NOFA blog.

An Artificial Leaf?
I must admit when the headline Debut of the First Practical 'Artificial Leaf' caught my eye it conjured up something like the aluminum Christmas trees Charlie Brown and Linus passed by in their search for a real tree, but the artificial leaf this article refers to looks nothing like a real plant leaf. It's actually a new type of solar cell, about the size of a playing card, that converts sunlight and water into energy much like a leaf does - it photosynthesizes. Lead researcher Daniel Nocera, PhD, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reports the current solar cell design built on lessons learned a decade ago during development of a similar solar cell. The beauty of the new version is its use of readily accessible and inexpensive materials. The solar cell produces electricity by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Extra energy is then saved in a fuel cell. Besides the coolness of this concept – it can be used in underdeveloped regions, works under simple conditions, and is stable - I'm particularly struck by Nocera's quote, "Nature is powered by photosynthesis, and I think that the future world will be powered by photosynthesis as well …"

What a concept … since nature is powered by photosynthesis, we might learn and succeed by copying nature. Nocera et al follow this concept in creating their solar cell. Less technologically-inclined folk can copy nature simply by gardening organically.

Categories: Edibles, Garden Blogs, Gardening, Invasives, Newsy Items.
Tags: 'artificial leaf', CT NOFA, gardening in Connecticut, Growing organic vegetables, invasive plants, photosynthesis.

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A CT NOFA surprise

joenesgarden — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:30:00 +0000

A CT NOFA surprise

Not all surprises are good - think of kale leaves chomped by cabbage worms or the hole a vole left in the garden where a homegrown-from-seed tomato once stood.

But some surprises are lovely and very welcome, as was learning that on December 8, 2010, the CT NOFA blog highlighted my blog.

Aw, shucks … such kind words … indeed, a lovely surprise.

CT NOFA is the Connecticut Chapter of Northeast Organic Farming Association NOFA). NOFA has chapters in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as Connecticut that promote organic gardening and farming. CT NOFA, as you would expect, fosters ecologically sound farming and gardening and works to increase the availability of local agricultural products for Nutmeg Staters.

NOFA sponsors, runs, and supports regional educational opportunities for gardeners, homeowners, land care professionals, and farmers. CT NOFA does the same locally. Check out the CT NOFA events page for current and future offerings – and visit it regularly so you don't miss newly posted opportunities.

Cold weather months offer ample opportunity to further investigate the resources for gardeners, resources for farmers, a downloadable listing of Connecticut's organic farms and related businesses, and valuable links to other related sites accessible at or via the CT NOFA website. Once there, sign up for their emailed newsletter which gives handy links to updated information, interesting articles, and the CT NOFA blog.

Interested in organic lawn care, learning more about Organic Land Care, or planning a vegetable garden? There's info on all these topics and more through CT NOFA.

It's a great resource for seasoned and new gardeners, and everyone in between.

I'm honored to be associated with such a forward thinking and down-to-earth group. Here's a big THANK YOU to CT NOFA for the shout out.

Categories: Garden Blogs, Gardening.
Tags: CT NOFA, Northeast Organic Farming Association.

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