Sturtz & Copeland

Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

This Week in Connie’s Garden - June 11th

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

Hi - Connie here,

This week in my garden I took action against the Leafminer in my Beets, Swiss Chard and Spinach. First, I picked off all the effected leaves and threw them in the trash. To identify the Leafminer, look for brown trails in the leaf. In bad cases it looks as if the almost the entire leaf has browned. I sprayed thoroughly with Spinosad. The only organic insecticide with systemic action. Funny _ I never had Leafminer in my garden until a few years back. Now these crops get it ever year.

Posted in Gardening, Vegetables |

This week in Connie’s Garden - June 4th

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Tomato and Basil Plants

Finally!!! Connie feels the soil is warm enough to plant tomatoes, peppers and basil in her garden. It’s actually best to do so when night time temperatures will be 50 degrees or warmer.

Make sure you mix a little compost and Peace of Mind Organic Fertilizer with bone meal for distribution into the bottom of each hole. Watered in with compost tea.

Much to Connie’s astonishment her Arugula has already bolted and she has pulled it out.

Posted in Fertilizer and Compost, Gardening, Herbs, Tomatoes |

This week in Connie’s Garden - May 19th

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Where has the Spring gone? It seems like just the other day when Connie was out in the garden planting her radish seeds and now this week she has harvested her first bunch of the season. It’s best to harvest them when it’s still cool. Hot, dry weather conditions can make them quite spicy and less sweet - not to mention pithy.

Connie thinned her beets to about 4″ apart. There’s no reason to discard the thinnings as beat greens are very tasty and be cooked or eaten fresh in a salad when they are so small.

Posted in Gardening, Vegetables |

What’s new in Connie’s Garden May 12th

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Connie was out and about in her garden early this week before all of the welcome rain came. She planted her favorite Black Beauty Zucchini seeds. They have been proven winners in her garden for years. They are known for producing a compact variety and are somewhat disease resistant. She also sowed her Sweet Slice Cucumber seeds, (not very seedy as she says), and her Butternut & Delicata Winter Squash. One thing for sure is that the employees of Sturtz and Copeland are looking forward to her bringing in some of her delicious meals that she has prepared from these beauties later on this summer!

What Connie didn’t do in her garden though, is plant her peppers. With the warm 80 degree temperature we had last week it can be so tempting to get a jump start on them, but from her years of experience in the garden it just doesn’t yield great results and they will certainly languish in the cool soil. If you want them to perform well, plant them around June 1st.

Now on to everyone’s favorite topic, tomatoes! If you haven’t planted your tomatoes you are smart! It turns out that this week has been on the cool side and you still have plenty of time to get them in the ground. Connie has filled the front greenhouse of the store with an extensive variety of Heirloom and Hybrid tomato plants. Stop in to check them out and pick a few.

Posted in Gardening, Tomatoes, Vegetables |

What’s New in Connie’s Garden April 8th

Friday, April 8th, 2011

This week in Connie’s garden, she couldn’t resist picking up the newly arrived broccoli and cauliflower starts from Sturtz to plant in her own garden. The weather this week has been perfect for getting them established.

Moving on to another section in the yard, Connie then took the time to cut back the old dried up stalks on her perennials and removed much of the leaf mulch she had placed around them for the cold winter months. The two photo’s to the left show the before after view of what will soon be blooming perennial geraniums.

It was also a good time to cut back her extraordinary and favorite Jackmanii and Sweet Autumn Clematis vines to about a 10 inch stubble.. The butterflies will be arriving to visit the flamboyant blooms soon!

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Vegetables |

What’s New in Connie’s Garden?

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Many of you may know Connie Smith the General Manager at Sturtz and Copeland. She’s an avid gardener, (needless to say) and has happily agreed to let us peek into her garden on a weekly basis and write about what she is doing in it. Here’s her latest post:

Last week in Connie’s Garden - Connie had already worked her own compost in and began growing more organic food. She has planted everything she cold. Including lettuce, radish, spinach, onion and more.

This week Connie is simply sprinkling the newly planted areas when it seems dry and watching for seedlings to emerge. The Arugula and Radish are already up! She also watered her blueberry shrubs with soil acidifier and gave them kind words of encouragement!

Posted in Gardening, Vegetables |

New Spring and Summer Class Schedule is Available

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Our new Spring / Summer Class Schedule is available. Please stop by or call to register for a class and get a jump on your spring /summer gardening and home decorating.

Sturtz & Copeland 2011 Spring-Summer Class Schedule

All materials purchased during class will be 20% off

Contact Sturtz and Copeland to sign up for classes (303) 442-6663 or email Hannah@sturtzandcopeland.com

5/26/11 Beginner Orchid Class with Candace - Learn the basics of growing and caring for your orchids! Bring in your own orchids for re-potting. $15 lecture. 6:15-8pm

6/2/11 French Garden Container Gardening with Cyndy Create spectacular container gardens for your home with help from our designers. You can bring your own container if you’d like. $15, not including materials. 6:15 -8:15 pm

6/9/11 Herb Class with Isabelle Andre Come learn about how to get the most of your herb gardening! Plant your own container herb garden, or learn how to get the most from your herb garden at home. $15 lecture, materials not included. 6:15-8 pm

6/16/11 High Altitude Gardening with Hannah This class is designed for our customers living in the foothills and mountains in this area. Subjects covered will be native plants, xeriscape, cool weather veggies and specific perennial varieties for your high altitude gardens. $15 lecture. 6:15-8:00 pm

6/30/11 Creating Fairy Gardens with Hannah - All Ages - A great class for kids! Design your own fairy garden with our plants and other little fairy furniture. Maybe we’ll even see some fairies! You are welcome to bring your own planter and materials. $15, not including materials $15, not including materials. 6:15-8 pm

7/14/11 Beginning Floral Arranging with Emily - come join us for our very popular floral arranging class. Sign up now as slots are limited! Learn the basics of creating your own gorgeous arrangement! $15 no including supplies. 6:15-8pm

7/21/11 Organic Pest Management with Hannah From deer to flea beetle powdery mildew, this class will cover tricks or the gardening trade, using natural and organic pest management techniques. Feel free to bring your best remedies too. $15 lecture. 6:15 - 8 pm

Posted in Avant Gardening Series, Flowers, Gardening, Vegetables |

Harvesting Winter Squash

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

You know it is time to harvest your winter squash when they have brown stems, a bit of a dull appearance and you can not easily pierce them with your thumbnail. Some people harvest squash after the first mild frost and before the first hard frost as it can be damaging. Be sure to leave a 2 inch stem on as well.

Squash should be cured at 70-85 degrees for one to two weeks before storing long term at about 45 to 50 degrees. Buttercup squash is the exception to this and should go into cool storage right away.

While we are on the topic of harvesting squash, it would also be worth mentioning that one of the most effective ways to keep the squirrels away is with garlic spray. Cook several cloves of garlic in a pan of water for several minutes to allow the garlic to infuse into the water. Once cool, add to a spray bottle and spray a small amount on to your plants.

Posted in Avant Gardening Series, Deer and Other Pests, Gardening |

Treating Powdery Mildew the Organic Way

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

The bad news is its Powdery Mildew Season, the good news is there is a good organic treatment for it called Safer Garden Fungicide.. Safer helps to prevent it from spreading. Powdery Mildew is a fungus that is spread by wind, water and by us working amongst the plants. It is mostly on the tops of the leaves and is white and powdery. You will find it most years on squash, cucumbers, lilacs, roses and more.

The best thing you can do in future years is to anticipate mildew season early and start spring Safer ahead of time. The sulfur in the product changes the ph of the leaf and prevents mildew from growing.

Posted in Gardening, Roses and Petunias, Vegetables |

Treating Beetles in the Garden

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

We’re seeing lots of bugs this year and especially over populations of earwigs on everything, blister beetles (gray elongated body) on clematis especially and spotted cucumber beetle on squash blooms.To treat Earwigs and Blister Beetles we have a selection of products to choose from containing spinosad (organic) in it. Rotenone Dust (organic) also works well on Blister Beetle, but it is hard to find and should be used with caution and a mask should be worn when applying it.

Spotted Cucumber Beetle likes to gather in and feed on blossoms of squash and cucumber, so you can use the blossoms as a trap and collect them or use a spray with pyrethrin in it.

Posted in Gardening |

Avant Gardening with Sturtz & Copeland

Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

This Week in Connie’s Garden - June 11th

This week in Connie’s Garden - June 4th

This week in Connie’s Garden - May 19th

What’s new in Connie’s Garden May 12th

What’s New in Connie’s Garden April 8th

What’s New in Connie’s Garden?

New Spring and Summer Class Schedule is Available

Harvesting Winter Squash

Treating Powdery Mildew the Organic Way

Treating Beetles in the Garden

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