It’s the below freezing temperatures, icy winds and freezing rain that keep us from planting those cold weather vegetables, pansies and especially peas that traditionally go into the ground on St. Patrick’s Day in New Jersey.
But there are ways around this, especially if you have not yet started your seeds indoors for cold weather crops outdoors. Sickles Market has done some of the hard work and currently is selling vegetable 6-packs for $3.99. Offerings included Brussels sprouts and red and green cabbages, which can take 90 to 110 days to mature; peas, which take 58 to 70 days; spinach, 30 to 50 days; Bright Lights Swiss chard (60 days), and romaine, buttercrunch and Red Sails lettuces, 45 to 70 days, depending on the variety.
But be prepared to cover up the lettuces and Swiss chard if freezing weather is forecast. Better yet, put them in a sunny windowsill or under grow lights for a few more weeks. Last spring, which was cold and wet, even commercial farmers in Monmouth County had to wait to plant or risk losing crops.
In the greenhouse at Dearborn Market in Holmdel, pansies and violas were $2.99 for a 4-inch pot, $2.49 a 4-pack, $2.99 a 6-pack and $15.99 a flat. Vegetables were not out yet.
It’s a green houseplant – no flowers – that prefers diffuse light and a 4-inch pot sells for $14 at Dearborn and about $50 online.
“My plant broker from Canada called and said she had five boxes of them so I asked her to send one,” explained garden center manager Mark Sandstrum, who said he’s still not sure how to pronounce the peperomioides name. “They’re cute. Customers like them.”
He said he also saw them at the annual Philadelphia Flower Show for $50. Popular and rare for now – several of the plants at Dearborn were already multiplying – accounts for the high price elsewhere.
He also has the jewel orchid that is prized for its dramatically colored broad leaves. The tiny white flowers are a bonus and it’s one of a few orchids that grows in soil, he added.
“It looks like the same kind of plant, but really isn’t,” Sandstrum said. “It was a prizewinner at last year’s orchid show.”
A 5-inch pot, currently blooming, sells for $24.99.
Both Sickles and Dearborn are being overrun by rabbits – no, not real ones – plus ducks and chicks in all sizes and shapes for the Easter holiday and the fact that Tuesday was the first day of spring.
Spring flowers in baskets or pots always remind us that the snow outside soon will be gone until next year.
The garden center has not yet put out its spring vegetable and flower flats, but there are red and green leaf lettuces and tomatoes growing there and doing well.
“Hydroponics can be as simple as you want to make it,” she explained. “If you have a houseplant clipping in water and it grows roots and you’re switching the water out and it’s still growing, you’re doing hydroponics. Just like that.”
The theme for the 2018 Philadelphia Flower Show was water. She saw bonsai trees being grown in water in large glass containers, no soil in sight.
More customers are asking about it, she said, especially older people who’ve moved to 55 and older communities where space is limited and gardening is not allowed.
“Hydroponics doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. It can be a small herb box on windowsill where there’s a little pump and water flowing,” she said.
Or you can go bigger with an OPCOM Farm GrowWall Indoor Smart Hydroponic System that is self-contained and fits against the wall. There are five tiers and 75 places for plants. It sells for $999.99.
“Indoor gardening is certainly on the rise and I think a lot of it has to do with making it more approachable for the home gardener,” Lahm said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Brock Farms
375 Route 34, Colts Neck
732-462-0900
Dearborn Market
2170 Route 35, Holmdel
732-264-0256
Sickles Market
1 Harrison Ave., Little Silver
732-741-9563
This article first appeared in the Home & Garden section of the March 22 – 29, 2018 print edition of The Two River Times.