by Glenda Bissex
Plants for Sale
If you can’t wait for the presence of green or blooming plants, look no farther than the Plainfield Co-op. Near the grocery-side checkout counter or opposite the Deli, you may find lush ferns, small daffodils in bloom, primroses in many colors and other joyous green things, as I did on a recent shopping trip.
Seed-Starting Supplies
If you’re yearning to watch baby seedlings grow into adolescent or even adult plants, under your eyes, in the warmth of your house, many choices await you near the checkout counter on the hardware side of the store. There are kits with pre-planted seed trays and clear plastic domes—just add water. There are empty trays, waiting for you to put soil and seeds in the cells. And heat mats to speed up the sprouting. And growing lights to provide “sun” indoors. There is even a mini-greenhouse that will fit in a small space in your home. There are racks of seed packets, too., of course. So plant and imagine your best garden ever.
Greenhouse Preview
Although snow is still deep on the ground as I write this, I am wondering and Co-op customers are asking, “When will the greenhouse be open?” Never soon enough. It has always been the last week in April.
As before, the focus will be on getting plants from local growers. Claussen’s Greenhouse (Colchester) and Paquette Nursery (Williston) are the big suppliers. More local will be:
- Friends and Neighbors for organic veggie starts
- Blackbird Organics for flower and veggie starts
- Fairfax for perennials
- Great Brook Nursery (Ian and Roseanne)
- Oliver seed (local)
- Organic soil and fertilizer from Coast of Maine
Our gardening section in the store is being updated in April.
Photo Credits: Lisa Howard & Glenda Bissex