If you want to improve all of your landscape plantings, try Fafard Premium Topsoil. This enriched soil amendment is regionally formulated to best suit your local garden soils.
Author: Jan Perez
Fafard® Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed
Fafard® Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed is specially formulated to retain water better than ordinary potting soils. It can be used for indoor or outdoor growing and contains a fertile blend of compost, bark, Canadian sphagnum peat moss, controlled-release fertilizer, water-holding crystals, and other fertile ingredients.
The 2018 Landscape Show
Check out Fafard and Sun Gro Horticulture at this year’s Landscape Show held from October 4-6, 2018 at the Orange County Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida. The Landscape Show is the hottest landscape and horticulture conference and trade event in the whole of the American Southeast. The expansive show presents over 800 vendors displaying their best across a 5 acre show floor. The Landscape Show is presented by the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association, Inc. (FNGLA) and also offers loads of educational and networking opportunities for attendees.
Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) 2018
Come out and see Sun Gro and Fafard at the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) held from January 17 – 19, 2018 at the Broward County Convention Center! It is THE trade event showcasing the latest trends in South Florida tropical plants. The massive trade show features nearly 5 acres of vibrant plants in addition to green industry vendors. Come and see all the new things Sun Gro will offer in 2018.
We will be at booth #1102
Sun Gro’s PAR Vegetable Garden: 17 Years and Growing
Back in 2000, the Sun Gro® Horticulture corporate office in Agawam, MA moved to a new site that included a garden. The garden was originally used for display, but eventually we transformed into the Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) vegetable garden. [The Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) program was launched in 1995 by the Association for Garden Communicators (GWA) and GWA Foundation as a public service to encourage gardeners to grow fresh produce for community food banks and soup kitchens.] The garden was expanded and upgraded in 2010 and has been yielding produce for our local food pantry ever since.
Over the years, the Sun Gro® PAR garden volunteers/employees have planted, weeded, watered, and fertilized the garden and reaped the harvest. As the company has changed with time, so have our employees who volunteer in the garden. Plenty of longstanding staff have participated in the garden since the beginning, and there are always new employees willing to get their hands dirty to support the effort. Sometimes family members help out, too. It’s a community effort!
Engaging Volunteers
More recently, we invited outside volunteers to help keep our PAR garden productive. Our biggest help comes from the horticultural students from Westfield Technical Academy in nearby Westfield, MA. Our garden gives them hands-on training in garden prep and planting, and we are grateful for the help! They come in spring to help us get the garden prepped and sometimes they help plant. They also help at harvest time when we weigh in our crops and deliver them to the Westfield Food Pantry, also in Westfield, MA.
Like most gardens, we have bountiful harvests some years and other years the weather and weeds get out of hand, but it’s not just about our gardening success. Our PAR garden also teaches us about working together and committing time to our local community.
In our best harvest year we weighed in nearly 450 pounds of fresh produce, so we know our garden is making a difference! This year, we plan to do much better. Our volunteers have signed up for 2017 and are scheduled to start planting vegetables in late May. We will also be installing three raised beds (filled with Sun Gro® container mixes), with lumber donated from Lucia Lumber Co. Inc. in Agawam, MA, and fencing to keep out unwanted wildlife.
Bring Fafard to Your Local Garden Center!
Can’t find Fafard® or other Sun Gro Horticulture products at your local garden center? Interested in carrying Fafard mixes Then please email us at info@sungro.com. We will work with you to find a solution!
Fafard products are quickly moving beyond the Eastern United States to garden centers and hydroponics stores near you. It’s easy to see why. Gardeners choose our products because of their reliably great performance. What’s more, many of our products are OMRI Listed, so you can feel confident that you are growing with the best.
Want to be part of the action? Then request our top-quality growing products today!
If you are a retailer ready to join the thousands of other happy Fafard vendors, please email us here.
Homemade Pico De Gallo
Feeling a little spicy after you have harvested your fresh veggies? This pico de gallo recipe tastes delicious with crunchy tortilla chips or as a taco topper.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 medium fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
- 1 serrano chili pepper, finely chopped
- Juice of one lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Cumin (optional)
After dicing and chopping, combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Season to taste. If the chili make the pico too hot, add more tomatoes. Wear gloves when preparing chili peppers and don’t touch your eyes. Set aside for one hour in order to for the flavors to blend together. Enjoy!
Grilled Beef & Vegetable Shish Kabobs
Sometimes it’s easy to get in a barbecuing rut when the solution is right in front of you! If you are vegetable gardener, grab your favorite veggies from your garden, skewer them up, and grill.
Ingredients:
1 cup boiled red new potatoes, quartered
1 cup red, yellow, or green bell pepper chunks
1 cup red onion chunks
1 cup white button mushrooms
1 cup zucchini or yellow squash chunks
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 cups sirloin chunks
Garlic & Herb Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together and refrigerate in a covered container or use right away. Before grilling, toss the vegetables in the marinade, and allow them to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Skewer the vegetables and beef chunks, and grill them for 4-5 minutes on each side.
Fresh Greek Salad
Are you looking for something a little different to bring to that next potluck? Try this delicious Greek vegetable salad that you can make with veggies straight from your garden! It is wonderful by itself, as a side salad, or scooped up with slices of warm pita bread.
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 large English cucumber, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cup fresh feta chunks
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle
Fresh cracked pepper
Mix the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and olives together and top with feta and red onions. Drizzle with red wine vinegar, and olive oil and then sprinkle with the oregano and black pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Fresh Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh-baked blueberry scones , especially when a key ingredient is from your own garden. Market or garden-fresh blueberries make this recipe taste great, and freshly grated lemon zest gives that extra pop of flavor. For even more sweetness and decadence, drizzle with fresh lemon glaze while the scones are still warm.
Scone Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing on top
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salted butter, melted
Directions
For this simple recipe, start by adding all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk them together. Cut the cold butter into the mixture until crumbly. Whisk together the cream, egg, and lemon zest in a liquid measuring cup. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry until the dough just comes together, fold in the blueberries. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and lightly knead, gently turning and folding the mix eight to ten times. (Too much kneading will result in tough scones!) Roll the dough to 1-inch-thick, 4-inch-round circles and cut them into quarters. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, and voila!