New Year's Eve

If you have travel plans for tonight, please drive safely. We will be staying close to home.

Had rain overnight, so will not be conducting daylily inventory today as yesterday. Weather was perfect for walking through the daylilies ie, dry ground and sky bright with sunshine. This morning it continues to drizzle rain after the heavier rain last night. So will be staying inside and taking down decorations, cleaning and making plans to peruse the daylilies, hopefully tomorrow.

One of the new daylilies that we have available for the 2010 season:

Nacogdoches Bing Cherry
early bloomer, rebloomer, dusty rose with purple eyezone

Check us out at http://www.oakvillefarm.com for other upcoming daylilies. And until next time, Happy Gardening.

Wednesday ...

December 30, WOW.

Yes, I have been on hiatus: celebrating Christmas, visiting family, "on the road again" as it were. And had a grand time. One night, we piled into a vehicle and rode out to view Christmas lights. Well, well, we came upon a "yard light show". Red, green, white lights strung all the way up the tree with every branch being covered, down the chimney, around roof line, on the ground, on arches, on artificial trees in the yard, wreaths on windows, plus much more and all synchronized to music. It was fabulous. We sat in the vehicle for more than 40 minutes, singing to the music which was broadcast over a radio station, and taking in every moment of the magic. Thank you to the folks on Jones Avenue in Elizabeth City.

Hope everyone has had a safe healthy Christmas/Holiday filled with family, friends, food, love and laughter. Traditions and holidays are remembered for years to come.

Now on to SPRING thoughts. You are probably thinking that winter has just begun. Well, yes it has. The ground is resting, plants are in hiatus yet storing energy to be released in the spring. And our minds are all about the surprises yet to come. When planning your daylily gardens be sure and check out our great buys at http://www.oakvillefarm.com . Please check back often as we will be adding new daylilies.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Only two more days until ....

Yes, December 25, 2009. Seems like I can't get enough accomplished in these last days before the holidays. ;)

The daylilies here at Oakville Farm have soaked up much of the melted snow. Water is even standing between the rows. And on the north side of each row, the snow is still there. Weather forecasters are calling for rain on Christmas day.

Hope your gardens are prepared for winter, from cold snowy winters in the northern zones to the warmer southern zones. Ya know, daylilies originated in Asia, but have adapted well to the USA climates. Daylilies thrive in USDA climate Zones 4 through 9. My understanding of the USDA Zone map is that it factors in average winter minimum temperature. For example, for us in Zone 7, our average minimum temperature is 0 to 10 degrees. With that, daylilies that are considered "Dormant", are those that loose its leaves for the winter. "Evergreen" daylilies have leaves that remain green throughout the winter, unless severely frozen. "Semi-evergreen" daylilies are those that do not fall in either category, ie leaves die back, but not all the way.

I will be back tomorrow and give examples of these three classifications. Until then, Happy Gardening.

Good Morning

The week of Christmas 2009, can you believe it? I know that the stores have been telling us that Christmas was close at hand, they have been telling us since, well, September. And now it is upon us.

Weather wise, it looks like Christmas. Just like the Christmas' that I remember from growing up in Indiana, SNOWY! Here at Oakville Farm, we had about 4" total from Friday and Saturday snows. Beautiful. Our daylilies were covered in a warm white snowy blanket. And what a great source of H2O that it brings to the daylilies.

Hope everyone has a safe and very Merry Christmas. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Brrrrrr ..

Winter does not officially begin until December 21. This morning, we are getting a taste of what is to come in January. 18 degrees on the outside thermometer. Oh yea, winter is on it's way.

Now is the time for us all to begin to formulate our flower garden plans for 2010. Ours will certainly have daylilies. Most daylily plants will provide blooms for 30-45 days. Reblooming daylilies will provide blooms throughout the entire growing season.

Several new cultivars that we will have for sale in 2010 include:

Double Dribble
24" height, double, coral/apricot color, rebloomer



Frankly Scarlet
28"-35" height, red color, rebloomer


Be sure and check us out on the web: http://www.oakvillefarm.com. We will be adding new daylilies. We will begin shipping daylilies on April 1, 2010 and conclude on October 1, 2010. So make plans now to update your current garden, make a new garden area or purchase plants for friends. Daylilies make a good perennial plant for most any garden.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Good Friday to all ...

Hello Daylily bloggers.

And what has been going on since last blog? We were busy getting ready for out of town visitors. Always a welcome treat around the holidays. Seems like all we do is laugh and eat, laugh and eat. How great is that?
And a great time we had, ya know. Now they have traveled on to their next stop. And we are on to our next project ....

Let's get back to pH, soil pH that is. I found out that pH stands for Potential of Hydrogen. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic (sour). A pH greater than 7 is alkaline (sweet). My Grandpa used to taste/smell the soil and indicate if it was sweet or sour. Not knowing what he meant, I thought it was just a ole farmer's myth. Now I know he meant alkaline (sweet) or acidic (sour) soil.

Recapping from previous blog, a soil sample can be taken and sent to your local Extension Office for a detailed report on soil properties or a soil sample kit (either probe or test tube/water/chart) can be used to see if your soil needs to be amended.

So when results are confirmed and you want your daylilies to thrive to their very best, plant them in soil with a pH between 6.0 - 6.5, a slightly acidic soil.

***** So what if the soil needs amending for your daylilies? *****

To RAISE the soil pH

If your soil is too acidic, you need to add alkaline material. The most common "liming" material is ground limestone. Ground limestone breaks down slowly, but it does not burn plants like "quick lime" does. Apply it to the garden in the fall to allow time for it to act on soil pH before the next growing season. A rule of thumb for slightly acid soils: apply 5 pounds of lime per 100 square feet (say a 5 x 20-foot raised bed) to raise the pH by one point.

Applying wood ashes also will raise soil pH. Wood ashes contain up to 70 percent calcium carbonate, as well as potassium, phosphorus, and many trace elements. Because it is powdery, wood ash is a fast-acting liming material. Be careful, a little goes a long way. Limit your application to 2 pounds per 100 square feet and only apply it every other year in a particular area.

To LOWER the soil pH

In this case, you need to add a source of acid. Options include pine needles, shredded leaves, sulfur, sawdust and peat moss. Pine needles are a good source of acid and mulch. Peat moss with a pH of 3.0 is often recommended as a soil additive. Consider other options, because peat moss is nutrient-poor, expensive, and it's a nonrenewable resource.

As my Aunt Judith says "Prior planning prevents panic", just take a little time to prepare the soil and your daylilies will provide you with years of beautiful blooms.

Until next time, Happy Gardening....

Saturday

Hello daylily folks ...

Since my last blog several new happenings. I was driving toward town and was run off the road by a car which came into my lane. No physical injuries, but damage to my vehicle. Day after all that, I went to look for a used car. Now that shopping was .... well, I can only hope that my new used car will fit the bill. A used car from a very reputable dealer with whom we have done previous business. They are a very nice group of folks. Guess you can say that it was a good business transaction, since I am happy and they are happy. Thanks, Brian.

Gotta go ...company here.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Soil pH, what's it all about?

Hello daylily bloggers.

I want to thank "chipper shredder" for their comment. YES, you are correct, a good sturdy piece of equipment makes life much easier in a garden. The shredder would be accessible anytime, you would know what exactly was in your mulch (no junk, ya know) and it would make for a great family weekend project.! :) I say that from experience. My stepson had a shredder and when we visited, we worked in the yard for several hours, making beautiful mulch. Then the dinner he served afterwards as a show of appreciation was Delicious. I think family projects/gatherings are great!

Now on to our new topic .... Soil pH. You may ask why soil pH is important for growing daylilies. Although daylilies grow in most any type of soil, if you want them to THRIVE, proper soil is something to consider. pH, is a measure of soil acidity or soil alkalinity.

We test soil because ...
we want to monitor the soil's nutrients
we want to amend the soil if necessary
it will let us know what type of plants will grow well in that area

One suggestion is to contact your local Cooperative Extension Office. They provide a soil sample kit. They provided us with a small box, and a form asking about our soil area, where we live and what we plan to plant. We took a clean trowel/shovel, put soil in box, returned it to the Ag Office and within three weeks was provided a report with detailed results. I believe there is a slight fee, but it is worthwhile knowing what your soil needs.

Another option is to purchase a soil tester. Some of the available soil testers include single prong tester, two prong tester, digital tester. They range in price from $10.00 to over $100.00. We found that our single prong "cheap one" gave us sufficient information.

All for now. You go out, test that soil yourself or get it tested, we will be back tomorrow and give some insight about good pH soil level for daylilies.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.