Sprout Farm Newsletter May 16, 2026    sproutfarm.net         open 9-5 daily

Hello Everyone.

Let's get this out of the way. This week's special sale is- Geraniums- 6” pot, red, Violet, Dark Pink, Pink Flash and White- while they last -$4.00 each.

Seed geraniums in the 4” pot, Red, Violet, 'white and Pink, while they last - $1.99 each.

Finally- Pro-mix organic Herb/vegetable 1 cu ft bag- $9.00.

This warm weather has really brought out the need to get our hands in the dirt and grow something.

I wish we could say you could purchase seeds from us but we tried several companies and in the middle of the season I could honestly say that after a few well known and loved seed packages sold out, I would look at the display and say, “I wouldn't plant any of those varieties so why are we trying to sell them?” I don't know how to fix this issue. You will not find the green bean variety, Jade, in any store display but after several years of trial and error, that is the one variety we plant the most. Jay uses Johnny's Seeds and Harris seeds. This week Ken planted seeds for carrots, peas, beets, zucchini, and green beans. If you plan on growing vegetables from seeds don't forget that some varieties can be planted every three to four weeks to spread out the harvest season. Plan you seed purchases accordingly. If you want seed trays, just ask us. We have plenty to share with you.

 

We have lots of tomato plants. We need to move them out so we can make room to start cucumber seeds in trays, among other things. The rye grass we planted last October as a cover crop never germinated. That's the first time that's happened. Some grass germinated this spring but only in the garlic. I am grateful that Ken weeded that patch today. This is the big growth time for the garlic and it doesn't need competition from tall grasses. We're planting more allium, that's plants in the onion family, from the plants we stared by seed. The onions we planted early from starts from down south are doing fine but these home grown babies will finish up later and hopefully gain some good size.

 

The basic to do list doesn't change from year to year. Gather your tools, make sure they are sharp and you have the ones you need. Remember to fertilize your garden when the seeds start to sprout and continue throughout the season. Start planting your summer vegetables.  We don't have any lettuce seedlings at this time in six packs but we have stared the plants in seed trays. We will do this until October. Lettuce is easy to start in seed trays and the germination is a lot easier to control rather then planting the seed directly in the ground and guessing if the weeds will show up before the lettuce. It is time to plant your perennials but wait for a cool day so the transplants won''t have heat shock. We're sure to have a stretch of those days here on the Cape. Last chore is to wipe out the weeds. Deep tilling brings up buried weed seed that then germinate so you may need to lay down a mulch to smother the weeds or just gently kill them by running a tool one to two inches below the soil line and cut them off from their roots. The sun will germinate any seeds down to a depth of two inches so a couple of passes with a hoe or rake will greatly reduce the weed pressure.

 

The kitten report. The last two kittens left us for their new home on Thursday. When I went to pick up the tiger kitten you could tell she knew something was up. She was sitting there shaking, no much, but she wasn't open and stretching. Fortunately, she went with her brother so she will have someone to curl up with when the two of them have finished exploring their new home. I've spent the last couple of days putting away kitten toys, vacuuming hidden corners and checking the drapes for any serious damage. I'm happy to report that after five years of kitten gymnastics, they look just fine.

 

That's all the news for now. Stop by and see what we have growing for you,

Jay and Phyllis Sprout