FoxFarm Blog

Worm Castings Rock!

Earthworm castings are the powerhouse ingredient in many of our products, including our premium Ocean Forest Potting Soil. So why do we get so excited about worm poop?

We start with rich compost. Remember that worm castings are nothing more than compost that has passed through the gut of a worm. Compost, or decomposed organic matter, is a basic building block of healthy soil.

Worms make it even better. As compost passes through the body of an earthworm, beneficial bacteria flourish. These helpful microbes fight off plant disease and help transform nutrients in the soil into a form that easier for plant roots to use.

Our high-quality earthworm castings are a cornerstone to many of our earth-friendly gardening products. It’s what makes our potting soils so rich and our liquid fertilizers so delicious—for plants, that is.

Start Your Seedlings!

There’s nothing better than a home-grown tomato, and who can resist starting the plants from seed? Check average temps in your area and find out when you can expect regular temperatures in the 70s. Count back 8 weeks, and get those tomatoes going!

Start with our Light Warrior Seed Staring Mix, with mycorrhizae and humic acid. If it’s cold in your seed-starting area, use a heated grow mat to keep your seeds warm. You’ll need bright lights, so unless you’re growing in a greenhouse, plan on adding a few shop lights from the hardware store and placing them just six inches from the soil. You’ll need to raise the lights as they grow, always keeping them about six inches above the foliage.

Plant your favorite tomato varieties in seed flats, and keep the seeds watered well. When they start to germinate, choose the sturdiest, most vigorous seedlings, making sure to select about twice as many as you plan to grow in your garden in case a few fail (and so you’ll have extras to share!) Pluck out the remaining sprouts so your “survivors” will have room to flourish. Then begin feeding with a light application of 100% organic Liquid Big Bloom to get those roots growing.

Once the plants have two sets of healthy leaves, they’re ready to graduate to pots and real potting soil. Repot them into four-inch pots using Ocean Forest, making sure you continue to give them regular water. For a little extra push, mix Peace of Mind Starter or Happy Frog Jump Start into the soil before planting.

A week after planting, they’re ready for some fertilizer! Check out our feeding schedules for liquid plant feeding, or simply use our Peace of Mind Tomato & Vegetable according to package directions. Only a few more weeks until spring!

Bareroots

Do you dig bareroots? This time of year, you’ll find asparagus, strawberries, fruit trees, flowering shrubs, and roses in bareroot form at the garden center. These plants are ready to be put in the ground as soon as they get home, so be sure you’re ready for them.

Dig a hole that’s just deep enough to give the roots room to spread out.  Mix half native soil with Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, which is packed with beneficial microbes and nutrients.  Add Happy Frog Jump Start fertilizer according to package directions, and you’re ready to plant.

Carefully spread the roots out and cover them gently with soil.  You may need to form a mound in the bottom of the hole for the base of the plant to rest on; this depends mostly on the shape of the plant’s root system.  Cover it well, leaving only the branches or trunk aboveground.  Mark the area with a stake, and wait for spring!

The Mulch Protection Program

As the temperatures drop, mulch is more important than ever.  One of the best things you can do to get your garden through the winter is to add 2-4 inches of mulch around shrubs, trees, and perennials. 

Has the vegetable garden gone dormant?  Add six inches as a top-dressing, cover with grass clippings or dried leaves, and plant directly into it next spring. A good layer of mulch will help suppress weeds, prevent soil erosion, and add valuable nutrients that feed the plants at the root zone. 

One bale of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner will cover 12-15 square feet of bare ground.  It’s the best investment you can make this winter.

Overwintering

Unless you live in an ultra-mild tropical or coastal climate, you probably have at least a few favorite plants that don’t make it through the winter.  It’s worth it to dig these up and re-plant them in the spring.  In fact, you may end up with bigger, healthier plants if you do.

First, trim back any dead or diseased foliage and get the plant down to a manageable size.

If you can, give it a week or two to recover from its haircut, and then dig out as much of the root ball as possible.

Place the roots into a clean plastic or clay pot, and fill with Happy Frog Potting Soil. Water well.

Remember that you may not need to bring the plants indoors.  It might be enough to move them to a sheltered area near the house that isn’t as affected by frost, and keep burlap or floating row covers nearby to wrap them up on especially cold nights.

If you do bring them indoors, make sure that they have a good light source, and don’t worry if they drop some leaves. Most plants will go through an adjustment period as they get used to the climate inside your house.

In spring, give the plants some time to adjust before you replant them.  Set the pots out during the day, and bring them back in at night for a week or so. Then plant them carefully, trying not to disturb the root ball, and feed with a gentle organic fertilizer like Big Bloom Liquid Plant Food.  It’s especially good for helping stressed plants adapt to new conditions.

Vacation!

Sooner or later, you're going to have to abandon the garden and go on vacation with your family. We understand-it's not fair that they expect you to go to the beach just when the garden is really taking off. But just think of it this way: it's an excuse to give your plants a little extra boost just when they need it the most. So before you find a plant sitter and start typing up watering instructions, look around and see what you can do to help your plants survive on their own.

Mulch. If the ground is looking a little bare, this might be the perfect time to add a layer of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to help hold moisture in and add beneficial microbes, which help plant roots extended their reach and acts as water and nutrients located far away.

Feed. Giving the vegetable garden an extra boost now will guarantee a luscious harvest when you get back from vacation. If you haven't been feeding the vegetable garden all summer, this would be the perfect time to work in some Happy Frog Tomato & Vegetable to really get things going.

Water. If you're going to be gone for a week or less, give the garden a good, long soaking. Walk around with a hand shovel and dig in the dirt around some of your plants to make sure that the water has soaked in. It may be that one exceptionally deep soaking will be enough to get your garden through the entire week. If you're going to be gone longer, consider adding soaker hoses or drip irrigation so that it easy for a neighbor to turn on the faucet and get the watering done. And if you really want to get fancy, put the irrigation on a timer and tell the neighbors that all they have to do is come over and help themselves to your ripe tomatoes!

School Was Never THIS Cool!

And now we bring you Mrs. Ritter's kindergarten class at Jacoby Creek Elementary School in Arcata, CA.They've been growing wheat grass seeds in some Light Warrior Agro-Ponic Grow Medium that we donated.  And check out that grass--that's only two weeks' growth!  Looks like we've got some future gardeners in this class.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

We just can’t say enough about the wonders of mulch. If you do one thing for your garden this winter, get out there and spread a few inches of mulch around.  We’re partial to our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner—give it a try and let us know what you think.  We pack it with beneficial microbes, earthworm castings, bat guano, and forest humus.  It really is a meal for your garden, and a nourishing meal is exactly what plants need to keep them going through the winter.

A good mulch will increase drainage and prevent rot; suppress weeds; help control erosion; support healthy root growth; protect tender plants against frost; and give earthworms something to munch on.  What’s not to like?

Tree Planting

Winter is the perfect time to plant a tree.  While the garden is down to its bare bones, take a look around and find a good space where you can be sure a mature tree won’t interfere with power lines, rooftops, or pavement. 

Most trees in the nurseries this time of year are nothing more than sticks; ask nursery staff to show you pictures so you’ll have an idea of what the mature tree will look like.  There’s no need to spend the extra money on a larger tree; a smaller root system will probably adapt to your garden soil and catch up quickly.

When you get your tree home, dig a hole that is large enough that the container can fit into it comfortably.  Gently pull the tree’s roots from the container and set carefully in the hole, trying not to disturb the roots.  Fill in with a mixture of two-thirds native soil and one-third compost like our Happy Frog soil conditioner.  Add a little Peace of Mind Starter according to package directions, but remember, there’s no need to overfeed transplanted trees.

To stake or not to stake?  Don’t stake a young tree unless high winds threaten to knock the sapling over.  Otherwise, the tree will be healthier if it’s allowed to grow on its own. Always release a tree from its stakes after the first year.

Make sure the tree is watered, but don’t let water or wet mulch pile up around the trunk—it needs to breathe!

Watch Your Water

Now that it’s officially fall, it’s time to cut way back on your watering schedule.  If you use an automatic irrigation system, make some adjustments to account for fewer hours of daylight, cooler temperatures, and rainfall. 

And if you’re watering by hand, just scrape away mulch and dig down a little to check the moisture level around the root zone.  Wind and cooler temps can dry out plants, but chances are the soil’s a little more damp than it was a few months ago.

This is a good time to think about mulching around established plants to conserve water and support a healthy root system all winter long.  A mulch will also suppress weeds and will keep a light frost from damaging fragile roots.

A well-composted mixture of grass clippings, dried leaves, and other yard trimmings makes a great mulch for fall, but to give it an extra boost, try our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, which will do everything you need a mulch to do and add 19 species of beneficial microbes to your soil.  These microbes help feed plants at the root zone and keep them strong over the winter months.