We are so happy to see you again, talk about our favorite subjects, share some hugs and some news, and to greet new customers too! Among our opening weekend’s first customers were a couple that drove up from Littleton for their first venture to Harlequin’s; their neighbor told them about our Fine Wood Chip mulch, that it knits together and stays in place, looks great, and feeds the soil, unlike the coarse wood chips and bark mulches you find elsewhere.
We had a lot to tell you about last week, soils and seeds, tools, classes and memberships, but didn’t tell you about the plants we have for sale! Yes! We’ve got native and beautifully adapted perennials and herbs that were over-wintered in an unheated but covered ‘house’. These can go home with you now, as long as you can let them ‘harden-off’ for about a week (introduce them gradually to the direct sun, wind and cold). See our instructions HERE. After hardening off, with only a few exceptions, these can be planted in March if you can work the soil.
Many of our native and non-native trees and shrubs, which have spent the winter outdoors, are ready for planting. These include our carefully-curated collection of hardy, disease-resistant and organically-managed fruit trees, berry bushes and vines. Also this week, our expert house-plant grower, Jared, is bringing out the first round of wonderful tropicals for enhancing your indoor enjoyment and health.
We are also well-stocked with the composts, potting soils, fertilizers, mycorrhizae, and other soil products to enhance your gardening success.
If you’d like to grow your own starts for vegetables, herbs and/or flowers, please come and see the excellent array of seeds we’re offering. There are also lots of vegetables you can sow directly in your garden this month: carrots, parsnips, kohlrabi, beets, spring broccoli raab, radishes, arugula, turnips, lettuce, parsley, mustards, various Asian greens, and more! See this helpful seed-planting calendar.
Early March is a great time to sow seeds indoors for homegrown tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (see our list of these seed varieties below), ground cherries, tomatillos, some annuals and herbs.
I no longer have space to start my own veggie plants at home, so I will be eagerly awaiting these when they begin to be available in April. This year we are growing 60 wonderful varieties of tomatoes, with availability beginning in early April for those of us who like to get them going early in Solar Caps or other protected housing. We’re also growing 48 varieties of widely diverse peppers from several continents, sweet, mild and many shades of hot. Here are the lists.
Tomato, Eggplant, Tomatillo, Pepper SEEDS Currently Available
Tomato ‘Big Rainbow’
Tomato
Glacier
Italian Roma
Chocolate cherry
Gardener’s Delight cherry
Sun Gold cherry
Sweetie cherry
Beefsteak
Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
Green Zebra
Moskvitch
San Marzano
Eggplant ‘Pingtung Long’
Eggplant
Black Beauty
Long Purple
Tomatillo
Grande Rio Verde
Purple
Pepper
Early Jalapeno
Serrano
Shishito
Thai Hot
NuMex Joe E. Parker
Ancho/Poblano
Habanero
California Wonder
Golden California Wonder
Jimmy Nardello
Sweet Banana