We have not done business updates in quite a while, but now that the weather is changing and the growing season is underway, we’ll be providing more regular updates! We also hope to see you out in the community in the months to come!
Right now we’ve got a lot of edible seedlings sprouted. We started the superhot peppers (that take a long time to germinate) at the end of February, and have been intermittently starting other seeds until about mid-march. We’ve had very good germination rates, and have inoculated all of our seedlings with Mycorrhizal fungi (We used MycoGro, but it’s not the brand that matters, it is the early inoculation with beneficial fungi to help young seedlings take up nutrition and reduce transplant shock, among other benefits. There are several other brands that make similar products).
Right now things are just growing under lights in my garage, but pretty soon I may move them to the greenhouse. I will gradually expose them to the greenhouse conditions, similar to the hardening off we will do before selling the seedlings.
So, what are we growing this year? What aren’t we, is a better question. We’ve got many kinds of peppers, from Bell to Carolina Reaper. In addition to Bell Peppers and Carolina Reapers, we are also growing:
Aji Charapita – A unique pea sized yellow pepper from peru
West Indies Red Habanero – The original superhot pepper
Habanada – Habanero minus the heat
Jalapeno (Early) – Standard Jalapeno
Jalapeno (Tam) – Milder Jalapeno
Panamanian Creole Peppers – Panamanian sweet pepper- I brought the seeds back from Panama in 2019, grew them in 2020, and now again for 2021
We’ve also got a few kinds of tomatoes growing:
Early Treat– Medium sized slicer, great for salsa!
Beefsteak– Large slice-able Beefsteak variety, great for sandwiches!
Cherry Baby– Productive cherry tomatoes, great for anything!
We’re also growing herbs including Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Basil (Italian and Thai varieties), Cilantro, and Dill.
We were hoping to have some ornamentals to offer as well this growing season, and we still may, but a wholesale order we were expecting kind of fell through at the last minute The ornamental shrubs that we are propagating could use another year of growth before they are in sellable condition. Yet they do have roots and are showing signs of budding and getting ready to leaf out, small as they are.
Another exciting task we’re undertaking this spring; sourcing exciting ornamental shrubs and perennials to propagate. We are trying to go all native for the ornamentals that we will carry. Many great shrubs, like most Arborvitae and certain species of Red-Twig Dogwood are native, so we aim to help homeowners incorporate more native plants into their landscape. This will help your landscape to not just be beautiful, but to also add ecological value to the local environment and wildlife.
Another nursery project we undertook was making free seed packets for our little free library. We had quite an excess of some seeds, so we put out packets of marigolds, cosmos, jalapenos, and cayennes and may continue to make new seed packets. If you are in the Baldwin area and would like to swing by to the Little Library for some free seeds, send me an email and I’ll gladly provide our address.
One more thing with the nursery business that we’re looking into is some outdoor events in late May or early June to be vendors. I’ve heard that Baldwin Borough is having their community day again this year, but there is still nothing on the website. If you know of or are hosting an event, Meneely Farms would love to be present to sell seedlings, grow bags, other accessories and more.
That’s about it. It is all very exciting. I started my first seeds in 2013 and was immediately hooked. I love this time of year, and I hope to be able to share some of that love with you and your garden.
Best wishes,
Scott
PS – Giveaway – Do you have a place for a small flowering dogwood tree? Do you have space for several? I have about 15 to give away. If interested, please contact us using the information below. These are small bare root trees, but given time and love they are a great 4 season interest native tree for your landscape. They will certainly require some kind of deer protection.
Meneely Family Nursery 
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