We dodged a freeze last night thanks to cloud cover. Tonight we may not be so lucky forecasting 31 F tonight

Overnight low is suppose to be 32 F so I will be bringing in all Plumeria, Bougainvillea, Alocasia/Colocasia, and bananas. I knew it was coming, but what a pain it is!

April showers are coming late this year. Today is April 23rd and it has been raining most of the day. Kind of dreary, but we're almost 4 inches down from our average rain fall this time of the year. It's not real windy and I won't have to water for several days now. So its tolerable, because I know it's needed and it will benefit us in May. I'm still waiting for my black and Henon bamboo to start breaking new culm. Funny how different species break under different conditions, but they all look closely the same. I find bamboo to be so facinating, but quite simple in design. It's kind of like a living "erector set". All of the parts are very basic and simple and at the same time it's very beautiful too. I only wish I had discovered bamboo earlier in life. I'm going to grow it as long as I have life, I just wish I was more experienced with it now.

I'm not real happy with blogger and its format process for placing pictures in my blog. I like Wordpress much better! Unfortunately WP doesn't support sms uploads, a blogger advantage. A mobile WP would be excellent and I would drop all others as long as it was full featured.
I'm probably going to be moving into a new career direction working for an aborist. This will make my work area much more mobile and I will have a variety of new experiences in the near future. So I will either have to learn bloggers pic format or save everything until I can get behind a keyboard. Which is what I may have to do.

Sharing some pictures Spring 2010

I was able to spend some time outside today, and work with some of the plants. There are so many signs of Spring, I thought I would share some of them.


I am so excited about these new culm shoots on my Yellow Groove Bamboo. There are eight of them total right now reaching out to occupy new territory. I can't wait to watch how this bamboo will develope over the season.




This is my Fargesia that I purchased late in the season, This one is a Dragonshead Bamboo. Fargesia is a mountain bamboo, and I am hoping that this one will really take off this season.

These are some mobile greenhouses my mom found at one of the big box hardware stores. I was sceptical about it, but they were very easy to build and have proved to be a very effective means of greenhouse growing on a shoestring budget. She bought each of them for $20 on sale. What a deal, they are normally $39.95 each.








Do you know what this is?




They can create a wall of purple, and they also come in white.


If you guessed Chinese Wisteria you would be right.



Most of my bananas are trying to pick up where they left off last Fall. New shoot are starting to unfurl how exciting.



I just love canna and I am please to see this one coming back to life after a long winter nap.

CHANGES IN MY APPROACH
I have been in the "nursery business" for five year as of this August. When I started out I knew nothing about running a business let alone a nursery. People think it would be easy to operate a nursery, that it would be "fun". Well I'm here to tell you that its not easy, but I still find it rewarding and I guess even "fun". I have studied things like branding, and wrestled with work practices so I can establish costs and expenses. I have tried different marketing approaches. I've set up at the farmers market, I have sold on Ebay. I have sold plants and gardening supplies via online stores. I have even taken appointments with customers to visit and make purchases. I'm am now at a point that I feel I need to take what works and run with it. Over the remainer of the year you will see changes in my companies look. I will be focusing on specific nursery stock and marketing them alone. .

Conservation and me
I have been having feelings that have led me to take action and become involved in what I like to call conserative conservation and it has nothing in common with Al Gore. I don't know if at a certain age you start "caring" more since this is the first time I have turned fourty. Or maybe it has something to do with empty nest syndrom, my youngest child is 18 and graduates in two months. Or maybe it has to do with a maturity in my Christian beliefs. Whatever the reason, I have conservation fever and it isn't just a passing thing. I have secured a domain for the purpose of sharing my convictions and giving others an opportunity to get involved or to just be informed. I value the land and the environment I live in, but I refuse to believe a tree, a rock, or an animal is my "brother". I respect the world that God created, and my desire is to preserve it for future generations to enjoy.

LIFE AFTER LAYOFF The Rest of the Story

So how much time I will be able to spend with horticulture related projects is undetermined right now. I begin my next step into plant tissue culture next Saturday. The class in Feb was cancelled due to weather. It has been rescheduled for April 17th. My future plans for the nursery are for it to be maintained by a combination of TC and hydroponic methods. I have been studying the techniques and am a member of two groups that practice the art and methods of plant tissue culture. It sounds and looks easy, I will let you know more next Saturday. As for what else I will be busy with, well I have a new web site I am developing to facilitate my conservation beliefs. I will make an official announcement one I have enough of the structure in place. Right now it is pretty bare bones. When I do something I like to do it well, so in that spirit I will share the URL later.

LIFE AFTER LAYOFF CON'T
I have a grow room that I have been developing. For several years I have been back and forth between a greenhouse and a grow room. Each has their own benefits. I have decided to go with the grow room because of the ease of sustainability. There is a permanent structure (my garage) with a permanent covering (OSB and vinyl siding). I have insulated the walls and added some electric. I have a grow structure that I have designed and can't wait to get it operational. The design is based on the Ebb n Flow concept but for a container nursery. I have redesigned it for maximum effeciency so I need to take down the grow chamber and put up the new structure which is going to require time and some money. I still have my job at DHL which is 30 hour a week from midnight until 6am. After the layoff I will start working 40hrs plus some Sundays as needed. .

LIFE AFTER LAYOFF

I'm not sure what life after the lay off will be like, I don't have any solid plans. Here is what I would like to do, I would love to spend my entire day working on my nursery. I have had plans to open a hydroponic shop nursery combination. My heart is really into this, the onlything holding me back is the responsibility of my bills, mainly my mortgage. The nursery I have now I initially started with $200, and to date I have thousands,maybe tens of thousands, of dollars invested. My wife reminds me about all of the money when things get tight. I admit being a dreamer or even a visionary. I don't think that is a bad thing. What makes me different is my dreams don't stay dreams. I work to make them reality, for myself my resources are sometimes limited and I am forced to proceed slower than I like. All of this free time would allow me to grow the business. I will be in prayer about this.

ABOUT ME
For anyone who doesn't know me I am Michael White. I am a husband of.20 years and a father of two. I maintain at least one full time job at all times and a part time job is quite common in my life. I also operate a small class A nursery in Florence, Kentucky. My family tree has roots in farming, and my Uncle Joe still runs the farm and rasies cattle. The hard work of the farm was given to me in a "citified" version by my mother. I always had jobs to do. So if you look at my life and you ask how do you do it? Well I've always been working since I was quite young. My first real job I started at age 15 while I was also in school. So work is not new to me. I just wish more of my time was available for the nursery. That might change here in the near future. Effective April 30th myself and all 800+ other people I work with here at CVG are no longer needed and are laid off!

I was reading my own blog and a thought came to me that when I read others blogs I like to "know them" that is I like to have an understanding of where they are coming from. Is this someone who has a passion or just someone throwing out random thoughts on horticulture topics. So as I was reading some of my own posts and I noticed random mentions of different elements of my life, but really nothing that gives the reader a grasp of who I am and maybe where I come from. So I have decided to do a series of posts and give an inside glimse of who I am and what drives me. Most of my posts are mobile from my $50 AT&T Blackberry and it only allows me 6 screens of 160 characters per text. So that's the main reason for a series of posts. But secondly a series allows for a natural break in ideas and thoughts. It forces the author to be creative in how they express themself to convey what they really mean.

Its been a long time since my last post. My life as been a whirl wind with so much going on all at once. I really do wish it would it would slow down. The first drops of this storm are hitting my side tug window and are getting faster as the storm marches in. I am at work at DHL tonight, I wish I were in my bed warm, dry, and fast asleep. Instead Ill be up all night in a storm working on this ramp. The tapping of the rain on the roof is getting louder and faster. I'm sure that it will be a cold rain. I hate working in the rain. Now the roar of the thunder, it won't be long now before the total down pour begins. I will be loosing my full time job at Comair/Regional Elite in May. I'm not sure how I feel about it quite yet. I think I have not accepted it yet. 21 days left before I'm laid off. I guess Ill have to come to terms with it then. I'm just glad I have my job here at DHL, I am truely blessed.

I am giving some serious consideration to submitting an application to the Pepsi refresh campaign under the category of environment. I would apply for the $5000.00 level. My submission would be to use plant tissue culture practices to preserve endangered and threatened plant species. My strategy would be to obtain seed or plant material to initiate it into sterile culture. The next step would be multiply the plant material and mass produce it. It would the be hardened off and adjusted to greenhouse conditions. Once the plants are able to survive out of a sterile environment I would make arrangements with the Nature Conservancy, extension offices, zoo's, botanical gardens and other conservation groups to introduce these plants into their native habitats. I will gain the experience of practicing the art of plant tissue culture and be able to preserve plant species for generation to come. What a legacy!

Less than two weeks now until the Plant Tissue Culture Workshop at Cincinnati State College. I'm really excited to get started in TC. As of the last update this will be a small class of about 11 people which should be a nice size so everyone can get plenty of one on one time with the instructor. I plan on taking a camera and getting some shot for the web site. More top come later.

I was checking emails this week and to my surprise I had an email asking about the availability of bananas. I responded to her inquiery, but couldn't help to wonder if it might start early this year. Usually people don't start looking for plants until late February or early March when the Spring itch starts biting people. So I am really encouraged when I start getting people out looking early in the season. I do have several varieties of bananas in stock right now. Including some Dwarf Red bananas, Musa Cross hybrids, and some beautiful ensentes. I have quite a few Basjoos and Zebrinas from last season, and at least one Kru. I will be getting out of growing Brugmansia so I will have several 1 and 5 gallons available at the Spring plant sale in May at a very nice price. I will be focusing my energies on my bananas, bamboo, and Plumeria for a while so I will be clearing out all other distractions for now

Not long now until the plant tissue culture workshop (Feb. 6). I have received some of the supplies, I am acting as lab assistant for the class. I also have received quite a few 2010 nursery catalogs. With the best one so far being the Plants Delight catalog. Tony Avent has some really nice stock. I enjoy this time of the year, so many plants that I'd love to have. This year my focus will be mostly my bananas. I want to build a strong inventory. I also have a opportunity to get some plumeria out of Thailand, my mom want to get involved with this one. Also increasing my bamboo holding is of interest to me. We will see what happens.

The pure precision of timing of events in my life never ceases to amaze me. I have been given a very blessed life. The plant tissue culture workshop is on schedule for February 6th, this is really exciting to me. I really believe that this could be the defining event for my nursery. I am highly motivated to learn and master this art. Then I get involved in reading a book that my pastor has recommended as a must read. I let my wife Gina read it first because she is a faster reader than I am. She finished it about a week and a half ago. The author will be speaking during the morning service on Jan. 31 so with the pastors reminder of this fact I started reading the book on Monday. WOW! What a book. I am reading things that are motivating me and reveling traits I have, and believe in, but never knew that they had scriptural basis behind them. I would highly recommend reading "Like a tree" by Mitchelle Tolle.

We are getting our first snow of the season today. Traffic is snarled, because people act like they have never driven in snow before. I really don't understand that about people. I don't mind snow, it's rather beautiful the way it covers the landscape. It's a reminder that winter is just two weeks away for us, I try to forget that fact. I detest the cold, and the ice. I hate the feeling of slipping. I'm not a control freak, but that's one thing I insist on being sure about. Why is it that people tend to make more about something than is really there? It's common knowledge that if it's cold and wet that the streets might be slick. So why do so many cars wind up in the ditch with the first snow. You can travel down the highway and count one car after the other right into the ditch like a great wind blew them there. I just don't understand sometimes.

I continue to monitor the progress of the Lotus seedlings. The filter system is continuing to do an excellent job. I am very pleased with the clarity of the water. Both seedlings are continuing to show strong growth. The growth is not rapid growth, but is stong and consistant. The current plan is to continue to grow the seedlings in their current pots. There should be enough room for rhizome developement before having to be transplanted into a larger pot. The aquarium will continue to be home to the seedlings until their growth patterns shows signs of slowing and growth might be at risk. I am expecting at some point that the seedling will begin to grow up and beyond the rim of the aquarium. Each seedling was given a fertilizer tab about a week ago, I won't fertilize again for at least a month or until I observe signs of needing a boost. I will be monitoring growth patterns and reacting accordingly.

I have been doing some reading and research on a couple of topics that I believe might be an asset to my growing program. The first is mycorrhizae, both endo and ecto. The next is humic and fulvic acids. And the last is the use of fish by products, seaweed, and kelp in a growing pgogram. This last summer was really rough with the record low temps in July, which is usually prime growing weather for me. In my zone 6 climate I must take advantage of every opportunity that I have for additional grow for my nursery stock. I am still reading and taking notes, but there seems to be real advantges to using fungi, fish and marine life in your growing plan. I will be discussing what I have learned and the result I am seeing in the grow room soon. I have started using a regiment that includes fungi, and marine based fertilizers. The results are still out but as soon as I have enough info I will share the results..

I have been busy working on some projects since the last entry. One which is perfecting the germination of lotus seeds. I had tried this one before with a couple ofseedlings that had already been germinated. This time I have preformed the whole process myself. The seeds (2) germinated in just five days, which is rather quick according to all of the research I have done on the subject. I was growing the in deep pots that I had purchased some waterlily in, but the were growing so rapidly that I transplanted them into four inch net pots and placed them into a fifteen gallon aquarium. As I continued to do research I learned the the four inch net pots would not be large enough once the rhizome began to develope and grow. If the rhizome is crowded then you will discover that the lotus plant will not develope properly. On Saturday Nov. 28th I transplanted both seedlings into net pots that are about 6" in dia.

I was fooling around testing if I could post pictures to my blog off of my phone and this is what happened:


<A href= http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=25532&size=1 border=0></a>

This is a picture of my Musa Zebrinas 2009 season which I posted to the bananas site.

I have made a new discovery today while on Google. I found a site called Green Culture Singapore. I am new at the site, so I haven't had a chance to really dig in yet. What I have been able to see so far is that it might be a golden opportunity to gain knowledge about gardening from a different cultures perspective. I grow many different plants that are native to Asia. so I think this may be a very unique chance to learn new techniques in growing tropicals. On a side note I have the ladang musaceae site up and running. This is a very exciting time starting something from scratch with some knowledge and insight from starting the midwest aquatics and exotics site. This is a new passion and desire of mine. The MAAE site is undergoing updates and modifications, this hasn't been tossed to the curb. I will be adding to the store inventory soon, the biggest problem with the store is that right now in this economy the products and shipping prices are constantly changing. It's hard to keep up with this and try to grow my plants, and do the planning required to build the business.

It is November now and all of the nursery stock is in, protected from the winter cold that is soon to be here. We have already had several light frosts. The older I get the more I hate winter! I have several bamboo that were planted in the yard back in Aug/Sept, some of them have had damage due to the pesky deer. Fortunately they either don't like the taste of the Henon, or they just haven't discovered it yet. I tend to believe that they don't like to eat it for some reason, they are quite domesticated and have been as close as 5-6 yards from me in the past. I might be working in the yard and look up and there they are! They don't over run the place, but they don't mind sampling anything that looks like it might taste good. I have some nursery updates to pass along. I will continue to grow Plumeria, that was announced several months ago. I will also grow Bamboo, and Bananas. This is a new decision made just recently. I have already set up an additional domain to market the bananas on. I want them to have a stand alone identity. As for how I will market my bamboo, for now it shall remain under the Midwest Aquatics and Exotics site. In the future they may get their own site, but I don't want to stretch myself too thin. Right now the question being pondered is what will I grow under the Aquatics part of the company? I have contacts that want me to purchase lotus and lillies from them. Right now I need to maintain diversity in the things I grow. My niche has been to grow and sell what other local nurseries don't grow and sell. It has always worked until this season when some of the banana varieties I grow showed up on the shelves at The Home Depot. That was like a firm punch in the stomach, it really took the wind out of my sails! I operate this nursery out of passion, not necessity. Honestly my life would be easier if I didn't run it (or it run me, I'm not sure which). I could enjoy the Fall season without dreading the growing season coming to an end. The cold weather might not even be so bad, maybe. It's a passion, and hopefully be my legacy I leave behind; that I was a good nurserymen, businessman, but most important husband and father.

Michael

I haven't posted in a while so here is the latest updates. I think I posted that I will start growing different varieties of bamboo, I have planted several new groves for future harvests. One contains Phy. Nigra Henon, I have Phy. Nigra in two places, and I have a Fargesia 'Dragons Head'. I hope the their placement proves to be satisfactory. I had some success at the Arboreutum Fall plant sale. The Spring sale was rather disappointing. The only two nurseries their were Rightway and myself. I think it's just a matter of understanding the sales format and making adjustments. I was able to sell all of the Desert Rose that I had, so I think I will start growing it also. I can get the seed dirt cheap and sell it at a fair price and still clear a nice margin. What more can you ask for from a plant; beauty, ease of care and a nice profit margin.

Like many plants that I grow, they start out as a curiosity and then be come an adicition. The same has happening with me and bamboo. I purchased a clump of black bamboo about three years ago. It was a fascination to grow some bamboo and see what it would do. These days I have found myself turning to plants that are less trouble and more self sufficient. I have worked with some plants that demand to be pampered and are so fussy, just to loose them because the rest of my life became busy. Bamboo has proved to be one of those some what care free plants, but it's much more than just a plant. They are gentle giants full of grace and beauty. I enjoy growing them and they will continue to be a part of my life and my nursery for many years to come..

I just purchased another bamboo tonight. I purchased a phyl. Henon, which is a very beautiful bamboo. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to put it. I was really going to get the Temple Bamboo for this very reason. Unfortunately they were out of it for the 09 season. They were also out of Vivax which it was a toss up between Henon and Vivax. I am very pleased with this new bamboo nursery so far. The last shipment was very nice and continues to do quite well, although I should pot it up a couple of sizes before the cold sets in. I hope to be able to get one more before the season is over. I have my sites on several varieties. Well see how it works out.

The weather has been much cooler the last several days. It seems to go from one extreme to another. I hope this isn't the start of Fall weather quite yet. I'm not ready to bring the plants in quite yet. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, but it also marks the start of additional care I must provide to get my tropicals through the winter. The Fall sale at the Arboreduim is coming up on Sept 12th, I'm hoping to clear out certain plants so that I can transition. Into the new format. I'm not going to continue to grow certain plants anymore. I need the space for the new offerings. I'm also looking into possibly changing the name of the nursery, I'm not sure about that part as of yet. More to come later.

Summer has come on with a vengence all of the sudden! The whole month of July was cool 70's and low 80's now we finally make it into the 80's and 90's. I only fear that the trend will be short lived in September. I wasn't able to get as much growing done as I wanted to. I'm going to have to invest in a small greenhouse. Something about 12 to 16 feet wide and about 20 to 24 feet long. I am currently remodeling the growroom. I'm going to put up a wall that will control the cool air that gets in around the edges of the garage door. This year I'm gong to set up the lab portion of the space where I'm going to germinate seed, propagate cuttings and practice TC. I have also designed a new means to heat the growing area. It always looks great on paper, but we will have to see how it works in the real wolrd.

I have found a new love, it's called a poison garden. I already grow a member of the soleance family, so I am a little familiar with these plants. There is something about caring for a plant that can kill you that is appealing to me. It's the intrigue and mystery that makes you venture just a little closer. I bought a Book at Borders that sparked the interest titled, "Wicked Plants", it's a good read! Having the book kind of makes you feel guilty of something. My wife jokingly told our son that if she winds up dead from what looks like a poisioning to look for his father. I am kind of leary of buying more of these kinds of plants because we have so many kids in the neighborhood and I am working long hours and can't be watching who is in the yard and what they are doing. My first purchase will be the Atropa Belladonna or the Deadly Nightshade. This beauty is cold hardy and can be left outside.

The last two days have been really rough. We have had so much rain, that I am sick of rain. There has been a lot of flooding problems in the region. In Louisville they received 6+" of rain. Church Hill Downs was under water, loosing a lot of printed history. The track was also under water. Here we had flooded basements, and some roads under water. Some of the damage has not yet been realized quite yet. Many cash crops cannot handle so much water, and the crops are drowning in the soaked fields. Especially tobacco, which is a double edged sword. I am thankful that quite a bit of tobacco will never make it to market this year. On the other hand my heart goes out to the farmer trying to support a family. This should be a wake up call to those farmers to switch to a more stable, and useful crop. Many tobacco farmers have already made the switch to wine grapes. Many vineyards use to exist in this region, so many that this region was known as Cincinnati's Valley of the Rhine.

Well its official July 2009 is the coldest in recorded history with an average temp of 70.3 degrees F. My plants are not very active this year. The Brugs are not blooming as much as they should be. Some of the plumeria are blooming by the leaf developement is very slow this year. They should have more leaves that are larger in size. It is Aug already and I have Plumeria the have tiny little leaves still trying to develope. They are growing, but probably not as quickly as they could if it were 10-15 degrees warmer. I don't hear much talk about Global Warming this year!

I had a really good experience with Santa Rosa Gardens Nursery this week. This is the first time I had ever purchased any nursery stock from them, and I was pleased with the plants that they shipped. I ordered a cordyline 'Bangkok' (Hawaiian Ti) and two different ornamental grasses. I couldn't resist because they were on close out and I only paid $1.99 each. I was impressed with their packing, the box was packed well with heavy packing paper and each pot was in a netting material that is suitable to be reused. All three plants arrived in excellent condition. I also thought that the plants were of a nice size, especially if I had paid full price, which I didn't this time. When I was browsing their online catalog I remember thinking that they had a nice selection of plants in stock. I was so impressed that I left good comments on the Daves Garden watchdog. I will be a returning customer in the near future.

I am rather excited about my new bamboo that I ordered yesterday. I will soon be the proud owner of a 1gal pot of Dragons head bamboo. This is a cold hardy clumping bamboo that is hardy to -10. I'm not sure if I'm going to pot it up or plant it. My black bamboo has been quite content in a pot since it arrived about 3 years ago. The only drawback is that it is currently in a 20gal pot that weighs well over 100 pounds. I just divided it for the first time and that was a real treat trying to man handle it while being careful not to damage any of my cane. I have my sites on either a temple bamboo, a phyl vivax or a phyl bory (tiger stripe). I'm willing to trade phyl nigra for any of these if anyone is interested. I also have yellow groove which is a runner hardy to - 10. It has cane which is over 8 feet tall right now.

I went to pondarama this last Saturday with my wife. I wish the weather was better but nothing you can do about that. I find it fascinating that so many elaborate ponds are hidden in the back yards of common homes. The last pond we visited was on a street I have been past so many times with no idea that such a treasure was hidden from view. Both Gina and I were inspired and full of ideas for the pond project I have been working on. I have a contact in Thailand anxious to sell me lotus and water lillies. I hope to have details about the project real soon, so check back often to find out what's next.

It has been a rainy morning, would have been nice for getting some good solid sleep. Unfortunately I was scheduled to work this morning. I am so glad that I turned off the irrigation system last night. With the cooler temps I try to be careful about how much moisture the Plumeria get, rust also starts to become a problem this time of year.

A new blog in town

Welcome to myBlog.

This is my place to share with you about plumeria news, and what going at the nursery. This is season number four, and it has been different than the others. The economy has made it difficult to predict what the public will buy, and what to grow. Today people are having to make hard decisions, and cut back on the things that they would normally not mind spending a few dollars on. There has also been a trend I have noticed lately. I have noticed the tropicals that I sell showing up at the big box store. This removes my niche market, this forces me to search for different plants to maintain my unique identity. With this in mind, I have decided to go back to my roots and where it all began for me. I have decided to concentrait all of my efforts into being a Plumeria nursery. This is where my heart truely is. I have quite a few plants that I will want to sell off so that I can focus on my plumeria. I will continue to grow different tropicals but just in smaller quantities, and mainly for personal interest. If there is something your looing for, just ask I may be growing it and have a few available. I appreciate my customers, and hope that you will continue to look to me for your future purchases.

Michael White
Owner

Midwest Aquatics and Exotics