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Online version
December 2019
 
December 2019The team here at The Farms Choice would like to wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, memorable, and safe holiday season, merry Christmas, and a happy and prosperous New Year in 2020! That being said, our farm customers are busy planting and harvesting winter vegetables from Scottsdale to Yuma -- and yes, please buy romaine lettuce and have a salad or two if you’re like me and you need to cut some calories!! Golf courses are packed and players are enjoying the deep, green-colored turf grass that using our The Farms Choice Turf Pellets provides. At home, gardeners are planting and enjoying winter bedding plants like geraniums, pansies, petunias, snapdragons and more. Winter home gardens are producing lettuce, spinach, leafy greens of all sorts, carrots, beets, turnips, and more. And our The Farms Choice products have grown some amazing roses for many of our landscape friends. On another note for our landscape folks: watch the weather and be prepared to protect tender stock like hibiscus, natal plum, bougainvillea, basil and other herbs, and any tropical plant being used outside. If you are one to enjoy using your poinsettias as an outdoor plant, remember they are tender as well and be sure to move them to a protected spot if the weather turns much colder. If you are covering plants, use breathable lightweight materials that sunlight and air can move through and leave them on 24 hours a day if need be. Don’t use plastics or dark heavy materials; they can trap colder air beneath them and cause damage rather than help. If you received a poinsettia or Christmas cactus as a gift for Christmas, keep them in bright warm places. They are tropical in nature so avoid dark spots and extreme heat (like in front of the heater, register or fireplace). Keep them moist, not too dry or wet, and move them outside after Christmas when the weather warms up a bit. This is the time of year when we reflect back on our many blessings. We have been blessed with incredible customers like you! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy New Year to you all! |
Customer Spotlight
Chase Farms is one of the largest pecan growers in the world. In Arizona near Willcox, their operation helps satisfy the increasing appetite for nuts of both a domestic and international market. The company’s headquarters is located in Artesia, New Mexico, and was founded by Mack C. Chase, the long-time president. Mr. Chase created his company after spending more than 50 years working in the oil and gas fields. He is well-known as a committed philanthropist and a dedicated community member in Artesia. His presence in agriculture has extended into Arizona, where the state is prominent in the production of pecans for the global market. On the ranch in Willcox, managed by Michael Jantz, the trees are sometimes challenged by weather. The 4,100-foot elevation presents some cold nights. Some years back, a hard freeze caused extensive damage to 800 acres of producing pecan trees. However, most of the trees rebounded after intensive fertilizer management, irrigation, and hedging. Robinson is a firm believer in hedging to keep trees at a manageable height, and in a sound fertilization program to keep them healthy and able to withstand changes in temperature. The Farm’s Choice is pleased to be a part of Chase Farms’ plan to bring Arizona pecans to discriminating consumers around the world.
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Some Poinsettia Pointers
Poinsettias have become associated with Christmas, but these brightly colored plants can be enjoyed year after year if cared for properly. It is important to note that they are NOT poisonous, although their sap can give pets or children an upset stomach, or irritate exposed skin. However, they are nontoxic. When purchasing a plant, find one with lots of colorful bracts that are fully opened, but pass up the ones dropping pollen, as that signals the end of blooming. Poinsettias don’t like the cold, and hate sitting in water. So if your plant comes with a foil gift wrapping, either remove it or poke holes to allow for drainage. Water only when the soil around the plant feels dry, then allow it to drain. To get your poinsettia to flower again, continue enjoying it all winter until it has finished blooming. After the blooms fade, prune the plant back to about 6 inches to allow it to rest. In the spring (March to May), reduce waterings, and let the plant dry completely out before adding water. During the summer months, watch for new growth, then begin to feed twice a month with an organic fertilizer. Pinch back the stems to encourage branching. When October comes around, put your poinsettia in complete darkness for 12 hours a day. Water and feed as usual. After a couple of months of darkness, your plant should begin to produce buds. Bring it out into the light, stop feeding, and enjoy the poinsettia again for another holiday season. |
Where to Find UsThe Hickman’s and The Farms Choice family of fertilizer would like to thank the following nursery and gardening outlets for carrying our products. These folks will also be able to provide you with great and timely gardening information, and the plants and other necessary products to make your garden and landscape a success! ARIZONAA&P Nursery Arcadia Color Garden Nursery Berridge Nurseries Black Mountain Nursery Desert Horizon Nursery Elgin Nursery Harlow Gardens Jackrabbit Plant Nursery Mortimer Nursery and Landscape Olsen’s Feed Plant Fair Nursery Preach Building Supply and Landscape Rillito Nursery & Garden Center Sam’s Nursery Shamus O’Leary Tropical Fruit Trees Sprinkler World Stock Shop Treeland Nursery Urban Farm U & The Urban Farm Warner’s Nursery and Landscape Whitfill Nursery North Phoenix/Scottsdale East Valley Yuma Nursery Supply CALIFORNIACalifornia-Arcadia Garden (formerly known as Perla Nursery) |
Poinsettias are named for Joel Robert Poinsett, a statesman and amateur botanist who brought them from Mexico in 1825. They are tropical plants, and grow to be 10 feet tall in the wild. What we consider the blooms are actually leaf bracts, and the flowers themselves are the tiny little yellow centers found in the center of the stalk.
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