My Kids are Messing with Me
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Gardening
Life Lived Outside
The Kerby's Nursery E-Newsletter
February 4, 2021
Weekly Special  |   Planting Seeds  |   New Arrivals
My Kids are Messing with Me
by Joey Bokor
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Yep, my kids are messing with me. I'm not 100% sure of that, but I'm getting suspicious. First, if you are listening or reading this newsletter with your kids, be warned there are spoilers coming up. I'll give you a moment to distract them into doing something else. While you do that, since my Dad usually listens each week and the newsletter today happens to fall on his birthday, Happy Birthday Dad. Thanks for letting your kids mess with you for all of these years.

Anyways. Maybe I'm wrong, but I am pretty sure my kids are messing with me. Maddy lost a tooth the other day. That sucker hung on for days and days longer than it should have, but it finally fell out late one afternoon. So that made it time for a visit from the tooth fairy, Penelope.



Maddy has taken to writing full-blown letters to Penelope with all manner of questions about the fairy world. This time, it was a front and back letter with questions about flying and whether or not Penelope could fix Maddy's broken magic wand. With each tooth, the questions are becoming detailed in the extreme and leaving us, as Penelope's ghost-writers, at a little bit of a loss for responses. Do we have to write back an equally long set of answers? What level of detail is required?

And that's when it occurred to me that it might be a test. Does she know, . . . you know, but think that we don't know that she knows? Is she continuing to escalate the questions in an effort to see how far we will take it? No, I'm being cynical aren't I. My daughter is basking in the magic of youth, while I'm mired in the cynicism of adulthood.

Don't worry, Maddy received a lovely and lengthy letter from Penelope expressing her disappointment at not being able to share the magic of flight with Maddy, because to give away those secrets is forbidden for tooth fairies. And Maddy was told that while wands aren't repairable, she is sure that Maddy will find a new one soon.

Questions answered, magic maintained . . . Maybe my kids are messing with me. That's ok, I'll let them, because I need to bask in magic a little too.
Happy Gardening,
The Kerby's Nursery Family


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The Weekly Special
Spring Seeds - 15% Off
Start your gardens! Plant radishes, carrots, arugula and tomatoes for fresh harvests of healthy veggies this spring and save 15% this week on all seeds. Lots of heirloom and organic varieties available.
Expires 2/10/2021


Planting Veggie Seeds


Plant at the correct depth - This is the most important part of planting seeds. A general rule of thumb is that small seeds should be planted shallow (a quarter of an inch under the soil) and large seeds should be planted deep (around an inch under the soil). Each seed packet will tell you the depth that particular seed variety should be planted at. Follow it. Seeds that want to be shallow won't have the energy to reach sunlight if they are planted too deep. Seeds that want to be deeper will emerge too quickly and won't be strong enough to stay upright if they are planted too shallow.

Start Seeds in Pots or Trays - Some seeds, like lettuce, spinach, radishes and carrots are easier to start right in garden beds. But some veggies like collards, broccoli, tomatoes and peppers are easier to start in individual pots or trays. We like to use old egg cartons with holes poked in them as our seed-starting trays. This allows you to start a number of seeds and then select the strongest plants for your garden. When starting seeds in pots or trays, use a very light soil, such as Ferti-Lome's Seed and Cutting Mix. A dense, heavy soil can be tough for a little seedling to push through.

Water seeds properly - Seeds don't need a whole lot to get started. A little sunlight and moderate moisture is all that they require. Avoid over-saturating the soil that you are starting seeds in, as this can lead to disease issues and poor growth of seedlings. As seedlings grow larger, increase the amount of water they receive.

Transplant - The first set of leaves that emerge are called seed-leaves. The second set will be the true leaves. Once the true leaves have emerged, your new seedlings should be ready for transplant. Don't let them stay in little trays too long or they will get rootbound.

Have Fun - Seeds are a great way to start heirloom varieties that are hard to find as starter plants and it is the best way to start large beds of lettuce, spinach and other greens. So experiment a little, find a variety and challenge yourself to have your best harvests ever.




New Arrivals
Tillandsia

Easy Care and Unique
Sizes and Prices Vary
New Shipment of Roses

Perfect for Valentine's Day
10" Pot - $34.99

Spring Veggies are Here

Fresh Harvests Await
4-Pack - $4.99

The Kerby's Houseplant Shop

Send a living gift to your favorite plant person anywhere in the lower 48 states from the Kerby's online houseplant shop. For orders shipping to cold areas, a complimentary heat pack is included to keep plants snuggly and warm on their journey.

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Kerby's Nursery

2311 S. Parsons Ave.

Seffner, FL 33584
(813) 685-3265
www.kerbysnursery.com


Store Hours

Monday - Saturday
9am - 5pm
Sunday
11am - 4pm