Meet Erin- our newest Sage Advice Member

Erin - our newest member

Today was a landmark day - we added employee number 3.5 - Erin Kinney. We worked for about 4 hours. Erin has just become Vicki's housemate and is right there at the greenhouse - so it was only natural to get her involved! She has never potted or planted before, but loves nature and green growing things.

Erin has just moved back to the area from Battle Creek. She grew up in Milford and knows the area quite well. She dotes on her cat, Tillie and loves to be out in nature. We are hoping that it will go smoothly introducing Tillie to Vicki's sleek black kitty, Romeo. I think a few swats and things should go fine.

It is time for more seeds so Erin got to learn seeding by planting big seeds like melon, cukes and squash. She is very good at learning and really wants to learn how to do a good job. She is meticulous and was really babying the catnip plugs she also planted, when I just grabbed them and pushed them into the soil. After work, we then got a reward of a Mexican lunch and called it a day - I immediately went home and took a nap.

Tuesday, I made a trip to a new supplier, BFG Supply, in Belleville. Not a bad ride, really quick on all highways. Got a carload of pots and bags of soil. Am so blessed to have established an account with them as all I had to do was put the purchase on account and off I sped back to the nursery. Tuesday seemed like a day of non-stop loading and unloading with trips to BFG, Vicki's, the Oakland County greenhouse and my place.

It has come to the end of the season at the Oakland County greenhouse and last night Vicki and I spent harvesting the beds. Chard, kale, scallions, carrots, beet greens, arugula, spinach and mache were part of the bounty. We have to clear out of the greenhouse by Sunday so Pam and I will work to get the rest of the flats transported to Vicki's and my house.

The herbs came in from Raker's and, as expected, look beautiful. They are good, beefy plugs with ample root systems and should root in and size up in a hurry. Good thing as we are starting to get a nice demand for the herbs at the markets.

Going back to Royal Oak and Old Winery Markets this week and hoping for a better day at Royal Oak. This week I'll have the produce as well as plants, so the product mix might help. We have had five days of rainy, gloomy and chilly days and seven more days of rain are expected. Whew! We need the moisture, but does it have to come all at once? Feast or famine, I suppose.

Stacks of pots at BFG Supply

Linking this week with the party over at Tootsie Time Fertilizer Friday. I don't have flowers to show off yet but there is always something interesting to show. Check out the other blogs that post there. It is interesting to read about gardens all over the world!