In the heart of what native Pennsylvanian "locals" still call Plowville, on Rte. 10 adjacent to Robeson Lutheran Church, is a small residential agribusiness. While combining both home and business, Sugarbush Nursery has intrigued me from the time of its inception in 2005. Anne-Marie McMahon and her family have planted their roots, set up shop, and turned their passion for sustainable gardening practices and products while combining both business and family life into a winning combination!
I have had the privilege of visiting Sugarbush Nursery several times over the years, and made purchases for my own home garden, however, this past weekend I had more intriguing reasons to visit the nursery. There was to be a special guest giving a talk about how to prevent insects and disease in the vegetable garden. The guest speaker was Erica Bowers Lavdanski of B & H Organic Produce! You may recall that my very first FOL project was at B & H Organic Produce, or otherwise known as Hartz Natural Food Store. I marked my calendar, adjusted my schedule, set up a sitter for my girls (thanks, Grandmom!!) and made a point to attend this very enriching chat.
I was warmly greeted by Erica almost immediately which made me feel like a star! (Thank you, Erica!). The nursery was a buzz of excitement. There were plenty of fresh young veggie, herbs, and flower plants all perked up and gleaming, as if to say, "Please, take me home!" There was a good amount of interested patrons, ready with pens in hand and eagerness in their hearts. I had just enough time to peruse the goods, snap off some photos, introduce myself to Anne-Marie and explain to her about my project, which she graciously agreed to, (thank you kindly, AM!) and then I prepared to listen.
This fantastic mosaic mural hangs within the barn. I have always wanted to take a picture of it, too!!
Heirloom strawberries ready to be planted...
A wealth of gardening goodness, including a variety of organic seeds, natural pest & weed control items, tools, gloves, pots, watering cans … the list goes on.
It was a chilly spring morning, but that didn't stop these dedicated organic gardeners from attending this informative meeting of the minds. Erica had the challenge of discussing two broad subject areas within a short amount of time. A lifetime of learning within a blink of time - not the easiest task to undertake for anyone! Consequently, what she was able to share with us, along with her clearly apparent passion and dedication to organic sustainability, was well worth every minute. Her message came shining through - gardening is a labor of love; an ongoing learning experience; a holistic balance between observation, patience, and excitement for what's to come. Erica said many things that struck chords with all of us, but my favorite quote of hers was, "Farming is about observation."
She stressed the importance of walking your garden everyday with a keen eye; allow proper air flow between your plants (knowing how eager we are to fill our gardens with many, many plants!); careful watering techniques; remove diseased or discolored leaves immediately; encourage"beneficials" in your garden (like birds, some insects … ); crop rotation; enrich your soil with compost/manure, and to ALWAYS take the least harmful action first. So much great advice!
She told us a story about a large-scale producing farm where she had once worked. Her main job was to get suited up and spray the plants for insect/disease control. She had taken notice of a small toad amongst the plants, and was careful to keep an eye on him, to stay out of his way, allowing him to do his job of eating pesky insects. But there came a time when she had to spray and fulfill her duties for the farm. After that she never saw the toad again. To this day she feels remorse about her actions. I think we've all done something of this nature as we strive to be good stewards of our environment.
Here is Erica with some of her attentive audience. . .
Erica referred to the book, The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control by Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis, and Deborah L. Martin, many times throughout the morning. She highly recommends obtaining your own copy, using it as a reference guide on a regular basis. It has fantastic pictures that will aide any gardener in identifying problems and suggestions on how to take care of them. I just ordered my copy!
And here was another reference guide she referred to as well. The Johnny's Selected Seed catalog, which is also full of great photos, and reference material.
After Erica was finished offering her insights and knowledge and we each had a chance to ask our questions, everyone relaxed a bit. Anne-Marie baked homemade chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies for everyone to enjoy, along with a splash of lemonade to wash them down. Yum! :)
Then it was back to business . . .
Now, Sugarbush Nursery is not your regular, run-of-the-mill plant nursery, as I'll venture to guess you already figured out. My readers know that I like to find the extraordinary businesses to highlight on my blog. Along with being super friendly, knowledgeable gardening enthusiasts, Anne-Marie and her staff members, Jan and Denise also offer sustainable landscape design; natively grown plants: perennials, trees, and shrubs; as well as non-native plants such as many of our vegetables, some herbs, and annual flowers. Between these 3 ladies, there is immense knowledge, education, and desire to bring sustainable gardening lifestyles to your home, school, or business.
Here is an excerpt about Sugarbush Nursery's mission taken from their website:
Over the years, our mission gradually changed into becoming a native plant nursery. This was a decision driven by ecological concerns, not market forces: native plants play a crucial role in sustaining wildlife, and our over-use of non-native plants for our home landscapes has a direct effect on lowering populations of native birds and butterflies, among other wildlife. We want to be a resource for home gardeners who are looking to make a transition to including more native plants in their landscapes, but either don't know where to begin, or don't otherwise have access to these plants.
My fellow Pennsylvanians, you now have a choice to produce native eco-systems in your own backyard thanks to Anne-Marie's vision for Sugarbush Nursery!
Jan (L) and Anne-Marie (R) allowed me the pleasure to photograph them. Thank you kindly!! You see - you are photogenic after all! ;)
This is the only book that Sugarbush carries for their customers to read, absorb and implement:
The tomatoes were beckoning to me to take their photo also!!
On my way out, I was sure to catch these "beneficial" gardening products. Building your soil up naturally with the many needed nutrients goes a L O N G way to preventing bad insects and diseases. A couple of bags of finished manure - composted material - will boost your vegetables into highly productive, healthy plants. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Be sure to stop by Sugarbush Nursery and make your native plant purchases! Also, please be sure to tell the staff members that you saw this blog post and that I said "hi!"
Thank you, Erica for sharing your wisdom, wit and encouragement. I enjoyed soaking up your words of advice, tips and stories. And thank you for allowing me to photograph you as well. :)
My many thanks go out to Anne-Marie and her staff members, Jan and Denise for a great morning of perusing, photographing, and gardening enrichment adventures. I always feel comfortable, not pressured in the least when I visit your beautiful nursery. And, I always learn something new! For your kindness, and generosity I am gratefully humbled. I wish you all only the best in life. And may all your efforts produce both personal and professional success. Kudos to you ladies!! :)
With warm gratitude,
Barb
