The History of Garden Valley

There’s always a story to every place, to every business that’s been built, and learning that journey is what reveals the heart and soul behind it. What started out as a small, quaint produce stand, has now turned into a beautiful and thriving farmers market that serves a good part of both Alamance and Guilford Counties of North Carolina. That business… is Garden Valley Farmers Market, and this is their story:

Nestled in the heart of Alamance County, there was a small produce stand that was owned and operated by Josh Readling (along his beautiful brown lab, Shelby). His desire was to provide fresh and local produce to a community that was in lack of healthier food options. Josh grew up in Alamance County, and his knack for business and desire to bless people was at the heart of starting Garden Valley, and has such, remained the core desire. To plant better, eat better, and live better.

Fast forward a few years, and along came two brothers who not only lived together, but decided it was a good idea to work together too (read that last line as sarcasm). Those brothers are Paul and Luke Laparra. Long story short, they went to church with Josh, had conversations, and wanted to expand Garden Valley to reach more people. Little did they know that this partnership would turn into a bond that would not only bless the outside community, but also provide a friendship filled with trust and understanding, something that not many businesses are blessed to have.

• Paul is a craftsman by heart. He loves working with his hands, is a former electrician, and loves carpentry work. But even with all of the time consuming work that he continues to do with Garden Valley, his main passion in life is his love for the Lord, and raising his beautiful family.

• Luke was already working for Garden Valley as an employee at the time, and wanted to continue to grow in the company. It was in this journey that he learned his passion for business, finances, and streamlining processes. But even with this new discovery, he still remains passionate about loving his family, and helping others simplify the stresses that can often come with finances.

While this partnership was being developed, Garden Valley was slowly growing from one location, at Chapel Hill Road, to FIVE locations in a span of ten years. What once was a modest produce stand, is now a farmers market that sells pottery, flowers, trees, shrubs, and so much more! And even though they have grown into a bigger company, the promise to provide quality product to the community is still one of their main goals.

The biggest season of growth for Garden Valley came during a very unexpected time… 2020. It was in the thick of this pandemic that Garden Valley was blessed with the most amazing outpour of support from their community. It was filled with hope, strength, and solace in a time that was focused on fear, hurt, and anxiety. The love shown by the community of Alamance/Guilford County brought a refreshed determination to Luke and Paul… this was the right direction for the company. This business was supposed to be here. Garden Valley was home for its community.

Through the good years, and not so good years, Garden Valley has always remained true to their identity: plant better, eat better, live better. They have continued to provide access to healthy vegetation so that the community can plant better. They always strive to provide quality produce so that the community can eat better. And they are a place where anyone can come, and be inspired to live better. This motto of theirs rings true, and it’s Garden Valley’s hope to continue to do so for many years to come.

How To Care For Pansies

If you’re needing a show-stopping flower that will give your dull looking landscape some color, then you need some gorgeous Pansies. Not only are they easy to care for, but they will brighten up your landscaping view and leave you with beautiful, colorful blooms lasting for Autumn, Winter, and even into Spring!

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Did you know…

that pansies are edible? That’s right! You can eat them in salads (or whatever you desire). To add some beautiful color and a slightly minty flavor to your next recipe, chop them up and make it unique and full of taste.

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HOW TO CARE FOR PANSIES

Pansies are beautiful heart-shaped flowers that can add color to your garden beds, ground cover, or beautiful pots. Follow these easy instructions below to keep them thriving all season long:

Where

Plant in full or partial sun and your pansies will thrive.

When and How

Pansies do not like heat, so plant when the temperatures start to cool down. If local to North Carolina, we recommend planting your pansies in the Fall so that you can enjoy them all Autumn, Winter, and Spring! (If planting in beds, place them 7-12 inches apart to allow for room to spread)

Soil

Plant in moist, well draining soil.

Watering

Water only a few times a week because too much can drown them and cause root rot.

Pruning

Remove any dead blooms and cut them back regularly before they become “leggy”. This helps to keep them healthy and full of vibrant blooms.

WE WANT TO KNOW…

have you ever grown pansies? If not, will you get some this year? We have plenty to choose from at all of our locations. Let us know in the comments below. You can also share your Pansy pride with us by tagging us on Facebook or Instagram. We can’t wait to see!

#gardenvalleyfarmersmarket @gardenvalleyfarmersmarket

Thank you so much for joining us here. For more information on what Garden Valley Farmers Market is about, you can visit us here. If you’re wanting to visit with us, come by any of our five North Carolina locations. If you’re wanting to follow along with us, you can do so either on our Facebook, Youtube, or our Instagram. If you’re wanting to earn rewards and be easily connected with us, download our new App. And if you’re wanting to check out our other recipes and blog posts, or are needing more inspiration, follow us on our Pinterest. We’d love to have you join us in our journey of planting better, eating better, and living better.
Much love,
Your Garden Valley Farmers Market Team

Growing Gorgeous Hibiscus

With absolutely gigantic, gorgeous, and beautiful blooms, Hibiscus is the perfect spring, summer, and even fall plant that will leave your landscape bright and full of color and depth. With a variety of bloom colors ranging from yellow to pink, these hardy tropical bushes and trees are perfect for any yard that receives full sun. 

here’s how to get those gigantic, gorgeous blooms, and keep them thriving:

L O C A T I O N

Hibiscus likes warm weather, and gravitates towards the sun, so if you’re considering one (or a few) for yourself, make sure you have a sunny location in mind. Many gardeners like to put them into the ground and watch how big they will grow, but repotting into a slightly larger pot would be another great option as well. 

Hibiscus blooms are also prone to tear and are very delicate, so make sure to place them in a location that has some protection from the wind. 

Did you know you can also bring your Hibiscus inside in the colder months? Just make sure it receives a ton of sunlight while inside.

S O I L

If planting your precious Hibiscus into the ground, add a little bit of fresh compost to the mix to increase the soil’s pH level, as Hibiscus likes it neutral or slightly acidic.

If planting in a pot, make sure to size up your pot an inch or two in diameter. And to use a well draining potting mix, like the Daddy Pete’s Potting Mix that we have available at our stores. It is organic and will leave you with a happy plant that’s producing vibrant blooms all summer long!

W A T E R I N G

The great thing about Hibiscus is that they are drought tolerant and don’t need as much watering attention as some other plants. However, that doesn’t mean that you should neglect them. 

For the first week after planting, be sure to water daily to help the roots establish into its new soil bed. After the first week, every other day should be fine. 

Once your plant is established, you can taper off your water schedule to about twice a week if there is no rainfall. However, on those hot and dry North Carolina days, remember that it might need some watering love every other day. 

P R U N I N G

To promote bigger, and more beautiful blooms, you will have to remove the old blooms, that have lived their best life mind you, but are no longer pretty. 

When bringing your bush or tree inside for the winter, you can trim it back to about one-third of its size in the LATE winter or early spring. 

Enjoy this gorgeous inspiration gallery we sourced from Pinterest for ideas on how you can use Hibiscus, either outside in your landscaping or inside of your home.

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Do you enjoy growing Hibiscus in your yard to brighten up your garden? Are there other flower varieties you’d like to try? We’d love to hear about your plans in our comments below!

Please note: we truly hope you’ll come visit with us, and we would also love to see your gardening photos as well, so tag @gardenvalleyfarmersmarket in your posts, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #gardenvalleyfarmersmarket!

And lastly, if you find this information helpful, we’d love it if you would support us by sharing with your friends.

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Thank you so much for joining us here. For more information on what Garden Valley Farmers Market is about, you can visit us here. If you’re wanting to visit with us, come by any of our five North Carolina locations. If you’re wanting to follow along with us, you can do so either on our Facebook, Youtube, or our Instagram. And if you’re wanting to check out our other recipes and blog posts, or are needing more inspiration, follow us on our Pinterest. We’d love to have you join us in our journey of planting better, eating better, and living better.
Much love,
Your Garden Valley Farmers Market Team

Gardening for a Beginner; All About In Ground Gardens

In ground gardens are definitely the most budget friendly of the gardens becuase you aren’t paying for any extra materials, but they do take a bit of manual labor to get started. But don’t worry, we’ve got the  best tips and tricks on how you can start your own
I N G R O U N D G A R D E N .

(You can also check out our other two posts in this
3 part series on how to start either a Container Garden or a Raised Bed Garden)

W H E R E T O G R O W

As is the same with raised beds, the location of your garden really just depends on what you’re wanting to grow. If you’re growing vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, or squash/zucchini you will need a space with FULL sun, which is 6 or more hours of sunlight. But if you have an area that has less than 6 hours of  sunlight exposure, maybe try growing broccoli, carrots, or cabbage. It’s also beneficial for you to know which USDA zone you live in, which you can find here.

W A T E R I N G

DRAINAGE
Before choosing your location for your beds, make sure that your beds are not in a location where there is flooding.  Flooding causes your roots to rot, which means no bueno for your plants. 

WATERING
The best way to know if you are needing to water your plants is the standard test for any plant. Stick your finger about 3 inches  into the soil and it should feel slightly damp. If not, you’re probably due for a good watering. Also know that if it’s the hottest part of the day and your plants seem to be really sad and wilted, it might not mean that they need water. They often do this to reserve water. For this reason, checking the soil is always the best indicator on whether your plant needs water or not. 

HOW TO WATER
You can water each day with a plain old hose and water individually. If you do choose this method, be careful to not get the leaves wet as this can encourage fungus growth. Another option is by using a soaker hose. Although the best option for an in ground garden might be a drip irrigation system, as this can help get a specific watering amount that is unique to each plant. But either way, just make sure to water regularly so that your plant does not stress out. (And overhead sprinklers are quite inefficient, encourage fungus,  and wastes water, so we do not recommend this method.) 

S I Z E

You literally can choose whatever size you want, but one thing you might want to remember is to not “let your eyes be bigger than your stomach” or so to speak. If you’re first starting out, maybe try smaller this year, and then just add to it each year once you get the hang of things. 

S O I L

For in ground gardens, the best part is that you already have soil! All you probably need to do is just get your soil tested to see what you need to add to set your plants up for success. (Here is a helpful article on that here). It might also be good to add a layer of fertilizer, compost, and top soil in combination with your grounds natural soil. This will help to give your vegetables, fruits, and flowers a huge boost and keep them thriving. 

S U P P O R T

Surprise, surprise, surprise, your plant is growing! YAY! But don’t sabotage it by not providing it with enough support. Plants that climb and grow up like tomatoes need support to hold them up. This helps not only keep the fruits from touching the ground, but allows for better sunlight and aeration to reach through the plant. 

You can support your plant by building a “teepee” with some cane sticks and just tie the main branches to the cane as it grows. 

F E R T I L I Z E

To give your flower and vegetable plants a better chance, we advise working some fertilizer into your soil. Sprinkle a layer of fertilizer evenly over the top of the soil, work into your soil, and water it. Ideally this needs to be done 1 week or two before your start planting so that it has enough time to break down, but if not it’s not a huge deal. You can follow the directions on your fertilizer’s packaging as to how much to give your soil. Also remember that too much fertilizer can actually harm your plants, so please follow the directions. 

G E T T I N G S T A R T E D

Before starting, decide what you want to plant. For example, if you’re wanting to plant vegetables/fruit, ask yourself what you enjoy eating. What foods are sometimes expensive in the grocery store but you think would grow well in your container? Try those out and see how amazing gardening for yourself can actually be!

WHEN STARTING WITH SEEDS

This process takes more time to see the “fruits” of your labour, but you are able to have more of a variety in which plant you actually want, because your local garden center may not have access to those starters. But always be sure to check with your garden center, aka Garden Valley for those of you local to the Triad of North Carolina. You can also check out this post we released last year on why shopping local is important.

When starting with seeds, vegetables will generally need to be propagated into seedlings before they are placed into your pot. You can reuse some old plastic containers that you’ve used for food like yogurt containers, egg shells, citrus peels, . Plastic is preferable in the instance because it retains moisture much better than a clay pot. Whatever container you do use, make sure it is clean and that you poke holes into the bottom to allow for drainage. 

WHEN STARTING WITH STARTERS

With starters, the process is shortened and there is a better likelihood that your plant will survive. And we have plenty of starters vegetables and flowers to choose from at Garden Valley!

H O W T O S T A R T

1. Begin by removing the grass and weeds with a sod cutter, shovel. You can also do this if you’ve planned ahead and cover with black plastic for about a month or so. 

2. Til the area and remove and remove and big roots or rocks

3. Test pH level if you’re able to as this will help your soil be well balanced.

4. Spread about 2-4 inches of old compost or manure, and add anything that your soil might need to balance the pH levels. 

5. Mix all of the soil together well

6. Plan the layout by placing your plants where they will go, and remember to keep the mature plant in mind to avoid overcrowding

7. PLANT YOUR HEART OUT <3

(When planting, remember to also look at how deep your plant likes to be planted, as some only like
to be just below the surface, and some plants like to be planted deep into the soil.)

Don’t forget to leave us a comment below and let us know what you’re excited to plant this year!

Thank you so much for joining us here. For more information on what Garden Valley Farmers Market is about, you can visit us here. If you’re wanting to visit with us, come by any of our five North Carolina locations. If you’re wanting to follow along with us, you can do so either on our Facebook, Youtube, or our Instagram. And if you’re wanting to check out our other recipes and blog posts, or are needing more inspiration, follow us on our Pinterest. We’d love to have you join us in our journey of planting better, eating better, and living better.
Much love,
Your Garden Valley Farmers Market Team