How to Care for Million Bells

How to Care for Million Bells

Million bells (Calibrachoa) are so amazing because they form excellent colorful ornaments for gardens, wonderful bedding plants and gorgeous hanging baskets. And because their long stems spill and cascade so beautifully over their containers, they make great additions in any pot, mixed container, or window box.

What’s the difference between a Million Bell and a Petunia you ask? Well, the Million Bell’s blooms are smaller than the Petunia’s, and they do not require as much fertilizer to keep them vibrant and thriving all spring and summer long. They also LOVE those North Carolina hot and humid summers, so we highly recommend these if you’re wanting a flowering plant.

Care Requirements For MILLION BELLS

LIGHT - Full Sun – Million Bells are considered to be full sun plants. They can do best when placed in direct sun for at minimum of 6 hours daily. If plants do not get enough light they may look tired and blooming will decrease and the plants will begin to stretch. This is an indication that the plant needs to be moved in a location where it gets at least 4-6 hours of direct and filtered sun in a day.

FERTILIZER - Regular Liquid Fertilizer – Lighting is important to a bright, eye-popping, color display Calibrachoa provides. But fertilizer is also very important. Heavy blooming the entire summer means heavy demands on plant nutrition. To keep plants strong, fertilize every other week with a liquid fertilizer. Fertilization is the key for blooming your calibrachoa throughout the season well.

SOIL – Well Draining - Most in-ground gardening soils do not have the best drainage. This is why Million Bells are normally found growing in containers. Plant them in a well draining container with good quality potting soil and you will be just fine!

WATER – Soak but Let Soil Dry - Million Bells needs generous amount of water for “soaking” the roots. However, the soil needs to be given time for drying out until the next watering cycle. When watering, water the soil thoroughly and allow the top 1-2 inches of soil to dry before watering again. Soggy soil lead to plants rotting.

PRUNING - Regular Trimming - When plants start looking tired or non-vibrant, it signals for trimming. Trim your Million Bell from the bottom up (1-4 inches) in mid-summer time. Trimming stimulates root growth, which allow more blooms to produce and will pick up in about a week or two. You do not need to dead head Million Bells either, as they are a self-cleaning plant. Blooms will automatically drop and be replaced with another gorgeously vibrant bloom.

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FROM GARDEN VALLEY:

Hopefully these tips will help keep your Million Bells look stunning all season long! And we hope that they also help keep you planting better, eating better, and living better.

We would love to see how you place your Million Bells at your home! Don’t forget to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok! We can’t wait to see! @gardenvalleyfarmersmarket

5 Ways To Attract Pollinators To Your Garden

The birds, the bees...

and the butterflies: these are just a FEW of the many pollinators on this earth that serve such a secretly beneficial and beautiful purpose on this earth. But why do we need to make an effort to attract them to our gardens? Because pollinators are responsible for three-quarters of the world's food crops and many of the foods that we enjoy on a daily basis would not be existent without them. Because plants can not exist without the process of pollination. And plants are what's responsible for the air that we breathe and the food that we eat. So yes, pollinators are extremely important, because without them, our life as we currently know it, would not be. 

Did you know…
+ that some bees travel up to 3 miles just to visit your flower garden?
+ that hummingbirds can visit up to 1000 flowers each day?

Crazy, right? And with all of this work that they do, they need our help, and there are some things that we can do to give them an extra boost to their day.

So here are five tips on how to attract
pollinators to your garden:

p l a n t a n a t i v e g a r d e n

A native garden is basically just a garden filled with plants that are naturally found growing in your region. For example, honeysuckle is a naturally occurring shrub/bush that grows here in North Carolina, so adding that to your garden this spring/summer would greatly benefit your pollinators!

Also, some bees are what's called "specialists", meaning that they can only feed their larvae the pollen from a specific native plant. So without these plants, the bee colony would not survive.

If you're wanting to attract more hummingbirds, aim for tubular and long shaped blooms with your flower choices, something like Daylillies or Petunias.

c h o o s e t h e c o l o r

Did you know that these hard working species are actually attracted to certain colors?

To attract bees… bees LOVE purple and blue flowers. Some great options, that we do carry at Garden Valley Market, would be Lavender, Petunias, and Verbena. 
To attract Hummingbirds + Butterflies… we recommend colors of red, yellow, pink, and orange! Butterflies LOVE Lantana, and Hummingbirds love Petunias, Fuscia, and Lillies!

p r o v i d e w a t e r + r e s t

With how hard working these pollinators are, you better believe that they need a place to rest and refuel, and providing these places for them to do so is going to keep them coming back! They all need a place of still water to drink from. You can add some pebbles to a bird bath to make a great landing place for the insects so they won't drown.

a v o i d i n s e c t i c i d e s

Did you know that insecticides actually kill pollinators? KEEP So you might be TRYING to kill those pesky bugs eating your plant, but you're actually harming those beautiful butterflies and busy bees in the process. And insecticides are one of the reasons that the bee population has decreased to greatly!
So instead of going to insecticides first, try and google some natural alternatives and see if those work first. (There are also great organic options online that are safe for the environment, as well as pets and humans.)

k e e p t h e w e e d s

It’s early spring and we’re super excited to get our lawns looking fresh and green again… but maybe think twice about removing those dandelions and other weeds growing! Because these weeds are often the first flower that the pollinators source from when not many blooms have started yet! Instead, let them grow a tad bit longer until your garden starts coming along.

Let us know how you attract pollinators to your yard by commenting below!

We have MANY varieties of flowers for you to choose from at our stores, and a unique and beautiful selection of different shapes and colors. So come get your beautiful flowers grown just for your pollinators at home.

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 Raised Garden Beds

Last week, we discussed all about how you can start a container and grow bag garden for yourself, but if you’re wanting to try your hands at something different and have some room in your yard, this post is for you! Raised beds are becoming very popular lately, and there’s a reason why: once built, they help protect your back, have less weeds, provide good drainage for your plants (if done right), allow for better weed control, can build anywhere in your yard, AND you can take them with you if you ever have to move houses. Learn all about how you can start your very own raised bed or the in ground garden of your dreams.  

W H E R E T O G R O W

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. If you’re wanting to speak with an expert on what to grow, you can visit any of our Garden Valley locations and we would be happy to assist you in what to plant this spring!

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. 

WHEN TO WATER
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. 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, or you can invest in a soaker hose that seems to be the most effective way of watering your garden. Either way, just make sure to water regularly so that your plant is not stressed out. Also, we don’t recommend overhead sprinklers because we find them to be quite inefficient. They also encourage fungus growth, and waste water. 

S I Z E

You really could choose any size and shaped bed that you want, but it’s important to make sure that it is not too wide so that you’re able to reach to the middle of the bed easily. For this reason, we recommend a bed that is no more than 4 feet width for easy access. 

S O I L

You could go to a chain supply store and get bagged soil, but we recommend you go to your local landscape supply company and get your raised bed soil from them. If you give them the dimensions, they will know how much you will need, already have a raised bed soil recipe mixed for you, and sometimes offer delivery if you don’t have access to a truck. The type of soil is important for raised beds as well, because you want one that is loose and full of organic matter so your plant will thrive and not drown. If you’re wanting to create the soil recipe yourself, here is a good blog post on some recipes you can get started with.

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 flowers 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 it 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

Learn how to build a raised bed here.

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 garden? Try those out and see how amazing the produce can taste!

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. Remove about an inch or two of the top soil where the bed will lay on after you’ve built your raised beds. This creates a nice little cozy house for your bed to rest on and prevents any soil running out from underneath the bed. 

2. Decide whether you want to line the bottom of your bed or not. If you have a ton of grass and weeds where your bed is resting on, we suggest lining the bottom of your bed with landscape fabric, which you can find here, or you could apply a heavy layer of cardboard if you have any lying around. But, if you choose to forego this step, place a good layer of old compost and work into the soil. Then you can place your raised bed in it’s designated spot!

3. Fill bed with the soil mixture you’re wanting. After filling your bed with soil, place your plants in the location you are wanting to plant them, creating a layout before you start digging away. And make sure to keep in mind the mature plant’s size so you can avoid the dreaded over crowding. 

4. Plant away! 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.

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