Recent conference in New Orleans included more than just meetings
1/30/08 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
Last week, a few members of "Team Territorial" went to New Orleans for the annual Vegetable and Flower Seed Conference held by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). This conference is where we meet with seed producers from all over the world to discuss, among other things, their new seed introductions. It is a great opportunity for me to request seeds to sample for our upcoming trials.
This year, since the conference was in New Orleans, we chose to get away from the conference for a little bit, put on our work clothes, and do some volunteer work at New Orleans’ City Park. This 150 year old, 1300-acre park is one of the ten largest urban parks in the country. After hurricane Katrina, 90% the park was under anywhere from 1 to 8 feet of water. The saltwater that entered the park killed almost all of the plant species on top of destroying several of the buildings within the park. Like most areas of New Orleans that were affected by Katrina, the City Park was devastated.
So, it only seemed fitting for ASTA to organize a project where a group of folks in the seed industry could help out at the park. Our main project was to replant several perennial borders. After we made quick work of that, it was on to weeding. Yes, weeding is a garden chores that seems to follow me everywhere!
Our volunteer work was only for several hours and there is certainly an enormous amount of work left to do in the Katrina recovery efforts. It did, however, feel really good to stand next to my coworkers and business associates, take some time to forget about buying, selling, marketing, etc... and focus on making a positive difference, all be it a small one, for the people and places of New Orleans. For more information on New Orleans’ City Park and how you can help in the recovery efforts, visit their website,
http://neworleanscitypark.com.
When do you like to receive garden catalogs?
1/25/08 - posted by Tom Johns
It has always been a debate here at Territorial as to when our current
customers and prospective customers would prefer to receive their seed
catalogs. First week of December or just after Christmas? Which date would
you prefer?
The argument for the first week of December is that customers would have an
opportunity to not only order their seed and supplies for the upcoming
season, but also could order Christmas gifts for those gardeners on their
shopping list. The negative aspect of this time frame is that its too early
in the season, peoples heads are into the holidays, and we are just asking
for the catalogs to get lost in the holiday shuffle.
Arguments for the catalog to arrive just after Christmas (this year we shot
for December 26th) is that many people are at home between Christmas and New
Years and the rush of Christmas is pretty much over. A good time to
leisurely thumb through the pages and become motivated for the upcoming
gardening season.
So it seems our blog is a good place to ask you directly. Please email me
at
blog@territorialseed.com with your opinion on which week in December you
would like to receive your Territorial catalog.
Accuracy is very important!
1/21/08 - posted by Tim Russell
When you have a catalog as extensive as ours, with over 1400 individual items, it is very important to maintain a careful inventory and to be as accurate as possible when assembling orders for shipping. To ensure that our customers orders are picked and packaged correctly we created a custom computer program to double check each item on an order. After all the items have been picked, just before it is boxed up for shipping, we scan each individual item with a barcode scanner into our computer system, which then checks the items against the original order. This way we make sure that nothing gets left off the order in the most efficient way possible.
To an effort maintain our goal of super fast order shipping for 2008, we have installed two more order checking workstations. When you receive your accurately packaged order you can thank our newly expanded computer checking system, as well as our skilled warehouse staff!
Also, some of our observant customers have noticed that there is no longer a listing for overwintering seed varieties on our site. Since our new and improved web site went live in December, which is usually too late to plant overwintering varieties, we did not include that section. However, when our overwintering specific catalog comes out in June we will have all our overwinter suitable varieties online, and in their own section.
Don't forget to email us at
blog@territorialseed.com with topics that you would like us to cover.
What's Going On At Our Farm?
1/14/08 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
With orders coming in every day, it's easy to imagine that there is a buzz of activity at our call center and warehouse right now. But with cold temperatures and rainy days, you might think that things are pretty slow at our farm. Not really.
This time of the year is so exciting for me because I start the transition from office desk to greenhouses and fields. Our farm crew has already sown seeds of hot peppers for our first batch of plants that get shipped to customers in the beginning of April. Hot peppers take a little bit of extra time to grow big enough for us to send. We also have started sowing our early seed crops of lettuce. These get started in the greenhouse and then transplanted out in the spring. While sowing lettuce in January might be too early for home gardens, remember that our goal is to harvest the seed, which takes extra time.
I also can't wait to talk to you about our winter trials, which are amazing right now, but I want to report on that next week after I go out and do some more evaluations.
Don't forget to email us at
blog@territorialseed.com with topics that you would like us to cover.
What would you like to know about Territorial?
1/9/08 - posted by Tim Russell
We always seem to have a new and exciting project going here at Territorial Seed Company. Whether it is research into flax seed production (see previous post), or our new seed packet printer which we just got set up and running, there is never a dull moment. We have over-winter trials looking excellent right now, a new greenhouse to be built, and our Spring trials will be being planted sooner than we think. We hope to detail many of the aspects of Territorial Seed Company here in our new blog.
But what may seem exciting to us ("Hurray, new biodegradable packing material!"), may not be as exciting to you. To make sure that we are keeping our blog interesting I thought that I would ask our customers what they would like to hear about Territorial Seed Company. Send us an email to
blog@territorialseed.com, and let me know what you would like to hear about and I will take my camera, note pad and, depending on the time of year, my rubber boots out and bring you the story!
Organic flax seed oil produces Omega-3 fuel for your body and your car!
1/2/08 - posted by Tom Johns
Territorial’s sister company, London Spring Farms, has been growing test plots of organic flax and canola seed on its Douglas County, Oregon farm. The company’s aim is to become self-reliant for its greenhouse farming operations heating oil requirements. Thus far, seed oil press testing has yielded promising results. As president of Territorial Seed Company, I am happy to report our progress and the exciting possibilities of growing oil seed crops for biodiesel production.
Growing seed for its oil seems like a logical next step for us to take, as we already own most of the equipment needed to plant, grow, harvest and clean the seed. All our equipment is certainly suitable for flax and canola seed production. To complete the fuel oil production process, our additional equipment requirements would be minimal: a seed press for oil extraction and a small-scale biodiesel processing system.
Our goal would be to produce enough biodiesel to heat all of our indoor farming facilities. In the greenhouses we grow all of Territorial’s mail order vegetable, flower and herb transplants, plants for our retail catalog store in Cottage Grove, seedlings for trials and research, plus all of the organic seedlings for seed crop production. Biodiesel could also satisfy all of the fuel needs of the tractors and equipment used in the farming operations.
But before we can invest into the oil press and processing system, we need to make sure the yield of seed per acre is sufficient to make economic sense. To determine our production potential, we grew an 8-acre test plot of Golden Flax this past summer on our certified organic seed production farm in Southern Oregon’s Douglas county. In general terms, the plot germinated and grew into a nice stand, but did not obtain the plant heights we needed for adequate harvesting and seed yields. Consulting with Daryl Ehrensing, Alternative Crop Development Specialist at Oregon State University, we concluded that the nitrogen levels of our test plot were not adequate for Golden Flax’s requirements.
In order to economically reach the necessary levels of nitrogen, 125-150 pounds per acre, in a certified organic setting, the nitrogen needs to be grown rather than applied. Utilizing cover crops to add nitrogen to the soil would be the most efficient organic method, and they happen to be a Territorial specialty. We have become self-sufficient in the production of many cover crops, with particular success with fava beans cultivation. We especially like favas for their cold hardiness and nitrogen fixing ability, reliably up to 150 pounds per acre. Each year we grow and harvest thousands of pounds of favas. So in preparation for this coming year’s test plot of Golden Flax, we planted a 5-acre section with Banner favas. The Banners are currently doing very well, and we expect them to be in good condition for tilling under in early spring. About 3 weeks or so prior to planting the Golden Flax, we will plow down the favas, incorporating the green plant matter and the nitrogen-rich nodules on their roots into the soil.
To be continued…
Territorial announces new web site launch!
1/2/08 - posted by Tim RussellOnline-customers should be very pleased with Territorial’s totally redesigned web site. Freshly launched in early December and in development since earlier this year, our web site highlights include, upgraded security, more streamlined navigation, more information, and an entirely new look.
We have tried to take all the good things about our old site, such as extensive culture information and quick page load time, and then add more modern functionality as well as increased security, and better graphic quality.
Speaking of security, our increased vigilance does not just apply to our web site, but our entire operation as well. We have been going through various security reviews and upgrades in order to keep all your personal information as safe as possible.
We have been putting in a lot of work on our new web site and catalog to try to make them as user friendly and informative as possible, and I hope that they help you have the best garden ever!
Territorial announces over 200 new items for 2008!
12/27/07 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
One of the best parts of my job is evaluating our trials. I literally get to taste thousands of different vegetables and herbs, and view hundreds of beautiful flowers. Each year, I find both new favorites and get reacquainted with old favorites. The problem (if you can really call it a problem) comes when it is time to start choosing new varieties for the catalog. How in the world can I add all of these amazing items when there are only a finite number of pages in the catalog? Well, one way to go about it is to add pages to the catalog. You might notice that Territorial's Spring 2008 Catalog has 8 more pages added to it. I was very lucky this year. The reality, however, is that we can't add all of the varieties that performed well in the trials, so we whittle down the new favorites to the creme de la creme.
Which leads me to the topic of this post...between seeds, plants, and garden accessories, we have over 200 new items in Territorial's Spring 2008 catalog! That, in itself, is pretty amazing but what's really amazing is each of the particular varieties.
For example, Sweet Hearts and Solid Gold tomatoes are two new grape tomatoes. Sweet Hearts was probably the sweetest tomato that I tasted in our trials and Solid Gold was extremely productive and had such a nice tangy flavor. Both are available as seeds and plants.
In the flower world, I have to tell you about Aztec Sunset Zinnia. These bicolor zinnias seriously appeared to be glowing at our trial grounds. I had to check and see if someone plugged them into an electrical outlet.
Aroma 1 basil is a great addition to our herb department. It is a green genovese type with a great flavor and disease resistance. Aroma 1 is also available as seed and plant.
And, don't forget our fruit selection. This year, we feature Golden and Scarlet Sentinal Apples. They grow unlike any other apple I have seen! They are columnar and the fruit is produced right along the central stem. They also are extremely disease resistant and do very well in containers.
Finally, we have added drip irrigation systems to our full line of garden accessories. We offer two complete kits-one is for flower and garden beds, the other is for row crops.
Until next time, have a happy holiday season!
London Spring Botanicals-Plants for the New American Garden
12/27/07 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
First introduced as its own catalog in 2007, London Spring Botanicals has now earned a section in Territorial’s main spring catalog. This new world of extraordinary plants from Territorial features some of this writer’s all-time favorite and brand new infatuations in the world of ornamental plants. I could talk all day and night about these plants, but I’ll try to limit my thoughts to just a few irresistible beauties.
Breakthrough Bloomers There are some mind-blowing varieties coming from breeders worldwide, and we’ve got a few of the most exciting in our inventory.
Tiki Torch Echinacea--Has all the qualities that have earned coneflowers a foremost ranking in the world of cherished, perennial favorites. Heap on extra features like fragrance, super huge flower size and self-illuminating color, and you’ve got a plant that grabs your eyes and won’t let them go!
Chocolate Delphinium--Another old, cottage garden favorite with 21st century flair. Tall and stately like its delft blue brethren, yet the blooms are intriguing and captivating shades of swirling cream and cocoa. They look like puffy swizzle sticks of foamy vanilla, chocolate and mixes of the two!
Limelight Hydrangea—A giant leap beyond grandma’s giant snowball shrub. This show-off has magnificent blooms that undergo a progressive color change throughout the season. The botanical world’s answer to a disco ball.
Brandy Punch Hibiscus—Outrageously huge, dinner plate-sized blooms backed by exotic, deeply lobed, bronze-tinted foliage. Thinking of adding some tropical appeal to your landscape? This will definitely do it. Paired with our Hardy Banana and you’ll have two of the most deceptively hardy, tropical-looking plants. Speaking of tropicals, Miner’s Claim Brugmansia, with its magnificent variegated foliage and out-of-this-world, pendulous flowers, is a rapid growing, tender perennial shrub like no other. Throw that in the mix with the hibiscus and banana, and you’ll have a ravishingly exotic paradise.
Shade Gardens are a passion of mine. Even the most exposed landscapes can have sheltered, shady nooks to escape mid-summer’s sun. Hellebores are one of my favorite shade garden staples; I consider them the harbinger of spring. As a confirmed sucker for double flowering plants, our new Double Queen Hellebore mix has really stolen my heart. 100% double flowers in a blend of traditional, solid hellebore shades, and a high percentage of them graced with freckles. They’ll even reseed and naturalize, producing true-to-type, double-blooming offspring.
And that’s really just the beginning! The dominion of London Spring Botanicals boasts a spectacular collection of exquisite wonders from the world of ornamental plants. Take a moment to delve into this floral fantasyland!
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