I spent many hours researching ideas, begging for someone to design it, playing with fonts, etc.
After that, I threw caution to the wind and started creating. And my friends, we have a logo...
Monday, May 14, 2012
The logo
After many many trials and tribulations with creating a logo.... It is now complete.
I spent many hours researching ideas, begging for someone to design it, playing with fonts, etc.
After that, I threw caution to the wind and started creating. And my friends, we have a logo...
I spent many hours researching ideas, begging for someone to design it, playing with fonts, etc.
After that, I threw caution to the wind and started creating. And my friends, we have a logo...
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Labels, Potting, and Frost
So we arrived at the Nursery just after 12:30 pm today. We had 2 main objectives:
#1 Pots plants (Surprised? Me either)
#2 Label plants - Print labels!
Jared and Mom attacked the potting, and I was responsible for the plant sticks.
The plant sticks were a challenge for a couple of reasons.
Mom has an excel spread sheet that listed the plants that she bought (common name, botanical name, cost, from where, etc.) The problem was that there was not botanical names for all of the plants. I spent a good part of the day Googling botanical names and entering them into the Garden Software. We are currently using a trial for the Plant Tag and Track Software. After all of that work, I was very dissapointed with the look of the layout from the program. It makes complete sense to use the program if you have all of the information entered into the software. This would include The common name, the botanical name, the speed of growth, where to plant, common size, width, spacing, and countless other information. We would love to have all of this printed on the sticks so that when we sell the plants the customers can have it. Unfortunately, we do not have the time, energy, or information to complete this daunting task. Not today at least, definitely at some point this makes COMPLETE sense.
So eventually I ended up using a word template for the pot sticks and copy and pasting the different common and botanical names for over 600 sticks. I ran a couple test runs through the printer and it looked great. Nice large lettering. We decided that it was important to have the plants labeled so that we can have our Nursery Inspection. At a later time when we have all of the information entered into the program we can print new ones that will go home with the customers with care instructions.
I successfully printed over 400 pot sticks today. Next task will be printing wrap labels for the trees and shrubs that do not get pot sticks. Below is what the wrap tags looks like:
#1 Pots plants (Surprised? Me either)
#2 Label plants - Print labels!
Jared and Mom attacked the potting, and I was responsible for the plant sticks.
The plant sticks were a challenge for a couple of reasons.
- We have not tried out the printer yet
- We have not tried printing on the pot sticks
- We are not sure how the Garden Program we are using works
- We do not have all of the information needed for the pot sticks
Mom has an excel spread sheet that listed the plants that she bought (common name, botanical name, cost, from where, etc.) The problem was that there was not botanical names for all of the plants. I spent a good part of the day Googling botanical names and entering them into the Garden Software. We are currently using a trial for the Plant Tag and Track Software. After all of that work, I was very dissapointed with the look of the layout from the program. It makes complete sense to use the program if you have all of the information entered into the software. This would include The common name, the botanical name, the speed of growth, where to plant, common size, width, spacing, and countless other information. We would love to have all of this printed on the sticks so that when we sell the plants the customers can have it. Unfortunately, we do not have the time, energy, or information to complete this daunting task. Not today at least, definitely at some point this makes COMPLETE sense.
So eventually I ended up using a word template for the pot sticks and copy and pasting the different common and botanical names for over 600 sticks. I ran a couple test runs through the printer and it looked great. Nice large lettering. We decided that it was important to have the plants labeled so that we can have our Nursery Inspection. At a later time when we have all of the information entered into the program we can print new ones that will go home with the customers with care instructions.
I successfully printed over 400 pot sticks today. Next task will be printing wrap labels for the trees and shrubs that do not get pot sticks. Below is what the wrap tags looks like:
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Business Meeting Minutes
Immediate need plant plants
- • Work schedule
- • Ground or pots
- • Need~ pots
- o Hadley garden center
- Mom call them
- Jared or Heather pick up with trailer
- Tom Giles
- o Freecycle – moderately successful
- o Craigslist – moderately successful
- o Back up – People in CT
- • Sod cutting
- o Renting Sod Cutter
- For one day ($89)
- Or for one weekend ($129)
- o Weekend Rental
- Heather Pick up
- Jared Drop Off
- Mom Reserve and Pay
- Pickup Friday
- Cutting Saturday 8am -2pm
- Cutting Sunday 9am - done
- • Jared to stay tonight to pot plants with Mom
- • Start Composting
- • Call Wagner – Mom
- o Ask if done cutting bark mulch
- o Have delivered
- o Delivery Fee – per truck load
- • Call Ethan – Mom
- o We need leaves!
- • Printer – Mom & Heather
- • Label plants - Mom
- • Driveway other side of woods row
- • Truck loads of leaves
- • $35/load
- • Betsy to find leaves
- o Professional landscapers
- • Grass clippings
- o Professional Landscapers
- • Brown Stuff, Green Stuff, Twice Ground (3 would be better) Hard Wood Bark Mulch
- • Collect Compost –
- o Vegetables
- o Coffee grounds
- o Tea bags
- o Human hair
- o Cat hair??
- o Napkins/paper towel?
- o Decompose in one year
- • Coffee Houses – Later date
- o Coffee Grounds
- • All – Labor
- o Turn it once per week
- • Jared – Design Driveway
- • Zoning Board
- o Made the call
- o Waiting for answers
- o Vendor license? Waiting for zoning to tell her
- o Wondering if need to re-zone? Hope not, since already agricultural
- Exempt from zoning issues (business)
- • Decide on Company Name
- • Tax ID #
- • Entity
- o Partnership agreement
- Find online
- • Grants
- • Business Cards
- • Website
- o Newsletters
- • Telephone Number
- o Google Voice?
- o Add line to Moms house?
- Vonage (special line $10)
- • Mass Ag
- • Work Proposition for Root Cuttings with Chris
- • Deer
- • Field Mice
- • Japanese Beatles
- • Rabbits
- • Squirrels
- • Cats
- • Lily Leaf Beatles
- • Craigslist
- • Flea Market
- • Tag Sales
- • Craft Fairs
- • Sales on Property
- • Farmers Markets
- • Soil Sifter
- • Greenhouse
- • Irrigation
- • Fertilizer
- • Compost
- • Pest Control
- • Mister (IMS) – Root cutting
- • Goal
- o Easy to care for
- o Readily available
- o Love Zone 5
- • Ornamental Trees
- o Japanese Maples
- • Shrubs
- o Forsythia
- o Lilacs
- o Rose of Sharon
- o Japanese Willow
- o Mock Orange
- o Wigalia
- o Oak leaf hydrangea
- o Red twig dog wood
- o Burning brush
- o Yellow twig dog wood
- o Butterfly bush
- o PG Hydrangea
- o Pointala
- • Evergreen shrubs
- o Mop top
- o Mine gold
- • Perennials
- o Day lilies
- o Hostas
- o Asilbys
- o Ornamental Grass
- o Seedum
- o Shasta daisy
- o Cone flowers
- o Coreopsis
- o Stone Crop
Saturday, March 31, 2012
First hole in the ground
So we have been planning the nursery for a while now and mom has been buying plants.
Now it is time to make some holes in the ground for the plants to live in.
When we arrived at Market Hill, Mom was ankles deep in dirt...
She was pretty excited about making our first beds...
It is always fun when you have power equipment to help. This little Honda does a great job. It worked well for this size bed. Look at the healthy soil it is kicking up...
Finished product....
We have a couple of raised beds that my mom and I created 2 years ago. These were intended to be small vegetable beds. We were successful in growing LOTS of basil, and a couple tomatoes. I believe that is all we were successful with, out of about 50 various veggies planted.
Though our vegetable endeavor did not go as well as planned, the raised beds are now a great asset to Shoots to Roots. We started using them as healing (heeling?) beds. When the plants started arriving in the mail we didn't have anywhere to plant them (hence, the new bed). We found advice on the forum about healing (heeling) them. Which we did in our raised beds. They will live there in the soil until we can move them to their new homes.
After a long day of working at the Nursery, we still have smiles on our faces. The first 3 Shoots - of Shoots to Roots - are right there.... (from left to right) Heather, Jared, Betsy...
Oh yeah, and we cannot forget Jimmy, who was there for moral support. Well, maybe just some brush burning, a couple of beers, and a roasted wiener. Either way, we were happy to have him.
Now it is time to make some holes in the ground for the plants to live in.
When we arrived at Market Hill, Mom was ankles deep in dirt...
She was pretty excited about making our first beds...
It is always fun when you have power equipment to help. This little Honda does a great job. It worked well for this size bed. Look at the healthy soil it is kicking up...
Finished product....
We have a couple of raised beds that my mom and I created 2 years ago. These were intended to be small vegetable beds. We were successful in growing LOTS of basil, and a couple tomatoes. I believe that is all we were successful with, out of about 50 various veggies planted.
Though our vegetable endeavor did not go as well as planned, the raised beds are now a great asset to Shoots to Roots. We started using them as healing (heeling?) beds. When the plants started arriving in the mail we didn't have anywhere to plant them (hence, the new bed). We found advice on the forum about healing (heeling) them. Which we did in our raised beds. They will live there in the soil until we can move them to their new homes.
After a long day of working at the Nursery, we still have smiles on our faces. The first 3 Shoots - of Shoots to Roots - are right there.... (from left to right) Heather, Jared, Betsy...
Oh yeah, and we cannot forget Jimmy, who was there for moral support. Well, maybe just some brush burning, a couple of beers, and a roasted wiener. Either way, we were happy to have him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)