Nancy's Blog

We are frantically potting and moving plants around right now. This is when I wish I had 6 greenhouses instead of 4! We will be open next week on the 16th, but there is a ton of work to do in the building as well as in all of the greenhouses. Please forgive our mess if you come to check us out before mid-April when we strive to have most everything planted and displayed. Keep in mind that we are a working greenhouse – our plants are planted and grown here – not shipped in on a truck ready to sell and we are still very much in the working phase of growing right now. We love that you are excited to see what we have to offer this year though!!!!!

With the cold temperature in February, the flood and snow in March, it has been a bumpy time at the greenhouse. We are finally about to catch up on transplanting and getting the new merchandise displayed. The newsletter is due out any day & we are ready to start selling plants! Come on down & see what neat things we have available for you this year!

I’m sure all of you are as tired of cold weather as we are.

Winter presents its special challenges in the greenhouse. Snow and ice mean staying up at night and checking the greenhouses to make sure the load of snow is not too heavy. We beat the plastic to get it off. Frigid nights mean our potting soil has to be brought inside the greenhouses 2 or 3 days ahead of time to have it thawed and ready to use. With the especially cold temperatures this winter, a lot of our plant shipments have been delayed…too much of a chance of them freezing. Then we won’t even talk about how much propane we use on cold nights and cloudy days!

Thankfully, it seems like winter is losing it’s hold. Think Spring!!!!!

Are you as tired as I am with this cloudy cold weather? It makes it much harder to get things done in the greenhouse. We have to bundle up to go outside to get supplies, and it is just dreary. We will be opening soon when the weather finally begins to warm up enough. We always just play it by ear…it will be either mid week next week(around the 13th) or Monday of the following for sure(18th). We’ll keep you posted.

I think you’ll be excited to see all the work we’ve done this year…lots of “pretties” coming in the building as well!

See you soon!

We are just about to finish up most of our transplanting jobs. The plants are growing so quickly with these warm days we’ve been having. I need to get some photos and show you some of the neat plants we have this year! It just gets so hectic in the spring,  and I never seem to have my camera when I need it!

We had an awesome Late Night….it is the first year they hadn’t predicted  bad weather for that night. We had a large crowd of you and I’m sorry I haven’t had time to up date the blog. I do have pictures and I will try to get them up in the next post .

We are closed on Sunday’s now, but we will be open on Monday of Memorial Weekend from 9am to 4 pm. We are honoring Sheila’s 20 years at Hasting Plants that day. Cake and other refreshments, including hot dogs at noon! come help us celebrate her day!

A big thank you to all of you who came Saturday and Sunday! We were busy yesterday, but swamped today! It was unbelievable how many cars were parked in the lot. You kept us hopping for the better part of the day.

I can’t tell you how much it means that you all have cared about our business, and have supported us this way. It is amazing how many of you have kept up with the flood through this blog. Mike commented several times to me tonight that he was amazed at how many people mentioned this blog to him. I  treasure all your kind comments and concern. YOU, my customers, are the life-blood of my business. If you didn’t come to buy our plants, as well as  encourage your friends and neighbors to come, we certainly couldn’t exist.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Today marked a special event! The first customers at my greenhouse(except for the neighbor who boated in) since Easter Sunday!

The water was a little higher than I had hoped first thing this morning, so our official opening was 12 noon, but that didn’t stop these brave souls from driving on in with water 11 to 12″ deep! We were busy from 9 a.m. to our closing at 6 p.m.!

First customers since the flood.

First customers since the flood!

Mike also ferry-ed in a few customers who came in cars and were surprised by the flood waters still over the road. Here is one group leaving as another group comes in.

Mike and his "ferry-boat" truck with customers.

Mike also had a little fun with my sign on the highway. This is what he put on it today.

Hasting Plants sign on the highway.

Now, a big THANK YOU to all of you who came out today in your pick-ups and SUV’s.  Even with water across the road, you kept us busy all day long. It was nice to actually see plants going out to homes. I very much appreciate your business, your kind words about our greenhouse, and even this blog! I have enjoyed writing it each day during the flood and it was nice to hear how  many of you were “listening”  and weathering the flood right along with us. I’ll miss having the time to keep this up on a regular basis, but now that I’m in the groove, I’ll try to be better about blogging more often.

Don’t forget our upcoming dates all changed due to being flooded out during their original times….

“Late Night”/Flood’s Over Party this Friday night(May 20) from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. We will have live music by  Clif the Drifter, refreshments, festive lights throughout the greenhouses and door prizes. One special door prize will be given away at 11:30 to someone who is still present at Late Night. Bring a lawn chair and a flashlight.

Sheila’s 20 Year Reception on May 30th(Memorial Day) with cake and cookies from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All plants are now 20% off (except the just arrived Sweet Potatoes) and we will honor coupons on the hard goods(non-plants) until May 31.

Right now the water is a little over 1 foot. We will try opening at 12 noon, which will allow the water to be a little under a foot for trucks and SUV’s that sit up higher to come through. If you only have a car, I would recommend coming Sunday when there should be no water across the road.

Estimated Depth’s by hour:

9 a.m.  – 12″

12 a.m. – 10-11″

3 p.m. –  7-8″

6 p.m. – 4-5″

See the last blog for a description of the 3 water patches on the road.

At 8 p.m. tonight(Friday), there was 2 feet of water on the road. By 8 a.m. it should be about 1 foot, so you will be better waiting a few hours before coming, especially if you only have a car. I’m guessing it will be about 8″ at noon, and  4″ by 4p.m. We will be open 9 to 6 tomorrow and 1 to 8 on Sunday. Sunday should be high and dry on the road.

There are 3 sets of water on the road, each is about equally deep, but the one closest to the greenhouse is slightly deeper than the others.
There are stakes to mark the road at each. PLEASE only try to come(especially early in the day) if your vehicle sits high. We will drive through 12″ of water in our pick-up, but that is the upper limit of what we will attempt. Drive slowly and only one vehicle going through at a time (wait if someone is coming the other direction).

I will update this around 7 in the morning. Call if you are unsure.