Local greenhouse already sprouting veggies and flowers

If you have been waiting to start your plants indoors, you are almost behind schedule as Milton Pearce started planting about two weeks ago.

Pearce, owner of the Potting Shed in St. Regis, has one of his greenhouses sprouting veggies and flowers as he moves them around to which ones need the most heat from his wood stove through the germination process. He has a good stock of perennial plants that recently arrived from Illinois that were planted about a year ago. 

“They have basically been through a vernalization. Most perennials take a year which means they have been through cold climate time and the next year they bloom,” he explains. “They are developing perennials that will bloom from seeds in the first year like the Fox Glove. Some lupine, also.” 

However, he’s not a big fan of this method as the plants might not be as tough as needed for growing in Montana. 

“Plants that come up here from the south, you do not want to plant in a north garden because a lot of them do not survive our harsh winters. Even nursey stock. Trees and shrubs. They need a good hearty root stock like Minnesota and areas of such.” 

But then he said, “By no means do I know it all as some people have been successful as we have a lot of good gardeners around here, and a lot of up-and-coming gardeners. Gardening has come back to life,” Pearce said. “The younger generation (of gardeners) today is relearning, or having to learn, and they’re doing a good job at it.” 

He said they want to understand. They want to grow their own food as they want to be more self-sufficient. 

“So, we’re here to do all of the encouraging that we can to help promote that, because that’s what we need.”

The back portion of the primary greenhouse has onions and shallots growing on both sides, which Pearce said he will move soon as it will become too hot for them. From seeds that he planted 17 days ago he has parsley, oregano, leeks, Walla Walla and candy onions breaking through the soil. The onions are already a few inches tall. He knows how much of what he grows he will sell each year and sticks to that number. Onions are not as labor intensive as he doesn’t separate them, but the buyer does when they are transplanted into their own personal gardens.

Little petunias and double petunias are a week old sitting next to the stove.

“They take light and heat to germinate and then they will all go into single pots to sell,” which is done by hand. 

Each and every little iddy-biddy plant is delicately removed from the others in each tray and individually placed into a new home where it will be sold. The first week in April is scheduled for this transplanting which is laborious and time consuming but it’s not a chore. It sounds like it might be a therapeutic time doing the tedious intricate job where his focus is on each living plant and making certain it is well cared for in the process.

His Viola pansies from California do not need to vernalize and are popular for the cemeteries for Memorial Day weekend. Snapdragons like cooler germination so they are far away from the stove and they have never been up close to heat. His marigolds came up in 2 days from the seed he planted. 

“And I will seed another flat of these as we always run out of marigolds. The larger ones, Antiqua, will go into single pots and are ready for that procedure as soon as I make more space,” he smiles. “400 geraniums have been confirmed to arrive, but a week later this year. So, I probably won’t have (geranium) baskets ready for Mother’s Day, this year.” 

But when they are ready for market, 200 will be dark reds which have become more popular recently.

There are trays of jalapenos, Anaheim, Big Jims and Hot Wax peppers, Gypsy hybrid, Giant Marconi sweet peppers, and King of the North Bell Peppers. “I would not put a pepper into a garden until at least June. Peppers love heat.”

An interesting aspect is that his standard plastic sheet covering his greenhouses sometimes allows too much sunlight so he has sections where he places another layer and newspaper over the outer part for the plants that need the extra attention to light sensitivity. 

“Last year we lost a part of a planting because it was a Sunday morning and I was in a hurry getting ready for church and I didn’t cover that corner there,” as he points to the right side inside corner next to the door. “And when I got home around 1 that afternoon, I opened the door and could tell they were gone. It gets hot. Very hot.”

The Potting Shed sells flowers that are to be planted directly into gardens and vegetable-starts in May that the owner will transplant and maintain for the fruit though the summer. Both come from tender care, either from seeds or starters that have Pearce restocking the woodstove at 2 a.m., seven days a week. 

“Useful abuse,” Pearce smiles as he describes how he differentiates between his enthusiasm, and when this becomes work at this stage of his life. 

But his smile tells all that it’s still a passion driven choice. It’s at least another five weeks before he opens.