Michigan Flower Farm

December is a good time to finish cleaning and packaging seeds. These are snapdragon seeds.

~December is catch up month on the farm. A time to reflect, regroup and heal. I catch up on overdue paperwork, book keeping, cleaning inside and out, and begin cooking decent meals again. I read and study, pour over seed catalogs and feel my excitement and energy coming back.

~Christmas was fabulous! I hope yours was also! We don’t get too hyped up anymore, and we spent a wonderful day together. Santa was overly kind to us all. We all must have been pretty good last year! December is also my son's birth month and we enjoyed a nice lunch out on his birthday, then had his birthday dinner here Christmas Eve. Lots of love floating around!

~I’ve cut back on growing some varieties for this year, so I haven’t had to start any seedlings in December. Although I love lisianthus, it is a time consuming crop that I decided to take a sabbatical on for this upcoming season. I already miss them, so I’m sure they’ll be back next year!

~As farmers, business owners, parents, caregivers, etc., etc., etc., sometimes the last person we take care of is ourselves. I gave myself a wonderful Christmas present this year. After years of no answers from U of M, one trip to this new chiropractor has ended the pain in my right side I’ve had since the heart surgery four years ago. Some mornings just pulling my socks on would put me on my knees with pain. After endless expensive tests with no results, I’d had enough. Shoot me and throw me on the compost pile!

I had wanted to see my Aunt’s chiropractor, Dr. Potter, for several years and just never made the time. I knew I was "out of whack", I’ve broken both my back and neck in the past, and hadn't been able to find a chiropractor who could help since my old chiropractor, Dr. Dick, retired. In just one visit Dr. Potter determined I had 3 pinched nerves and my adrenal glands were toast along with some other concerns. Not to sound like an info-commercial, but he is a magic man with muscle testing, and amazes me with each visit. He suggested removing gluten from my diet and put me on some nutritional supplements to support healing in many areas. He freely offers advice and education that is invaluable. I still don’t know what was causing the pain in my right side, but after just one adjustment it was gone and has remained that way.

I believe the best gift he gave me was hope. I feel pretty darn good going into 2020! Come on spring! Whether you’ve got major health issues or just feeling out of sorts, I’m sure they can help. Contact: Canton Center Chiropractic Center. If you feel fed up with your medical docs, if you feel worse after every visit instead of better, if you're feeling hopeless, or you'd just like a more natural approach to your medical care, you will not be disappointed regardless of your health concerns.

~There's still a lot of seeds left to clean. A lot of people ask if saving seed is worth it. It's can be a bit of a tedious job, so just for kicks I did some math you might enjoy. I had 30 stems of snapdragons I had brought in to dry for seed. Out of those, I cleaned 4 ounces of seed. According to one source, there are 453,125 snapdragon seeds per ounce (who counts those!?!?!). 4 ounces = 1,812,500 seeds. Snap seed sells for as high as 4.55 for 50 seeds, $15.80 - $19.50 per 1,000 seeds. Guess I have around 28,637.50 - $35,342.75 worth of snap seeds, plus shipping! There, I feel better about it all now. (0: I really only spent somewhere around 30 bucks on snap seed last year, it's just fun math.

More Fun: Celosia - Ruby Parfait. 35,100 seeds per ounce x 4 ounces =140,400 seeds. $33.45-$77.05 per 1,000 seeds. $4,696.38 - $10,817.82 worth of Ruby Parfait seeds. Alright, I'm done having fun for now, but yes, saving seed is worth it. A great old book called "The Seed Starter's Handbook" by Nancy Bubel is still available and it's a fabulous read for beginners and seasoned growers alike. Some things never outdate.