“Excellent!”  said Mary, frequent Bluemel shopper.  ‘I’ve always looked forward to getting these Bluemel Bucks every season and now that Bluemel’s has sweetened the deal, I’ll be looking even more forward to spring and getting over to Bluemel’s to do my plant shopping.”

“Bluemel’s is now actually cheaper in price….”

“I absolutely love that Bluemel’s has gotten rid of all of the restrictions that the old bucks ha

Customers have been really excited about the New Bluemel Bucks.

d.”  said another frequent shopper.  “I used to buy just my plants from Bluemel’s and then would get my mulch for the flower beds from someone else because they were slightly cheaper in price.  Now that I can use my new Bluemel Bucks on anything, Bluemel’s is now actually cheaper in price than the other place I was buying my mulch from!  I think this is a brilliant move on their part because now I am more than just a plant customer.”

“I have one complaint….” said Shirley, Bluemel’s customer since 1995.  “My husband thought I had a gardening problem and I told him I would scale it back a bit this season but his new promotion is going to keep me coming back and I guess I will scale it back next season.  Yeah right!” laughed Shirley.

“They really look and feel better….” 

Even the design of the new Bluemel Buck has gotten people talking.  “They really look and feel better.” Said Paul, a customer for over 10 years.  “They actually look more like a gift certificate rather than a cheaply printed coupon.” Paul went on to say that he even put the bucks he earned into a birthday card for a friend who loves gardening.  “Why not?  They’re just as good as cash.”  He went on to explain.

The new Bluemel Bucks have been completely redesigned and contain the ‘Dome Grown’ insignia, a play on the domed-shape piece of architecture that crowns Bluemel’s main entrance and has been integrated into their official business logo.  The bucks are also bigger than the previous version’s.  What’s really cool is that each week a new color-theme is handed out.  “My favorite is the green ones.”  said the young daughter of one customer.  “I really hope they have purple ones because that is my favorite color.”

“I think they are now officially hooked on the new Bluemel Bucks.”

There is no debating that this new promotion has been paying off for Bluemel’s retail garden center.  “I really feel like every customer who finds out that we changed the Bluemel Bucks is just as excited as we are.” Said John Lewandowski, retail manager.  “If you really love gardening, we now provide an even greater  reason to keep shopping with us for all of your gardening needs.  So far it appears as though customer’s have been making more stops than usual-  I think they are now officially hooked on the new Bluemel Bucks.” He said with a chuckle.

He’s right.  It’s hard not to get hooked on this new promotion.  Most gardeners are passionate ones and now Bluemel’s has given them even more opportunities to indulge in their passion by rewarding them for their purchases.

Haven’t gotten your hands on these new Bluemel Bucks yet?  Don’t worry, there is still a couple of weeks left. “There is still time left but these next couple of weeks are going to fly by.” Said John Lewandowski.  “I am noticing now that customers see the way the new Bluemel Bucks work, they are trying to make as many purchases as they can now rather than later in order to accumulate as many of these bucks as they can. Then they’ll be able to use all of their hard earned bucks towards mulch, or maybe even a nice garden accent once all of their planting is done.”

Not a bad strategy.  And certainly not a bad reward for shopping at Bluemel’s Garden Center this gardening season.

The post New Bluemel Bucks Creating Quite A Stir appeared first on Bluemels.com.

Yields like these are easier to achieve than you may think. The secret to super-productive gardening is taking the time now to plan strategies that will work for your garden. Here are seven high-yield strategies gleaned from gardeners who have learned to make the most of their garden space.

 1. Build up your soil.

Expert gardeners agree that building up the soil is the single most important factor in pumping up yields. A deep, organically rich soil encourages the growth of healthy, extensive roots that are able to reach more nutrients and water. The result: extra-lush, extra-productive growth above ground.

The fastest way to get that deep layer of fertile soil is to make raised beds. Raised beds yield up to four times more than the same amount of space planted in rows. That’s due not only to their loose, fertile soil but also to efficient spacing—by using less space for paths, you have more room to grow plants.

Raised beds save you time, too. One researcher tracked the time it took to plant and maintain a 30-by-30-foot garden planted in beds, and found that he needed to spend just 27 hours in the garden from mid-May to mid-October. Yet he was able to harvest 1,900 pounds of fresh vegetables—that’s a year’s supply of food for three people from about 3 total days of work!

How do raised beds save so much time? Plants grow close enough together to shade out competing weeds, so you spend less time weeding. The close spacing also makes watering and harvesting more efficient.

 2. Round out your beds.

The shape of your beds can make a difference, too. Raised beds are more space-efficient if the tops are gently rounded to form an arc, rather than flat. A rounded bed that is 5 feet wide across its base, for instance, will give you a 6-foot-wide arc above it—creating a planting surface that’s a foot wider than that of a flat bed. That foot might not seem like much, but multiply it by the length of your bed and you’ll see that it can make a big difference in total planting area.

In a 20-foot-long bed, for example, rounding the top increases your total planting area from 100 to 120 square feet. That’s a 20 percent gain in planting space in a bed that takes up the same amount of ground space! Lettuce, spinach, and other greens are perfect crops for planting on the edges of a rounded bed.

3. Space smartly.

To get the maximum yields from each bed, pay attention to how you arrange your plants. Avoid planting in square patterns or rows. Instead, stagger the plants by planting in triangles (as shown here). By doing so, you can fit 10 to 14 percent more plants in each bed.

Just be careful not to space your plants too tightly. Some plants won’t reach their full size—or yield—when crowded. For instance, when one researcher increased the spacing between romaine lettuces from 8 to 10 inches, the harvest weight per plant doubled. (Remember that weight yield per square foot is more important than the number of plants per square foot.)

Overly tight spacing can also stress plants, making them more susceptible to diseases and insect attack.

 4. Grow up!

No matter how small your garden, you can grow more by going vertical. Grow space-hungry vining crops—such as tomatoes, pole beans, peas, squash, melons, cukes, and so on—straight up, supported by trellises, fences, cages, or stakes.

Growing vegetables vertically also saves time. Harvest and maintenance go faster because you can see exactly where the fruits are. And upward-bound plants are less likely to be hit by fungal diseases thanks to the improved air circulation around the foliage.

Try growing vining crops on trellises along one side of raised beds, using sturdy end posts with nylon mesh netting or string in between to provide a climbing surface. Tie the growing vines to the trellis. But don’t worry about securing heavy fruits—even squash and melons will develop thicker stems for support.

5. Mix it up.

Inter-planting compatible crops saves space, too. Consider the classic Native American combination, the “three sisters”—corn, beans, and squash. Sturdy cornstalks support the pole beans, while squash grows freely on the ground below, shading out competing weeds. This combination works because the crops are compatible. Other compatible combinations include tomatoes, basil, and onions; leaf lettuce and peas or carrots, onions, and radishes as well as beets and celery.

 6. Succeed with successions.

Succession planting allows you to grow more than one crop in a given space over the course of a growing season. That way, many gardeners are able to harvest three or even four crops from a single area.  For instance, an early crop of leaf lettuce can be followed with a fast-maturing corn, and the corn followed by more greens or overwintered garlic—all within a single growing season.

To get the most from your succession plantings:

-Use transplants. A transplant is already a month or so old when you plant it, and so will mature that much faster than a direct-seeded plant (one grown from seeds sown in the garden).

- Choose fast-maturing varieties.

-Replenish the soil with a ¼-to-½-inch layer of compost (about 2 cubic feet per 100 square feet) each time you replant. Work it into the top few inches of soil.

 7. Stretch your season.

Adding a few weeks to each end of the growing season can buy you enough time to grow yet another succession crop—say a planting of leaf lettuce, kale, or turnips—or to harvest more end-of-the-season tomatoes.  To get those extra weeks of production, you need to keep the air around your plants warm, even when the weather is cold, by using mulches, cloches, row covers, or cold frames.  Or give heat-loving crops (such as melons, peppers, and eggplants) an extra-early start by using two “blankets”—one to warm the air and one to warm the soil in early spring. About 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date, preheat cold soil by covering it with either infrared-transmitting (IRT) mulch or black plastic, which will absorb heat. Then, cover the bed with a slitted, clear plastic tunnel. When the soil temperature reaches 65° to 70°F, set out plants and cover the black plastic mulch with straw to keep it from trapping too much heat. Remove the clear plastic tunnel when the air temperature warms and all danger of frost has passed. Install it again at the end of the season, when temperatures cool.

 Join us for our FREE event:

‘Improving the Life of Your Soil featuring Dr. Earth Organics’

Tuesday, May 14^th from 7pm – 8pm.

The post 7 Secrets for a High-Yield Vegetable Garden appeared first on Bluemels.com.

1. To remove the salt deposits that form on clay pots, combine equal parts white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to the pot and scrub with a plastic brush. Let the pot dry before you plant anything in it.

2. To prevent accumulating dirt under your fingernails while you work in the garden, draw your fingernails across a bar of soap and you’ll effectively seal the undersides of your nails so dirt can’t collect beneath them. Then, after you’ve finished in the garden, use a nailbrush to remove the soap and your nails will be sparkling clean.

3. To prevent the line on your string trimmer from jamming or breaking, treat with a spray vegetable oil before installing it in the trimmer.

4. Turn a long-handled tool into a measuring stick! Lay a long-handled garden tool on the ground, and next to it place a tape measure. Using a permanent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several feet) you’ll already have a measuring device in your hand.

5. To have garden twine handy when you need it, just stick a ball of twine in a small clay pot, pull the end of the twine through the drainage hole, and set the pot upside down in the garden. Do that, and you’ll never go looking for twine again.

6. Little clay pots make great cloches for protecting young plants from sudden, overnight frosts and freezes.

7. To turn a clay pot into a hose guide, just stab a roughly one-foot length of steel reinforcing bar into the ground at the corner of a bed and slip two clay pots over it: one facing down, the other facing up. The guides will prevent damage to your plants as you drag the hose along the bed.

8. To create perfectly natural markers, write the names of plants (using a permanent marker) on the flat faces of stones of various sizes and place them at or near the base of your plants.

9. Got aphids? You can control them with a strong blast of water from the hose or with insecticidal soap. But here’s another suggestion, one that’s a lot more fun; get some tape! Wrap a wide strip of tape around your hand, sticky side out, and pat the leaves of plants infested with aphids. Concentrate on the undersides of leaves, because that’s where the little buggers like to hide.

10. The next time you boil or steam vegetables, don’t pour the water down the drain, use it to water potted patio plants, and you’ll be amazed at how the plants respond to the “vegetable soup.”

11. Use leftover tea and coffee grounds to acidify the soil of acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, gardenias and even blueberries. A light sprinkling of about one-quarter of an inch applied once a month will keep the pH of the soil on the acidic side.

12. Use chamomile tea to control damping-off fungus, which often attacks young seedlings quite suddenly. Just add a spot of tea to the soil around the base of seedlings once a week or use it as a foliar spray.

13. If you need an instant table for tea service, look no farther than your collection of clay pots and saucers. Just flip a good-sized pot over, and top it off with a large saucer. And when you’ve had your share of tea, fill the saucer with water, and your “table” is now a birdbath.

14. The quickest way in the world to dry herbs: just lay a sheet of newspaper on the seat of your car, arrange the herbs in a single layer, then roll up the windows and close the doors. Your herbs will be quickly dried to perfection. What’s more, your car will smell great.

The post 14 Gardening Tips & Tricks appeared first on Bluemels.com.

Bluemel’s recently held their ‘Fun with Flat Tire Decor Event’ for kids this last Tuesday and were very pleased with the turnout.  ”We had about 20 kids and their parents attend this event- from the feedback I received, everyone had a great time.”  said Bluemel’s retail manager John Lewandowski.  “We were really excited to do this event because it was something out of the ordinary.  Kids of all ages had the opportunity to make something very special to give to mom this Mother’s Day.”

This was a FREE event and children of all ages were encouraged to partcipate.  Bluemel’s strategically scheduled this event the week of Mother’s Day and plans on scheduling a children’s craft inspired event every season for the occassion. Bluemel’s also is planning on doing another children’s event the week of Father’s Day as well (Tuesday, June 11th).

John brought in the owner of Flat Tire Decor; Mike Hottinger, to co-host this special event for kids only.  Flat Tire Decor is a local, Milwaukee based company that produces flower pots and other gardening accesories made exclusively from used tires.  Flat Tire provided pot kits that children were allowed to easily construct and then paint to give the pot a personable touch.  As a bonus, children were then given the opportunity to plant up their one-of-a-kind pot with the plants of their choosing!   These creations are sure to bring a big smile to many moms not only this Mother’s Day, but years and years to come- especially since their gift is mad from a used tire!

Flat Tire Decor plays a more prominent role in Bluemel’s retail store this year.  Bluemel’s began carrying the product last season and has decided to expand the selection this season.  ”It truly is a unique item that we are very happy to be carring in our store.” says John.  ”It is everything we are looking for in a retail item to offer our customers.  It’s a green item (recycled), it’s durable, it’s handmade, its one-of-a-kind, and its made in Milwaukee!”.

Check out Flat Tire Decor’s website or stop in at Bluemel’s and see for yourself why this is such a remarkable item.

www.flattiredecor.com/‎

Bluemel’s Upcoming Event:  ”Improving the Life of Your Soil Featuring Dr. Earth”  Tuesday, May 14th  7pm – 8pm

The post ‘Fun with Flat Tire Decor Event’ for Kids a HUGE Success! appeared first on Bluemels.com.

• Colorful Hanging Basket
• Hardy Potted Rose Bush
• Garden Accents
• Gardening Gloves & Hat
• Patio Pot
• Birdhouse or Birdbath
• Herb Garden
• Bluemel’s Gift Certificate

Keep in mind that it is ‘Bluemel Buck’ season and that means we are giving back $1 in Bluemel Bucks for every $10 that you spend with us…. so stop in and purchase a gift for mom and get some Bluemel Bucks to put in the card!

Crunched for time?  Don’t worry.  Let our staff pick out a basket or rose bush for you and we’ll deliver it to her for a small fee.  All you have to do is place your order over the phone.

JOIN US ON TUESDAY, MAY 7TH FOR OUR FREE KIDS EVENT:  ’FUN WITH FLAT TIRE DECOR’….your kids will have a blast making a gift to give to mom for Mother’s Day.  This event runs from 7pm – 8pm.  We hope you can join us!

The post Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12th appeared first on Bluemels.com.

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“We never get content and are constantly looking at ways to improve things around here.”

“It’s time to make a change” says their retail manager John Lewandowski.  “We never get content and are constantly looking at ways to improve things around here. Just because we have had a certain level of success with the Bluemel Buck Promotion doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be improved upon.  We thought that it was finally time to take a second look at it.”  John stated that the new Bluemel Buck program will still have all of the elements that has made the program what it is today, but now there will be even more incentive for customers to come back.  He hinted that the new Bluemel Buck will have even greater value to the costumer and that the new Bluemel Buck may even get a facelift.  “I truly am excited to introduce this to our customers this season.”

Bluemel’s Garden & Landscape Center is so excited and confident in this new promotion that they decided to make it the centerpiece of their marketing campaign this season.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the current or “old” Bluemel Bucks Program, Bluemel’s gives you $1 in Bluemel Bucks for every $10 you spend with them to use towards a future plant purchase in July.  John says that the old Bluemel Bucks will still be valid but eventually will be taken out of circulation once they are redeemed.

“It’s a done deal…”

As far as how exactly the new promotion works, John was very coy on revealing any details.  “All I can say at this point is that we will be giving these out for customers to use this season.  It’s a done deal and the program has been completely revamped.”

Gee, thanks John.  I guess you’ll have to stay tuned as more details are revealed in the upcoming weeks.

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-Bluemel’s Management

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So now lets get to the good stuff…

Watch the video below to see if you are one of the 3 lucky winners!

The post Winners of the 2012 Fall Customer Appreciation Party Raffles appeared first on Bluemels.com.