Little Shop of Heirlooms

07/15/2026

This Colorado heat has been no joke! When it's hot and dry, your plants are working overtime just to survive, so now is a great time to give them a little extra love.

Instead of reaching for a strong chemical fertilizer, try feeding your garden organically. A gentle drink of diluted fish emulsion, seaweed fertilizer, compost tea, or a top dressing of compost gives plants the nutrients they need without stressing them during the heat.

A few neighborly tips:
*Water deeply before fertilizing.
*Fertilize early in the morning or after the sun goes down.
*Add a layer of mulch to help keep moisture in the soil.
*Skip heavy fertilizing if plants are looking wilted from the
afternoon heat, let them recover first.

Remember, healthy soil grows healthy plants. Sometimes the best thing we can do is slow down, water well, and let nature do the rest.

How's your garden holding up this summer? We'd love to hear what's thriving.

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06/27/2026

Apologies that it has been so quiet on here lately. I have been standing in my garden, willing it to grow faster.

06/17/2026

I am giving a greenstalk planter a try this year. Heather grows a lot in these. Notice that my chickens 🐓already ate the lower row. 🙄

06/16/2026

How is everyone doing in the garden? Mine is not looking very exciting.

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06/04/2026

Those little seedlings you lovingly tucked into the garden this week may not look very impressive right now. In fact, they might even look a little worse than they did in their cozy nursery pots.

Don't worry—this is completely normal.

The first 7–10 days after transplanting are all about what is happening beneath the soil. While the tops of the plants seem to be standing still, their roots are hard at work exploring their new home, stretching deeper and wider in search of water and nutrients.

During this time, your seedlings may appear quiet, but they're building the strong foundation that will support months of growth, flowers, and harvests to come. A little transplant shock is part of the journey.

Keep them watered, keep an eye on them, and resist the urge to fuss too much. Nature is doing some of her best work where we can't see it.

Good things are happening underground.

06/01/2026

Heather and I made a pilgrimage to Long's Iris Farm in Boulder, and it reinforced the importance of saving plants.

When we talk about seed saving and plant propagation, we're really talking about preserving living history. Small family farms like Long's are carrying an enormous responsibility. Through careful dividing, growing, and sharing, they ensure that unique and unusual iris varieties don't simply disappear with time. Without this work, many beautiful plants would be lost and long forgotten.

As we wandered through row after row of blooming iris, we found ourselves chatting about ruffles, color combinations, and the endless debate of miniature versus tall varieties. Every bloom has a story from the person who created it.

Nestled in the middle of Boulder, Long's Iris Farm has been growing and preserving plants since 1914. That's more than a century of stewardship, making it not only a treasure of Colorado history but also an important part of the network of growers and seed-saving families who safeguard our garden heritage.

At Little Shop of Heirlooms, visits like these remind us why we do what we do. Every heirloom seed saved, every plant propagated, and every variety shared with a new gardener helps ensure these living treasures continue to thrive for generations to come.

Sometimes saving the world looks less like grand gestures and more like digging, dividing, labeling, and passing a beloved plant to a neighbor.

05/26/2026

Many of you spent the weekend planting your precious garden babies. 🌱 You tucked them into freshly turned soil, gave them a gentle drink, and whispered all sorts of hopeful promises about tomatoes, flowers, and summer suppers to come.

Now comes the part that seasoned gardeners know well here in Colorado… protecting those little darlings from the weather’s dramatic mood swings.

Your next garden chore might be installing hail cloth. There are several kinds out there, from lightweight row covers, dollar tree wire trash bins, to woven shade and hail cloths.

Think of it like a sturdy little sunbonnet for the garden. ☀️🌧️

It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but neither is crying over flattened pumpkins after a surprise afternoon or midnight hail storm.
How are your gardens settling in this week, neighbors? 🌿

05/23/2026

They did it! They spent the entire night outside all by themselves. I am so proud.

05/22/2026

In case you missed our earlier post, we have canceled our Farm Day plant sale.

05/21/2026

Hello friends, we’ve been watching the weather pretty carefully, and it’s not looking great for Saturday. Cold morning temperatures, rain, and the possibility of thunderstorms don’t make for fortuitous plant sale conditions. Additionally, the very welcome rain we’ve gotten already this week has left the farm awash in mud.
We’re going to call it here for the season on pop ups.
We’ll make a post of what we still have for sale after the weekend, and make plants available for pickup in town.
If you were hoping for particular plants, please send a message, and we’ll do our best to make it happen.
We appreciate all of you so very much!!
Muddy pony picture for attention.