Come and see us at this yearly event for regional Ace vendors. The 2017 Ace Hardware Fall Convention will be held from August 17-19, 2017 in Chicago’s McCormick Place on Lake Shore Drive. Sun Gro and Black Gold will be there with many other vendors.
After receiving many submissions for the Black Gold® N&O Vegetable Garden Photo Contest, we selected the first, second, and third place winners. The photos were judged by a team of five Black Gold® staff members. Photo content, quality, and garden “wow” were all considered in the selection process. We were so excited to see the amazing successes everyday gardeners having success with Black Gold® potting mixes and amendments! Here are the winning photos:
Gardener: Lainey
Title: How Does Your Garden Grow?
State: Washington
Lainey submitted several photos of her amazing garden and harvest, but this one impressed us the most. Her bountiful raised vegetable garden is beautiful and tidy, and she also grows Asian pears! Great gardening, Lainey! We hope your winnings help your garden bloom and grow!
Gardener: Judy and Forrest
Title: Forrest’s Veggie Garden
State: Florida
We received several photos of Forrest’s harvest and garden, but this one really shows the achievements of an accomplished gardener. We are proud that our products helped your garden grow so beautifully way down South. Enjoy your winnings!
Gardener: Joanna
Title: Just Back from the Garden
State: Virginia
Joanna shared beautiful photos of her impressive bounty! This is the prettiest. We love the bright colors of all the different vegetables from that day’s harvest. Well done, Joanna!
Here is a selection of other impressive photos that were shared with us for this photo contest. Thank you everyone for participating!!!
Growing summer tomatoes in containers is easy! This simple how-to shows the five basic steps for growing amazing tomatoes in containers. To grow tomatoes in patio containers, I always choose large pots fitted with a tomato cage and filled with Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix. It’s made for organic gardening and my tomatoes grow really well in it!
Show off photos of your Black Gold® vegetable garden to win great prizes valued at $135! Share your beautiful photos of your spring harvest, edible raised bed, bountiful tomatoes, or favorite hot peppers! Winning photos will show amazing, bountiful vegetable gardens and produce. Good photo quality is a plus. First, second, and third place winners will receive the following prizes:
First Place: A $100 gift certificate at your local Black Gold® Retailer, a Black Gold® t-shirt, and a post of the winning photo on Black Gold’s Facebook page and website.
Second Place: A $25 gift certificate at your local Black Gold® Retailer, A Black Gold® t-shirt, and a post of the winning photo on Black Gold’s Facebook page and website.
Third Place: A $10 gift certificate at your local Black Gold® Retailer, and a post of the winning photo on Black Gold’s Facebook page and website.
Back in 2000, the Sun Gro® Horticulture corporate office in Agawam, MA moved to a new site that included a garden. The garden was originally used for display, but eventually, we transformed into the Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) vegetable garden. [The Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) program was launched in 1995 by the Association for Garden Communicators (GWA) and GWA Foundation as a public service to encourage gardeners to grow fresh produce for community food banks and soup kitchens.] The garden was expanded and upgraded in 2010 and has been yielding produce for our local food pantry ever since.
Over the years, the Sun Gro® PAR garden volunteers/employees have planted, weeded, watered, and fertilized the garden and reaped the harvest. As the company has changed with time, so have our employees who volunteer in the garden. Plenty of longstanding staff have participated in the garden since the beginning, and there are always new employees willing to get their hands dirty to support the effort. Sometimes family members help out, too. It’s a community effort!
More recently, we invited outside volunteers to help keep our PAR garden productive. Our biggest help comes from the horticultural students from Westfield Technical Academy in nearby Westfield, MA. Our garden gives them hands-on training in garden prep and planting, and we are grateful for the help! They come in spring to help us get the garden prepped and sometimes they help plant. They also help at harvest time when we weigh in our crops and deliver them to the Westfield Food Pantry, also in Westfield, MA.
Like most gardens, we have bountiful harvests some years and other years the weather and weeds get out of hand, but it’s not just about our gardening success. Our PAR garden also teaches us about working together and committing time to our local community.
In our best harvest year we weighed in nearly 450 pounds of fresh produce, so we know our garden is making a difference! This year, we plan to do much better. Our volunteers have signed up for 2017 and are scheduled to start planting vegetables in late May. We will also be installing three raised beds (filled with Black Gold® container mixes), with lumber donated from Lucia Lumber Co. Inc. in Agawam, MA, and fencing to keep out unwanted wildlife.
We love to see gardeners succeed with our products. That’s why we were happy to get an update from the winner of our February, 2017 “Ultimate Raised Bed Sweepstakes”. The winner, Liz, lives in Arizona where growing conditions are hot and dry, so it helps to have the extra fertility of a Gronomics® raised bed filled with moisture-holding Black Gold® potting mix and amendments.
And, she’s already got her new bed filled with thriving garden plants. Liz told us, “We’ve got marigolds, basil, and tomatillos all coming along.” She’s even harvesting Swiss chard! Just look at the pictures she sent us!
We encourage all gardeners to take advantage of Black Gold’s monthly sweepstakes and contests. Each month we offer the chance to win a different exciting garden prize–from raised beds, to container gardens, and plenty of Black Gold® mixes and amendments, of course!
Sign up for a chance to win a vegetable garden kit valued at $300.00! Winners will receive a Smart Pot® Big Bag Bed Original raised bed, two Smart Pot® Wall Saddle vertical gardens, two large bags of OMRI Listed® BlackGold® Waterhold Cocoblend Potting Mix, three large bags of Black Gold® Natural & Organic Potting Mix, and vegetable and herb seeds to fill your garden! Gro Your Own™ vegetables this summer with Black Gold® and Smart Pot®. Sweepstakes ends on 5/20/17
Sun Gro Horticulture and Black Gold are proud sponsors of the Garden Writers Association Foundation, and their Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) program. Through the donation of row markers, media, and other fundraising materials, we have helped PAR become a more viable part of communities nationwide.
We also host our own PAR garden! In the spring of 2017, students from Westfield Technical Academy made a special visit to Sun Gro Horticulture’s Agawam, MA office to help get our Plant A Row for the Hungry garden off to an early start! We appreciate the student’s interest in horticulture and their willingness to get their hands dirty for a good cause.
The Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) program was launched in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association and the GWA Foundation as a public service. GWA garden communicators encourage readers and listeners to plant an extra row of produce yearly to donate the surplus to community food banks and soup kitchens. It has been a very successful program. According to the GWA: “Since 1995, over 20 million pounds of produce providing over 80 million meals have been donated by American gardeners.”
When everyday gardeners take action, great things can happen. Click here to learn more about becoming a part of the PAR program!
Come and see us at Booth 1605!Black Gold and Sun Gro Horticulture will be heading down to Texas for the Texas Nursery Landscape Expo 2017 held from August 10 – 12, 2017 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The yearly event offers a huge trade show, educational and networking opportunities, and awards show, and more! As advertised, the Expo offers opportunities to: “Strengthen your business, increase your product line, build your industry network and expand your knowledge base while gaining CEUs. Get inspired at the Nursery/Landscape EXPO while exploring over half a million square feet of the convention center with more than 1,000 vendor booths, industry meetings, education breakout sessions, keynote presentations and more.”
Tradeshow Admission includes FREE Access to the following: Two Keynote Speaker Presentations, EXPO’s Sizzle Sessions, Newcomers Shindig for First Time Attendees and Exhibitors, 3rd Annual Women in Horticulture Get Together (Ladies Only). and the Welcome to Dallas Party (includes Drink Ticket plus Live Music) ALL FREE!
Black Gold and Sun Gro Horticulture will be at Farwest Portland 2017 held from Thursday August 23rd to Saturday August 25th in the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR. We will be there with over 400 unique green industry exhibitors. This exciting event features a grower’s showcase, a new plant varieties showcase, workshops and seminars, and a new products showcase. Last year the event had over 6,000 attendees!
