Native Haunts-Vital Information
Our Mission Statement
Native Haunts is a propagating nursery, growing all of our own plants on site. We grow trees, shrubs, and perennials including ferns and sedges ,that are native to Maine and New England. Native plants are plants that were growing here naturally in the "New World" before the arrival of Europeans.
The Native Haunts mission is to make a wide variety of sustainably grown native plants and seeds readily accessible to the public.
Other goals include-
- To gather and disseminate information on the growing, culture, and habits of native plants.
- To experiment with novel growing techniques such as hydroponics and other soiless culture systems.
- To establish native fruit orchards and promote the growing and use of native fruits for traditional and new uses.
Services
Location
We are located in Alfred, Maine in the United States of America. Phone number 1-207-490-0849. We do not have a brick and mortar retail location-business is primarily done via mail order.
How to get our plants.
Option 1-We can deliver your plants to you- this depends on how far away you are and how big your order is.
Option 2-You can come pick them up, by appointment.
Option 3-We can send your plants to you via UPS.
Growing Practices.
Plants are grown from seed/spores whenever possible; root divisions and cuttings are used secondarily or as need dictates.
Plants are never dug from the wild.
It should be noted that most of our propagating material comes from wild plants. As time goes on, more of our propagating material will come from stock plants that we grow for said purpose.
Organic growing practices are used throughout the growing operation; we are making an effort to make the Green Industry really "green".
- Synthetic pesticides and herbicides are never used.
- Organic fertilizers consist of compost, seaweed, and fish emulsion; inorganic N-P-K type fertilizer is used occasionally.
- Pesticides are limited to Insecticidal/Fungicidal Soap (potassium salts of fatty acids), Horticultural oils, and other materials listed as certified for organic production by MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association),OMRI (Organic Materials Research Institute), and other organizations involved with organic crop production/certification/standards.
- Repellents like Hot Pepper Wax and garlic/putrefied egg/dried blood type products are used to deter insects and various gnawing mammals.
Organic nursery production seems to be a relatively new and evolving concept. Most of the literature available on organic production focuses on food crops; many of these ideas can be applied to ornamental plant production, such as-organic fertilizer use, soil health and protection, and best management practices. Some of the material I have read recommends that sustainable organic nursery production should focus largely on management of fertilizer and pesticide run off. Read- Sustainable Small-Scale Nursery Production, by Steve Diver and Lane Greer, for an excellent discussion on this topic.
A heated battle is on going over the heavy and ubiquitous use of peat moss in horticulture. Peat moss is mined from wetlands in the northern United States, Europe, and Canada. Entire wetland ecosystems are stripped of vegetation, drained and hence irrevocably altered to harvest the peat with mechanized equipment. These mining operations provide a large job base in northern regions where employment opportunities may be limited. This debate is really nothing new-a classic jobs versus the environment case. Europe has pledged to be go peat-free in the near future, and North American operations are facing increasing pressure to follow suit. The best candidate to replace peat is coir fiber, which is made from coconut husks, and shipped in from tropical locations in the southern Pacific ocean area. Do we support an industry close to home that provides jobs in our country, or one that uses thousands of gallons of fuel to transport coir from the other side of the world? Is peat moss mining any different then say coal mining, that literally tears off the tops of mountains, fills in valleys, contaminates streams and rivers, but fuels our country and provides thousands of jobs? To learn more about this issue consider reading-The Myth of Permanent Peat lands:Peat moss is an environmentally friendly organic amendment essential for many horticultural purposes., by Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University.