Companion Piece to Gardening for Good April 3

 Nancy Ballek, of Ballek’s Garden Center in East Haddam, joins us to share her considerable knowledge of plants, soil, pollinators, and what it means to garden sustainably. She shares a long history and attachment to the CT River estuary region; her family dates back to the 1660’s on the farm that today houses greenhouses and provides over 10,000 varieties of herbs, annuals, perennials and tropical plants. And sustainability isn’t just an idea for the Ballek family: by investing in solar energy, all the center’s electricity and hot water needs are met by the sun.

Today we look at what it means to maintain a healthy soil, how that impacts water quality, and why native plants are an important tool in our sustainability basket.  Nancy also features several of the native plants that she particularly loves and recommends to her customers.