Growing orchids can be very intimidating, especially if they start to out grow their container and need a bigger space. Lori from the Oregon Orchid Society (503-632-4884) joined us to show us how easy it is to repot an orchid. You can repot an orchid to dress it up in a nicer pot or give it more room for growth. First of all don’t repot a plant when you first buy it. They are blooming and they don’t like to be messed with while they are blooming. Then we looked at a plant that was at the end of its bloom cycle. This one you could just tear off the old root ball and get the plant down to the good firm healthy roots. Cut off all the stray roots with a scissors. You will want to sterilize the scissors first. Next prepare the planting mixture. Lori recommends a bark mixture with vermiculite. You can make your mix like Lori or you can buy a good commercial product like the Black Gold Orchid mix. Remember that the orchid likes what we like; a warm room, good water and sunshine. You can finish by cutting off the old bloom which will send all the plant energy to the roots for future growth.

This year everyone is planting tomatoes. Growing your own tomatoes helps your health and your budget! We decided to check with Larsen Farm Nursery (503-638-8600) to see the different materials that are available to help you grow the best crop of tomatoes ever. The first thing we noticed was the proliferation of products that are colored red. Studies have shown that red helps promote fruit growth. We started with the protective red plant cover called the Tomato Greenhouse. This is a bag that you can pull over your tomato cage to retain the heat. We also saw the Better Reds Mulch product that will reflect the color and also helps retain the ground heat that tomatoes love. We also saw the red watering tray. These trays are placed around the base of the tomato and slowly release the water the plants need, retain the heat and reflect the red color. Judy then showed a couple of other ‘helpers’. The Wall O’Water (or the Season Starter brand that we found) helps retain the heat around the plant by trapping it in the water and then releasing it to the plant to help them survive the cooler nights and promote plant growth. We also found the Topsy Turvy tomato planter which is the popular up-side-down plant growing container. This one is very popular because it is featured on TV. The jury is still out on whether this will grow more or bigger fruit, but it will help you add growing space if you have a limited space. To find these and other ‘helpers’, check with your local independent garden center or stop by Larsen Farm Nursery.

One of the most common pests in the NW garden is the mole. They can really tear up your flower bed and lawn. There are lots of products out there to deter them. Don Sprague of Don Sprague Sales (1-800-423-0158) has found that most of them don’t work too well. The products that don’t seem to work include the vibrators, the home remedies, and the gases and bombs. And with some of these products you may be doing more harm to your garden than the moles. The problem with getting rid of moles, if you don’t remove them, they will just leave and will return later. The best way of getting rid of moles is to trap them. Don showed us how to use the Cinch Trap. The Cinch Trap is VERY effective. This product will trap them and remove them forever.

This kid’s project is great! It not only allows your budding artist to decorate and give a gift of a paper flower, but they can also give the gift of flowers at the same time. Amy from Al’s Garden Center (503-981-1245) in Woodburn found a kit at a local craft store that we thought we would share. This kit contained some paper pulp, some small pieces of colored tissue paper, a filtering screen/flower form and some flower seeds. You take a half-empty water bottle and place the pulp in it and shake it for about a minute until the pulp is completely mixed into the water. Then you add the colored tissue paper and the seeds. Shake again for 20 seconds to mix them in. Then pour the mixture into the screen to drain off the water. Let it dry for a day. You will now have a round disk of flat paper that has colored flecks of paper and seeds in it. Now use the form to make a flower shape and color it. Glue your paper disk in the center and you now have a decorative ‘flower’ that, if planted, will grow into a small bunch of flowers! If you run out of materials or you don’t want to buy the kit you can make your own kit with newspaper and seeds. Either way it is a great project for your kids on a rainy spring day.