SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 352 • April 18, 2015

VIDEO ARCHIVE

You would think that we would take some time off! After a GREAT GardenPalooza last weekend we would love to have a week to recover but there is SO much going on in the garden right now we had to get right back to work!

Before we do we would like to say thank you to everyone who came out to the 13th annual GardenPalooza. Except for a quick shower at noon, it was a dry day and that wasn’t the only thing making people smile. We gave away a ton of stuff. Thousands of dollars in prizes kept people smiling all day long! Our next big event will be the Subaru Garden Dayz on May 16th at Capitol Subaru in Salem. We will see you there!

This week we featured...

Mead Making

Mead Making

We learned something new this week. Did you know that mead (or honey wine), the drink made from honey, is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest alcoholic drink made by man? We found this out when we paid a visit to the Mead Market (877-325-2221) which is part of Bee Thinking a local business that specializes in bee keeping and supplies. We met with Cameron who is one of the experts on staff there. Even though mead has been around for millennia it is one of the newest ‘hot’ trends right now. The interest in bee keeping has spurred this wave of interest. Cameron told us if you have a hive you can make mead for pennies. All you need is honey, water and yeast. To make mead you just add water honey and yeast in a pan and heat it up. Then you let it set and ferment for a month or more and then you bottle your mead. Now this is a simplistic version of the steps, but you can learn more at one of the many classes at the Mead Market. Check their schedule on the website for more information.

Once we had talked about how to make this wonderful drink we had a chance to sample some. Cameron brought out two of his favorites to share with us. The first was a Chicory Session Mead from Nectar Creek in Corvallis. This one was a light, bubbly, crisp mead that was very refreshing. We all agreed that this one would be great during those hot days of summer! The next one was completely different. That one was Kurpiowski Royal from Poland. This one was made from buckwheat honey and is was almost like a port or brandy. It would be great for a after dinner drink or cocktails. If you would like to see more meads be sure to check them out in the Hawthorne district. They will be happy to help you pick out a mead that fits your taste.

Tsugawa Hand Tools

Tsugawa Hand Tools

Spring in the garden means tools! Spring and fall are the two times of the year when a good garden tool can make all the difference. Still, it can be overwhelming when you walk into your local garden center and see the wall of tools looking back at you. To wade through the confusion we asked Brian Tsugawa at Tsugawa Nursery (360-225-8750) to show us some of his favorites. The first tool we tackled was trowels. There are lots of different sizes of these little ‘hand spades’. Brian told us your choice will depend on the type of job you are doing. The largest was designed for digging and planting. When you need to move a lot of soil to create a hole the larger trowel works the best. The smaller of the two was also for digging and planting, but it was also used for weeding as well. The tip of this one had a notch in it for digging out the tap roots of larger weeds. Next we moved to the Japanese cultivator/rake. This one had wide tines for cultivating large areas and it could also be used as a rake for collecting debris and leaves from around plants. These double purpose tools are great in the garden. We also saw the Hori Hori, which is also known as the Japanese weeding knife or soil knife. Hori means ‘to dig’ in Japanese. This is another great all-purpose tool. It has a wide blade for digging and weeding. One side has a serrated edge for cutting through tough roots and it also has a measuring device stamped on the blade for figuring out the depth for planting bulbs and plants. We also looked at a Japanese hand hoe. This one hard a very sharp edge to it as well. The double feature on this one was as a cultivator and as a weeding tool.

Next we moved to pruners. There are so many this is an area where gardeners have the toughest time picking out the right tool. Brian emphasized that you should focus on comfort. Felco is one of the leaders in pruners and that is because they make so many. With over 12 different styles you can find one that feels right in your hand. The Felco pruner also has a wide array of replacement parts, so you can keep one pair of Felco’s for life if you want. Like all gardeners, Brian has a favorite pruner. His was the Saboten hand pruner. These stay sharp for a long time, have a nice grip for your hand and a little safety strap so you don’t drop them when you are working. If you are on a ladder, that strap saves you a lot of trips if you drop your pruners a lot.

If you are confused about hand tools just stop by Tsugawa’s and ask one of the staff for help. They will also help you clean and repair your pruners if you ask!

Jan’s April Tips

Jan’s April Tips

This month we found Jan out by her triple crown blackberries in her garden. These are a new variety of berry that is huge, flavorful and thorn-less, but that isn’t the reason for being out there. Jan wanted to make a point about pruning cane berries. When she was an extension agent they would always get questions about pruning berries. You are technically supposed to prune them in the late winter, either January of February, but most people don’t brave the cold and wet weather to do it. She told us that even if you missed the ‘perfect’ time, you should still prune them. This is going to clean them up, help prevent disease and increase your yield, even if you break a few canes in the process. We also talked about seed starting. Jan had a book that she recommended called Park’s Success with Seeds that has just about every commercially produced seed listed. The great thing about this book is that it not only shows you the flower, it also shows you the seed and what the seedling will look like. That way you don’t pull the tiny seed thinking it is a weed. Also, Jan wanted people to be aware of the correct ‘zones’ for growing and planting. The USDA has a chart that lists all the growing zones that deal with plant hardiness. You can use it to figure out which plant will do well here and which ones are too tender. This chart was a great reference for our final topic for this month and that was garden design. Jan talked about all your spring plantings and how to place them in your yard or garden. I like to call it the ‘window test’. Go inside your house and look out your favorite windows. What areas of your garden do you see? Those are the areas you should focus on when you do your spring planting. These are the areas that you will see during those cold and wet days of the year. A little thought about where you plant and what you plant will make your garden more beautiful, inside and out. For more garden tips check out the OSU Extension website, http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening.

PotatoPalooza

PotatoPalooza

Last week it was GardenPalooza, this week, PotatoPalooza! Our friends at Garden Gallery Iron Works (800-452-5266) are celebrating the potato with a great event on the 18th. Don Sprague and his crew have invited Rossi Farms to come out and show people how to get the most out of their potato plants this season. We were joined by Gabrielle Rossi to learn about the potato and how it produces nice potatoes. Gabrielle showed us how potatoes can perform well if we follow a few simple rules when planting them. They love good drainage. She had 2 planters. One had great drainage and the other did not. The one with good drainage had wonderful plants and the other had plants that looked weak and diseased. They also love a nice soil. If you have compacted soil they will have deformed or small potatoes. The nicer the soil the longer the roots and the better your yield. She even had a nice example of this, a potato with really long roots! She also talked about the argument of either planting them deep or not. She told us you could do either. As long as the soil and water is good you should get a lot of great potatoes.

We then moved over to learn about the PotatoPalooza event from Don. The event will happen from 11-3 at their Hubbard store. They will have talks from Gabrielle about planting potatoes, potato sampling, plus cider and wine tasting. You can buy your seedling potatoes and learn how to get them ready to plant. They will also have potato kits for you to buy and take home. These kits will include the soil, potatoes, container and stand for just $20. It will be a great event for all those gardeners who are potato lovers.

Spring Pond Prep

Spring Pond Prep

The weather is warming and that can create a few problems for your pond or water feature. We stopped by Hughes Water Gardens (503-638-1709) to get some tips from Eamonn Hughes to learn what you should be doing now to get ready for the season. Eamonn started with algae! This is the bane of the pond owner. The algae grows because of the heat and all the nutrients in your water. All those decaying leaves and other plant material is giving the algae the food to grow. You will want to remove all this dead and dying debris from your pond to start. Then you want to kill the algae in your system with a treatment of Algae Fix or GreenClean. This will get rid of that nasty string algae. Next you want to break down the remaining nutrients with Microbe-lift. This is a bacterial pond clarifier that introduces bacteria to your system so it can eat all the nasty stuff at the bottom of your pond. Finally you can starve the algae with a good selection of pond plants. You should be cleaning up your plants right now as well. Get rid of the dead and damaged foliage; it will just add nutrients to your water that will foster the growth of algae, but be careful of the new growth and the flower buds. Now is also the time to fertilize your pond plants. Use a pellet fertilizer that will release over time. You can also start monitoring your fish. Remember that you need to be careful about feeding them right now. If the temperature of the water is below 45-50 degrees they won’t be able to metabolize the food that you feed them, so you will want to feed them a wheat germ product until the water warms up and they can process the protein in a regular food. The warmer weather will also mean a bloom of algae and mold in your system. You can control it with a variety of natural and organic products. For more information on pond maintenance you can always check with the experts at Hughes Water Gardens.

Hulda Klager Lilac Days

Hulda Klager Lilac Days

It is that time of year, Lilac time. We took the short trip up I-5 to Woodland Washington to check out the lilacs at the Hulda Klager Lilac Days (360-225-8996). The 2015 Lilac Days will run from this weekend through Mother’s Day. Hulda hybridized many lilacs and became known as the ‘Lilac Lady’ in the Woodland area. She opened her garden to the public for an open house in the spring during the 20’s. She passed away in 1960.

The Hulda Klager Lilac Society now runs the garden and opens it every year for this festival. Right now the blooms are spectacular. The early spring heat has the lilacs in full bloom. Normally the society members would tell people wait until the end of the month come out, but this year the perfect time is now! They charge a small fee during the festival. That, and the proceeds from the gift shop, keeps this garden going all year long. Another way that the group raises money for the garden is through a lilac plant sale. Of the over 400 varieties of lilacs in the garden you will find over 100 available for sale. Some are blooming in pots and when you take them home they can make an instant bang in your garden. All these funds are used to continue to improve the garden, including the ample covered seating! Take the time and visit it when you get a chance, it is spectacular!

Kyra’s Flower Cakes

Kyra’s Flower Cakes

In the past we have visited with Kyra Bussanich who owns Kyra’s Bake Shop (503-212-2979). She is a 3 time winner of the Cupcake Wars program on the Food Network. This time we stopped by because we heard that she was including cut flowers on her gluten free creations. We were joined in the kitchen by Lora Losinger from Sophisticated Floral (503-484-4616). Kyra talked about the current cake trends and how couples are incorporating natural themes into their cake designs. She mentioned how Pinterest was influencing designs and moving the trend forward. Lora then talked about how she incorporates flowers into the design. She mentioned that you don’t want to over-power the cake with flowers. A simple cake calls for a simple floral design, a more elaborate cake can call for a more elaborate design. If you were looking to add flowers to a cake she recommended that you know your flowers. Don’t add something that may be poisonous and make sure your flowers are clean of bugs and dirt. If you have questions you should always seek out a qualified florist for help and advice.

Finally, the best part! We had a chance to taste some of Kyra’s cakes! YUMMY!!! If you are looking for a cake or any kind of baked goods, stop by her shop or go to her website. Her new store also offers a great breakfast and lunch menu! Stop by and check them out.

Plant of the Week - DebRon Fuchsias

Erodium

A few years ago one of our favorite places to visit was Monnier’s Country Gardens. Ron and Debbie are good friends and wonderful breeders of some great hardy fuchsias. They have since closed their business but the beauty of their fuchsias goes on. Little Prince of Oregon of Oregon is growing and distributing some of the ‘DebRon’ series of hardy fuchsias. To see some of the great varieties they grow we stopped by to talk to Mark and see them. Little Prince grows some of the coolest plants that are available in garden centers throughout the area, and these are REALLY cool. Mark first showed us DebRon’s ‘Black Cherry’, which has an incredibly dark corolla (that is the center petals of the flower) and deep red sepals (the outer petals that usually fold back to reveal the corolla). Getting a black corolla is the hardest thing to do for fuchsia breeders but this one is one of the best you’ll find. Next we looked at the ‘Smokey Blues’, this is also a dark colored one with more hints of blue on parts of the flower. Finally we saw ‘Snow Fairy’. This one has a white corolla and light pink sepals, and would make a bright addition to any garden.

Hardy fuchsias are different than your trailing types you would find in your hanging baskets. Those are very tender and will not survive the winter without protection. The hardy type go right into the ground and will survive from year to year with just a little maintenance. The key to success with hardy fuchsias is to bury them deep when planting them. They are like tomatoes and can have the crown of the plant buried in nice, well-drained soil. This will allow the plant to grow a nice root mass that will help them survive those cold Northwest winters. To find the nearest garden center that sells Little Prince plants you can always check their website. [SEE ALL OUR PLANTS OF THE WEEK - CLICK HERE]

Tip of the Week - Plant Tag Ring

Plant Tag Ring

Our tip of the week is all about memory! If you are like us you have planted wonderful plants in your garden and then forgot what they were. Or, you may have planted the tag at the base of the plant, or put it in an file or envelope on your desk only to lose them when you move things around. This tip tells us to simply punch a hole in the tag with a hole-punch and then string the tag on a wire or string. Then you can hang it up in your garden shed or garage and always have the plant picture, growing instructions and other information at your fingertips! No more trying to remember every plant in your garden! [SEE ALL OUR TIPS OF THE WEEK - CLICK HERE]
 

 
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