SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 368 • August 8, 2015

VIDEO ARCHIVE

August is a time when I tell myself that we will run a bunch of repeat stories from our files and take some time off. Well, it just never happens! This year we have been filling the show with lots of new and fresh stories. In fact, sometimes I have a hard time getting everything to fit in the show. That is the problem with living in the Pacific Northwest! There is just too much garden related stuff going on!

August is also gearing up to be one of the driest on record. We focus a little bit on that with a story in this week’s show. We are also starting our plans for the trip next spring to Ireland. A lot of the people that have signed up are using our garden tour as a jumping off point for an extended tour of Europe. Why not? If you are going to make the trip over there, you might as well stay a couple extra days and enjoy some more sights!

This week we featured...

Controlling Bamboo

Controlling Bamboo

Running bamboo is aptly named. This type of bamboo can grow running roots of over 4 feet in one season. To learn how to control it we stopped by Bamboo Garden Nursery (503-647-2700) and talked to Noah. The Bamboo Garden grows over 300 different varieties of bamboo so they know about controlling it! They use a berm and trench system of controlling a running bamboo. First you build up a berm of rich mulch and compost and plant your bamboo in the center. Then around the outside you dig a trench and fill it with sand. Twice a year, in the spring and in the fall you go around the trench and cut off the runners that have grown out into the sand. Since bamboo roots tend to stay close to the surface you should find the roots easily. In the spring or fall these roots will be softer and easier to cut. If you are looking to plant a variety of running bamboo near a fence, Noah recommended that you create a semi-circle of bamboo barrier along the fence line leaving the front part open to your yard. The roots will hit the barrier and work around to the front where you can cut them off easily.

If you have a clumping type of bamboo you will still have to prune the roots, but maybe once every 3-4 years. For more tips on bamboo varieties and care you can contact Bamboo Garden or check out their website.

Fire Safe Plants

Fire Safe Plants

This August is looking like it will be one of the driest on record. With the warm weather we have had in the past few months everything is tinder-dry! To learn how we can landscape we met with Brooke Edmunds from the Oregon State Extension Service. Brooke recently co-authored a publication for OSU called ‘Fire Resistant Landscape Plants for the Willamette Valley’. This guide will help homeowners draw a fire resistant line around their homes using plants and a few good tips. Brooke told us that we should avoid plants that have a lot of dry branches or needles. We should look for plants that have waxy or resinous leaves and hold more moisture. Some of her favorites include dianthus, coreopsis, delphinium and daphne. All of these plants are beautiful in their own right, but you can also benefit from their fire resistant characteristics. Some other tips she recommends: move plants, especially flammable ones, away from the house. Clean up dead brush and debris and move firewood away from buildings. Trim trees and shrubs to keep them about 10 feet from each other. Use non-flammable mulch such as rocks near the house. Have irrigated zones around the home’s perimeter. Clean off debris from roof and gutters. Remove lawn close to the house or keep it closely cropped and watered. Keep potted plants well irrigated.

If you would like this publication, it is available through the OSU Extension Publications website and is also a downloadable app. Check the link above to find out more.

Tillamook Digester

Tillamook Digester

If you live in the Tillamook area the power to your computer could be coming from a cow! More specifically, cow manure. We took a drive over the coast range to visit the Hooley Digester. Judy met with James Peak to learn more about the digester and how it makes both power and garden mulch. James told us that 10 dairies send 120,000 gallons of raw manure to the digester each day and it is placed in tanks with micro-organisms that ‘digest’ the manure and produce methane gas. That gas is burned and powers a generator that produces about a megawatt of power that goes into the local electrical system. The manure is processed when it is done into a liquid that the farmers take back and spray on their fields, and a garden compost that anyone can come and get for a small fee.

The digester is good for many reasons. First it keeps a lot of cow waste from entering the streams and waterways. Second, it produces ‘green’ power and, third, it provides a great garden mulch that homeowners can use or farmers can use as bedding for their animals!
If you live near Tillamook and would like to get some of this mulch you can contact the Port of Tillamook at http://www.potb.org/industrialpark/hooleydigester.html.

Mosquito Plants and Products

Mosquito Plants and Products

It is mosquito season and if you are out at night you might feel like a pincushion sometimes. There are lots of sprays and other topical products that you can use to keep the little buggers at bay, but what if you don’t want to put anything on your skin? Well, we found a few suggestions at the Al’s in Woodburn (503-981-1245). The first thing you could do is plant some mosquito repelling plants. They don’t seem to like plant with a strong fragrance. If you look up plants that tout mosquito repellent properties, they all seem to have a heavy scent, either from flowers or foliage. Some of the plants that people have had luck with include citronella grass, basil, catnip, rosemary, marigolds, geraniums, cedar, verbena, pennyroyal, lavender, pine, cinnamon, lemon balm, thyme, allspice, garlic, and peppermint.

There are also 2 new products from ‘Skeeter Screen’ which contain all-natural products that they say will keep the biters away. The first was a pellet form that you spread around your patio or sitting area. As it breaks down it sends off an aroma that keeps the mosquitoes away. The other product is an egg shaped oil diffuser. You hang the egg, fill it with a lemon grass oil and let it do all the work.

Of course we all know that standing or stagnant water is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. If you can dump out the water, that will go a long way to getting rid of the problem. It you have standing water in your bird baths, water feature or pond then you can add a mosquito dunk. These ‘dunks’ contain Bt which is an organic compound that helps kill the mosquito larvae.

For more products or plants to help you keep mosquitoes away naturally, stop by your local independent garden center.

Yamasa Soy Sauce

Yamasa Soy Sauce

Oregon is known for their culture on brewing, but did you know that one of the biggest brewers in the state is in Salem and they don’t brew beer! We paid a visit to the Yamasa Soy Sauce factory in Salem and met with Leonard McMichael to learn more about this naturally brewed product. Yamasa has been making soy sauce since 1645. It is one of the best soy sauces in the world. In 1994 they opened the Salem plant to make and distribute their product in the US and around the world. Making soy sauce is a simple, yet complex, process. You use simple ingredients like soy, wheat and salt and then using techniques and recipes that have been handed down for centuries, you ‘brew’ (for 6 months) an incredible product. Yamasa gets almost all of their raw material from North America, so local farmers are involved in the process as well.

We also learned that soy sauce is not just for Asian cooking. It is considered a flavor enhancer and is use by chefs in a variety of dishes, including as a topping for ice cream. Now you know why soy sauce is one of the top condiments in the world.

If you would like to see the process of making soy sauce yourself, the Yamasa plant gives tours. Just contact the plant through the website to get all the details.

TOW – Pear Ripening

Pear Ripening

Bringing fruit into the backyard garden is something we are all trying to do and with the abundance of small and dwarf varieties it is easier than ever. But with some fruit, like pears, it is hard to know when to pick the fruit. This week we gave you a few tips on ripening pears that we picked up from a flyer we got from the OSU Extension Service. Look for a slight tenderness at the top of the pear where the stem is located. If there is a little ‘give’ pick the pear and then store it in your refrigerator (the time in the refrigerator depends on the variety of pear). Pears tend to ripen from the inside out and this will help even out the overall ripening of the fruit. If you follow a few simple rules you can have a sweet luscious pear that won’t be mealy or gritty!
 

 
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