THIS WEEK

SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 120 • April 11, 2009

VIDEO ARCHIVE


The rains have returned. Last weekend was a glorious weekend for gardeners. The Garden Time crew was at Gardenpalooza all day and it was almost hot. Still many gardeners made it out (over 8,000 by count) to see the vendors and buy lots of plants. I hope you got those plants in the ground on Sunday, because it was a perfect time to do it. If you did, you certainly don’t have to worry about watering them now!  (Click here to see some pictures from a great day at Gardenpalooza!)

This week we featured...

Planting Potatoes

It is early spring and that means it is time to plant your potatoes. William and Judy took us out to the garden to show us how to plant potatoes and maximize your harvest. First we looked at the seed potato. Seed potatoes are not always like the ones you find in the store. Some of the potatoes in the store have been treated so they don’t grow in the vegetable aisle. Find a couple varieties at your local garden center. Look for good, firm spuds. Next, when you get home. Cut them into sections making sure that you have 3-4 ‘eyes’ in each section. An eye is the little dented part of the potato where the new growth occurs. Leave them sit for a day and let them dry over the cut. The next day you can plant them. Find a place with rich well-drained soil. Make sure the soil is amended so it is nice and loose, that will let the plant produce more potatoes. Dig down about 8-10 inches and place the potato at the bottom. Cover it with 3-4 inches of soil. Once it starts to grow you can start to fill in the hole a little bit. Wait until the plant is 6 inches tall and cover up the bottom half. Let it grow some more and do it again. This will allow the plant to produce more tubers! The potato will eventually flower and then die. Once the vines are completely dead in the late summer you can dig up your crop. Judy also showed us how to grow potatoes in a recycled garbage can. This is really easy because you just fill up the garbage can until harvest and then you can just dump it out to harvest! For more information check with your local, independent garden center.

Capitol Cherry Blossoms

A lot of people have heard about the cherry trees in bloom in Washington DC. Well, you don’t have to travel across the country to see a flower show; you can just travel to Salem and visit one of our newest State Parks. State Capitol State Park is the entire area surrounding the state capitol and the other state buildings around it. Jim Bader, the park manager told us about the park and mainly about the beautiful cherries that are in bloom right now. The cherry trees line the mall directly in front of the capitol building and they are really putting on a show. These flowering trees are an Akebono variety. They are very popular in the northwest and will do well in our growing conditions. Plus, according to Jim, they need very little care. These trees also can handle tight conditions, the area where they grow is on top of a state parking garage and it has only 14 inches of soil in some places. The cherry trees only mark the beginning of the season for the park. This park has lots of significant plants and they will all be in bloom soon. Drive by this coming weekend to catch the show before it is all gone!

Willow Furniture

There is nothing like the look of willow furniture. Either in your home or one your deck, it carries a rustic quality that can’t be matched. We traveled east of Salem to Gates to pay a visit to Brian and Sam Phillips from the Willow Station (503-897-7387). Brian has been working on willow furniture for over 30 years and he is a true craftsman when it comes to this great art form. When we were there, Brian worked while Sam told us all about the furniture and walked us through the steps for making our own piece. The Willow Station teaches classes and in the class you can make an entire piece all by yourself and take it home the same day. Brian showed us how to make their signature ‘Oregon Garden Bench’. Each class starts with a good solid frame. Then we take the edge off the ends of the frame. We ‘blunt’ the points of the nails we use to keep them from splitting the wood when we put our bench together. Then we start assembling. The back and the ‘T’ are first, followed by the branches for the seat and then the armrests followed by the building of the back. Once it is done we will cover it with a good coat of marine varnish. If you take the class you will sometimes have the choice of up to 5 different pieces of furniture you can build. To catch the next class, check out their schedule on their website. The next class locally will be held at Portland Nursery on Division (503-788-9000) on the 18th. Give them a call and register today, and take home your own piece of art!

Spring Bird Care

With the coming of spring it also signals the return of birds to the garden. You can make it easier for our feathered friends by equipping your garden with all the right materials they need. We paid a visit to Backyard Bird Shop (503-635-2044) and met with Scott Lukens to see what he recommends for bird lovers. The basics that they recommend addressing are food and shelter. Food needs change depending on the type of bird you want to attract. For example, you wouldn’t use a hummingbird feeder to attract a chickadee. So know your bird and use a correct feed. Most seed feeding birds like black oil sunflower seed. Also, when choosing a feed, pick a quality one. Backyard Bird Shop gets fresh deliveries of seed a couple times a week. Shelter could be a bird house, or even planting the right plants in your garden that can protect them from the weather and predators. Scott showed us a bird house that had a smaller hole for the birds to enter with no perch. This is important. A larger hole with a perch will attract non-native types of birds. An inch and quarter is just the right size. You will also want a way to clean it out after the nesting season is over. This will prevent diseases and contamination for the next brood. You can also leave out nesting material and it will help them build a nice soft nest. Finally, the hummingbirds are returning and you can welcome them back with a nice meal. Set up your hummingbird feeders with some fresh nectar. You can make it yourself with the recipe on the Backyard Bird Shop website.

Tracy’s 50 Plants

If you are looking for plants that can take just about anything Mother Nature (or you) can dish out, you need to check out this book by Tracy Disabato-Aust, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants. Tracy has identified 50 show-stopping plants that anyone can grow. She stopped by the Al’s Garden Center (503-726-1162) in Sherwood to share some insights about the book. She wrote the book to help gardeners who were looking for toughness, beauty, and durability in their garden plants. Tracy is a competitive athlete and she personally needed plants that could handle a little neglect while she was away. That led to her list of 12 tough traits that a plant had to meet. Some of those traits include being cold-hardy, deer-proof, pesticide and insecticide free. Plus they had to have multi-seasonal interest and colorful foliage or blooms. Well, not all the plants could meet this tough test, but she found a bunch that came close. If you are looking to add a little toughness to your garden this year, check out Tracy’s book. It is available through Timber Press (1-800-327-5680) or your local book store. You can also follow Tracy’s garden adventures on her webpage, www.tracylive.com.

 
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