The warm weather returns! It sure feels good when you feel that sun on your skin. There is something about the spring and the warmth of the sun. It is one of those things that really marks the beginning of the gardening season. We have been working on the garden for the past week, getting the garden cleaned up. This weekend we will be starting more seeds for the veggie garden and making a trip to our local garden center to pick up a raised bed for the garden (be watching for that story on a up-coming show). Don’t pass up the opportunity to make a stop at your local garden center to get a jump start on the season!
Of course, you may not want to limit yourself to the garden this weekend. You can get a ton of tips for your home on our new show "Fusion," on KOIN-6 at 7:00am Saturday mornings.
This week we featured...
24th Annual Tulip Fest
William and Judy visited the Woodburn Tulip Festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip farm for the 24th annual Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest (1-800-711-2006). This event showcases the fields full of beautiful tulip blooms. This year the fest is being extended until the 3rd of May because of the cold wet weather. The blooms were held back but now they are ready to pop! Karen Bever showed us one of the largest crops of tulips they have had in bloom in years! The flower fields may be just getting started but the farm is full of events and it is still a must see for anyone, even non-flower lovers. Every weekend they are packed with different activities including a wooden shoe carver, pony rides, arts and crafts, steam tractors, wine tasting and other entertainment for a small fee. The rest of the week has a discounted fee, so you can save a little money by coming out on the weekday! Even when the weather is a little damp, the fields never disappoint. Bring a camera; this is a scene youhave to capture on film!
Spring Pond Prep
The weather is warming and that can create a few problems for you 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. First we talked about your water plants. You should be cleaning up your plants. 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 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.
Planting Onions
If you like fresh vegetables, you can’t beat onions fresh from the garden. Some people have a tough time with onions, but they are really easy if you follow these simple rules. First get your starts from your local garden center. You may find them in 2 different packages. One package will be the tray pack; the other is a bunch of starts that are rubber banded together. In either case you will want to separate them into individual plants and plant them in the ground as a single stalk. If you plant them close together you will get smaller onions. If you have a larger variety like Walla Walla you can plant them further apart to allow them to get larger in the ground. William also shared his rules for success. Use good loose soil and water well for the best success.
Larsen Daphne
One of the great fragrant flowers in the spring garden is daphne. We stopped by Larsen Farm Nursery in Hillsboro (503-640-5599) to talk with Destin about what varieties he could recommend. First, he talked about the newest variety that they have in the nursery, the ‘Houtteana’. This one is known for its dark foliage. It has bright green new growth that turns dark with the sun and age. It also has a lovely dark pink flower when it is in bloom. Next we moved over to the unusual February daphne. This one is one of the first daphnes to bloom in the spring. Some people confuse it with a lilac because of it stems full of blooms. Finally, we ended up with the ever popular variegated daphne odora. This one is a real winner. It has great foliage, wonderful blooms and a fragrance that will knock your socks off! You will want to plant your daphne in a well drained soil since they are very susceptible to over watering. You will also want to amend the soil with calcium or lime to aid in their growth. If you would like to check out the latest varieties, you can visit the experts at Larsen Farm in either of their locations, or your local independent garden center.
Planting Dahlias
If you are looking for outstanding late summer color you can’t beat dahlias. Now is the time to plant dahlias to get that late summer ‘pop’ of color. We stopped by Swan Island Dahlias (800-410-6540) to get some planting tips for having a great crop of color later this summer! Nick from Swan Island walked us through the planting process. First you want a good healthy tuber. Next you will want a well worked soil to plant them in. The loose soil will ensure that they don’t have to fight their way to the surface. You will want a well drained area since they can rot if they are setting in water. To plant them, dig down about 6 inches and mix some bulb fertilizer into the soil at the bottom of the hole. Place the tuber in the bottom of the hole and loosely fill in the soil. In a couple of week you will start to see the new growth breaking through the top of the soil. Flowers will soon follow!
College Containers
Gardening in small spaces is the trend this year, especially for vegetable gardening. A great way to get a fresh taste from the garden is to plant an herb pot on your deck or patio. We stopped by the college apartment of Sarah to learn how to put together a container of herbs for cooking. Sarah is trying to save money by cooking more and she has found that using herbs are a great way to add flavor and character to her favorite dishes. She sent a list to Judy of her best dishes and Judy picked some plants that would be easy to grow and would take her cooking to another level. We started with the statuesque rosemary plant in the center of the pot. Sarah loves baked potatoes and so we planted chives. We then moved to a lemon thyme that can be used in many dishes. We then planted Italian parsley and a viola as a substitute for basil, which is a little too tender for this time of year. Later Sarah will be able to plant the basil when the temperatures warm up a bit. As always we were selective about the soil we used. Black Gold makes an All Organic formula that is great for all your edible garden veggies. This will provide a bountiful container that will flavor many dishes for months to come.
