Scary weekend, scary weather! The garden is in transition, the winds and
rain have started to strip the leaves from the plants and that is exposing
the 'bones' of the garden. It is a good time to enjoy this transition. As
far as I'm concerned the count down is now starting for the warm weather of
next spring!
This week we featured...
E.Z. Orchards Harvest Fest
It's the Great State of Corn Oregon at E.Z. Orchards
(503-393-1506) and their
annual Harvest Fest. John Zielinski gave us a tour of the corn maze and
told us about some of the great events they have planned for this final
weekend of their fall festival. The corn maze is a great scale model of the
state of Oregon, where you can visit some of the major cities of the state
and learn some facts about them. There is a Native American tepee, slides,
horse-drawn hayrides and even Mt Hood to climb. You are also able to pan
for gold, hear live music and make a quick stop at the Cider Saloon. You
may even want to try your hand at the pie eating contest! Of course you can
also pick up a pumpkin for the porch and fresh veggies from the market. You
can enjoy all the festivities this final 'Halloween' weekend.
Chrysanthemums
A lot of gardeners have the common chrysanthemums in their
garden, but one of the overlooked types of mum is the 'show' mum. We
visited the growers of some of these beautiful flowers, King's Mums of
Oregon City (503-656-2078).
King's has been growing Chrysanthemums for over 40 years, but recently the
growing operation was purchased by Kim and Ray Gray. Ray joined us to talk
about these 'show' flowers and how they are different than those that you
find in your local garden center. Ray showed us the show mum that is grown
for contests; these mums are protected from the sun, pinched back to just a
few blooms and cultivated carefully. Ray also showed us a couple of
varieties that they have in stock at the nursery including Shamrock, Flair,
Bill Holden, and Coral Charm. There are tons of different styles of blooms
and most make great container flowers for your deck or patio. If you are
interested in growing some of these flowers you can check out the King's
Mums website.
Fall Lawn Fertilizers
We had told you that fall is the time for planting, but Norm
McCreight from Lilly Miller also tells us that fall is also the time for
fertilizing! To really keep your lawn healthy in the winter and give it a
boost for the spring, now is the time to apply a good fall and winter
fertilizer. The numbers on the bag can be confusing, but what you are
looking for is a well balanced slow release fertilizer. Your lawn is slowly
fed all through the winter and then gets a jump start when the temperatures
warm up in the spring. Keeping your lawn well maintained in the winter
helps to prevent problems later.
Grimm's Compost
Your yard debris of today is becoming the rich garden compost of
tomorrow. Since it is fall and everyone is cleaning up their yard we
decided to check out where that yard debris ends up. Jeff Grimm walked us
through the composting facility at Grimm's Fuel (www.grimmsfuel.com
<http://www.grimmsfuel.com/> , 503-636-3623). This facility in Tigard is
where a lot of your lawn clippings end up. At the Grimm's facility they cut
up the garden waste, pile it, turn it (to keep it hot) and let nature take
it's course. Most of this will become 'Metro certified' garden mulch. What
that means is it is clean of residual herbicides and meets 'Earthwise'
standards. Grimm's has a complete selection of different types of soils and
amendments for your lawn or garden. It is also a great time to mulch your
plants to protect them from the coming cold. Give them a call for delivery
rates and availability.
Solexx Greenhouses
Having a 'green' house in your backyard shouldn't send you to
the 'poor' house. We found one by Solexx that is easy to assemble and
really inexpensive too. A greenhouse will help to extend your gardening
season and it will give you a head start on next year. Michelle Moore from
Solexx Greenhouses (800-825-1925) and William assembled
one in just a few hours. When you order the kit it arrives in just a couple
of boxes. The kit is so well organized, and color coded, that it is really
simple to assemble with just a couple of tools. A couple other benefits...
it can be sited anywhere and there is no need for expensive site
preparation, you can place it directly on your lawn. Plus it is
lightweight. You can assemble it in one area and move it to another area
with just two people. This is great if you want to place it over an existing
garden area. Check out their website to see all the different types of
greenhouses available and all the tools to extend your growing season.
Kindergarden - Seed Mosaics
Our kindergarden segment this week plants the seed of
creativity. The kids at Al's Garden Center (503-981-1245) created seed mosaics.
Amy Bigej printed some pictures off the internet, but you could also use
pictures from coloring books, and then the kids glued seeds to them. The
seeds included different varieties of beans, peas and even wild bird feed.
They turned out fantastic and are a good project for those rainy winter
days!