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Happy Labor Day weekend! I would normally be welcoming everyone back from vacation and the kids back to school, but this year a lot of districts started classes earlier this past week. That means that this weekend is a quick little holiday in the middle of ‘back-to-school’. The return to school is also a return to the garden for some. Neglected lawns and gardens are getting the once over as we fall back into our routines. This is good for our gardens and our health.
A recent study done in Finland showed that people who garden have a significant improvement in heart health over those that don’t. But we all knew that already, right? So spend some time out in your garden this weekend (and squeeze in a BBQ or two) and enjoy your garden and a healthier heart!
This week we featured...
Pickling Cucumbers
Late summer is the time to think about preserving all the great flavors of the garden. We have done lots of stories about canning jams and jellies, but this week we tackle one of the most liked recipes for canning, pickles! William and Judy joined assistant producer, Therese, in the kitchen to walk you through the steps for canning cucumbers (or cukes, as we called them when we were growing up). This recipe is for dill pickles, but you can find similar recipes and techniques on the OSU Extension Food Preservation website, http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/food-preservation.
Here is what we did. First we got all our materials together so we didn’t have to stop once we got going. We started the process by cleaning the canning jars and then sterilizing them in boiling water. 4 jars fit in a 9 x 13 pan. We also sterilized the lids and rings in a pan. We put ¼ teaspoon alum or one grape leaf in the bottom of each jar. This is to help make the pickles crisp. Then we added one to two sprigs of fresh dill to each jar and a clove of garlic if desired. We then packed the jars full of cucumbers. Remember to keep the cucumbers just below the head of the jar so the brine can cover the cucumbers and allow a bit of room for the brine to boil during processing. Cover with a sterilized lid and screw the lid on hand tight. Process the jars in a hot water bath canner for 15 minutes. The water should be boiling before adding the jars. Remove from canner and let cool. The jars will either have sealed in the canner or will seal as they cool. If the jar does not seal, the pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for a month before eating. You can remove the rings after the jars have sealed. Pickles are ready to eat after a month. (It’s a good idea to write the date on the top of the jar with a permanent marker.) They can be stored up to a year and a half. If you are interested in this recipe you can click here. If you are interested in preserving anything from the garden we recommend that you check out the OSU Extension Food Preservation website before you start to make sure everything you do is tasty AND safe!
Swan Island Dahlia Arranging
You can build an award winning flower arrangement with flowers from your garden if you follow a few simple rules. We stopped by the Swan Island Dahlia Festival (800-410-6540) to learn how easy it is to do. The Festival is finishing this weekend and features over 400 cut flower arrangements on display, but you can stop by any day to see the beautiful fields and take home some cut flowers of your own. Heather from Swan Island walked us through the steps of building a great display. First she heat treated the stems in 160-170 degree water, which will make the cut flowers last longer. Then she started with one variety of flower which established the size and height of the arrangement. Then she filled in with the other styles and types of blooms. She even used the discarded stems to add filler to the display. It is very easy to do! If you are looking for ideas or you want to fill your day with color, stop by the Dahlia Festival and check out the display or the fields of color. As we mentioned before this is the final weekend of the festival and it wraps up on Monday. You can also see the fields until fall, after the festival, they are open every day from dawn to dusk.
Pest Patrol - Wasp Solutions
It is that time of year when the wasps start to make their way into our gardens (and picnics, and parties, etc.) We found a nest in our yard so we thought we could share some information with you about dealing with them. First of all, if they are not in an area where there are a lot of people, you can just leave them alone. Wasps can be a beneficial insect if they are not bothering people. Unfortunately we found our nest near a populated area, near a garden path. Next identify the type of flying insect you are dealing with. If it is a honey bee colony you can get a bee-keeper to come and get them and they can soon be put to work in an orchard making honey! If it is a harmful pest, there are various ways of taking care of the problem. One way is to use a pheromone trap. There are a couple that are on the market by Rescue (http://www.rescue.com). These use scent to attract the wasp or hornet. They are targeted to the hornet or wasp and not to honeybees. There are also glass traps that work on the same theory. The most effective way of controlling them is with a chemical spray. This involves an insecticide that you buy and apply it yourself. Remember to ALWAYS read the label, it is the law! You will want to wait until dusk, that is when all the wasps return to the hive, and you can make sure you get them all. Get a product that has a stream sprayer, this will get you out of the area where the nest is. And finally, use protective clothing and don’t spray in a breeze. We featured a few products in the story, but you can find more products at your local garden center. You want to make sure that you get the bugs that are causing a problem and not any helpful bugs… follow these simple rules and you can be stinger free this late summer.
Silver Falls Flower Seed
If you have been driving through the countryside in the valley, you may have seen fields full of flowers this summer. This is not the work of a flower fanatic; they are flowers that are grown for their seed. Angela Rose from Silver Falls Seed Company (503-874-8221) showed us some of the varieties that they grow. In the field where she took us we found poppies and bachelor’s buttons. Then we went to the cleaning operation where we saw how they clean, sort and package the seeds they grow. We also learned that since the seeds are grown locally, they are acclimated to the area and you have a better chance for success. They also do numerous types of seed including grass and native plant seed. They grow over 100 different varieties of seed. They even provide seed to highway departments around the country to plant along freeways and rest areas. You can find out more about Silver Falls Seed and buy some of their seeds at their website, http://www.silverfallsseed.com or on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Falls-Seed-Company/111116522239421.
Mouse Hoes and Extreme Edging
Once again we stopped by Red Pig Tools (503-663-9404) to chat with Bob Denman about some of his fantastic tools! Today we were looking at a hoe and an edger. We started with the hoe. This was a very bizarre one. It had 2 circular disks at the end of the handle. These allowed the user to remove normal weeds and also some very large ones too. The larger weeds would get between the 2 disks and be sheared off. The unique design earned it the name of the ‘Mickey Mouse’ hoe, because of the 2 disks looking like a couple of mouse ears. The next tool was an edger that looked like a skateboard with a big disc on the front. This allowed the user to step on the flat board and then racket the handle to move it forward to edge the lawn. Bob thought it could be a new sport, extreme edging! You could possibly get your teenager to do a little edging if it looked like a skateboard, but only for a few minutes. These are just a few of the antique tools you will find at his store. He also has a full selection of other great tools for your garden, but if they don’t work he can also make one for you! Check him out at his place near Boring, or on-line.
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