SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 579 • November 21, 2020

VIDEO ARCHIVE

COVID-19 AWARENESS: Please note that we are taking all necessary precautions to keep our on-air personalities, interviewees and crew safe during this challenging time. However, we do run repeat stories and segments that were shot earlier this year, before social distancing practices were recommended by health officials. If you see our hosts standing close to someone, please be assured that the segment was shot before March of 2020. We thank you for your concern and your interest in Garden Time.

Cold and rainy. Must be November! The colder winds and rains have returned and that means the gardening season is over for sure! But is it? We've been surprised at the cold and activity in the garden for late fall. Crocus, early hellebores and winter camellias are blooming, some other winter plants are budded up and ready to bloom soon. Even our indoor plants like amaryllis and paperwhites are pushing up leaves and flower stalks. Soon poinsettias and Christmas greens will populate the inside of our house. Gardening never really takes a complete break. It just changes, like the seasons. From outdoors to indoors, from annuals to perennials, we just move to new plants and change our focus. It's actually kinda fun to find new plants in action!

We just want to remind everyone that next week is our last show for the 2020 season (Nov 28th). We have had quite a weird year in bringing you new gardening information. We look forward to doing that for years to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week we featured...

Fall Rose Pruning

Fall Rose Pruning

Fall is a season of transition for your roses. What should you be doing right now? To get the answer to that we met with Harry Landers, former curator at the International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park. Harry is retired now and has taken on the caretaking duties at the Sara Hite Memorial Rose Garden in Milwaukie. Right now roses are slowing down in their growth. It has been a great year for most roses and Harry showed us how the roses are still blooming even now in late October and early November. Without a hard frost the roses are continuing with their blooms, though we are seeing less of them right now. He recommends that you just let them go and enjoy them right now while they are looking good. If you don't have a hard frost in your area you might be able to have some cut roses on your dinner table for the upcoming holiday. Once you start to see them dying back you can prune them for the winter, but don't fertilize them! Pruning before they go dormant and fertilizing might promote new growth and that would just get hit by frost when it does come. When that frost does come you will see all the leaves start to fall off. You will want to clean those up and keep the weeds down to promote a healthy environment for next year. Throw the diseased leaves away and don't throw them in your compost. That will just harbor them until next year when you spread that compost around your garden. After that frost you can also cut the canes down to about waist high to keep the plants from whipping around in those winter winds. Then when we get to the late winter (mid-February) you can start to prune them for the new season, which will be a much harder pruning. If you have any other questions about roses you can contact the Portland Rose Society. They have links to helpful tips on their website. If you would like to help Harry at the Sara Hite Rose garden you can send an email to us at GardenTime@comcast.net or you can contact the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District.

Gifts for the Gardener

Gifts for the Gardener

This year there are a lot more new gardeners because of the 'stay at home' lifestyle we all have been following during this COVID crisis. With the holidays coming up we thought we would share a few ideas for gifts for the gardener in your life, even those who have more than a few growing seasons under their belt.

Judy started with plants! There are a lot of winter plants making their way into the home this time of year. Poinsettias, paperwhites and amaryllis are just a few, but the hot gardening trend is for houseplants. There are a huge number of houseplants available to the gardener and some are so enraptured by these plants that they actively trade them and look for rare plants to try at home. You can start with something simple by picking a hardy plant and then pairing it with a new pot and a bag of Black Gold soil. We recommend a great soil like Black Gold so you don't end up with diseases or bugs in your home. Speaking of soil; you can also gift a large load of compost from Grimm's Fuel to be delivered and blown into the garden. If you want something that is safer for smaller gardeners, you can look for kid's growing kits or even a small plant themed ornament for the Christmas tree. Speaking of getting kids involved, why not a seed starting kit? You can get tiny trays and seeds to start indoors to enjoy or even to get a jump start on next spring's crops. Not only do you get a bunch of new plants, your kids get to see these seeds growing during the coldest days of winter.

Ryan had a bunch of gift ideas to share as well. Why not a great tool for the gardener? Dramm watering tools are great anytime of year, but during the summer and fall they really earn their keep. So does a quality pruner or other garden tool. Remember to go for quality! It could cost you a little more, but a quality tool will last for years and years. When you are talking about quality gear and tools, don't forget about the gloves. A quality set of durable and stylish gloves will go a long way to making gardening more comfortable and enjoyable. Garden Like a Girl gloves are great for the woman gardener in your life. These gloves (and their other apparel items) are produced by a local company and will make any female gardener happy. Don't forget the wildlife! This year a lot of people really became interested in birds. You can continue to enjoy the antics of your bird friends if you pick up some supplies to help them get through the winter. Feeders, feed and water are all wonderful gifts for your bird lover and for the birds too. We have always found some really great bird themed gifts at Backyard Bird Shop.

The winter can be cold and long if you don't have something to keep you busy or entertained. Why not a good gardening book? We just found a bunch of new titles at Timber Press. You can find helpful 'how to' gardening books and even books that tackle the adventurer in every gardener, featuring tours and specific gardens around the world. Of course in this age of COVID-19, a gift card to your local garden center or nursery would be great. Once the spring rolls around again your gardener will get to pick out the gift that would benefit them the best, right as the garden season begins. Other than gloves, what about some stylish Garden Time gear? If you go the Garden Time store you can pick out a hat, sweatshirt, shirt, bag, apron or mask. Who wouldn't smile with a Garden Time gift under the tree? If you have a big budget, you can even give the gift of travel with a Garden Time tour! Finally, for the gardener who has everything, consider a membership or donation to one of the great public gardens in our area. The Oregon Garden, Lan Su Chinese Garden, The Portland Japanese Garden or the Portland Rhododendron Society (to benefit the Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden) Gifts to your favorite garden group would also be appreciated, like the Portland Rose Society, the Rogerson Clematis Collection, or the Hardy Plant Society.

There are lots more gifts for you to choose from. Just stop at your local independent garden center!

Holiday Herbs

Holiday Herbs

The holidays are all about family and sometimes it seems it's all about food too! With all this cooking going on, using fresh ingredients can make your holiday dishes shine. Fresh grown herbs can make all the difference. We met with Laura at Portland Nursery (503-788-9000) on Division street to talk about a good group of basic herbs that you can grow and use for cooking over the holidays and into next year. We started with a culinary bay leaf, which is a variety of laurel (Laurus nobilis). This plant is not only great in cooking it has a lot of symbolism too. A symbol of Apollo, it represents excellence, wisdom and glory. You can use these leaves in stews and soups, but remember that the fresh leaves are stronger in flavor and aroma than dried leaves. Oregano was next and this is an herb that a lot of people use in sauces and as part of a mix for Mediterranean dishes. Oregano is one of those that you can dry over the course of a summer and use all winter long. Sage was next on the list and this one has a strong meaning for native American groups in addition to cooking with it. It is often burned in a cleansing and purifying ritual. Laura likes to fry hers in butter and use it over squash dishes. We then moved over to thyme. Laura had 3 thymes to share. The lemon thyme is so aromatic that you can rub it just for the fragrance but it also works well as a seasoning on chicken and fish. Depending on the dish you are preparing you can use a thyme to get different flavor characteristics. Winter thyme is sweeter than the English thyme (great when sauteed with mushrooms) and so it is good to have more than one variety to choose from. A great herb for the kitchen and the local bees is rosemary. Rosemary means 'Sea Dew', because it was originally found near the Mediterranean coast. In the late spring it is covered with intense blooms that are a favorite of the local bee population. It is a great herb for meats and casseroles. Rosemary can also be infused in salts and oils to add a nice flavor to all your favorite dishes. Our next plant was parsley. Most of us are familiar with it as a decorative garnish on the top of entrees, but it is full of vitamins and minerals and has a nice soft zesty flavor that you can use towards the end of your cooking to add a little touch of additional flavor. Finally we looked at the Winter Savory. This is a herb that a lot of people don't know about. It has a strong spicy flavor and can be combined with other herbs in meats, stews, casseroles and other dishes. A lot of people use it in mixes for sauces and soups. Be careful and sprinkle it in slowly as it could over-power your dishes.

These are a few of the basics that you can use in your holiday and winter dishes. For more information on herbs and other uses for them, check out this great page on the Portland Nursery website.

Grimm's Phase 2 Opens

Grimm's Phase 2 Opens

Over the past year we have seen quite a transformation at Grimm 's Fuel (503-636-3623). Grimm's is known for the great quality mulches, garden compost and other great garden amendments they provide to local gardeners. During this past year they have invested over a million dollars in creating a state of the art facility to create an even better and more environmentally friendly compost product. Last spring we saw the first phase of the project finished with a completed and on-line facility that was kicking out 50,000 tons of fresh compost a year. This new method also creates less odors and speeds up the compost process tremendously. The new process controls the humidity, temperature and air flow to help those microbes in the soil break down the debris much quicker. Instead of months to process new compost, it now just takes weeks!

The new facility will increase their capacity to 100,000 tons a year. That means plenty of fresh garden mulch come this spring when the spring arrives. Why wait until spring? The application of a layer of mulch now will help suppress weeds and protect those tender garden plants over the winter. Plus those nutrients feed the soil over the winter to help you get a head start on a healthy growing season in a few months.

Don't forget, Grimm's also supplies heating oil and cured wood for your winter heating needs. Contact Grimm's to schedule your delivery today!

A New Capitol Subaru

A New Capitol Subaru

Capitol Subaru (1-888-698-1973) is a great sponsor of the Garden Time show, but they are also a great supporter and protector of the environment too! We stopped by their new facility being constructed just off the Salem Parkway. Before we took a look at their new building, we met with Jeff out near a large pavilion between their 3 main dealerships. This pavilion is going to be the centerpiece for community celebrations all year long. Designed with a bioswale, native plantings, a pet friendly area and a native bee house, this area can host large community events and even has hookups for food vendors. It will be prefect for Subaru Garden Dayz in 2021!!!

Then we moved over to the new construction on the main building. Arthur joined Judy to talk about all the features of the new building. This facility will be LEED certified for energy efficiency. It will have a native friendly planting around the building and a large green wall inside the building! Not to mention the indoor outdoor fireplaces! This is not just a building, but a big new home to the great people and vehicles from Subaru and Capitol. The owners are not only proud gardeners, they also support many groups in Salem and around the mid valley area. The United Way, American Cancer Society, Make a Wish, Marion County Food Share and the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation are all beneficiaries of Capitol Subaru (check out this page to see all of their great partners)!

We can't wait until next spring when everything will be up and running!

TOW - Preserving Holiday Greens

Preserving Holiday Greens

The smell of fresh greens in the home during the holidays is intoxicating! But after a few days those fresh cut greens can become 'dried' cut greens and a fire hazard. We found a product that can help seal in the moisture and prevent those greens from drying out. Wilt Stop from Bonide can be sprayed on your greens to seal in the moisture and help them last longer. It can also be used on your outdoor conifers to seal in the moisture and help prevent winter wind and cold damage. We found this product at a lot of the independent garden centers around the area. If you need to find the location nearest you, check out their 'Store Locator' on their website.
 

 
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