SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 621 • March 12, 2022

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 last 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.

Welcome to our second show of our 17th season. As we get closer to the official start of spring we were reminded this week that winter can still pay a visit. Temperatures dipped below freezing again and we scrambled to protect some of our plants that may have been damaged by the frost. Remember to follow the local weather reports so your garden and plants don’t suffer a setback. Speaking of spring, we are only a few days away from the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival from starting. They wanted to remind everyone that you will need to book your tickets on-line since there will be no tickets offered at the gate this year. Plan now so you won’t be disappointed later. In case you were wondering they are expecting peak bloom to happen the first couple of weeks in April.

This week we featured...

Small Garden Fruits

Small Garden Fruits

Adding fruits to your garden gets easier every year. We stopped by Portland Nursery on Stark Street (503-231-5050) to see some of the different varieties they have in stock. Ken, the assistant manager walked Ryan through some of the plants. With smaller gardens Ken pointed out that there are lots of newer varieties that stay small and are even good in containers. We have a great climate for growing fruit and there are so many to choose from. If you have a very small space, strawberries are a natural choice. Either in a small garden space or a container, you can have enough berries to enjoy in your cereal through a big part of the summer. A good variety like Albion can produce for a longer period of time in full sun. Next we talked about blueberries. There are ‘high bush’ types which can get bigger and some other low bush types if you are looking for something compact. Sunshine Blue is a favorite of Ken’s though it tends to get large. Blueberries can also be a great landscape plant when they are done producing. The fall color of many varieties is outstanding. Blueberries love acidic soils and will be right at home around azaleas and rhodies, and other acid lovers. Raspberries are great too. In recent years there have been some introductions that are great in containers. Other varieties can become a little wild in the garden so don’t be afraid to cut them back in the late fall or winter. We have a variety that continues to produce the whole summer in waves, and there are lots of different varieties to choose from. If you love grapes, now is the time to plant those too. When choosing a grape you need to remember that they are a vine and will need a little bit of room to grow. You will also have to figure out whether you want a table or a wine grape. Grapes should also be cut back pretty far this time of year. If it is warm you may notice that the cuts will ‘bleed’. Don’t worry, this is a natural thing and they will stop after a while. Other plants you can consider are blackberries, kiwi, olives, and Pawpaw’s. Check out the selection at either Portland Nursery locations or your local independent garden center.

Jan’s March Tips

Jan’s March Tips

We are back with Jan for the tips of the month and this month we were talking about pruning and cleaning up around your garden. Jan showed us some of the shrubs she has cut back in her garden. She was pruning a few of the plants in her garden to help them stay small and not take over her garden. She started with a Goldust Aucuba. This is a great shrub for those dark corners of your garden. Jan cut this one back so she could see out her windows again. It isn’t a problem since it will fill out and get big again in a year or two. Another plant that takes well to pruning was a nandina in her garden. This one was TALL, coming close to 10 feet high. Jan was cutting this one down to allow her view from her deck to be a little less obstructed. If you have watched the show you know that she cut this one back pretty hard a few years ago and it came back without a problem. The key was to cut the plants back to a leaf junction. The growth will come out of those junctions and help your plant become even fuller. We then moved to a buddleia. This was cut back pretty far, but the buddleia sends out new shoots along the whole trunk, so this one will be in bloom with lots of new branches in a short period of time.

We walked to another part of the garden to see a surprise that Jan wanted to share. First we saw an arborvitae hedge that had been cut down to size and evened out. This will allow the barrier it provides to become fuller and the shape more pleasing, but the big surprise was a large limb from the neighbors cherry tree that came down. This was a very old and non-productive cherry and the rot in the trunk made for fragile branches. Luckily, it fell between other plants and there was no real damage to Jan’s garden. The benefit of the missing branch will mean more sunlight for Jan’s vegetable garden this year. Something to be very happy about, but it is also a reminder that when you plant trees you need to take into account what can happen when they are full grown. The risk of damage if they are too close to structures and they fail, and the amount of shade they will cast if they are near your garden, or your neighbor’s garden. Be a considerate gardener when you can.

Of course for more tips on gardening in the spring, check out the OSU Extension website.

Growing Easter Grass

Growing Easter Grass

There is nothing like 'REAL' grass in your Easter basket. In this segment we saw how easy it is to grow grass for your Easter (or spring) baskets. All you need is weed fabric (we also used a left over plastic clamshell), a good seedling potting soil, any type of grass seed (Wheat grass works really well), and water. First you line the basket with the fabric. Remember the fabric will allow the water to drain so make sure it is a basket that can get wet. Next put in the potting soil and keep it an inch or so below the edge of the basket. Then sprinkle grass seed in the soil. Don't go too light on the seed; you want it to be really full looking! Mix the seed into the soil and water lightly. The seed should start growing in a week to 10 days. Keep the soil moist until the seed germinates and it will be ready by Easter morning! Once it is done you can recycle it, or if you used wheat berries for your grass, you can add the grass to your smoothies or your pet might like to chew on it.

Planting Onions

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 3 different packages. One package will be the tray pack; another is a bunch of starts that are rubber banded together, and you will also find seeds/sets. With the tray pack or starts you will want to separate them into individual plants and plant them in the ground as a single stalk. Spread them out from 2-5 inches depending on how big you want your onions to get. 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. If you are planting seeds you will find that they are very small. That means you will need to thin the plants out as they grow. No worries, these little, mini onions are great for seasoning in your soups and stews. Then you will have room for your other onions to grow bigger. Ryan also shared his rules for success. Use good loose soil so they grow nice and big, and water well for the best success.

Coloring Daffodils

Coloring Daffodils

This week's Kindergarden segment is something that many people did when they were growing up; adding dye to your flowers to make them change color. We were using daffodils, but you can use carnations or even celery. You first go out into your garden and cut a fresh daffodil. You then add a couple drops of food coloring to some water, green, blue or red work the best. We only had the paste type of food coloring and we felt it worked a little better. We also mixed it in lukewarm water which helps the plant bring it up to the petals. Over the next couple of days you will start to notice the color appearing on the outer edges of the flower. If you look closely you will actually see the small colored veins in the flower. It is a great way to see how plants use and take up water.

Wavra Spring Color

Wavra Spring Color

Spring is almost here and if you are looking for color it isn’t just about tulips, daffodils and crocus. There are a ton of great early spring color plants that you can add to your planters or garden beds. To see a few of the choices we stopped by Wavra Farms (503-364-9879) in East Salem. Diane had a table full of great plants to share. We started with Ameria. This early bloomer stays low to the ground and ends up covered with wonderful bloom stalks and they will continue to bloom until June. We moved to a tongue twister of a name next, saxifraga. These will grow into a creeping mound of tiny blooms that can be hardy in our area depending on the variety. Diane had a brightly colored one for people who love the twilight garden look. The next one was also a smaller sized plant, the Bergenia. This one, ‘Shoeshine Rose’ will get much bigger over time. It is very hardy and pairs well with other early blooming plants. The leathery leaves will turn bronze in the winter adding even more interest to this garden winner.

Primroses have always been a part of the early spring garden, but with newer varieties coming out every year, there is even more excitement about adding them to your garden. Diane had two from the newest ‘Belarina’ series of plants. Valentine is a deep red with tight swirls of blooms that open up even more as they grow. The ‘Baltic Blue’ has a smoky periwinkle color that opens up to reveal the wonderful veined pattern on each petal. These are must haves for your spring garden since they are very hardy and will return year after year. Some of the taller color plants for your garden include a huge selection of bleeding hearts. Also known as Dicentra’s they are pretty hardy if you keep them in the right areas. They like partial shade and don’t like soggy ground. They really do well in good garden soil and most of them don’t really need fertilizer if conditions are right. The next plant was the ranunculus, called the rose of the spring because of the blooms. They love the cooler days of spring and will start to fade back as the temperature rises. Some people can extend the bloom time by moving them into an area with morning sun and complete shade in the afternoon. English daisies were next and they are a prolific bloomer that can fill your borders with color. They seldom get over 8 inches tall but they reward your perennial garden with abundant blooms each year. We have anemones in our garden and they are always a pleasant surprise when they return each year. The Japanese anemone are their taller fall cousin, but both types are hardy for most of our area. The fine foliage and delicate flowers are great in the garden and in the middle of summer they can disappear completely, to return when conditions are right. Another taller color plant is the euphorbia. Known as Spurge, euphorbias can have great foliage color in addition to colorful blooms that may not look like traditional blooms at all. They are evergreen and like sunny areas in your garden. The last plant we had time to check out was the hellebore. These plants have a long history in Northwest gardens. In fact you may have seen them in your grandmother’s garden. The older varieties had colorful blooms that hung down facing the ground so you missed a lot of the fantastic colors, but the newer varieties are bred with upward facing blooms which show off the new beautiful varieties.

If you are looking for some cool spring color plants, visit your local independent garden center, or if you are in east Salem stop by Wavra Farms!
 

 
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