WATERING SOLUTIONS
August 2, 2008

How many times has this happened… we spend all spring working on your garden to make it beautiful and then you go on vacation and come back to find all your hard work wasted.  All the wonderful plants you have nurtured are dead because they didn’t get watered.  Well, we went to the Greenhouse Catalog Store (800-825-1925) to find a solution to this problem.  Michelle gave us 3 ideas for taking care of the problem.  The first was a special gel called Dri Water, that retains water and is all natural.  You just cut the bottom open and stick in the pot.  The second device was the Oasis Watering system.  This system holds enough water to keep 20 plants wet for up to 40 days.  It is on a timer so they get watered the right amount every time!  The final product was the Aqua Mat.  This mat has a super absorbent liner that retains water and then releases it to the plant through the bottom of the pot.
 

POTLIFTER
July 26, 2008

We are tired of lugging our potted plants around every time the season changes. Our problems were solved by a new product we found at The Greenhouse Catalog (800-825-1925). Michelle told us about the Potlifter. This product is designed to lift just about anything in the garden. The buckle was easy to latch and handles were comfortable to use. They say you can use it to carry pots, stumps, boulders and even sacks of concrete. As long as it is 72 inches around and less than 200 pounds it can be carried safely and easily. We even bought one before we left the store!
 

TABLE TOP GARDENER
July 19, 2008

Our trip to the tool shed this week features a potting bench for those that are limited on space. The Table Top Gardener portable potting tray is made by the Argee Corporation and is perfect for those who like to garden but don’t have the space for a big potting bench or greenhouse. It has raised sides to keep everything (soil, fertilizer and plants) contained. It is also light weight so you can pick it up and carry it to the area you are working in or out to the garden. It is also good for craft projects indoors. You can get it locally at the Greenhouse Catalog (800-825-1925) in Brooks.
 

SPRAYERS
July 12, 2008

Sprayers are one of those pieces of garden equipment that people tend to forget about. Judy showed us a couple of the different styles of sprayers to use. A lot of manufacturers are making it easy for the home gardener by adding a hose-end sprayer to the bottles of product that you buy. These are mini-sprayers that are designed to disburse just the right amount of product on your plants. You have to remember that they are only designed for the product that they are attached to and should not be moved to other containers. Fertilome makes a cool sprayer that attaches to most Fertilome products and can be adjusted to deliver the right product no matter which product you use. Finally saw some of the battery operated ones and the old fashioned pump kind. Some final tips; wear protective gear including eye protection and gloves, and never spray during a breezy day. Also, you may want to label your sprayers so you don’t mix your chemicals when you spray. See your local, independent garden center for more information.
 

BIG DADDY DRIVER
June 14, 2008

We found the best gift for the golfer and gardener in your family. It is called the Big Daddy Driver (480-284-5956) and it looks like a real golf club. But when you flip it over and press a button it opens the bottom to reveal a battery operated weed eater! When we shot this story near Portland Nursery on Division it really attracted a crowd! Everyone had to touch it and try it out. Check out the Big Daddy website for more information and an order form.
 

CIRCLE HOE
May 17, 2008

We found a tool at the Oregon Garden that they use in their garden with great success.  It is the Circle Hoe (800-735-4815).  This tool is an improvement over the normal hoe you find in your garden center.  This one has a rounded edge so you don’t damage the plants in your garden.  It also has a sharpened edge on the inside of the circle so it only cuts the weeds.  It also breaks up the soil and cultivates it while you are weeding instead of creating piles or mounds of dirt.  If you are looking for a new hoe or you are tired of damaging your plants while weeding, check out this tool.
 

DRAKES TOOLS
April 26, 2008

Spring is the time to get your tools in shape for the coming season.  It is also the time to think about getting new tools.  Sometimes the old favorites make the job harder than it needs to be.  We stopped by Drakes 7 Dees (503-256-2223) to see some of the favorite new tools that people ask for.  Clare had a great display set up for a seminar that they will be having at noon on the 26th.  She even had some of our favorites including the negirigama hoe.  This one is sharp, but it is great for scraping those surface weeds off of your garden beds.  The Japanese Hand Rake was next one the list and it looks like a backscratcher on steroids!  It is one that really does a bunch of jobs; as a weeder, a cultivator, and a digging tool.  We also saw a customer favorite, the EZ digger.  It too is a multiple use tool and is great at making furrows in the ground for planting.  It is always important to protect your hands whatever you do and so we checked out the new bamboo gloves that are on the market.  Those gloves work really well with the many different pruners from Felco.  These pruners are wonderful because you can buy new and replacement parts when they start to wear out.  Finally we saw the Expando Rake.  It is the favorite of one of the Garden Time crew (Therese).  It can expand to become a leaf rake and then collapse down to be a rake for a smaller garden bed.  With all the work you need to do in your garden, you should check out the new tools at your garden center.
 

GLOVES
March 1, 2008

Having the right tool for the job makes gardening easier.  That includes protecting your hands.  Judy and William showed us a wide range of gardening gloves available including ultra thin latex to heavy duty leather.  You’ll find gloves in all shapes, colors and sizes including ones designed for specific garden jobs like pruning your roses.  You may need more than one type of glove depending on the types of garden jobs you tackle.  Always look to replace your garden gloves at least once a year.
 

TOOL SHED - 2007