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SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 147 • October 17, 2009

VIDEO ARCHIVE


We are in it now. The seasons have definitely changed! The rains have returned and we are stuck inside waiting for the occasional break in the weather to make it outside to the garden. Still we need to make time to be out in the garden; just in our garden alone we can enjoy the wonderful fall colors of the sumac, maple and witchhazel. Take some time to get out enjoy your garden, or better yet, enjoy one of the many harvest festivals happening around the area this weekend.

This week we featured...


Homemade Applesauce

 

It is apple season and that means it is the perfect time to enjoy the bounty of the season with fresh applesauce. Joelle from Smith Berry Barn (503-628-2172) let us know that she had a simple, easy recipe that anyone can make in a short period of time. We caught up with her in her kitchen where she was busy preparing apples with an apple peeler/corer/slicer. This is a neat gadget that does all 3 jobs at once. You can not believe how great it works. They carry them at Smith Berry Barn and she swears by them. She had picked 2 different varieties of apples, Liberty and Macintosh. She picked both because of their firm texture (which helps in the peeler/slicer) and their different complimentary flavors. After preparing about 16 apples in a pan Judy added lemon juice, brown and white sugars and a cup of water. We then cooked it on the stove for about 20 minutes while we stirred and mashed it. Then we ran it through a food mill (or a strainer will do) to even out the consistency. You can serve it while it is still warm or freeze it to enjoy later this winter when you need a reminder of those wonderful flavors of summer.  Click here for the recipe.

To get into the ‘apple’ frame of mind you can stop by Smith’s this coming Sunday the 18th to enjoy the 16th Annual Heirloom Apple Festival from noon to 4pm. There will be apple sampling, live music, tasty apple treats, and lots of kid friendly festivities. Don’t miss it!

 

Make Your Own Tea

 

Did you know that you can grow your own tea? Most of the tea in the world comes from one of 2 different varieties of Camellia, the sinensis and the assamica. We dropped by the Tao of Tea (503-736-0119) at the Portland Classical Chinese Garden (503-228-8131) to learn more about tea from Veerinder Chawla. Veerinder told us how you can grow harvest and create your own tea. For the best tea you will need a camellia that is at least 4 years old. Then you will want to harvest the brand new growth off your plant in the spring. Depending on what type of tea you want you will need to also process the leaves. For white tea it is a relatively simple technique of drying the leaves, for darker teas it is a more complex task. Your chance to learn more is coming up this weekend on the Sunday the 18th. Veerninder will be holding a class at the Portland Classical Chinese Garden at 1 and 3 pm on how you can grow, harvest and brew your own tea. It is part of their annual fall plant sale. You can actually buy the camellia plants to get yourself started! The plant sale is only on this weekend, but you can enjoy some wonderful tea anytime you visit the garden at the Tao of Tea. They will also answer many of your tea questions.

 

Call Before You Dig

 

There is no better feeling than turning some soil in your garden. That feeling will disappear quickly if you dig into a utility line. We found out that there is a new, easy way to avoid this problem. Steven and Jenna from NW Natural told us about the new 811 number. This number is a nationwide number to help homeowners and businesses locate buried utility lines so you can stay out of trouble. The ‘Call Before You Dig’ program is not new, but the way of contacting them is! One call will help you locate any line. If you don’t call you can be held liable for the damages of cutting a line. Just call 811 two business days before you dig! Robin from our sister program ‘Fusion’ contributed this story to the Garden Time crew. You can catch Robin on the Fusion show which precedes Garden Time on Saturday mornings.

 

Mushroom Growing

 

There is a fungus among us and it is homegrown and tasty. We caught up with a group from the Oregon Mycological Society as they were preparing logs and straw to be the future home for some wonderful mushrooms. Ed Foy told William about how they make these portable mushroom gardens. There are a couple of different ways for them to make the mushroom ‘gardens’. The first way is with straw. First they chop up some straw and pasteurize it. Then they place the straw in plastic bags mixed with the spawn of the mushroom spores. The other ways of growing mushrooms involve logs. In one version you can place the spawn in cuts on the logs and in another you drill holes in the log and place pegs in the holes. These pegs have been inoculated with spores. If you are curious about how to start your own log or you want to learn more about wild mushrooms, you can check out the Oregon Mycological Society’s Mushroom show happening on October 18th from noon-5pm at the World Forestry Center.

 

Fall Blowers

 

Fall is the time to clean up for the winter months ahead. If your lawn and garden needs a big time clean-up, you need to find a tool that will do the job right, the first time. We paid a visit to Wayne Sutton of STIHL to learn about the different Stihl blowers that will help you to get the job done. This year there is something new to think about if you want to buy a blower in the Portland area. The city of Portland has instituted some new noise regulations for blowers in the city limits. Blowers have become the #1 nuisance machine in the garden. Wayne talked about using them safely and considerately. The first blower is a backpack version that can tackle the big tough jobs and the second model was a super quiet one that is so quiet you can talk on the phone while you use it. If you are wondering which machines meet the new noise regulations, check out this page of approved models. You will notice that STHIL has a large number of the approved models. If you have any other questions you can check with you local STIHL dealer. To find one close to you, check out their website and remember to always use approved safety equipment when you operate machinery.

 

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

 

Grilling season is in full swing, really! We found a recipe that uses fresh fall green bell peppers from the garden. First we stopped by Bauman’s Farm and Garden (503-792-3524) to pick up the bell peppers. Brian filled us in on the differences between the different colors. One thing we found out is that the red bells tend to be a little sweeter than the others and that the more color in the pepper, the higher the anti-oxidants. With the holidays coming up you should check out the great selection of fresh fall fruits and vegetables at Bauman’s.

 

Next we took the peppers to Jerry from Gartner’s Meats (503-252-7801). He had a recipe for grilling peppers on his Traeger grill. He made an easy stuffed pepper recipe by using the ready-made Gartner’s meatloaf. This is already seasoned so he just stuffed the peppers and put them on for about an hour until they reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees. The other trick we learned was that he used a muffin tin to hold the peppers upright. The tin was also placed in a shallow metal pan with a little water in it. This kept the peppers nice and moist. They were delicious!! If you are really busy you can just buy the peppers already stuffed at Gartner’s.

 

 
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