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Episode 165 • May 22, 2010

VIDEO ARCHIVE

One more week until Summer... OK, not technically. The Memorial Day weekend is always considered the un-official start to the summer season even though the calendar says otherwise. So, before you crank-up the grill we have a few things for you to do around the garden. It is also a good time to get your lawn equipment ready for the season, so check out the story below! Have a great weekend getting ready for summer!

This week we featured...

Dipping Strawberries

Spring is here and that means the strawberries are looking ripe and ready for picking. You may enjoy strawberry shortcake and slicing strawberries over ice cream, but there are so many more ways to enjoy them. William and Judy thought up some interesting combinations for dipping sauces for you to enjoy. We featured 'night and day' which had strawberries in half white chocolate and half dark chocolate. We also had 'Coco-berry' which was a dip into frosting with coconut flakes and 'Crazy for Caramel' which was just a dip into caramel. All of them were delicious! If you are looking for more ideas, check out this month's Garden Time On-line magazine. It is a free subscription and it comes to you in your e-mail box each month.

Mole Traps

One of the most common pests in the NW garden is the mole. They can really tear up your flower bed and lawn. There are lots of products out there to deter them. Don Sprague of Don Sprague Sales (1-800-423-0158) has found that most of them don't work too well. The products that don't seem to work include the vibrators, the home remedies, and the gases and bombs. And with some of these products you may be doing more harm to your garden than the moles. The problem with getting rid of moles, if you don't remove them, they will just leave and return later. The best way of getting rid of moles is to trap them. Don showed us how to use the Cinch Trap. The Cinch Trap is VERY effective. This product will trap them and remove them forever.

Stihl - KombiSystem

We are always on the look out for new tools on the market that will make gardening easier. We found a great new system from STIHL called the KombiSystem. The Stihl KombiSystem is a complete family of multi-task tools comprised of different power heads and numerous attachments. The split shaft design lets you quickly change attachments. It also comes with the new Easy2Start engine which takes no effort to start! Wayne Sutton from STIHL demonstrated how easy it is to operate. Check out the STIHL website to find a dealer near you.

Spring Equipment Maintenance

Now is the time to take care of those lawn equipment service problems so you can head into spring with 'working' equipment. Tim from Stark Street Lawn and Garden (503-625-2967) walked us through some of the issues you may be dealing with and how to fix them. If your mower is acting up you can take care of the problem by changing the fuel and oil filters, changing the oil, spark plug and sharpening the blade. We recommend you get a professional to sharpen and balance your blade though. The same is true for all your lawn and garden equipment. Filters and fuel can be the 2 leading causes of problems when you fire stuff up in the spring. Old fuel is weak and will cause your equipment to sputter and not start and filters may become clogged after setting all winter. If you have a job you don't think you can handle, give the guys at Stark Street a call or find a reputable repair shop. Always remember to have your model number and brand written down for the technician when you call so they can have the parts you need available. Stark Street is also starting to carry a full line of electric powered lawn and garden equipment so you can cut down the amount of exhaust you create in the garden. Check out the new equipment at any of their 5 locations!

Asian Vegetables in Containers

The push the past few years has been to grow your own vegetables. You may feel that you are left out in the dark if you don't have the room to garden. But it is easy if you bring your gardening up to your deck or patio in containers. Almost everything can be grown in a container. To show us how easy it is we traveled up to Woodland Washington to talk to Brian Tsugawa at Tsugawa Nursery (360-225-8750). Brian showed us a couple of containers that had been planted with an assortment of Asian style vegetable starts. If you are looking to get a different taste from your gardening you should try these different styles of some old favorites. Eggplants, bok choy, mustard greens and many other varieties are really becoming popular and can now be picked up at Tsugawa's or other local garden centers. You can also pick a printed handout at Tsugawa's that will help you pick out Asian vegetables. This season bring your gardening up close and try out some new varieties at the same time!

 
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