Scary weekend, scary weather! The garden is in transition, the winds and rain have started to strip the leaves from the plants and that is exposing the 'bones' of the garden. It is a good time to enjoy this transition. As far as I'm concerned the count down is now starting for the warm weather of next spring!

This week we featured...

E.Z. Orchards Harvest Fest

It's the Great State of Corn Oregon at E.Z. Orchards (503-393-1506) and their annual Harvest Fest. John Zielinski gave us a tour of the corn maze and told us about some of the great events they have planned for this final weekend of their fall festival. The corn maze is a great scale model of the state of Oregon, where you can visit some of the major cities of the state and learn some facts about them. There is a Native American tepee, slides, horse-drawn hayrides and even Mt Hood to climb. You are also able to pan for gold, hear live music and make a quick stop at the Cider Saloon. You may even want to try your hand at the pie eating contest! Of course you can also pick up a pumpkin for the porch and fresh veggies from the market. You can enjoy all the festivities this final 'Halloween' weekend.

Chrysanthemums

A lot of gardeners have the common chrysanthemums in their garden, but one of the overlooked types of mum is the 'show' mum. We visited the growers of some of these beautiful flowers, King's Mums of Oregon City (503-656-2078). King's has been growing Chrysanthemums for over 40 years, but recently the growing operation was purchased by Kim and Ray Gray. Ray joined us to talk about these 'show' flowers and how they are different than those that you find in your local garden center. Ray showed us the show mum that is grown for contests; these mums are protected from the sun, pinched back to just a few blooms and cultivated carefully. Ray also showed us a couple of varieties that they have in stock at the nursery including Shamrock, Flair, Bill Holden, and Coral Charm. There are tons of different styles of blooms and most make great container flowers for your deck or patio. If you are interested in growing some of these flowers you can check out the King's Mums website.

Fall Lawn Fertilizers

We had told you that fall is the time for planting, but Norm McCreight from Lilly Miller also tells us that fall is also the time for fertilizing! To really keep your lawn healthy in the winter and give it a boost for the spring, now is the time to apply a good fall and winter fertilizer. The numbers on the bag can be confusing, but what you are looking for is a well balanced slow release fertilizer. Your lawn is slowly fed all through the winter and then gets a jump start when the temperatures warm up in the spring. Keeping your lawn well maintained in the winter helps to prevent problems later.

Grimm's Compost

Your yard debris of today is becoming the rich garden compost of tomorrow. Since it is fall and everyone is cleaning up their yard we decided to check out where that yard debris ends up. Jeff Grimm walked us through the composting facility at Grimm's Fuel (www.grimmsfuel.com <http://www.grimmsfuel.com/> , 503-636-3623). This facility in Tigard is where a lot of your lawn clippings end up. At the Grimm's facility they cut up the garden waste, pile it, turn it (to keep it hot) and let nature take it's course. Most of this will become 'Metro certified' garden mulch. What that means is it is clean of residual herbicides and meets 'Earthwise' standards. Grimm's has a complete selection of different types of soils and amendments for your lawn or garden. It is also a great time to mulch your plants to protect them from the coming cold. Give them a call for delivery rates and availability.

Solexx Greenhouses

Having a 'green' house in your backyard shouldn't send you to the 'poor' house. We found one by Solexx that is easy to assemble and really inexpensive too. A greenhouse will help to extend your gardening season and it will give you a head start on next year. Michelle Moore from Solexx Greenhouses (800-825-1925) and William assembled one in just a few hours. When you order the kit it arrives in just a couple of boxes. The kit is so well organized, and color coded, that it is really simple to assemble with just a couple of tools. A couple other benefits... it can be sited anywhere and there is no need for expensive site preparation, you can place it directly on your lawn. Plus it is lightweight. You can assemble it in one area and move it to another area with just two people. This is great if you want to place it over an existing garden area. Check out their website to see all the different types of greenhouses available and all the tools to extend your growing season.

Kindergarden - Seed Mosaics

Our kindergarden segment this week plants the seed of creativity. The kids at Al's Garden Center (503-981-1245) created seed mosaics. Amy Bigej printed some pictures off the internet, but you could also use pictures from coloring books, and then the kids glued seeds to them. The seeds included different varieties of beans, peas and even wild bird feed. They turned out fantastic and are a good project for those rainy winter days!