Welcome to Naked World Gardening Day.  That’s right; the first Saturday of the first weekend in May is marked as the day for everyone to be naked in the garden.  I’m not sure you need to go to that extreme to enjoy your garden, but I think it shows the passion that some people have for getting outdoors!  If you are into that, this weekend maybe the best weekend for it.  The weather is forecasted to be the hottest of the year so far.  It does bring up a good point about your plants.  If the weather is getting this hot, your new plants are probably going to be thirsty.  Even though it is early in the season, keep an eye on your plants to see if they are doing ok.

Now get out there and enjoy that garden (but try to keep your clothes on)!

This week we featured...

Parr Paver Planter

Amber from Parr Lumber (866-214-7277) had a great project for us this week and it came straight from the internet, it was a planter made from paver stones.  She pulled some paver from the selection she has at the Parr location in Albany.  They are very inexpensive; only a dollar or so a piece. You will need five pavers per pot. Lay out four pavers to form a perfect square. Overlap the ends so you have 2 good surfaces making contact.  Once you have your form, tilt one tile back and apply a construction adhesive on the overlapping lip and firmly press back into place. We used the PL Premium Adhesive from Loctite.  This construction adhesive can be found along with caulks and sealants in the painting section at your local Parr (you will need a caulk gun to apply it).  Move to the opposite side and repeat the adhesive process. All corners should now be adhered. This will leave one piece for the bottom.  We decided to not glue this last piece into place to allow the container to drain better.  You will want to wait for 24 to 48 hours without moving the pavers to allow the adhesive to dry. Now you can paint them if you choose. Make sure to use a specially formulated acrylic paint that is permanent and weather resistant. This type of paint does not peel or crack and can be used on concrete wood and terra cotta just to name a few. Once the paint cured, you can flip over the pots and fill with a few of your favorite greens.  These are quite heavy so make sure you move them to where you would like to keep them before you start planting. For everything you need stop by your local Parr Lumber.

Slug Controls

SLUGS!!!  These little pests will devour your new plants and vegetables.  If you are looking for a way to keep them in check, William and Judy had a selection of different ways you can deter them or just get rid of them.  Slugs are a real problem here in the Northwest and spring is the time when you may notice them the most.  They will eat the foliage off your nice garden plants and may even eat the plants as they are just coming out of the ground.  Look for holes in the leaves of your tulips, iris and hostas.  These are a few of their favorites.  First we talked about the chemical baits that you can use.  These tend to be the most effective and are made with Metaldehyde which goes by the brand name of Meta. You can get this bait in a liquid, meal and pellet form.  If you have children or pets and are looking for something safer, you can check out the products that contain iron phosphate.  These are safe around pets and children.  William talked about the non-chemical methods of control.  He covered beer traps, which works like a scent trap, copper tape which gives them a shock and even an electric fence.  You can even stalk your garden in the early morning and just drop them in a bath of soapy water or just cut them in half with your pruners.  Take the time to find the method that’s best for you and check with your local garden center if you need help.

Tsugawa Small Fountain

There is nothing like the sound of water flowing in the garden.  People sometime avoid adding water to the garden because they think it is too hard or too expensive.  We stopped by Tsugawa Nursery (360-225-8750) to learn how you can add water without a lot of time and money.  Brian joined William to show him a kit that you can get that can give you a water feature in less than an hour.  This system was a container that holds water, which also has a solid platform in the middle.  This platform allows you to stack rocks or other decorative materials over the water reservoir and it can hold a few hundred pounds of weight so it is safe around children and pets (they won’t fall in!)  You just put the pump in the bottom and then assemble the covering on top of that and add your bubbler pot or decorative stone and you re ready to fill with water and plug it in.  It can set on a patio (just surround it with plants to hide the reservoir), or bury it in the ground.  Then sit back and enjoy the soothing sounds of water!

Bauman SuperBell Makeover

People are always looking for plants that can perform in the sun and the shade.  That is a hard job to ask most plants, they are either full sun or full shade, especially when you are looking at areas like porches or patios.  These areas can be in shade most o the day and then in blazing heat for the late afternoon!  Brian Bauman, from Bauman’s Farm and Garden (503-792-3524), met us at his parent’s house to share some ideas to help decorate these problem areas.  He brought in pots of Superbells from Proven Winners  These were mainly just hanging baskets that had the wires removed and he just placed them in the landscape.  You can do something as simple as that and just water them once a day in the summer or you can get the 4 inch pots of Superbells and plant them directly in the ground.  John Rader then joined us to explain why these Superbells do so well in the sun and the shade.  These plants are crossbred with wild stock flowers to make them stronger and brighter.  Two of the varieties that we saw were Lemon Slice and Cherry Star.  These will perform well in our NW gardens.   If you would like to see these great Proven Winners plants or to chat with Brian about planting tips and ideas, stop by Bauman’s Farm and Garden.

Portland Nursery Strawberry Planter

With the push for edibles in the garden the last few years we had the idea of bringing those edibles to your doorstep.  We stopped by Portland Nursery on Division (503-788-9000) to get some ideas from Sarah about planting strawberries and how to choose a pot to bring your fruit and vegetables to your deck or patio.  First we pulled a strawberry pot out of her inventory, which was no problem with all the pots she has on the lot.  We learned that you need to plant in layers.  You don’t just fill the pot full of Black Gold soil and shove plants in!  You fill your pot with soil up to the first holes and then place your plants in and then move to the next layer.  We also learned a little bit about strawberries.  ‘June-bearing’ gives you one crop.  ‘Ever-bearing’ and ‘Day Neutral’ gives you 2 or more good crops of berries through-out the summer if you treat them well.  There are a couple of other things that growers do to get a good crop… plant new berries every 3-4 years.  For a list of varieties and recipes, check out www.oregon-strawberries.org.  If you are looking to bring your gardening ‘up close and personal’ check out the selection of containers at Portland Nursery’s 2 locations.

Dwarf Iris

Everyone knows about the tall bearded iris.  We have many great growers of iris in our area.  But one of the shining stars of the spring garden is the dwarf breaded iris.  We stopped by Mid-America Garden (503-390-6072) to chat with Thomas Johnson about these little beauties.  You may recognize Thomas from Sebright Gardens (503-463-9615) which specializes in hostas, ferns and other perennials.  He is also a grower and breeder of dwarf iris and he took us on a tour of his test garden to show what the dwarf iris were all about.  These small irises are early bloomers in the garden.  Their taller cousins will bloom two to three weeks later.  They need the same type of growing conditions to thrive in our area.  Well drained soil, no over-watering and not planted too deep.  If you follow these simple rules they can be one of the most trouble free plants in the garden.  They also offer more variety too.  Because of their breeding history, they have more colors and styles to offer the home gardener.  If you would like to learn more about these great little spring plants you can get in touch with Thomas at Mid-America Garden and see when you can come out and view the blooms!

Planting Tomatoes

Now is the time to plant your tomatoes and there are a few things you can do to ensure a bountiful fall crop. One thing you can do is to plant your tomato deep! Tomatoes will grow roots along their main stem as long as you leave a portion of the leaves above ground. Also, by adding a small amount of garden lime to the soil you can avoid ‘blossom end rot’, a condition that causes a brown spot at the end of your tomato.  If your night time temperatures are still a little cool you may want to protect your new plants with a cover, like a cloche, or use a product like a Wall-o-Water.  Don’t forget to set your tomato cages up as well.  Use a couple of these tips now and you will have a great harvest this fall.

‘Eat Play Live’ Recipe

We all want to be healthier in our daily lives, but the lack of time can put a damper on the best laid plans.  To learn how we can start our day better we met with Elizabeth Somer at the Community Health Education Center at Salem Hospital.  She had a recipe for ‘creamy oatmeal with oranges, tart cherries and nuts’ to share with us.  She told us that if you eat a healthy breakfast you will have more energy, you’ll think more clearly, be in a better mood and will be able to control your weight better.  She started by telling us all the ingredients for this recipe, which included walnuts, maple syrup, milk, orange zest, tart cherries, splenda (or another sugar substitute), nutmeg, rolled oats, and another ½ cup of milk of for a topping after you are done cooking.  You start by rolling the walnuts in the syrup and then roasting them.  Set those aside and then, in a saucepan, place the milk, orange zest, cherries, sugar, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt (if desired).  Bring this to a low boil and add the oats.  After that boils, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  After that place the oats in a bowl and pour on the smaller portion of milk and the roasted walnuts.  If you are in a hurry you can do this the night before and put it in a covered bowl and it will be ready in the morning.  Click here for the recipe.

If you would like to learn more about being healthy you can check out the Eat, Play, Live event presented by Salem Health at the Salem Conference Center on May 11th.  The doors will open at 6:30am for health screenings and exercise classes.  General admission is only $5.  If you would like to meet with Elizabeth for breakfast and learn to ‘Eat your Way to Sexy’, join her at 8:30 (that has an additional cost) and stay around for a book signing and lunch with Bobby Deen, son of Paula Deen.  Lunch will also have an additional charge.   Still there is a lot more to do and see including Farm-to-Fork seminars and a Fitness Expo.  If you would like to take a step to a healthier life, stop by the Eat, Play, Live Food and Fitness Affair.

FPG Hanging Basket Tips

We are getting close to Mother’s Day and that means it is time to get your hanging baskets, but how do you take care of them once you have them.  To learn some care tips we stopped by French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445) in St. Paul and chatted with Katie.  French Prairie grows all their own baskets from tiny cuttings and they pick their own unique mixes of flowers.  Like most growers they grow 2 types of baskets for their customers, sun and shade.  There is a big difference between the two.  As Katie told us the shade baskets don’t like ‘sun on their heads’.  That means light sun (possibly morning sun) and then shade in the heat of the day.  The sun baskets are different.  They like full sun most of the day.  She warned us that we have to keep them well watered since they are in baskets and can dry out faster.  Plus most of the varieties of plants they use are heavy feeders, and that means they like lots of fertilizer.  They fertilize their plants at the farm once every 2 weeks with a balanced 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer.  If you follow these simple rules you will have great color all summer long.   If you are looking for some really great hanging baskets stop by the farm and pick some up.  While you are there enjoy in a little time in the country with a pastry from the bakeshop.

Container Store Garage Sale Tips

Spring and early summer is a good time to organize your garage.  Amy Farhat from The Container Store (503-620-5700) walked Judy through the steps for getting your garage in shape. The first step, sort through the stuff in your garage. The key to a successful garage sale is to know what you have to start with.  Get some bins and organize some of your sale items in the bins.  Amy even showed us how you can make little ‘kits’ of like items that you can sell together.  She also recommended that you get a clothes rack to hang your clothes that are for sale.  This will make it easier for people to browse and may increase sales.  One other thing to get is a waist pouch where you can keep your money, so you don’t have an unattended cash box.  Once the sale is over get rid of the things you don’t use and give it away to charity.  This will help you stay clutter free and also help people who may need your stuff more than you do.  For more organizing ideas stop by The Container Store, they will have everything you need.

CFA Starting a Makeover

When tackling home improvements it can be hard to know where to begin.  To get some ideas we stopped by Cascade Flooring America (800-942-0376) in Vancouver and talked to Sunny, the owner.  Home improvement is unique and individual, which means no two remodels are the same.  For a lot of people the place to start is the kitchen.  You can start with any large surface you like.  Some people have started with the countertops.  Granite has become so affordable that it seems to be the counter top of choice.  How can you make your granite countertop stand out?  Well, a lot of people are now going to designer backsplashes.  These can mix in different metal pieces and colored glass to add a whole new level to your kitchen.  Another area where you can start is with the flooring.  Once again there are many different types of flooring and it is not just vinyl either.  Composite flooring, wood floors, and tile are all very popular; and once again the costs have been dropping on those as well.  This is also true about carpeting.  The new technology has made a stronger, yet softer carpet at much more affordable price.