Dropping down on your knees and working your fingers deep into the soil helps one connect with the earth and slow down the spin of our material world.
If you are a lover of onions then you need to head on out to your local garden center and pick up a few starts of the famous “Walla Walla Onions. They can usually be found in bundles of little green onions or they may be offered in tray packs. Plant them in raised beds with plenty of organic compost and organic fertilize. Space them about an inch apart which will allow you to “early harvest” a few extra early, which in turn provides perfect spacing for later larger harvests. If you have problems with root maggots you might try our “Garden / Pet Dust” or a little powdered “BT” (this one is organic) If given ample water and they grow fast (this will happen if you have good organic soil) you should be celebrating mid season with super tasty very sweet onions. You may want to stagger your plantings so as to stretch out your harvesting schedule. Well there you have it………………. GREAT onion, perfect planting, and a little garden patience while you wait for your early crop to grow.
Happy Spring Gardening…………. dirty knees, dirt under your fingernails, and a big hearty smile on your face….Dig In………
If there was one plant in our nursery that commands “TOP” spot in terms of popularity, quantity of sales, and “Stellar” performance in the landscape, that one plant would have to be Lydia Broom. Setting it apart from other species of this popular family is the fact that it is not upright and vertical but rather mounding and spreading achieving an overall height of about two feet or so. It is not invasive as are other species found on the western side of the Cascades. Lydia is evergreen and will grow at a medium rate. If you desire to prune this cascading plant the time to do so is right after it blooms. Remove no more than one third of the overall size of the plant. When this wonderful plants springs into seasonal bloom (usually late April or May) you had better grab your sunglasses. “Holy Cow” might come up short in terms of exciting words used to express ones feelings as you gaze upon this plant. Vibrant screaming yellow tiny blooms cover the long slender grass like branches of this plant. Blooms usually last for weeks creating a GREAT stir in your neighborhood.
When planting make sure you amend the soil with liberal shovels of organic compost. I would also recommend about six to eight cups of our organic fertilizer “Cold Climate” which will feed the plant for an entire season as well as feeding the soil with microbes and Mycorrhizae.
In conclusion, all I can say is, you need to get out and plant one of these plants as soon as you can before they begin to bloom in the nursery. The Planting season is now, the plants are still dormant, and you will have set the tone for a GREAT day in your rock garden when Lydia does its colorful “Spring Dance”……………..Happy Planting
To purchase a bottle of salad dressing the same time you pick-up a package of “mixed” lettuce garden seed, is the sign of an optomistic gardener!
As a small child I do well remember my grandmother taking me by the hand and guiding me in the direction of my very first garden. Flowers were her love and joy in conjunction with the great outdoors. Living in the rural area of Oregon, Frenchglen to be exact was certainly a long way from the local garden center. Traditional garden seeds were hard to come by, but Grandma always seemed to have what she needed regardless of our distant location. Sweet Peas and Bachelor Buttons were two of her favorites. Easy to grow, tough as nails, and sure fire performers, helped make both of these flowers a great introduction to youthful gardening. Sweet peas quickly became a favorite of mine as they did so well in our restless chilly spring weather. She always had me soak the seeds overnight to hasten germination, plus she instructed me to roll the moistened seeds in this powdery black material. Later identified as legume seed innoculant, I have continued to use this product on all my bean and pea seeds. It improves overall plant vigor as well as increasing blossom and subsequent fruit set on this particular species of garden plants.
Sweet peas come in two types of plant growth habit. Low growing bush type, plus the traditional climbing vine variety. Since they do best in cool season growing conditions we always sowed the seed in early spring (April / May) thus providing a grand show of color and fragrance usually in the month of May. Once you have grown Sweet Peas and indulged in their wonderful pastel colors and sweet fragrance you will be hooked for a lifetime of enjoyment.
As you shop your local garden center for available seed you might just want to give a try to some of the many wonderful varieties. If you really get into it you will want to take a look at mail-order garden catalogs as well as internet sources due to their increased selections. I don’t think you will be disappointed with this new found friend of the early and cool garden. Many varieties will not only yield color to the picket fence but they make excellent cut flowers for indoor enjoyment. I have even sown a few seeds in a hanging basket to grace the early spring patio. You just might deliver one of these fragrant bouquets to a close friend of relative, causing an unexpected smile of delight.
Now is the time to sow this wonderful seed. Enjoy!!!
I was driving down a rural street the other day and as I came around a corner I was confronted with the spectacular beauty of a stellar early Spring bloomer. The striking azure gold colors of the blooms from the old and reliable “Forsythia” were a simple treat for my eyes. It reminded me of the importance of early spring color. May and June have an abundance of color that will light up ones landscape, but the colors of early spring are usualy colors that realy excite our late winter senses.
The Forsythia is a tough as nails plant and should do very well in most garden landscapes. There are dwarf (2′-3′) as well as traditional varieties (4′-7′) that should find a special place in some corner of your landscape. The flowers are born on new wood from last years growth so if you have a healthy and well pruned plant you should see a spectacle of color. Just remember to give a pruning to these plants “Just” after they bloom so as to stimulate lots of new growth which will bear next years spring blooms.
Although this family of plants will do well in poor soil I realy feel you owe it to the plant to give it a good start and well fed soil. Amend the planting site with ample shovels of good organic compost plus about ten cups of a good granular organic fertilizer (try our Cold Climate Organic). In goes the plant and you have set the stage for a ”Next Spring Spectacular’ . I find it an added treat to visit the garden a couple of weeks prior to bloom and clip a couple of branches for indoor forcing. My oh my what a treat this great plant is……….. You just have to love some of these “Early Spring Bloomers.
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Now is the time to visit your local garden center and inquire about “Flowering Quince”. The medium height of this tough as nails plant will light-up your landscape if you get it planted in time. Colors of blooms range from a chiffon pastel pink to an explosive dynamic red. Blooms occur before the foliage appears making a very dramatic statement especialy when the overall structure of the branchs offer a slightly different oriental look. A few select branches may be clipped prior to bloom and brought inside for “forcing’ if you desire. Leaves that follow the blooms are glossy green in nature offering a great backdrop for other later blooming plants. Most species have a few very sharp spines so be careful not to place them close to a walkway or where children might play. Prune after blooms fade if needed. Great as an espaliated plant! Very adaptable to soil types and moisture but will certainly give a more dramatic stature if offered good soil and ample moisture. What else can i say, this plant is GREAT and should find some special place in your landscape. Happy planting………. see ya in the garden
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Clematis : Many different varieties to choose from in a spectacular array of colors. From solids to bi-colors. Blooms will show from early spring to varieties that bloom summer and those that will bloom in the late summer. Blooming period is usually about a month or so.
How do I get my lawn going, is probably one of the most asked questions of late. With this thought in mind lets take a look at what we can do to hasten the green and shed the winter brown. As weather warms and the lawn begins to dry it might be good to do a deep watering of the entire lawn area. It is also advisable to to give the grass a good clipping going possbly shorter than in past seasons, however make sure you don’t “scalp” the crowns of the grass or it will be very slow to recover. Next I would have you aereate (get one of these big machines at a rental store) whole lawn area. Don’t be afraid to go over it several times. Upon completion if you are still not satisfied with the looks you may also rent a “thatcher” and give it another going over. As with the aereator make sure you don’t go to deep. Remove the debris and make a big pile for composting. The plugs especialy will make GREAT compost if you will just give the added effort instead of hauliing off to the landfill. Next step is appling the fertilizer. I STRONGLY recomend a blended organic nutritional package that would also contain natural “Microbes” and “Mychorizae”. Our “Cascade Natural” offered in 25# bags has got to be one of the finest on the market. This exceptional fertilizer will not only help in the natural breakdown of thatch but it won’t leach out of the soil and pollute the groundwaters. It will not contribute to salt build-up as do chemical fetilizers and it can potentally feed for the entire season. It will reduce the amount of water needed to keep your grass green, reduce if not completly eliminate disease problems, and it will slow down damage caused by insects. Many have found that they also mow their lawn less. I have watched with interest over many years the advantages of organic lawn maintenance and I am convinced of the results. It would also be great to apply a granular application of “Azomite”. Rich in calcium plus seventy some natural micronutrients this is a great product for creating healthy soils. If you have any bare spots on your lawn give them a good hard “steel” racking and apply a bucket or so of earthworm castings plus a pinch of lawn seed. Earthworm castings are also belived to be helpful in reducing the damage from “fairy ring” and “neurcrotic ring disease”. You may top-dress throughout the active growing season with this product. Deep water as needed (not ever other day) and you should start to show the green. When applying the Cascade Natural fertilizer make sure you don’t skimp…………… yes I know I am the one selliing it and you are spending your money plus doing the work), but if your lawn is in the trenches of “not so good looking” then you need to bite the bullet and give it your best. You might even want to consider reducing your overall lawn size so you can finacialy do a better job and have that big green smile. Always feel free to email me if you have addional ?’s. Doug
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As you get out into the yard and bigin your spring clean-up make sure what you do does not have to be done in repeat procedures throughout the season especially when it comes to weed. A good plan of prevention is a must unless you just love the exercise of bending and pulling. I would recommend that after you clear the area of weeds and grasses that you apply one of two granular products that will act as pre-emergence yet cause no harm to existing perennials. The products, ‘Weed and Grass Preventer” (Treflan) which is a synthetic granular product which we carry, and “Corn Weed Blocker” (a product made of natural corn by-products) an organic alternative, should offer you some very good relief from reoccurring weed sprouts. If the granules come in contact with existing perennials you should not have a problem as the product only affects un-sprouted seeds and sprouts. After applying the granular product to the target area I find it best to seal it all up by putting down at least three inches of organic compost. Water the area well which will release the product and you should stay pretty weed free for the entire season. Good Luck with the weeds.
