Archive for April, 2009

Plant only certified seed stock:     This will reduce the potential for disease and possibly increase yields. If the seed stock is large and there are multiple “eyes” on the stock you may wish to cut into multiple starts. Just make sure there are at least two to three eyes on each. It is wise to dust the fresh cut with sulfur and place in a cool, dry, dark, frost free area to allow the fresh-cut surface to cure.

It is important to note that small certified stock does not mean you will get small potatoes!

Use no manure in your potato planting area as it will increase the incidence the likelihood of “scab”

When planting your potatoes in our unique soil I would advise to amend the soil with organic compost at a ratio of one part compost to 2 paarts soil. Place the potato about three to four inches into the soil. Dust area with soil sulfur and add a small shovel of fir mulch. This practice will help keep your harvested crop free of potato disease.

Once the sprout has emerged it is common practice to “hill” the plant. This is achieved by mounding up the soil over the top of the emerging growth. You may do this a couple of times as the plant continues to grow

Early sneak harvests of small baby potatoes can begin in about two months. The BIG harvest will be later in the early fall once the frost has knocked down the foliage. Dig away and enjoy your bounty……. Doug

     Ahhhhhh you just have to love the wonderful sunny days we are having of late. Just about everyone is out sowing seed and setting out transplants of all tough ones. Cabbbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and all the other leafy green goodies. Onion sets are lining out in rows as well as garlic, shallots, and leeks. My oh my the gardeners of the area are smiling and the tillers are tilling away!!!!

     If you are looking to plant some berries you will want to check out your local garder centers as soon as you can. Starts of raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries should be in good supply. Redmond greenhouse also has starts of blackberries, rhubarb, and asparagus if you are in the planting mood. Make sure to dig a lot of compost into the area that you are going to plant in. Our “Cold Climate” organic fertilizer is also a GREAT bet in regards to nutrition. We will be getting in two more bunches of Walla Walla onions if you are interested… Plant now or forever be so sad!!!!! We also have some of the greatest onion and garlic sets I have ever seen.

      If you are looking for fruit trees our selection just got a bit better. Some great cherries, peaches and apricots if your orchard is a bit shy…. If you want to plant a flowering tree on your property you may want to shift into high gear. Our selection is the best ever and NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      If you plan to treat your trees with a systemic insecticide the time is N O W !!!! Our liquid drench will do the trick and last for up to a year.

      For pond people our Microbe-Lift product “Spring/Summer” start-up kit is in stock and ready to help you out

Enjoy the season and the warm weather it is giving us…………………… just remember that we are living in Central Oregon and the snow is still on Black Butte……………….. happy spring………………. Doug

     As I gazed out the kitchen window on this chilly frosty morning, I realized my daughter’s early planting of garden basil was nothing but a memory………. Off and on as I watched the mercury dip throughout the night I had also forgotten about her “very” early planting of this very frost sensative herb. Low and behold when the temp drops to upper teens basil hits the compost pile in a hurry. As of this writing I am not sure if her tomato plant survived or not. It is planted very close to the foundation of our house so it may survive.  We both shed a frosty tear and vowed to be more cautious in the future, but alas we are both devoted gardeners and when spring comes our trowels just seem to head for the door ….. with or without us. We do however keep ample tissues in our gardening tool box for such sad events…….  Hope your garden is doing okay………

During the past six months or so I have read a couple of garden tidbits that revel in the fact that crab meal just might offer a spot of protection in regards to soil nematodes and or root maggots. Many a veggie gardener have run into problems with these pesky soil wigglers. It does not make a gardener smile when you pull a sweet onion out of the ground only to see the smiling face of tiny worm sticking out of your harvest. Most folks are not real happy if they have to contemplate the use of some pesticide to help control this common garden problem……. so with that in mind the “possibility” of some control with the use of crab meal is truely an exciting find. In my thoughts it may be working on the same principle as that of diatomaceous earth. I do know for sure that it will not be of harm to add it to garden beds. the nutritional benefit of this product is just plain fantastic. I have used it off and on for several years in combo with the organic fertilizer “Cold Climate”. I just scratch both of these products into the rows I am planting and the job of nutrition is done for the full season…. 

Happy Spring and Happy Planting…………. See ya out in the garden             Doug

The race is on between the pussy willow, the flowering quince, and the Pink Dawn viburnum……. which one will pop the early spring buds the earliest. Ahhhhhhhhhh the wonders of spring and the great feelings that accompany the great time of the year. Early gardeners are now actively sowing seed of spinach, garden peas, and setting out garden starts of cabbage, broccoli and celery.

On occasion I have heard a few folks complain about the weather…..”where is spring”….. a little cold wind, a spot of snow, a very cold morning, etc……… I just smile and say, Welcome to Spring in the high desert. If we had what might be called a lovely spring arrival, it just would not be Central Oregon. It is just a matter of adjusting our thoughts in terms of the definition “Central Oregon Spring”. The simple adjustment of our mental image will then put a smile on our face and we then can say….. Spring is here!!!!