DIG THIS by Peg Tillery (for 10-29-08)
Here's a free class on rhododendron care. The Kitsap Chapter of the American Rhododendron Club presents a "hands on" rhododendron maintenance workshop at 9 a.m. on Saturday November 1 at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church on Bainbridge Island. The class is free. Bring gloves and hand pruners. For more information contact Carol 360-271-4409 or Lynn 206-842-5464.
Congratulations to the WSU Extension Kitsap Master Gardener 2008 graduating class: Fred and Marlene Abrahamson, Roger Bacon, Carolyn Berger, Eugene Brennan, Jade Castillo, Carolyn Chinn, Ron Cleveland, Judy Cole-Martin, Leslee Conner, Laureen Davis, Cherry Edwards, Luba Fetterman, Michelle Gouin, Celia Grether, Ingrid Harper, Ted Hoppin, DJ Jacobson, Jessica Kendrena, Steven Kimbrough, Judith Martin, Gregg Peterson, Georgie Pulliam, Marilyn Raynor, Robbin Small, Pat Steele, Merry Stever, Lisa Stowers, Nancy Taylor, Tish Treherne, Ann Varley, Denise Walsh, Diane Watrous and Lisa-Marie Wilson. These dedicated volunteers each completed 72 hours of instruction in horticulture, plus contributed 50 hours or more of educational outreach and service to their communities.
It's not too early to think about making holiday wreaths for ourselves or to give as gifts. The annual Holiday Open House at Bainbridge Gardens is Saturday November 15 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. As a gift back to the community, the nursery features a coupon good for 40 percent off on anything the nursery has for sale. That includes trellises, fountains, large trees - a host of temptations. You can also sign up to use the wreath maker. Demonstrations are Saturday, November 22 at 11 a.m., Sunday November 23 at 1 p.m. and Wednesday December 3 at 11 a.m.
Valley Nursery's Christmas Preview Party is Friday through Sunday, November 21-23. Visit http://www.valleynurseryinc.com/calendar/default.asp for a month by month listing of activities at the nursery. Valley now has a heated, comfortable classroom in the house on the site. You can also attend wreath making demonstrations and sign up to use their wreath maker. Visit http://www.valleynurseryinc.com/classes.htm for a listing of winter workshops at the nursery.
Both Valley and Bainbridge Gardens recommend reserving the wreath maker soon. Call Valley at 360-779-3806 and Bainbridge Gardens at 206-842-5888. Both nurseries have wreath greenery available for purchase or you can bring your own. If you bring your own greenery it's recommended the branches are cut in 18-inch or shorter pieces. Remember too to pick up after yourself and take your leftover greenery home with you. Dress for the weather (in layers) and bring gloves and hand pruners. Make it a party with friends and have lunch at the New Rose Café at Bainbridge Gardens or from Valley Nursery head in to Poulsbo for lunch at one of the enticing restaurants.
This is also the perfect time of year to haunt all our local nurseries with gift shops. Here are a host of them to peruse: Country Nursery and Gardens (Seabeck Highway), Clear Creek Nursery (Clear Creek Road), Peninsula Gardens (Gig Harbor), Rosedale Nursery (Gig Harbor), Bremerton City Nursery (Adele, West Bremerton), Cooleen Gardens (Perry Avenue, East Bremerton), Sacks Feed and Garden (Kingston), Savage Plants (Kingston), Valley Nursery (Poulsbo), Bainbridge Gardens (Bainbridge Island) and Bay Hay (Bainbridge Island). You'll be amazed and charmed at the abundant temptations and unique finds, many at very affordable prices. You'll also be supporting our locally owned businesses and the green industry.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Books for Gardeners
DIG THIS by Peg Tillery (for 10-22-08)
When the weather turns nippy it's always a nice respite to linger indoors with a few good books on garden related topics. Here are four books you may want to find and peruse. You may even want to check them out at our Kitsap Regional Library first and then head out to your favorite local bookstore to purchase one of all of them.
"The Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch (Workman Publishing, ISBN 9780761122753) has been "completely revised." Damrosch lives and gardens in Harborside, Maine with her husband at Four Season Farm, which is also their sustainable agriculture business. The book contains 819 pages filled to the brim with information about every phase of gardening from pretty and enjoyable ornamental plants along with plants providing food.
This is a no-nonsense yet charming book, illustrated with black and write drawings. Every page is crammed with information, tips and facts. The illustrations are appealing and easy to understand. Damrosch tells how to select and grow more than 370 plants, including the many variations of these plants. Very factual statements are woven into quaint stories from a true gardener's perspective. Reading the book is akin to sitting at a table talking with your own favorite gardening guru. "The Garden Primer" is a book you'll refer to again and again.
I think my gardening buddy, Fay Linger, told me about a book called "Insects of the Pacific Northwest" by Peter Haggard and Judy Haggard (Timber Press, ISBN 9780881926897). It describes more than 450 species of the most visible insects in our gardens. Butterflies and moths, along with their larva, are illustrated through more than 600 excellent color photographs. Insects are grouped by their order and family. The range covered in the book is southwestern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and northern California, from "coast to the mountains, from wetlands to high desert," says the book jacket.
"Insects of the Pacific Northwest" is sized perfectly to fit into a backpack. Page edges are colored for easy access in locating specific insect sections. Each insect description includes the plants these creatures like to munch on, where their eggs can be found and what time of year to look for the insects in our gardens. This book is a must have. You'll leaf again and again through all 295 pages of this excellent reference book.
An oldie but goodie "Bugs of Washington and Oregon" by John Acorn and Ian Sheldon (Lone Pine ISBN 1551052334) came out several years ago. This too is a great field guide, sized to live in a back pack or on a desk at the ready. This small paperback, 160 pages in length, is appealing to adults and youngsters. The illustrations are quite realistic. We've used this book numerous times in the Extension Office to identify insect specimens brought in to the Bremerton office.
Many home gardeners are beginning to raise chickens. Check first to make sure the regulations in your area allow raising chickens. If it is permitted you will want to find "Keeping Chickens" by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis (David & Charles, ISBN 0715325671). Every page is illustrated with color photographs. Instructions are given from start to finish, explaining how to select, raise, house and care for chickens. There's even a section on how to make various crafts using chicken eggs and feathers. There's even a section on how to enter chickens in fairs. Information is also provided showing a wide selection of chicken houses and coops. This is a very user friendly, concise and complete book.
When the weather turns nippy it's always a nice respite to linger indoors with a few good books on garden related topics. Here are four books you may want to find and peruse. You may even want to check them out at our Kitsap Regional Library first and then head out to your favorite local bookstore to purchase one of all of them.
"The Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch (Workman Publishing, ISBN 9780761122753) has been "completely revised." Damrosch lives and gardens in Harborside, Maine with her husband at Four Season Farm, which is also their sustainable agriculture business. The book contains 819 pages filled to the brim with information about every phase of gardening from pretty and enjoyable ornamental plants along with plants providing food.
This is a no-nonsense yet charming book, illustrated with black and write drawings. Every page is crammed with information, tips and facts. The illustrations are appealing and easy to understand. Damrosch tells how to select and grow more than 370 plants, including the many variations of these plants. Very factual statements are woven into quaint stories from a true gardener's perspective. Reading the book is akin to sitting at a table talking with your own favorite gardening guru. "The Garden Primer" is a book you'll refer to again and again.
I think my gardening buddy, Fay Linger, told me about a book called "Insects of the Pacific Northwest" by Peter Haggard and Judy Haggard (Timber Press, ISBN 9780881926897). It describes more than 450 species of the most visible insects in our gardens. Butterflies and moths, along with their larva, are illustrated through more than 600 excellent color photographs. Insects are grouped by their order and family. The range covered in the book is southwestern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and northern California, from "coast to the mountains, from wetlands to high desert," says the book jacket.
"Insects of the Pacific Northwest" is sized perfectly to fit into a backpack. Page edges are colored for easy access in locating specific insect sections. Each insect description includes the plants these creatures like to munch on, where their eggs can be found and what time of year to look for the insects in our gardens. This book is a must have. You'll leaf again and again through all 295 pages of this excellent reference book.
An oldie but goodie "Bugs of Washington and Oregon" by John Acorn and Ian Sheldon (Lone Pine ISBN 1551052334) came out several years ago. This too is a great field guide, sized to live in a back pack or on a desk at the ready. This small paperback, 160 pages in length, is appealing to adults and youngsters. The illustrations are quite realistic. We've used this book numerous times in the Extension Office to identify insect specimens brought in to the Bremerton office.
Many home gardeners are beginning to raise chickens. Check first to make sure the regulations in your area allow raising chickens. If it is permitted you will want to find "Keeping Chickens" by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis (David & Charles, ISBN 0715325671). Every page is illustrated with color photographs. Instructions are given from start to finish, explaining how to select, raise, house and care for chickens. There's even a section on how to make various crafts using chicken eggs and feathers. There's even a section on how to enter chickens in fairs. Information is also provided showing a wide selection of chicken houses and coops. This is a very user friendly, concise and complete book.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cover Crops and Bulb Planting Tips
DIG THIS by Peg Tillery (for 10-15-08)
If you grow vegetables in your garden or if you have bare land that you're not yet ready to landscape, try putting in some cover crops. September and early October is the time to sow cover crops. Cover crops help hold the soil together and nourish the soil for spring planting. They're often called "green manure" because they serve the same purpose by returning nutrients to the soil.
Local nurseries and feed stores carry cover crop seeds for planting this time of year. You'll usually find information along with the seeds suggesting the quantities to plant and which seeds serve particular purposes. In our area many gardeners plant white or crimson clover, fava beans, vetch, rye and legumes. These crops will germinate in cooler temperatures so you still have time to plant.
They're also very easy to plant. Remove and compost spent debris from the area you'll be cover cropping. Lightly rake up the garden soil and then sprinkle the seeds as evenly as possible all over the area. A little goes a surprisingly long way. Usually one to four ounces of seed (depending on the variety) covers 1000 square feet. Then lightly rake in again. Do not cover the seeds up with additional soil. For some reason the birds don't seem to bother the seeds very much.
Water in if we don't receive rain. Seeds begin sprouting in a few days. The greenery covers the soil fairly fast. If we have a mild winter you may have to whack the vegetation down as early as January or February. This can be done using a lawnmower, weed whacker or scythe. But usually in March through April you'll be chopping the vegetation down, letting it lay on top of the soil for a week or more and then turning it all into the soil with a shovel or spading fork. These nitrogen rich plant parts turn into nearly instant compost in the soil. Some years you'll have to turn the cover crop and soil mixture under a few times. Then, in May and June at planting time your new vegetable seeds and plantings will receive a nitrogen rich start in the garden.
This is also the time to put bulbs in the ground. Local nurseries and retailers have bulbs readily available for us to purchase and plant. For years I'd purchase bulbs and then wait so long into late fall and winter that I'd have to go outside in really chilly weather to plant in December or January. It was not fun. Over the last few years, I've taken the really easy way out. I've planted bulbs in containers in October and November instead. Then in the spring, when the bulbs are done blooming, I remove them from the container and plant them in the ground when the weather is more conducive to being outside lingering in the garden.
When planting bulbs in containers, try the layering method. Bulbs come in all sizes. Usually the bigger the bulb the taller the plant will be. You can layer bulbs into container plantings. Try large yellow daffodils on the bottom layer with tiny grape hyacinth on the top layer. Think parfait using two to four different sized bulbs. Visit your favorite nursery and ask the staff for their favorite bulb combinations.
If you grow vegetables in your garden or if you have bare land that you're not yet ready to landscape, try putting in some cover crops. September and early October is the time to sow cover crops. Cover crops help hold the soil together and nourish the soil for spring planting. They're often called "green manure" because they serve the same purpose by returning nutrients to the soil.
Local nurseries and feed stores carry cover crop seeds for planting this time of year. You'll usually find information along with the seeds suggesting the quantities to plant and which seeds serve particular purposes. In our area many gardeners plant white or crimson clover, fava beans, vetch, rye and legumes. These crops will germinate in cooler temperatures so you still have time to plant.
They're also very easy to plant. Remove and compost spent debris from the area you'll be cover cropping. Lightly rake up the garden soil and then sprinkle the seeds as evenly as possible all over the area. A little goes a surprisingly long way. Usually one to four ounces of seed (depending on the variety) covers 1000 square feet. Then lightly rake in again. Do not cover the seeds up with additional soil. For some reason the birds don't seem to bother the seeds very much.
Water in if we don't receive rain. Seeds begin sprouting in a few days. The greenery covers the soil fairly fast. If we have a mild winter you may have to whack the vegetation down as early as January or February. This can be done using a lawnmower, weed whacker or scythe. But usually in March through April you'll be chopping the vegetation down, letting it lay on top of the soil for a week or more and then turning it all into the soil with a shovel or spading fork. These nitrogen rich plant parts turn into nearly instant compost in the soil. Some years you'll have to turn the cover crop and soil mixture under a few times. Then, in May and June at planting time your new vegetable seeds and plantings will receive a nitrogen rich start in the garden.
This is also the time to put bulbs in the ground. Local nurseries and retailers have bulbs readily available for us to purchase and plant. For years I'd purchase bulbs and then wait so long into late fall and winter that I'd have to go outside in really chilly weather to plant in December or January. It was not fun. Over the last few years, I've taken the really easy way out. I've planted bulbs in containers in October and November instead. Then in the spring, when the bulbs are done blooming, I remove them from the container and plant them in the ground when the weather is more conducive to being outside lingering in the garden.
When planting bulbs in containers, try the layering method. Bulbs come in all sizes. Usually the bigger the bulb the taller the plant will be. You can layer bulbs into container plantings. Try large yellow daffodils on the bottom layer with tiny grape hyacinth on the top layer. Think parfait using two to four different sized bulbs. Visit your favorite nursery and ask the staff for their favorite bulb combinations.
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