Chris Smith explains why some of your tomatoes may not ripen this year.

Ann Lovejoy says that plastic wrap can help you have a more bountiful harvest for several crops, tomatoes included.

Marty Wingate explains via personal experience why it is important to keep your city codes in mind when planning your landscape and gardens.

Ciscoe Morris says that hummingbirds love Mexican food! Too funny. Check it out toward the end of the page.

An interesting and timely book review on “Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape” by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden.

Here are some very cool tips on planting a garden with evening ambiance. Go ahead-get some romance going.

Check out this GORGEOUS new clematis. Its a deep, deep red. Valerie Easton tells us all about it.

For some it might be a dreaded word but the time has come…to get it done.

Thin those apples! Thin that corn! Thin those cukes! Thin the squash!

It breaks my heart and I know it breaks yours too. After all, you spend all that time and heart when preparing and planting and finally get to see some yield-and Flora says “Rule 1: Time to pull those plants!”

But don’t pull them all.

Of course, the purpose of thinning is to give your fruits and veggies needed room to grow to their largest, sweetest and best capacity. After all, it is much like giving birth to twins or multiples and having one being the smallest of all. The one with the most access to oxygen and nutrition grows the best so you don’t want to ruin your whole crop by refusing to weed a few out.

As mentioned in an earlier post, why not try and plant them elsewhere if it makes you feel better? Sometimes it works.

The apple tree above is in my front yard and the cluster needs reduced by at least 4-5 apples. In particular, the ones super close to each other need to go. This is the picture before we thinned yesterday and of course, my youngest had to taste and eat half of a thinned apple, even though I explained that it might make his stomach hurt (it did).

So that’s a second rule: don’t eat what you thin. They aren’t near ripe enough.

For most veggies in the ground, thin so that plants are 1-3 inches apart. As we discussed earlier in the week, if they are in containers, you can often get away with more plants closer to each other.

Questions? Please ask. Happy thinning!

Ideally, it is great to plant your veggies in larger pots so that transplanting is not necessary within their short season. In addition, many of them do not transplant well. But it worse comes to worse, and you would rather not thin and toss-you might want to throw a few in another pot instead and experiment. You may end up with more veggies that you planned on. If so, pass them off to family or neighbors who could surely use them with food costs rising-or give them to your local food bank.

We discussed one method of watering your rooftop container or patio plants. A reader commented on the fact that there are also sub-irrigation opportunities available. This means there are pots or a watering system in place where the plants soak their water up from the base of the plant instead of being watered from above. The downside seems to be a little more expensive set up and the potential disease issues with sitting water. Upside? You do save water, as the excess water for many systems is reused and it seems that even the plants stay in better condition when the force of water is not started from the top of the plant. We’ll discuss more about sub-irrigation in a later post.

Use fertilizer sparingly with your potted plants, remembering that there is not as much soil for the fertilizer to break down in. I have found in my organic growing efforts that my plants can get a recharge mid-season by just adding some of my homegrown soil with compost combined. Use worm compost? Even better. Add some more in mid-season.

As they grow, your plants may need staked, which is often an easier effort with containers versus in-ground rows. Beans grow really well with three stakes tied at the top. Tomatoes with a tomato cage from your local garden center. Even peas will climb on a tomato cage. Just a basic stick with ties often works as well.

Remember that the health of your plants will improve if you are eating the produce. Sound silly? I guess it does but what I meant to say is that the product you are growing needs to be picked. It weighs on your plant and prevents maximum growth of both plant and product. Keep ‘em picked and on the table for the best nutrition for you and your family-and the best health and lifespan of your plants.

Container plants can be nurtured with just your time and minimal effort but we have all heard people swear by music they play or sing. What do you think? Have you had more success with your plants using methods that others might think…unusual? Please share.

Container Gardening Tip #2

Container Gardening Tip #1

Rule Changes for Containers

Another fun challenge with container, rooftop or patio gardens is storage. As packing supplies and potting soil up the stairs can be not only be a daunting process, but bad for your back, it is time to think outside the roof.

Some patios or roofs, even with apartments, have a closet outside. If so, take advantage of that to store your gardening supplies. In our case, we have a built-in closet against the wall. It has a heavy slide door across which protects contents from the stormy weather that we often receive here in the northwest.

Planting material is an issue but if you think and plan ahead, you can save yourself a lot of hassle. Hire a muscle man or other help for the day and take the supplies that you will need to your container area in the beginning of the season. Take comfort in the fact that once the material is there, you can use many of the items year after year.

Garbage cans make good storage for dirt if you have room. So do large Rubbermaid containers. Another option I’ve seen is a home-made wooden bin with a lid on hinges. Either way, with most of the dirt already in your area, you can add in your compost and stir to create your own mix.

Have an empty garbage can on hand as well. Secure it in the winter. Before planting the next season, dump the dirt from some of last year’s pots into the empty one, add dirt from your home-made mix bin, add compost, stir with a shovel and replant.

If you need a tabletop, see if someone can fashion one that comes down from your wall on hinges and can be locked up and out of the way when not in use. Or buy a wall-mounted, fold up table or bench.

If you use rocks for setting plants in containers, get a bag to your space when you have the muscles available. The rocks can stay in their bag or go in a bucket or plastic container with a lid. Same with fertilizer. Label everything.

Keep a stiff broom and dustpan available in the area to quickly clean up dirt spills. A stiff broom also works well to move water from the surface of the deck/roof as needed.

Secure anything that is light (i.e. not filled with dirt) or weight it down. Especially if you have a roof garden. It’s not fun to wake up at night thinking that you have people rolling all over your roof when the wind is whipping in for a chill-down.

Container Gardening Tip #1-Watering

Rule Changes in Container Gardening

WATERING

Because some of our containers are on a rooftop, we had to rig up a different watering system for obvious reasons. It wasn’t practical to lug buckets up and down the stairs or sling a hose over the roof wall. Drainage was also a potential big problem with a flat roof prone to leaking here and there. Here’s how we solved it.

Water Spigot- My dad rigged a water spigot up on the roof to which we attached a hose. It works just like the ones on the ground around the house.

Plant Placement- After drilling holes in our plant containers, we propped them up with bricks underneath two opposite edges.

Water Catchers- To prevent water from hanging out on the roof too long, we purchased the flimsy, foil pans you find at grocery stores to slide underneath to catch the water. These can become mosquito havens so I empty them frequently.

Water Holes- We cut holes in the wall to allow the water to move off the roof. If you want to make the best use of this water, find a way to catch it below and reuse it. And when I empty the water catchers, I just tilt the pans toward the holes in the wall.

Rules Change for Containers

 I am excited to show you the beginnings of my mom’s rooftop container garden this year, because I want you to see how easy it can be to grow in small places, and even how some package directions should be ignored.

I’m not kidding.

I know, I know. Normally I am more of a stickler than that. But my mom, who can grow things well by just looking at them, is proof of the fact that the SEED PACKET AIN’T ALWAYS RIGHT.

Take for instance, her groupings of corn. They are numerous because she ignored the part on the seed packet that said “plant six inches apart”. When I asked if we should be thinning them, she said “no”. And lest you think that this will ruin her crop, I assure you that her crop supplies three plus families each year. Another example of ignoring space recommendations shows in her tomatoes, where she plants onions around each plant.

Sometimes, rules change a little in container gardening. And that is OK.

Another rule that she changed for containers is how much to water the plants. Although I have heard experts say that containers need more water-we actually water ours with less water because it is a flat roof (prone to leaks) and we have to empty the trays underneath each plant that collect the water. We may, however, be watering a little more often than our ground counterparts so perhaps it equals out.

Ongoing, I will share some specific tips that work for us in our rooftop container gardens. Please share tips if you have any in the comments section.

A 16 mile garden tour in Nehlalem is scheduled from 10AM-4PM tomorrow to help support CASA of Tillamook County. CASA is the organization that trains and supports community volunteers to speak for the best interests of children who are victims of neglect and abuse. They make recommendations in court regarding safe and nurturing homes. The National CASA program has a “Forgotton Child Program” that supports foster children and is endorsed by Dr Phil McGraw.

So what can be better than having a garden tour AND supporting the kids in our communitities? Not much in my book. The tour includes residential landscapes in many venues. There is also a garden art sale and refreshments along the route. Craft booths are also available. And, you can purchase a map for the garden tour at the the CASA space within the Celebration of Crafts event in downtown.

Bring the whole family to Nehalem for this treat and make sure to get in a trip to the beach while you are there. There are also plenty of unique shops along the way and salt water taffy by the handful.

See you there!

I just discovered Cana’s Feast Winery in Carlton, Oregon. They have a host of both scheduled events and events that you can schedule as you need them. That second option makes a great opportunity to use the facilities in a unique way-like a party or reception. You can schedule:

Antipasti & Wine Tasting

Casual. Wine pairing and education, appetizers
Date: Schedule a date
Price: $30 to $45 per person
Number of people range: 30 to 45
Great for wedding and anniversary receptions, birthday or holiday parties, social mixers, wine education, business awards or promotion events
  

Cocktail Party

Casual to dressy stand up party, served with appetizers.
Date: Schedule a date
Price: $40 to $60 per person
Number of people range: 20 to 80
Great for wedding or anniversary receptions, social mixers, holiday parties and business retirement or award parties. You set the level of formality.

Formal Coursed Dinner

Customized menu, formal, sit-down meal served in courses
Date: Schedule a date
Price: Starts at $65 per person
Number of people range: 20 to 30
Great for rehearsal dinners, anniversary or birthday parties, business awards or retirement dinners.

Here are some upcoming events at the winery that are scheduled and just waiting for your reservation:

SHARED TABLE DINNER

Date: Saturday, July 12; 6 pm
Price: $50 per person not including wine and gratuity
The menu will include Pork Rillettes with Roasted Cherry Chutney and Crostini; Fazzoletti with Local Zucchini, Fresh Marjoram, Lemon and Parmigiano-Reggiano; Carlton Farms Roasted Whole Rib Eye with Oil-Cured Tomato Compound Butter and Gorgonzola-Basil Mashed Potatoes; Raspberry Truffle Tart.

DEMONSTRATION COOKING CLASS

Date: July 19; 6 pm
Price: $80 per person
“How To Grill Like a Pro” ~ Class includes dinner, wine and recipes. Each course will be served after it is completed and paired with a tasting of an appropriately paired wine.

CASUAL FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER

Date: July 25; reservations from 5 - 8:30 pm
Price: order off a menu
Appetizers starting at $5 with entrees ranging anywhere from $12 - $18. Our wines will be available for pairing with your meal. Come out for an enjoyable Friday night!

Did I mention that they also have a beautiful garden? Go forth-and enjoy the food, wine and plants.

Dear Flora:

I would like to fill a bed with some really pretty and very fragrant flowers. Do you have any suggestions for the Northwest?

-Parfumed

Dear Parfumed:

The Carnation, or the Dianthus, is the perfect choice and they grow very well here in our climate.  Their colors vary greatly, but are mostly pastel, and their beautiful fragrance is second to none.  They need cool weather (yay-we can do that) but full sun.  You will need to plan ahead, and sow them in the spring but they bloom during the summer.  They like very well-drained soil that is slightly alkaline and hybrids need richer soil.  If you take off the side blooms, you will have larger flowers but you may prefer to keep them small. Just a heads up-they will be smaller than the florist’s variety-even when you pinch off blooms to make them larger.

~Flora

Dear Flora :

Are there any vegetables that are perennials?

-Wanting a Change

Dear Wanting a Change:

The three most common ones are Rhubarb, Asparagus and Strawberries. They are all fun to plant, eat and not have to plant again! And of course strawberries will fill out an area (and then some) and become more vibrant each year. Be aware that strawberries like a break-therefore if they have a great year the next year will produce lower gains. And although there are many recipes for rhubarb goodies, not all of them will taste great so prepare to experiment.

~Flora

Well, if you are anything like me, throughout the past few weeks I have been in and out of my shed more and more as I cultivate, plant, weed, water more and (yes) experiment with my plants, the less organized that I am. All this activity reeks havoc with my supplies. OK-now where did I put those shears?

After looking for my gloves not once, not twice, but three times this week-I am making more of an effort to be more organized with my garden supplies. Here are some tools that are helping me and might help you too:

1. A hanging over-the-door or flat against the wall shoe organizer makes a great tool caddy. Don’t bother with labeling-just use each section for a different tool.
2. Potting soil and planters are stacked on shelves or under a table.
3. Watering cans/larger items used more often are placed closer and more convenient to my working area.
4. Fertilizer and/or other chemicals are on the highest shelf away from kids and animals.
5. Seeds are organized in a square Tupperware container by type with no lid. I also have learned to write the year I bought them on the outside of the packet since most aren’t good the next growing year.
6. Seeds/Cuttings that I am cultivating get the shelf in the sun.
7. My gardening books have a special shelf inside on my bookcase.

I will admit that for me, much of my disorganization lies in “dropping and running”, and not picking up as I go. So here are some new organizational habits that I am implementing in my life and might also help you:

1. I am refusing to drop and run. It only takes a second to put something away and I figure if I do it enough, it will become a habit. (I hope).
2. I am refusing to let my table that I plant/transplant on become cluttered with anything unrelated to the project at hand. And when each project is done, I clear it completely. No exceptions. (Hope this one lasts).

Obviously, I have more confidence in my organizational do-dads than my new resolutions but as I mentioned, I am hopeful that the more I do it-the easier it will become. Everything has its place, right?

Help me out here. Do you have organizational tools/ideas for your supplies? Please comment and let me know.