âSuit your plants to your soil, rather than creating soil to suit your plants.â Thatâs what Paul Bonine tells me. Heâs the co-owner of Xera Plants, in Portland, Oregon, and author of the upcoming Gardening in the Pacific NorthwestâA Complete Homeowners Guide. The results of following his advice? Weâd all experience less struggle, less work, […]
The aspen trees have moved from shining beacons on the mountainsides to puddles of gold beneath the trees; greenhouses — retail and residential — are being cleaned out, and pumpkins, turkeys and sugar plum fairies are dancing in shoppersâ heads. The holiday season is upon us. In 1574, Nicolas Monardes, a Spanish man of letters, […]
I talked with Michele Keith about her greenhouse in Wyoming. Micheleâs property, which is close to the eastern edge of Yellowstone, is 6,000 feet above sea level and in hardiness zone 4, so it gets very cold in winter. She had 36â of snowfall a week or so before our talk. But cold is not […]
Growing potatoes in your greenhouse may not seem very exciting or even particularly worthwhile. After all, you can buy a bag of spuds for a few dollars. But imagine growing high-value fingerlings such as Russian Banana, Rose Finn, or Blossom. These can be hard to find in a grocery store, especially during winter. And they […]
In northern parts of America greenhouse owners are just now starting tomato plants from seed ready for the new season. Under lights on the heat mat I have some fifteen varieties growing. These will be transplanted into larger pots until they are ready for my garden and the gardens of friends. But often tomato varieties […]
For greenhouse owners and gardeners in the Carolinas and Georgia, here is some disturbing news: Some tomato plants in Beaufort County, South Carolina, have recently been infected with late blight disease, the same highly infectious scourge that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. Tomatoes and potatoes are related species, both belonging to the […]
Grafted what? OK, as home gardeners, most of us are familiar with grafting apples, roses or grapes for disease resistance and vigor. But right now, around the worldâfrom Japan to India, Israel to Greece and New Zealandâcommercial growers are grafting hybrid rootstocks (bottoms) to single-season scions (tops) like watermelons, eggplants or tomatoes. Within a few […]
This is the year of the vegetable gardenâfrom the White House to local front lawnsâeveryone is planting crops. However, even seasoned gardeners can have disappointments with veggies. So I asked my friend, Rose Marie Nichols McGee, owner/ president of Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon, what to do about the most common edible errors. Rose […]
You know those social media postings where a friend invites you to put up one favorite photo a day on some subject, without any label or caption? Just post a pretty picture. Itâs harmless fun and you get to see some places and things you wouldnât otherwise (all in the best possible taste, of course!). […]
In the colder months, birds bring color and motion to gardens at rest, whether you watch them from a kitchen window or enjoy their antics through the glass of a cozy greenhouse. When I have questions about feeding my winged denizens, I turn to Dan Gleason, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Eugene. Dan taught […]
