In our effort to interact/network with other businesses, Josh and I traveled south to Cottage Grove to visit Sustainable Agricultural Technologies, Inc. They specialize in vermicomposting (worm compost) and compost tea systems. Our friend, Michelle, works there and invited us down to see what was going on and see how we could use this in our business. The owner Bruce Elliott used to build destruction proof mailboxes. He grew tired of all the angry people calling to complain about the people who were smashing mailboxes and moved on to something new. Interested in vermicomposting, (worm composting) he called a guy in the San Juan Islands who built a worm bin called a worm wigwam
Today is the day to add some structure to your garden. It is January and a good time to get in the larger plants that you may have forgotten about or neglected to plant in the fall. By structure in your garden I mean the larger plants that have a year round presence. If you are lacking a bit of piazza in your garden and notice it this month it may mean you need a few more plants that look great year round. It’s a sunny, balmy day here in Pleasant Hill, Oregon and a good day to pick out a few evergreens or maples or sweet osmanthus. A rhododendron or two will add this element, the evergreen leaves and the buds that are appearing now and a lighter green dimension to the plant, almost like an ornament, or how about some brilliant nandina, with the red foliage lighting up the green backdrop. If you are inclined to add more edible plants how about a blueberry or three, some blueberries you will find are evergreen and some of the deciduous varieties have brilliant stem colors in shades of red and bright green. A visit to a nursery will give you some ideas if you don’t already have one and you are welcome here to poke around in the ‘off season’ to fill up a place in your garden that needs a little January kick. We look forward to seeing you.
I stopped in the Creswell Café yesterday afternoon for a treat of fruit salad. Paul the owner popped in and we talked about how well his trees, from Pleasant Hill Nursery, were doing. We talked quite a bit before he choose his six trees, discussing how to plant them, where they were to go and what varieties would be best for the site. He came here, I went there, Dave delivered the trees and showed him how to remove them from the big pots.
Now is the time to harvest and prune your lavender plants. What a fragrant job! For some folks this is the culmination of a year of growing and the harvest bringing in flowers, which then turn into sachets, bundles, wreaths and oils. For the home gardener it may mean filling the house with bouquets of sweet scent that will last throughout the winter as a reminder of the sunny summer days.
To prune lavender I use two tools, a hand scythe and hand hedge pruners. I harvest the flowers with the scythe and then shape
It’s hard to get people to agree on nearly anything, including plants. We all have our favorite plants yet what we love can be a nightmare for others. For me it’s getting to know a person, place, plant or T. V. show, which allows me to make a decision on how I feel about them. I do make snap judgments, sometimes this is necessary, but I have found slowly learning to get to know things helps me make a more informed decision. We recently received a strong reaction back about one of our plant of the weeks. Many things I liked and admired about the plant were not at all appreciated by this reader. Fair enough.
PHN Growers Blog
