Gardenig in state Oregon. Tips & Guides

No surprise that Corvallis, Oregon-based Peace Seedlings is an offshoot of his work, the undertaking of Alan and Linda Kapuler’s youngest daughter, Dylana, and her partner, Mario DiBenedetto.I got my new-favorite beet, 3 Root Grex, from Peace last season; you might recall my article about that multi-colored wonder. Now

As I told my six-friend panel, I have four such transport devices, each that has stood up to many years of rough use:one large and one medium Vermont Cart (wood, oversize spoked tires, removable end panel); one aluminum-frame Smart Cart with similar tires, aluminum frame, and removable high-density polyethylene tub that can be used as a soil-mixing vessel; one single-tire, 6-cubic-foot True Temper r

He also publishes what is “famously the world’s latest seed catalog” to drop each year, but he’s making no excuses. While other companies are sending out theirs, the Mortons are harvesting the seed those companies ordered from Wild Garden. I’ve gleaned a few of Morton’s plant lessons: about calendula, beneficial insects, and how home gardeners wanting to know just which lettuce to grow can set up their very own seed trial.FRANK MORTON, whose certified-organic Wild Garden Seed farmland is in Philomath, Oregon, grew salad for 18 years for restaurants, “and that’s when I did my breeding,” he recalls. “I had thousands of seeds and plants going and suddenly there was a red one—an accidental cross between a red Romaine and a green oakleaf. But when I saved its seed, I didn’t get red ones, but traits from both parents.”A lettuce breeder was born.“Basically I learned from the lettuce where new varieties come from.”

I BOUGHT A PACKET of ‘Sugar Magnolia’ from Oregon-based Peace Seedlings a few months back, just one of what the company calls it many “woddities” (as in wonderful oddities). The first purple-podded snap pea to be introduced is the result of 15 years of breeding by Dr. Alan Kapuler, father to one of the Peace Seedlings proprietors. This is a vigorous grower—to about 8 feet—and has beautiful purple flowers, too.  The pods are tasty; sweet enough, if not the sweetest of all, maybe, but so stunning in a salad, in particular, that I am hooked.  I expect this variety will continue to evolve under Kapuler’s watchful eye, and I’ll be watching, too. (My recent interview with Peace Seedlings.)a big, sweet snow pea, ‘schweizer riesen’IF I COULD ONLY GROW one pea (perish that thought!) I suspect it would be ‘Schweizer Riesen,’ a Swiss heirloom snow pea that produces oversized green peas (above) on vigorous, tall, purple-flowered vines (below). I’ve never been much of a snow-pea person, but this one changed me, when I was introduced to it a couple of years ago by the biodynamic seed company called Turtle Tree Seed, whe

IF YOU DON’T HEAR FROM ME for a month or three, don’t worry: I simply got lost on a magical mystery tour of the Horizon Herbs website and catalog, a global collection that the Cech family of Williams, Oregon, has been growing organically and selling since 1985.  I’ve purchased some gift certificates to share with you—but most exciting, I had the pleasure of a Q&A with Horizon founder and herbalist/seedsman Richo Cech, on matters ranging from the world’s basils to medicinal Eastern woodland wildflowers.

I WON’T tell you much about “The Signature of All Things,” the novel due out October 1 from Elizabeth Gilbert that I read in galley form this summer, except this: The backdrop of this historical tale is brilliantly botanical, and you can download the first chapter free right now, by clicking here.  (More on this great read after publication, including a giveaway of some copies I’ve pre-ordered to share with you.)how-to: canning whole peeled tomatoesI SAID I’ve been making tomato sauce to freeze, but perhaps you are thinking about canning whole peeled tomatoes. I love this simple how-to in photos and words from the Food in Jars’ website author, Marisa McClellan. Note that she has updated her processing times since she first published the how-to in 2009. Total time in the hot-water bath or pressure canner is always under discussion, even among experts on food safety. Other references to compare to, for the range of th

Bob was VP of Horticulture at Brooklyn Botanic Garden before opening Loomis Creek Nursery a few minutes’ drive from me about 10 years ago.  He has since relocated to Portland, Oregon, and debuted a new container-garden business in 2013 in South Portland. It’s a 4,500-square-foot indoor-outdoor pop-up shop specializing in great containers, ready-to-go pot designs, and plants for containers, too, in collaboration with the until-now-wholesale-only growers at Xera Plants. (Bob still designs gardens, too–in a pot or not!)‘keep it simple’ doesn’t mean boringLET GO OF THE “IDEAL” that is so often seen in books, magazines, catalogs—the notion that you can have 7 or 9 or 10 kinds of plants in one container “all perfectly blooming in unison and perfectly coiffed,” as Bob describes this semi-fantasy.Let go of the notion, too, that annuals are exclusively what belong in pots.

Now Joseph Tychonievich, the sought-after Michigan-based garden writer and author, has confidence-building advice for me in his just-out book, “Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style.” Joseph is also author of “Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener.”Read along as you listen to the Oct. 24, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).my rock-garden q&a with joseph tychonievichQ. How did you get the rock-garden bug? Did you catch it in your time working at Arrowhead Alpi

And that’s where the seed for ‘Liebesapfel’—the pepper that began Sarah Kleeger and Andrew Still’s fast-growing Capsicum annuum collection—arrived from, or more specifically, Germany via Denmark.On their first Seed Ambassadors trip to search out potentially Northern-adapted seed from Europe in 2006, Sarah and Andrew carried ‘Liebesapfel’ (left) back to the New World themselves—tho

The “black” tomatoes (more brownish-purple than anything near black) often have a flavor that’s described as smoky, or earthy. You may have grown ‘Black Krim’ and ‘Cherokee Purple’—two very good ones—and now I’m eyeing ‘Carbon,’ which people are talking about. Same with ‘Paul Robeson,’ a tomato with a great taste (and a great story).Want a black cherry tomato to mix things up in the salad bowl (that link will take you to one, as will this one)? Thinking larger, and darker: At the extreme of dark tomato color there’s open-pollinated ‘Indigo Rose,’ an Oregon State University development (photo above from High Mowing Seeds). It’s the first tom

Eaten when orange and ripe, the recently released ‘Habanada’ has a floral character and a lingering sweetness, plus just a hint of spice, says its breeder, Michael Mazourek of Cornell University (above).Though the ‘Habanada’ was developed during research for the PhD Mazourek earned in 2008, it wasn’t commercially available until this season, when Fruition Seeds licensed it from Cornell, to sell by mail as transplants. Plans are to build up quantity of seed in coming years, and sell packets, too.The

As with many other blessings, I have my friends at the Organic Seed Alliance to thank for my introduction to Adaptive Seeds, which had a big year in 2013: Andrew and his partner Sarah Kleeger turned their entire farm operation over to seeds, closing their CSA; completed their official organic certification; and ramped up to double their seed assortment to 400 varieties—including 65 new to their catalog this year.View the pdf of the Adaptive catalog now Shop the catalog online Order a print catalog from adaptiveseeds [at] gmail [dot] com my q&a with andrew still of adaptive seedsQ. So a little background first, please, Andrew—a short history of Adaptive Seeds and what you and Sarah [photo above] are doing.A. This is our fifth catalog. We have been farming between Brownsville and Swee

Longtime nursery owners and hellebore breeders Marietta and Ernie O’Byrne co-created “A Tapestry Garden: The Art of Weaving Plants in Place.” Their property, Northwest Garden Nursery in Eugene, Oregon, includes their extensive and inspiring tapestry-filled gardens. (Up top: pulmonaria, trillium, epimedium, white-flowered Anemone nemorosa and more.)Read along as you listen to the July 16, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).underplanting: making tapestries, with marietta o’byrneQ. Congratulations on the new book.

You might remember Don from his last visit to the program, when he taught me how to grow onions like a pro from seed, one of the most popular subjects ever on my show and website. Well, apparently Don had somehow heard what was on my mind, because he wrote to suggest a conversation about what he calls Brassica success tips. Serendipity.Don Tipping has been growing and selling wholesale seed on his farm called Seven Seeds for about 20 years, and in 2009 started a retail seed company as well, Siskiyou Seeds, offering his own seed and also the best varieties from a number of organic seed-farming frie

“I’m mad for woodpeckers,” I wrote, and Stephen Shunk wrote back: “Mad for woodpeckers is a very good thing.”I suspect if you are not already, that by the end of this story and podcast, you’ll be mad for them, too, and positively amazed at their physical capabilities an

Sarah, with Andrew Still, founded Adaptive Seeds in 2009 as a farm-based, organic seed company where they grow and harvest more than 80 percent of the seed they sell, including a beautiful assortment of grains and grain-like annuals that were the subject of our conversation.We talked about high-yielding and statuesque sorghum—perfect for porridge or even popcorn-style—and amaranths in a range of colors, plus flowering oil-seed crops like sunflowers, poppy seed, Camelina, and flax. We even got into some hints on cover-cropping for soil-building.Read along as you listen to the Jan. 28, 2019

Though this is not new information, it apparently bears repeating. I hear from readers whenever I mention animal control–even of deer–who share the “tip” that they’ve discovered mothballs, reporting that they have spread them in a vole-besieged bed, or along their deer-pressured property line, or even in a stone wall, perhaps, to deter snakes.No!Any use not specifically listed on the package violates Federal law, and can also harm you, your pets, or animals in the environment, and can contaminate soil and water, according to the National Pesticide Information Center at Oregon State. Moth balls do not belong in your garden (nor in your attic, car, or crawl space).Moth balls (and flakes) contain either napthalene or paradichlorobenzene. I frankl

If you want to coax the best character from your kale-growing efforts, timing is everything, says Sarah Kleeger (half of the Adaptive Seeds team, with Andrew Still).“First off, unless you live in a place where summers are cool, kale is not a summer vegetable,” she says. “Its flavor and texture improve tremendously in cold, even frosty, weather. In summer it is prone to aphids, the leaves get tough, and taste is markedly less sweet. After a few good frosts kale can

Linda Beutler is author of three books about clematis, president of the International Clematis Society, and curator of the Rogerson Clematis Garden collection in the Pacific Northwest, just outside Portland, Oregon. Suffice it to say, Linda knows from clematis.In a recent conversation, Linda shared tips on matching the right clematis to the right support, and what to look for (not flowers!) when buying nursery plants, and why following the traditional rules on pruning without applying some common sense as well isn’t the way to go. Plus: Enter to w

Lane is also an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University who confesses to an obsession with a diversity of radicchio, among other weaknesses, and we talked about growing salads of gorgeous radicchio (above, in a photo from Uprising Seeds), and extra-flavorful varieties of fennel and arugula, about some exceptionally beautiful and tasty beets and more—including winter squash that last a very long time in storage and can be enjoyed cooked or raw, that you may not have grown but should.Plus: At the end of the transcript is a list of more, more more varieties and sources Lane is in love with. Enjoy (and explore)!Read along as you listen to the January 13, 2020 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).exceptional vegetable varieties, with lane selmanMargaret Roach: Hi, Lane. I guess there are crazier things one could be obsessed with tha

I got both lessons from Don Tipping, a seed breeder and farmer who’s “been a samurai warrior for” some exceptional Allium varieties, along with a number of other crops with names like River Spirit Rainbow flour corn, and Alive Vates kale and ‘Mideast Peace’ cucumber. Don spearheads the Siskiyou Seeds effort from his home farm in southern Oregon (with help from the occasional sleepy assistant, above, working in the greenhouse).Read along as you listen to the Jan. 19, 2015 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. Come away with a new reverence for the contents of every seed packet, and as promised: Learn to grow onions from seed like an expert. No, bigger bulbs are not always better as a goal, it turns out, and planting on the traditional

I did some virtual seed shopping with her to learn about some distinctive edibles and unusual seed sources you may not have tried.Lane, an agricultural researcher at Oregon State University, is founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, a collaborative community of plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, produce buyers, and chefs aiming together to improve quality in vegetables and grains by creatin

Set in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court palace, 15 beautiful Show and Get Started gardens will be on display for visitors, along with talks, demos, and workshops from horticultural experts who are on hand to offer expert advice and help you translate the inspiration into your green space. Particular highlights include a feature garden by this year’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Carol Klein, whose design boasts six different habitats, and Jo Thompson will be creating a wildlife garden which showcases ‘accidental’ landscapes that can be utilised to create green corridors in our urban spaces.

‘Chet’s Italian Red’ is a heirloom variety of softneck garlic native to the Pacific Northwest.Known for its subtle, mild flavor this low maintenance cultivar is perfect for home g

Growing vegetables in the South means you have to know your climate and your vegetables. Beyond just planting a warm-season vegetable, it’s important to know which vegetables can take the heat.

“Jurassic Park” comes to mind for many of us when we think of ferns – abundant, spiky greenery thrashing about as huge dinosaurs crash through the forest in pursuit of human intruders.At 300,000 million years old, they were, i

When it comes to enjoyable South African exports, the cape marigold comes to mind.Dimorphotheca sinuata is a self-seeding daisy-like annual in th

Set in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court palace, 15 beautiful Show and Get Started gardens will be on display for visitors, along with talks, demos, and workshops from horticultural experts who are on hand to offer expert advice and help you translate the inspiration into your green space. Particular highlights include a feature garden by this year’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Carol Klein, whose design boasts six different habitats, and Jo Thompson will be creating a wildlife garden which showcases ‘accidental’ landscapes that can be utilised to create green corridors in our urban spaces.

I have mixed feelings about growing and promoting butterfly bushes. On the one hand, they are beautiful and reliable garden plants; on the other hand, their weedy nature cannot be denied. Keep these facts in mind before buying one of these shrubs.

You will never go back to a boring sidewalk after seeing what I do with a stencil and my power washer! You can see more of my crazy creations here

If you’ve ever plucked a juicy, ripe gooseberry from the plant and taken a bite, only to be horrified to discover a tiny white maggot has taken up residence in the middle of the fruit, it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.Gooseberry or currant maggots are tiny pests that burrow into currants and gooseberries, an

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People build fences for several reasons: safety, marking property boundaries, play areas for pets, and curb appeal.