Cleaning Green Store Opening

As a Master Gardener, you learn all about the insects in our gardens that help keep our gardens (and hence planet) humming along. We learn all about safety issues with common chemicals. But what surprises me is that most of us use more chemicals in our homes than we do in our gardens. A lot of us are very conscious about not killing the ladybugs but we spray cleaners in our house that have all sorts of nasty potential health effects. So I was very pleased to hear about this new store opening in Main Street Tigard, stocking Green Cleaning products and options. The grand opening is Thursday July 10.
Here is a recent press release:

Unique to the Pacific NW, Cleaning Green is opening its doors at 12568 SW Main Street in Tigard, Oregon Thursday, July 10th at 9:30am.
According to John West (Owner/ECO), “Cleaning Green is a specialty store that provides cutting edge green cleaning products for your home and office environment. We hand select all products based on how sustainable the product is and how sustainable the companies that manufacture it operate. We are proud to offer some of the best and most innovative brands on the market today. ”
Opening day specials include 20% off your purchase of Mrs. Meyers, Twist Sponges, and Seaside Natural products. There will be a free raffle, goodie bags, opening day discounts and other specials throughout the month of July. There will also be light refreshments and appetizers.
“Our products range from toothbrushes and razors made from recycled yogurt containers, trash bags made from cornstarch, soy candles, doggie bio bags and a multitude of great cleaning products. Our goal at Cleaning Green is to carry eco-friendly products that are biodegradable, don’t contain VOC’S (volatile organic Compounds) and can be recycled or is compostable. Our products are gentle on our environment, on you, your children, and your pets.” says Shelly West (Owner).

Cleaning Green will be open Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 5:00.

Gardens of Natural Delights Tour Portland Oregon July 13th

Don't miss out on this great event in the Portland area.

"Peek into the beautiful backyards of passionate home gardeners and learn their secrets to chemical-free success with Metro’s natural gardening techniques tour. The free, self-guided tour is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 2008."

I am a Docent on one of the gardens, and most gardens have at least one docent present to answer questions about sustainable and natural gardening techniques, so its a great opportunity to see a wonderful garden and get some questions answered if you're thinking of going green with your garden!

You do have to preregister and space is limited so go to the website below for more information on how to register. You have to be a resident of Multnomah, Clackamas, or Washington counties to register.

See below for more details.
Click here for more details

I am Addicted to Gardening Books!

Confession: I am addicted to gardening books!
I love to sit in the evenings (when I should be weeding!) and read gardening books. There are so many wonderful books out there and all full of great tips and new ideas. While some of my favorite books are newly published (I am one of the reviewers who selects books to be stocked at our College store) I also love older gardening books, and for those I really like this book swap service. I get to send people my paperbacks and in turn request books from others, including gardening books. I have found some real gems here.
Plus I love the sustainable aspect: Instead of buying new books, try a book swap! This service below is one I use and really enjoy because it has such a huge number of members there are tons of books available on every topic. Apart from the cost of mailing (and you can use media mail), it is currently free to swap!
Yes, the library works too, but if you are like me and always returning library books late, that can get expensive!

New Video on YouTube

You are cordially invited to view a video of a recent presentation I gave at the Spring Open House for Australasian College of Health Sciences in Portland Oregon on starting seeds. There are two parts - part one is posted now, part two will be coming in the next 24 hours, so please check back :)
Click here for Part One

Weeds!

Weeds! And What to Do About Them

I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener. So, you would think my garden would be immaculate, right? Well, no. That's my first confession - my garden is full of weeds. 

I have a no spray policy (although Master Gardeners do sometimes use sprays responsibly) for a bunch of reasons involving treading lightly on the planet, saving the bees, and not poisoning my daughter (and husband - who would be the one tasked to apply it). 

So I use sustainable weed management strategies:

• Mulch - lots of it! And failing to do it in time this year has caused my weeds to take off like nobody's business. Generally - apply a good two to three inches of quality mulch in mid spring (after - in my garden at least - the "volunteers" or self seeded annuals and perennials have come up and can be identified). Then you can apply another layer in late fall to protect your garden and "put it to bed" for the winter. 


• Hand weeding. This is the bit that takes the time and has to be done regularly - there is a saying that you have probably heard - one years seeding is seven years weeding. Well we bought a fairly abandoned estate property so  who knows how many years seeding we are dealing with. A lot! And nasty weeds - dock especially, and broom, and purslane. So you just have to pull it. With that in mind, tools help - a good sharp hoe make the job much easier if you have enough room around your plants. Otherwise, hand weeding, after you have watered so the roots come out easily. 


• Speaking of space- thats my next trick. Plant everything closer together. That way the weeds dont get enough light and moisture to really thrive, and the ones that grow up are easy to spot. I recently got a new gardening book (a weakness of mine) called Matrix Planting and its brilliant since it justifies my habit of putting things really close together and letting nature take its course. 


• Selective watering is really important. Overhead watering will encourage every little weed seed to sprout. I have seen this dramatically this year in my garden as I started a new garden on a bank that was basically clay post construction of an addition. Since I havent had a chance to put in any soaker hoses, I plunked out a sprinkler and put it on a timer. Within a week I had a lawn of weeds! Thats taking the most time to weed even though it makes up a small fraction of my garden. So note to self - dont do that again.


• Corn Gluten Meal is supposed to work to stop seeds germinating, but I havent personally tried it since I have been starting a lot from seed directly in the beds and the corn gluten meal will stop poppy seeds just as well as dock I assume. But once the bed is established, I am going to buy me a sack!

I am sure there is another good thing to do, but its late and I've forgotten... so check back next week....