Happy New Year!
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The First Garden Show of the Season!
Jim on KBOO
1982 Mazda Pickup Joins Our Bio-Diesel Fleet Because we are determined to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, we want vehicles that can use bio-diesel, a sustainable fuel made from vegetable oil. So when we saw this cute little 1982 Mazda diesel on E-Bay, we had to have it. The only problem was that the truck was located in Indiana. We drove it to Oregon in early November and were lucky to have beautiful weather all the way. As we crossed Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho, all the new windmills impressed us. We were also accosted by brown skies in a pretty Wyoming valley, skies polluted by immense amounts of smoke from two coal-fired power plants. Our new old pickup is now at home at One Green World, where it should give us years of economical and dependable service while reducing pollution and our carbon footprint.
Cold Weather and Our Plants In mid-December we experienced the coldest weather in our area in 20 years. At our nursery, the temperature dropped to 6°F. one night. Again, we have all learned some important lessons about plant care and hopefully we'll remember them the next time we have such a winter. There are plants that simply cannot survive the kind of temperatures we experienced. Passionflowers, Jasmines, certain Eucalyptus, and many others will either be severely damaged or killed by this weather. If these plants are in the ground, the best chance of saving them is to apply a heavy mulch of straw, sawdust, or other material around the trunk. This can protect the base of the plant and, if we are lucky, dormant buds will survive and sprout in the spring. Other plants, like most fruit trees, are perfectly hardy in this type of weather. However, their root systems are not as hardy as the top of the plant. If you are growing plants in pots, they can be killed when the pots freeze solid. For potted plants, the best thing we can do is to move them indoors. The next best solution is to make sure the pot is on the ground, not on a deck or balcony. Then wrap the pot with old blankets or cover it deeply with straw or similar material. Now that the weather has warmed up, you can see signs of whether or not our plants have survived. You can take a knife and scrape the bark on a branch or shoot. If it is green underneath, there's hope. If it is black, you should check further by scraping the bark near ground level. If it is still black underneath, it is probably time to get out the One Green World catalog and begin planning to put some new plants in the ground.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is
now”
Planning time is here! What's more fun than snuggling up to the fire with your plant and seed catalogs and dreaming about spring? You can almost taste those sweet and delicious fruits and flavorful vegetables. The sooner you plant or expand your vegetable garden and home orchard, the sooner you will be saving money and harvesting an abundance of healthy and delicious food. If you have lots of room, you can plan for several dwarf or semi-dwarf Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums and other fruit trees. In more confined spaces, Columnar Apples are a great choice along with productive shrubs like Currants and Blueberries. Decorate a fence, wall, or arbor with Grapes and Kiwis! Order your plants as soon as possible for the best selection. Whether you live in the far North or deep South, we can ship your plants to arrive at the best planting time for your area. |
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Join Us in January
The First Garden Show of the Season! Come to Eugene, Oregon on January 22-24 for
America's first Sustainable Home and Garden Show! Admittance is free to the
Good Earth Home Show where you can indulge your spring planting fantasies and
get great ideas for living green. Select from a large collection of One Green
World plants, attend over 40 seminars and talk to experts about sustainable
garden and home design. Don't miss our own Jim Gilbert! He'll be talking about new
varieties and about how easy it is to grow your own fruit. His seminar will be
on Saturday, Jan. 23, at noon. The Show will be at the Lane County Convention
Center. For more details, check out the show at
Tune in to 90.7 FM on Wednesday, January 13th. From 11AM to noon, Jim and host
Glen Andreason will talk about fruit and vegetable gardening and take calls
from listeners. Jim will share impressions of his recent trip to Russia and
Ukraine and Glen will talk about his favorite vegetable varieties. Jim is a
regular guest on Glen Andreason's program, The Dirt Bag. Catch him on the
second Wednesday of every month at 11AM. KBOO is also available on the internet at
