Down in the Dirt with Diana

Listen to my interview with grafted tomato guru  Harry Olsen.  He also gives us hints on his very productive pruning method.

This week on Down in the Dirt with Diana, we talk to Brooke Edmunds, OSU Extension Agent, about planning and planting a winter garden and about planting a quick growing crop of microgreens for an easy gourmet salad. We will also be discussing some of the most common problems that gardeners have been experiencing in their gardens this year.

This week on Down in the Dirt with Diana, I talk to botanist Lynda Boyer from Heritage Seedling Nursery where she is heading a project to restore 300 acres near Jefferson to native Willamette Valley prairie and oak savanna. We will be talking about the importance of using native plants in our gardens to help create biodiversity, why we should want to, and some ways to do it. Then we will be talking about the dwindling state of monarch butterflies, and how we can help them.

This week on Down in the Dirt with Diana,  we are visiting Garden Thyme Nursery in Silverton. talking to the owner Patty Harris about a very timely topic, and one of the nursery specialties, drought tolerant gardening.

This week on 'Down in the Dirt with Diana' we talk to Colin Hutchins, a first time gardener, about his gardening techniques, particularly his straw bale beds. Then we talk to Beth Meyers-Shenai about invasive plants and how we can be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

This week on Down in the Dirt with Diana, we are touring Dave and Pat Eckerdt’s beautiful 2 acre garden, named ‘Deerly Missed’, in South Salem

This week on Down in the Dirt with Diana, we talk about herbs. I play my interview with Carole, co-owner of Misty Mountain Farms in Lyons, OR, where we will be discussing various herbs, best culture in the garden. and some of their uses.

This week we talk to plantswomen and garden artists Vanca Lumsden and.Judith Jones about 'upcyling' used items in the garden for function or for funky art items.

On this show we visit Rhododendron expert Dick Cavendar and take a walk around his lovely garden talking about the wide world of rhododendrons. Then we will talk to Master Gardener Janet Rogers about the big upcoming Marion County Master Gardener plant sale.

We talk to Salem nurserywoman Nella Carlson about companion planting in your vegetable garden. Learn why planting beans near corn is a good idea, but not beans near onions, or why planting marigolds among the vegetables is helpful. Then we talk about some of the more common problems people ask about at the nursery, and some of Nella’s recommended solutions.