Down in the Dirt with Diana

Do you want to garden but don't have enough space or sun? This week we talk about the local Community Gardening System with Ingrid Evjen-Elias, the Community Garden Coordinator for Marion-Polk Food Share. Then we will talk to 'The 'Tuxedo Gardener' John Johnson about his unique and very productive method of straw bale gardening.

This week we are joined by three members of the Cherry City Orchid Society for a round table discussion about orchids, and how to have success growing them and getting them to rebloom.

We visit with Marietta O'byrne at Northwest Garden Nursery about their world renowned Hellebore breeding program and how far Hellebores have come in the last 20 years,  Then we visit with rose expert MaryAnn Bierne, for a refresher course in when and how to prune our roses.  

We talk to Aislinn Adams, botanical illustrator and proponent of native plant gardening.  She has converted her front yard into a self sustaining native plant habitat and she tells us all about it, and why she thinks planting natives is a such good idea.  

I took a drive to world renowned Gossler Farms in Springfield, Oregon and walked around the display garden with Roger Gossler to talk about what is looking good in the garden in winter. They are known for their extensive collection of woody plants, including 60 varieties of Witch Hazels and over 400 varieties of Magnolias.

Food Corps service worker Aaron Poplach talks about the Food Corps and his work in the Salem School system, then he tells us all about the aquaponics system they use at Parrish Middle School in Salem, growing food and fish in the same system to the benefit of both.

On this show we talk to Melinda Nikko at Nikko farms about growing Shiitake mushrooms on logs and about other things they do on their 5 acre organic farm, and then we talk to plant pathologist Brooke Edmunds about sweet potatoes. 

 

Worms are fun ! Just ask our guests worm enthusiasts Sally White and Mona Kanner. We talk about raising Red Wigglers, the benefits they have for the health of the soil and for our gardens. We also talk about making compost tea and worm casting tea - no not for us, for our soil and our plants!

Steve Vinisky, world renowned bulb breeder, was a guest on our very first show talking about daffodils, and he returns this week to talk about tulips, tulip varieties and culture, and the Tulipomania craze that hit Holland in the 1600’s, and more. 

 

Take a walk with us in Dave and Pat Eckerdt's Salem garden as we look at plants with fall interest. Then we visit Master gardener Harry Olsen and get an update on how his grafted vegetables did this year, and find out what his favorite new varieties were.