POTATO DIGGING PARTY

Join us Saturday October 12, 2019 1 pm to 5 pm for a potato digging party.  Call Pam (208.406.1243) for more information.

We will be digging five 200 foot rows of potatoes using an antique single row potato digger.  Children and adults can pick and purchase the potatoes in the field using burlap potato sacks and wire potato baskets, just like farmers did 50 years ago.

Potatoes, pumpkins, onions, apples, garlic and other vegetables will be available for purchase in the potato field.

Look for the large message board in front of the garden.  The potato field is located south of the house in the back field, plenty of parking is available, watch for signs.

‘ON THE SUNNYSIDE’

Pam Olsen 208.406.1243

3210 E. Sunnyside Road

Idaho Falls, ID

KIDS GARDEN CAMP

COME TO THE KIDS GARDEN CAMP

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2019.

LOTS OF ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS TO LEARN AND ENJOY.

PLAY MATCH THE SEEDS.

PLANT FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES.

LEARN ABOUT SAVING SEEDS.

LEARN HOW EVERY SEED HAS A STORY.

CALL PAM FOR MORE INFORMATION

208.406.1243

HYACINTHS IN WINTER

These Hyacinths are called Pink Pearl, one of my favorites.

These are called Blue Star, three growing in a small bowl.

Here are a collection of different hyacinths, so pretty.

HYACINTHS (growing in water)

Hyacinths are so fun to grow in the winter time. They give us a sneak peak of spring and they have the sweetest fragrance. When growing bulbs inside during winter and early spring it is called ‘forcing’. It is a process of making the bulbs bloom ahead of schedule.

Here are a few ideas of how to care for Hyacinths growing in water.
1. Rinse with clear water every week, carefully rub the roots to clean them and if necessary clean the bottom of the bulb.
2. You may want to clean, replace, or add more pennies to the bottom of the vase, (the pennies help the water stay fresh).
3. Putting the Hyacinth in the fridge will help it last longer or slow down the growing process. However, be careful not to freeze the flower.
4. After the bloom is finished, trim the blossom stem and continue to water the bulb. This encourages the leaves to grow and the leaves give much needed energy back to the bulb. Hyacinth bulbs can then be planted in the garden in the spring, (with the leaves intact). It may take a year or two for it to recover enough to bloom again.

Please feel free to call me with questions.

‘ON THE SUNNYSIDE’
Pam Olsen
3210 E. Sunnyside Rd.
Idaho Falls, ID 83406

208-406-1243
pamolsen@prophoto.bz
www.pamolsen.net

Quick Tip #4

Expecting a light frost on your garden?

Turn on a sprinkler before you go to bed that night, ( I use a rain bird, it covers a large area).  If the temperature doesn’t drop below freezing very far, the frozen ice actually protects the plant from the frost, (REALLY).  I usually wait until noon to turn the sprinkler off, make sure the sun has warmed up the plants thoroughly.

If the temperature is around 20 degrees this will not help, but if the temperature is 28-32 degrees this should help.  I use this trick in the spring also, it works on fruit trees too.

NOTE:  If you plan on turning on the hose, leave it running a little so the hose isn’t frozen when you want to turn it on at night, (I put it on a fruit tree, it need the moisture this time of year).

Quick tip #1

When dead-heading petunias, remove the blossom and the small container that holds the blossom, (it is called the receptacle). This receptacle will become a seed pod and will continue to use energy to create seeds.

Dead-heading in this way ensures the flower spends all of the energy to creating blossoms, not seeds.

Note:  it is best to use scissors to to dead-head to create a clean cut, which prevents torn stems and discourages diseases.

THOUGHTS TO THINK ABOUT, RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole and once it has done so, he will have to accept that his life will be radically changed.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love spring anywhere, but if I could chose, I would always greet it in a garden.
–Ruth Stout

If a man does his best, what else is there?
–General George S. Patton  1885-1945

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.
–Ayn Rand  1905-1982

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

We can choose to throw stones,
to stumble on them,
to climb over them,
Or to build with them.
–William Arthur Ward

It is not a guestion of will I make a difference–but what diffence will I make.