Watch the show here.

The post The Hidden Life of Trolls at Phipps from PTL appeared first on Doug Oster.

May 5, 2021

When I posted a picture of my pearl bush (Exochorda) in full bloom on my Facebook page, Karen Tarr commented, “OMG, I have one blooming in honor of my mom, whose name was Pearl. Love the bush.”

I reached out to Tarr, to find out the details and learned there was so much more than just that one plant in her garden, planted to remember love ones.

It was a decade ago when she and her husband Dick began to search for something to plant in memory of her mother. Karen knew right where the plant should go, near the driveway where it would on display every day.

The couple often shop at Snavely’s Garden Corner, near their home in Chambersburg, Pa.

“They have great service, she says, you can ask them anything.” When Dick stumbled onto the pearl bush, they had plenty of questions for owner Chris Snavely about the culture of the plant.

The planting site had morning sun until 11 a.m. and then shade. Snavely gave the couple a rundown of the plant and they left the nursery to go home and plant.

“I was still working,” Tarr says. “Every time I’d come in, I would see it, every time I would leave, I would see it. Kind of like saying, hi mom, goodnight mom.” It was reminiscent of their life together. Tarr would call her mother every morning at 5:30, checking on her before work and then often call in the evening too. “Kind of like when you were a kid, you’d see your mom every day, she says of the shrub.

The plant has not only survived by thrived, it’s certainly special while in bloom, but is a reminder of her mother year-round.

“She had a big heart and helped a lot of people. Davis worked at a school cafeteria and loved the children,” her daughter said. “When we sit on my front porch, I get to see it bloom,” she said happily.

The pearl bush is an unusual plant that you don’t see that often in the landscape. The neighbors came over to check out the unique shrub and were amazed at the special meaning it had for the family.

“Everybody in the neighborhood just loved it,” she says proudly. “It’s for my mom, and everyone thought that was such a neat idea.”

Her childhood fascination with stargazing continues, as she shares evenings looking skyward with the pearl bush next to her.

Her late father Garnet Davis has also inspired the plantings in the garden. Tarr moved irises from their family home, they bloom in purple, lavender and yellow. She has embraced native plants in the garden too, by adding pretty purple wood irises which also remind Tarr of her father.

Spruce trees throw their seeds throughout the garden, sprouting wherever they are happy. They conjure childhood memories for her.

“As a kid, we wouldn’t buy a Christmas tree, we would go into the woods and cut one willy nilly,” she says with a chuckle.

Tarr moved one of the seedlings when it a sapling, now it’s nearly five feet tall, growing right outside her window.

“I’m just so happy, she says, I’m going to decorate it for Christmas. That’s the type of tree we had in our house because it was free.”

Her mother-in-law’s peonies were transplanted before her property was sold and now bloom annually in her garden.

“I always get purple petunias,” Tarr says. “My mother-in-law loved purple.” She liked portulaca too, so the couple always buys portulaca in her memory.

A hydrangea was planted at her childhood home, now there is also one in her garden.

“We always had one outside of my front door when I was a kid,” says Tarr. “We called them snowball bushes.”

She’s finding a space for a spirea bush which also was part of the landscape when she was growing up. Trumpet vines climb on a fence away from the house as another reminder of childhood.

Mae Davis was Tarr’s beloved grandmother who never wore perfume in favor of a little bit of Avon’s Lily of The Valley Cream Sachet behind her ears.

“It was kind of overwhelming,” Tarr says with a laugh.

She planted a small pot of lily of the valley, which has spread around the house and is blooming now.

“I always cut them and bring them in the house because they remind me of my grandmother,” she added quietly about the sweet fragrance. “She never wore trousers — always in her little dress and apron. I can just see her sitting on her porch when we would go visit her on Sundays,” Tarr says affectionately.

When thinking about the pearl bush, wondering what her mother’s reaction would be, she says, “I think my mom would love the fact we bought it for her, and I didn’t kill it,” Tarr said laughing.

This year she pruned it a little late and the blooms aren’t quite as spectacular as they’ve been in the past. “I think she would say, ‘you pruned it at the wrong time, Karen!’”

“I’ll do better next year,” she said, just like she was responding to her mom. Then, after thinking for a moment, Tarr added, “She would have approved.”

The post Tribute to Pearl With a Pearl Bush: A Memorial Garden to Honor Loved Ones appeared first on Doug Oster.

I’ve been friends with John Wassel of Jeannette in Westmoreland County for quite a while now. He wants to help people and loves to grow plants. He’s got way more than he can use.

This is one of the reasons I love gardeners, they have big hearts. John donates most of his plants to lots of worthy causes. He grows thousands of seedlings in his greenhouse. “95 percent of what I grow is heirlooms,” he told me. Some were actually brought from Italy.

I wrote about John back in 2018 when I was still with Everybody Gardens. He told a wonderful story about Uncle Punzo, who taught him to garden. You can read the original story here.

John wants to share some of his plants and knowledge, especially with new gardeners. “You don’t need a 20 by 20 foot garden, he says, you can plant next to the house or on the patio.”

He’s got tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, other greens and much more, but wants the plants to go to gardeners who need them. “I’ll leave them out for them, with their names on the plants in April or May,” he added.

This season he spent $180 on seeds and asks people who are able to help his seed fund with a small donation if possible. “I don’t want people to think I’m selling plants though,” he says. “I just want to make new gardeners happy.” Be honest, if you need the plants and can’t donate, no problem, but if you have a little extra, John is an honorable person and will use the money the right way.

Contact John Wassel at jabud2@aol.com to find out what plants he has and which varieties you’d be interested in.

“I want to be able to inspire people to garden. For them to have a fresh tomato, lettuce, or a frying pepper.”

The post Free plants from Jeannette gardener appeared first on Doug Oster.

HERE’S A SAFE PLANTING SCHEDULE TO FOLLOW MOVING FORWARD

By Doug Oster

April 7, 2021

On my mature tree, the buds held their color as long as they could but they eventually lost their beautiful hue, transforming to a dull and disappointing brown, frozen as temperatures dipped to the 20s.

I wasn’t alone. On my Facebook page, many gardeners lamented the loss of their magnolia flowers. It’s nothing new, and it happens every several years — but that doesn’t make it any easier. Like those buds, we’ll all wait patiently until this time next year, hoping for a tree covered in flowers.

As the forecast worsened, questions abounded about what to do: cover, protect, pray? My answers were always the same. Anything out in the garden that is supposed to be there doesn’t get covered — they are on their own as far as I’m concerned.

Yes, the daffodils drooped, tulips looked awful, small flowering bulbs like corydalis were bent under snow, but covering them would have done more damage than good, in my opinion, unless expertly done.

Two days later, sans magnolia, the garden is thriving again. Daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs are on the rebound. Sprouting peas, radishes and leafy greens laughed at the cold weather, not missing a beat.

For newer gardeners especially, the spring garden is filled with fear and frustration. Although veterans still feel the pain, experience tells us, when one thing fails, another will persist.

For spring bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs already in place, what happens to them is out of our control. But when it comes to planting many other plants, timing is everything.

My gardening mantra was repeated again for this story about how to garden and it comes into play again today. It goes like this — improve the soil, know when the plants go in the ground and don’t let them dry out and you’ll have the start to a successful garden.

It is that second part, about when to plant, that comes into play right now.

Another week of 70 degrees sends the uninformed masses to box stores packed with flats of tender plants, but lacking the information needed to stop newbies from planting tomatoes, peppers, impatiens and others before they should be out in the garden.

If you see someone yelling, waving their arms and jumping up and down near that store, it’s probably me warning gardeners their plants are in peril.

Buy your plants at a good nursery, staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people who WANT to hear your questions. You’ll get plants that have been cared for properly and might even meet a few characters in the process.

Another piece of advice from this old man, take your time when looking for plants, as it should be fun. Fantasize about the sting of a hot pepper, texture of an heirloom tomato or beauty of flowers on a full-grown plant at the end of the season. They should be planted in the garden when the soil and air warm-up, usually in the middle of May.

As a people watcher, it saddens me to see people rush through a good garden center. There are wonders and fascinating treasures to be discovered in the corners and back areas of nurseries.

It will get cold again, it always does and tender plants will struggle or die before then. Every year I meet a young couple who feel like they have a brown thumb after losing all or part of their garden to frost.

If you’re so inclined to try and beat the system and get warm weather plants in the ground during cold weather, just get a couple of things to experiment with. Don’t risk your entire garden hoping the stars will align, as they rarely do.

Celebrating the success of a few plants is always much more fun than replanting the entire garden.

In gardening there is always hope too, I continue to look up to the top of that magnolia as the days have warmed up, hoping that maybe a few buds survived to unfurl.

Doug’s General Planting Guide for Western Pennsylvania or zones 5/6

Direct sow vegetable seeds in the garden or containers in April

Lettuce

Other greens

Radish

Carrot

Beets

Swiss Chard

Peas

Turnips

Onions

Kale

Spinach

Transplant vegetable seedlings to the garden or containers in April

Lettuce

Other Greens

Beets

Swiss Chard

Turnips

Onions (plants or sets)

Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, kale, etc.)

Spinach

Plants for transplanting into the garden or containers in April

Pansies

Perennials

Shrubs

Trees

Vegetables direct sowed in the garden in mid-May Beans

Cucumbers

Other vine crops

Beets

Carrots

Swiss chard

Lettuce

Other greens

Vegetable/flower seedlings transplanted into the garden in mid-May (Check the weather for possible frost before planting)

Tomatoes

Peppers

Lettuce

Other greens

Annual/tender flowers

Doug Oster writes a weekly column for The Green Voice Weekly Newsletter. He also the host of The Organic Gardener Radio Show every Sunday morning at 7 a.m. on KDKA radio 1020AM. 

The post Surprise Spring Cold Snap Tested Pittsburgh Gardens appeared first on Doug Oster.

St. Patrick’s Day has long been the traditional day for pea planting — something I’ve written about for decades. I learned about it from my grandmother over 50 years ago, who always made sure her Lisbon, Ohio garden would start the year with a planting of peas on the holiday, regardless of the weather. Back in those days, there was a good chance that lakes were still iced over and there was sometimes even snow on the ground.

Even now, each season brings a new early challenge. Sometimes the soil is too wet or too cold and it would be a mistake to turn the garden over. There’s an old adage that I repeat ad nauseam — if the dirt sticks to the shovel, it’s too wet to dig. Doing so creates clumps that dry to the consistency of bricks and persist for the rest of the season.

When the weather cooperates, it’s easy. The soaked pea seeds are sown a few inches apart in good soil, watered and lightly mulched with straw to keep them moist until germination.

If the garden isn’t ready for planting, a bag of compost is used on the bed to create an instant planting area.

If snow is still on the ground, peas can be started indoors using peat pots. Peas don’t like to be transplanted, so the peat pot is planted and will decompose over the season.

Many gardeners treat the seeds of peas and other legumes like beans, with an inoculant, which is said to help improve yields. When I can find it at my local nursery, I’ll use it for peas. Even though I’m planting in soil improved with compost, I figure it can’t hurt. It easy to do too. Just mix the granular inoculants with water in a container and then stir in the seeds.

Peas love cool weather, but they don’t have to be planted on the holiday. There is a window of at least a month to get them sowed. I have gardening friends who start their seeds later and pick peas around the same time I harvest. Wait much longer and it gets too hot for them, and they give up.

There are many different varieties. I was impressed with the ‘Shiraz Purple Snow’ from John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds that were grown last year, forming dark purple, flavorful flat snow pods. Another bonus is the pretty purple flowers that cover the plant in April. The peas lasted well into the summer, even self-sowing and sprouting again in the fall.

Fall is the other season for peas. Sowing them in August means a late September or early October harvest.

Since I’m partial to snow peas, another variety that has been a staple in my garden is ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II.’ They’ve been in the spring garden for over 20 years. When picked, young the pod and little soft peas are edible. As they get older, snow peas can be harvested as more of a typical shelling pea.

Other popular shelling varieties include ‘Alderman,’ ‘Maestro,’ ‘Green Arrow’ and

‘Lincoln.’ If you want something that’s both interesting and wonderful, take a look at ‘Sugar Magnolia Purple Snap’ pea also from Kitchen Garden Seeds. It has dark purple pods with bright green peas inside. I grew it a couple of seasons ago and loved the variety.

Peas aren’t the only plant that loves cool weather. Seeds of lettuce, arugula, spinach, beets, Swiss chard, tatsoi, mustard greens, mizuna, corn salad and many others can be planted using the same techniques.

Every season I follow a little trick and use one bed for two different cool weather vegetables. It’s easy, just take a packet of carrot and radish seeds and mix them together. Sprinkle them onto a bed of compost, use your hand to spread them around and get them under the compost and give the bed a good soaking.

The radishes will sprout first, forming a carpet of green. All root crops need to be thinned so that the root can reach full size. Save the thinnings of the radishes and use them as microgreens. They are highly nutritious, sweet and tender too. The entire seedling is edible when small, from the miniature radish to the top growth.

I do several thinnings over the weeks as a tasty harvest and to allow the radishes to reach fruition. They’ll be ready in about a month — just as the carrots take hold.

The radishes are harvested, leaving room for the carrots to grow the rest of the summer. Those carrot seedlings will be treated the same way as the radishes were and will provide lots of sweet microgreens.

That first harvest of the thinnings is amazing, as nothing from the grocery story can compare to their freshness and flavor. Imagine picking something from the garden before most gardeners have even thought about planting.

For cold weather beauty, it’s pansies and violas that can be planted right now. I prefer containers early in the year, placed close to the house. They get a little protection from the structure, but they are tough and can take the cold. Some of my fall-planted pansies made it through the winter and are starting to bloom again.

In my garden, the pansies are the stars of the early spring and summer garden. Since they love cool weather, they start to fade in late June to early July. They could be kept going, but won’t be happy.

Since most annual flowers go on sale around that time, a few flats and some plants can be bought cheaply to fill the containers. When the frost hits in the fall, it’s more pansies for the pots and they will thrive until December or beyond.

The garden season doesn’t have to begin in mid-May when all chance of frost is gone. By choosing the right plants and seeds, gardening starts today and that feels great.

I will be teaching four free virtual organic gardening classes every Thursday at 4:30 p.m., beginning on March 25. The classes will cover indoor and outdoor seed sowing, composting, soil amendments, organic pest and disease management, gardening with children and much more. Classes sponsored by Farm to Table of Western Pennsylvania. For details and registration information go to here.

The post Planting Peas and Other Early-Spring Crops to Start on now appeared first on Doug Oster.

You can take one or all four. They will be held on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.

I’ll be covering how to start seeds indoors and out, getting the garden prepared for planting, cool weather crops, composting and much more. My goal is for you to have your best garden ever.

Here’s one way to register if you’re on Facebook.

Here are all the classed with individual free registration links-

Gardening with Kids
Thursday, May 20, 2021
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET
Registration link: https://conta.cc/3euemXc

Succession Planting for a Longer Harvest
Thursday, May 27,2021
4:30 p.m. ET – 5:30 p.m. ET
Registration link: https://conta.cc/3vjubGu

*No fee for registration.
*Online registration required.

We are going to have fun!

The post Thursday’s free virtual organic gardening classes with Doug appeared first on Doug Oster.

The post How to garden: There’s no such thing as a green thumb! appeared first on Doug Oster.

When Len Lehman and Al Deurbrouck would show up at one of my garden talks, they would often times be the last two entering the room. I would wave and the pair would smile, returning the greeting.

They heard most of the jokes before, but still laughed, as I spoke about whatever the seasonal topic might be.

They were both proud members of the Allegheny Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society, it’s in that capacity that we became friends over the years.

Both of them unfortunately passed away last year.

I wrote about Len for this story highlighting the wonderful rock garden in front of the National Aviary which he helped tend. For Al, he showed me how to make homemade troughs to use as containers for this story.

I have one of his troughs in the house where two Sansevieria cylindrica plants happily grow on in the homemade pot on the windowsill.

The two had forgotten more than I’d ever know about gardening and were passionate about everything that grew.

Often times as the crowd thinned at an appearance, we would sit together talking about plants. The pair’s sense of humor was only matched by their love of the garden. Al even once showed me a photo of car which lost control and ended up in his garden.

After finishing a presentation about fall bulbs, where I raved about my love of snowdrops and growing different cultivars, Len told me about his affection for the tiny fall planted bulb which is one of the first to bloom in late winter. He had a rare variety in his garden named ‘Wasp,’ and promised to dig and a few bulbs for me.

A year later a few little bulbs came in the mail at the perfect time for planting. I thought long and hard about where they should go. The bulbs needed a special spot so they would not be confused with any other snowdrops in the garden.

I chose the side of a bed in the vegetable garden near the front gate.

That tiny patch of special snowdrops happily surprised me when taking the dog for a walk in the garden. In only their second season, they have already started to multiply.

As I laid on my stomach photographing the diminutive pure white flowers, I couldn’t help by smile, thinking about Len. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, but most of all, I thought of his kindness and willingness to share his garden treasures.

Even though it’s bittersweet to think about those two sweet characters, the trough and snowdrop will forever remind me of a couple of gardeners and friends who touched my heart.

The post Unique snowdrop and homemade container evoke memories of garden friends appeared first on Doug Oster.

I’m excited to partner with Farm to Table of Western Pennsylvania for my latest new project. I’m converting six old newspaper sales boxes into free seed libraries. They are the kind you would feed quarters to, open the front and pull out a paper.

This spring five of them will be placed around the area and one will be moved every so often around Western Pennsylvania to hopefully, give everyone has a chance to get some interesting seeds to try. Some boxes will be located in the city and others in the suburbs and beyond.

We’re just in the beginning stages of putting the project together and accepting seed donations from gardeners, nurseries, seed companies and anyone else interested in helping. Special varieties will be added throughout the season.      

I’m also looking for someone who might be able to paint all six boxes.

When the Free Seed Shacks are in place, I’ll have all the details of where they are listed here.

If you would like to donate seeds send them to:

Doug Oster
P.O. Box 11013
Pittsburgh, Pa
15237

The post Doug’s Free Seed Shacks appeared first on Doug Oster.

It was a joy to talk again with Kara Holsopple from The Allegheny Front. We discussed the hows and whys of seed starting. What seeds are you going to start this season?

Here’s the interview.

The post How to start seeds: Allegheny Front interview appeared first on Doug Oster.