Plant a Row for the Hungry - Beaverton, Oregon

1. June To-Do List:
 We have a few weeks
of optimal vegetable
planting season ahead
of us. See page 2 for
more info!
 Mulch! Bare soil will
dry quickly, fluctuate
in temperature, and
suffer damage from
the elements. A sim‐
ple layer of mulch Volume 4, Issue 5 June 4th, 2010
(bark, compost, etc)
will help mitigate Can You Believe It’s Already June?!
these factors and keep
your soil healthier. Here we are, nearly a week into June, and the question on every‐
Healthy Soil = Healthy one’s mind seems to be “Whatever happened to May?”. After a beautiful
Plants! start to the spring season, May decided to be a real stinker and send rain
 As the weather warms shower after rain shower to dampen all of our gardening plans. People
up, the need for wa‐ usually start planting gardens around Mother’s Day, but the weather was
tering increases. New not very cooperative this year, so we know that a lot of people are still
plants will need special waiting for that elusive sunny day to get out and plant!
attention, and should
be watered regularly The good news is that the weather is due to improve and we are at
after planting. Do not a perfect point in the season to plant summer vegetables and annuals.
rely on rainfall to wa‐ The time will fly by quickly so don’t delay! On page two, we talk about the
ter young plants!
average days to maturity for common vegetables. You can see that plant‐
 Summer annuals are ing now will put the harvest at the perfect time in fall. There is still a
out in full force, and healthy planting window, but it is definitely slipping by quickly!
are just waiting for a
chance to brighten up As the season warms up, the need for irrigation will also become
your garden. Petunias, more important. Our soils are warming up and drying out quickly, and the
Marigolds, Zinnias, and rainfall is not going to be able to keep up with plant water demands for
Geraniums are all much longer. New plants already need regular irrigation, and you need to
warm‐season annuals
keep an eye on your other plants and have a watering plan ready.
that bloom all summer
and bring lots of color The nursery is well stocked and looking exceptionally beautiful
to the garden! right now, and we are bringing in new plants daily! This is one of the best
 Rhododendrons, Azal‐ times of the year to visit the nursery, and we look forward to seeing you!
eas, and Camellias
should be pruned right
after bloom for the Inside...
best results. Keep in
mind that they set  Time for Vegetables!
buds for the next
spring’s blooms during  Plant a Row for the Hungry
the previous summer,  Summer Rose Care
so we recommend
pruning no later than  New Soil Products
the end of June to pre‐
vent cutting off next  Upcoming Events
year’s flowers.

2. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 2
It’s Time For Vegetables!
This is the perfect time to plant vegetables for late sum‐
mer and fall harvests. Our beautiful early spring took a rainy
turn in May, but the sun is on the way! We know that many
people try to plant as early as possible to get an early harvest,
but we are really just now getting into the main vegetable
growing season. We have a window of a few weeks of opti‐
mal vegetable planting now, and everyone should be taking
advantage of it to get those veggies planted!
Vegetable seed packets usually list the “days to matur‐
ity” on the label, which is the number of days on average it
takes from seed planting to harvest. This number of days as‐
sumes that the soil and weather have warmed up sufficiently,
like it is now. Planting summer vegetables early in cold soil just
prolongs the number of days to maturity unless you specifically
take measures to warm the soil or protect the plants (cold frames, row covers, and other
“season extenders”). For most people, it is a lot less hassle to just plant when the conditions
are right. Nonetheless, it is very possible to get a jump on the season if you are motivated!
Vegetables work when the soil and air are at the proper growing temperature
(around 65˚‐70˚ for corn, pumpkins, and tomatoes), but struggle before that. A tomato
planted in April with no protection will usually just sulk and limp along until the conditions
are right for growth, and then it will recover gradually and start to grow slowly (if it doesn’t
die in the cold first). A tomato planted in late May or early June will take off like a rocket and
probably outgrow the early planting by a good margin.
To give you an idea of how long it takes plants to mature to a point of harvest, we
have compiled maturity information on some of the more common summer vegetable crops
on the next page. Most of these numbers
assume that the plant is being grown from
seed, except for peppers and tomatoes
which are generally transplanted into the
garden as plants. You can cut these num‐
bers by a few days to a week by starting out
with plants instead of seeds, but they will
readily sprout in the ground now that the
soil has warmed up.

3. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 3
It’s Time For Vegetables! ...continued
Average Days to Maturity ‐ Summer Crops
 Bush Beans ‐ 50 to 60 days
 Pole Beans ‐ 60 to 70 days
 Cabbage ‐ 70 to 120 days (depends on variety)
 Corn – 70 to 100 days
 Cucumbers ‐ 50 to 70 days
 Peppers ‐ 65 to 80 days (from a plant; seed takes longer)
 Pumpkins ‐ 100 to 120 days
 Tomatoes ‐ 60 to 100 days (from a plant; seed takes longer)
 Watermelon ‐ 65 to 100 days (larger varieties take much longer)
 Zucchini ‐ 50 days to first harvest, then watch out…
Round Two!
All of these previously mentioned vegetables grow best in the warmer weather, but
there are many vegetables that mature in cooler weather like lettuce, peas, cauliflower,
spinach and broccoli. These early spring planted vegetables prefer the cooler temperatures
and shorter days and will be coming into harvest soon (if they aren’t already done). You can
plant these again in July and August for a late fall harvest, so save some room!
Here are some maturity times for the cooler season vegetables:
Average Days to Maturity ‐ Early Spring/Fall Crops
 Broccoli ‐ 70+ days
 Cauliflower ‐ 60 to 65 days
 Lettuce ‐ 50 to 60 days
 Peas ‐ 60 to 70 days
 Spinach ‐ 40‐50 days

4. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 4
Plant a Row for the Hungry Begins a New Season!
After our enormous PAR harvest of over 6000
pounds last year, we are excited to begin our seventh
season! Our hard‐working PAR gardeners have al‐
ready begun calling, so we know you are ready to go
too.
For those of you unfamiliar with this great com‐
munity effort, here’s how it works: if you are a fruit or
vegetable gardener, just grow a little more than you
will need for your family and friends, and bring the
surplus here on collection days. We are partnering
with two local non‐profits, Sunshine Pantry and Tualatin Valley Gleaners, who will see that it
quickly reaches families in need in our community.
We are making a few changes to our program this year. It has come to our attention
that our past practice of rewarding donors with FG gift cards jeopardizes your ability to claim
a charitable donation. Therefore, we are suspending that small part of the program here at
FG. We hope you won’t miss it too much, but we feel that you will benefit more with this
new format.
We will help you weigh and record your donations so that you will be able to itemize
your total as a charitable donation at tax time. (There are new rules that enable you to claim
the full fair market value of your produce, so we encourage you to separate your produce by
type so that you can itemize your poundage on your donation form – it will make it easier for
you to assign values later.)
The other change is that we are adding another day for dropping off your produce!
You asked for it, and we are happy to comply. We have arranged to have volunteers from
the two non‐profits help us with this. We will have an easy drive‐up location in the parking
lot, to make unloading quick and easy for everyone. Please note the new drop‐off hours; we
will not be able to accept produce brought at
other times.
We will be accepting donations on
Sundays and Wednesdays from 10:30 am to
noon beginning June 13th. Please consider
making this a family project to help local
families in need. Oregon has been espe‐
cially hard hit by this recession, and families
are still struggling to feed their children. As
we have learned these past years, garden‐
ers are generous people who are making a
huge difference.

5. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 5
Summer Rose Care
June is here, and roses all over the area are
about to burst into bloom! Our roses are all budded
up and just waiting for a good sunny afternoon to
unleash their flowers. It happens every year about
this time, and the difference that just one nice day
can make is astonishing. Right now the roses all
look fresh and healthy in their spring growth, but
the trick from now on will be to keep them looking
that good throughout the summer. Rose care really
isn’t that difficult, and with a few basic concepts
you too can grow world‐class roses!
 Start with good soil. Roses like rich soil, and good soil has numerous extra benefits
that support quality plant growth. The extra effort that you put into amending your
soil will pay you back tremendously in the long run. Mix a good helping of compost or
other organic material into the soil before planting, and mulch the soil after planting
to preserve the soil. Your existing plants will benefit from a good topdressing with
organic material, but be careful not to bury any of the stem.
 Feed them well. Roses are hungry plants! The amount of growing and flowering that
they do constantly through the growing season takes a remarkable amount of energy.
Start with good, rich soil (see above point), and feed with a quality rose fertilizer. We
recommend a few applications of our EB Stone Organic Rose and Flower Food
throughout the growing season for best results.
 Keep it clean. Diseases and bugs love to live in leaf
litter under plants. Keep all dead foliage cleaned up, and
pick off any diseased foliage when possible. The ground
under a rose bush should be clean and clear from debris.
 Prune thoroughly ‐ It will grow back! Perhaps the
most important part of growing roses is proper pruning.
Roses tend to grow rampantly, and unless well directed
can turn into a big jumbled mess. Good pruning starts with
a hard late winter pruning to “reset” the plant, and con‐
tinuous maintenance pruning to keep the plant clean and
well‐formed. One of the biggest parts of this is dead‐
heading (see next point). You should also prune out
growth that grows inward towards the center of the plant,
weak growth, and diseased growth. You want to encour‐
age good air circulation around the branches and through
the plant, which require that you prune regularly.

6. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 6
Summer Rose Care ...continued
 Deadhead! Larger flowered roses need help to continue
flowering regularly through the season. When the flow‐
ers start to look ragged and fall apart, it is time to clip
the dead flower off so that a new one can take its place.
This seems straightforward, but where you cut has a dis‐
tinct effect on how the plant will behave. You want to
prune back to a set of 5 leaflets that are pointing away
from the center of the plant (the number of leaflets per
set increase the further down the main stem you go).
This encourages the growth to grow outwards and not
tangle up in the center of the plant. Pruning back to a
set of 5 leaflets will result in rebloom on that stem al‐
most 100% of the time. In contrast, pruning back to a set
of 3 leaflets or above will result in a rebloom on that
stem only about 50% of the time!
 Address problems early. Bugs happen. Diseases happen. How you deal with them is
crucial to keeping your plants healthy! Well grown roses should have a minimal
amount of problems if any, but they still pop up from time to time. Most problems
are easy to take care of if caught early. A few aphids can usually just be hosed off
with a sharp stream of water. A spotted leaf can be picked off. When these problems
are ignored however, they can snowball into much bigger problems. If in doubt, our
staff is happy to help you determine a course of action when dealing with these pest
annoyances.
 Water deeply and thoroughly. A soaker hose or drip system is ideal for watering
roses because it keeps the moisture down at ground level and not on the foliage, and
it encourages deeper rooting and better drought tolerance. A good blast from the
hose is a good idea from time to time if you are seeing aphids or powdery mildew, but
in general it is better to keep the moisture off of the leaves where it can promote dis‐
ease problems.
With these ideas in hand, you can
give your roses the help that they need to
do their best. Roses seem intimidating to
some people, and have somewhat of a
reputation for being difficult. Roses don’t
have to be an ordeal however, but they cer‐
tainly can be if neglected or not cared for
properly. Well cared for roses will bloom in
your garden for years to come, and are well
worth the extra effort!

7. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 7
New Soil Products!
You’ve seen our great plants and met our helpful
staff, but did you know that we also offer bulk soil products
and bark? All of our bulk soil products are available for
pickup or delivery at reasonable rates. We have recently
changed some of our soil products, and we are very
pleased with the quality of the new material! These are our
three soil mixes and amendments that we are currently of‐
fering:
 Planting Mix. We recommend this for filling raised beds
– in fact, it is what we used in our demonstration vege‐
table garden (feel free to stick your hands in the bed to
feel it!). This mix is nutrient rich and so light and fluffy
that our veggies are really thriving. This mix is com‐
prised of true Willamette Valley sandy loam, our dairy
compost, and our garden mulch all blended together in
one rich, well‐draining soil mix. You will love this, and so
will your veggies!
 Dairy Compost. This is truly great stuff! It is a by‐product of the Tillamook Cheese indus‐
try. The animal waste is composted in an ingenious process: an anaerobic digester turns
dairy manure into electricity. The by‐products of this are safe irrigation water and this
great compost product. We recommend you use it as a soil amendment to add organic
matter to your soil. Healthy soil should be at least 10% organic material by volume.
 Garden Mulch. Another great soil amendment, this one
is comprised of composted green waste. Unlike most prod‐
ucts in this category, ours is manufactured under the strict‐
est standards in the industry. It does not contain weed
seeds, pressure treated lumber, construction debris or other
undesirable materials that are sometimes found in lower
quality products. There is truly a difference in quality! We
recommend this product either as a soil amendment
worked into the soil, or to use as a top dressing or mulch.
Good gardens start with good soil, and a small invest‐
ment in soil health goes a long way. Healthy soil will let your
plants reach their full potential, and is much easier to work
with. If you have any questions about soil health or how to
improve your soil, let us know, and we’d love to explain and
get you started on the road to healthy soil!

8. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 8
Grower’s Choice!
We grow a number of exceptional different plants, and beginning this week we are
proud to introduce our Grower’s Choice program! Each week we will select a different plant
that we grow and offer it for sale at special Grower’s Choice pricing. New plants will be an‐
nounced on Friday mornings on our blog, and Grower’s Choice pricing will continue for one
week or until quantities run out, whichever occurs first.
Be sure to check our blog,
http://blog.farmingtongardens.com, each
Friday morning to find out the selected plant
for the week. This is an outstanding oppor‐
tunity to buy great plants direct from the
grower at unheard of prices!
Extended Hours!
We have extended our weekend hours for the summer season! We started these
hours in late May so that people had more time to shop on the weekends and could make it
here after work on Friday evenings.
Our new extended store hours are:
 Sunday through Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm
 Friday from 9 am to 7 pm
 Saturday from 8 am to 7 pm
A Special Deal on Japanese Maples!
For a limited time, while supplies last, we are offering a
fantastic deal on a selected group of our Japanese Maples. We
have a selection of great homegrown varieties in 3 gallon deco‐
rative containers that we will be selling for only $24.99 each!
These are regularly sold for $59.99, so you are saving well more
than 50% off of our regular retail pricing!
Japanese Maples are one of our specialties, and we grow
over 50 varieties in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They are very
versatile plants and fit in many different situations in the garden!

9. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 9
Upcoming June Events!
Saturday, June 12th, 10 am ‐ 2 pm
Save Water, Time and Money This Summer!
While this is not really a class, we will have the Regional Water Providers Consortium here to
share great tips for being water wise in your garden. Stop by their info station and pick up a
FREE watering gauge, waterwise plant guides, and other resources. The water experts will
be here from 10 am – 2 pm.
Sunday, June 13th, 1 pm
Glenn Andresen from Metro, on Organic Soils and Compost
Dirt may not be glamorous, but we all know abundant gardens are rooted in healthy soil. Get
the scoop on compost and organic amendments for a thriving, nontoxic yard. Glen will be
bringing lots of great Metro publications – great resources for the organic gardener.
Saturday, June 26th, 10 am ‐ 4 pm
Build your own Willow Furniture with Brian and Samantha Phillips from The Willow Station.
Choose from several project options – a garden bench, chair, plant stand, end table, plant
trough, or trellis. Take your unique piece of furniture home at the end of the day! Suggested
items to bring: knee pads, gloves, clippers, and a sack lunch. Class fee: $125 and a $10 registra‐
tion fee. Registration required; space is limited.
Wednesday, June 30th, 11 am
Our Favorite Summer Perennials, with Marinda Parks
Summer perennials have a special place in the garden, because we are enjoying the outdoors
with our friends and family. Marinda will share her favorites for long bloomers, as well as
those that make great cut flowers. Who doesn’t love to bring garden flowers into their
home?
These classes are free unless otherwise noted, but space is limited; please register with your
name, phone number, and number attending at events@farmingtongardens.com or call us
at 503‐649‐4568.

10. Volume 4, Issue 5 Page 10
Summer Happy Hours at Farmington Gardens!
A little‐known fact: Summer evenings at Farm‐
ington Gardens are quite beautiful! There is
Farmington Gardens
something about that time of day with the in‐
21815 SW Farmington Rd
tensely colored evening sky, when the heat
Beaverton, OR 97007
abates a bit and the floral fragrances waft
through the air. It can be magical!
Phone: 503‐649‐4568 Looking for ways to Share The Magic with you,
Fax: 503‐649‐4540 our loyal customers, we’re planning some spe‐
E‐mail: newsletter@ cial evenings here. We hope you can plan to
farmingtongardens.com meet up with your friends here to sample some
great local wines and enjoy our beautiful
plants. A great relaxing way to start your
weekend!
www.farmingtongardens.com
Friday, June 11th, 5‐7 pm
We are kicking off our Summer Happy Hours with Morgan Meadows
Winery from Gaston. Since 1992, the Morgan Family Farm has been
making a delicious Pinot Noir. We invite you to sample their lovingly
nurtured wines, nosh on munchies, and stroll through our garden store.
Farmington Gardens is Friday, June 18th, 3‐7 pm
a Licensed Landscape
Contracting Business in We are featuring Provincial Vineyards, an up‐and‐coming Washington
the State of Oregon– County winery producing both single‐estate Pinot Noir and a tropical
Pinot Gris. Pair that with some food and beautiful plants. Yum – sounds
OLCB# 8633 like summer!