Kodiak Daily Mirror - Daily newspaper of Kodiak, Alaska
  
Marion Owen
 
Poor man’s irrigation is provided by the two-liter plastic bottle (recovered from a recycle bin) at right. By cutting off the bottom and inserting the bottleneck into the soil, it acts like a funnel, delivering water and fertilizer slowly without disturbing the roots. Also at work: Aluminum cans support developing cucumbers, the yellow sticky card “collects” fungus gnats and the marigold plant, bottom right, deters aphids. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Golden chain trees: pretty, poisonous, practical
Today’s trip to the Credit Union 1 bank reminded me of one reason why I enjoy this time of year: the cascading yellow flowers of the golden chain tree. And blooming at the bank’s front door is a stunning specimen. Native to the mountains of southern Europe, from France to the Balkan Peninsula, th...
Jul 02, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend
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Garden Gate: The story of the bleeding heart flower
In 1846, Robert Fortune (plant explorer extraordinaire) purchased a live bleeding heart plant at a nursery in Shanghai China and sent it back to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew with a note saying he thought this plant would become very popular with gardeners. Sure enough, within five years the p...
Jun 25, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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To protect carrot, beet, radish and other vulnerable seedlings from cats and “digger birds” (sparrows), drape fishnet over hoops and secure the edges with large paper clips. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Rekindling your relationship with radishes
After you eat the last pickle from the pickle jar, slice a bunch of radishes and toss them in the juice. Cover and store them in the fridge. In a week you’ll have the best tasting pickles, ready for dressing up salads or spicing up your favorite sandwich spread. This is just one way to rethink ra...
Jun 18, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
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This unidentified blue poppy is only 12 inches tall and is a cousin to the large blue Himalayan or Tibetan poppy. Both are in the genus meconopsis. If you can identify this plant, please contact Marion Owen. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Island looks forward to getting the blues
One of the first plants to get nabbed at the garden club’s annual plant sale is the blue poppy. After all, nothing raises an eyebrow faster than something that’s out of the ordinary: a camel strolling in downtown New York or a red balloon in a certain movie. Goofy scarecrows and blue flowers dema...
Jun 11, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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Mother Neila waters snap pea seedlings in the nuns’ hoophouse on St. Nilus Skete, an island near Ouzinkie. The white fabric is Agribon, a spun fabric used to warm the soil and protect plants from root maggots and cutworms. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Strategize to beat cutworms, root maggots
I’m not growing potatoes this year. Instead, I’m devoting more space to carrots and beets. I like potatoes — love them, in fact — but you can’t juice them. I’m also growing more turnips, the small, golf ball-sized Hakurei turnips. They round out a salad — no pun intended — and the greens provide ...
Jun 04, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
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Of the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), the most practical and least expensive paths is to reduce (buy less) and re-use. Supporting this tomato plant are used nylons and a stake made from quarter-round wood moulding found in a pile on Mission Road. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Stake, cinch, tie: Recycling in the garden
Scores of blogs, websites, books and workshops are devoted to showing you how to put used materials to work in the garden. Some ideas are ingenious, while others are more trouble than they’re worth. Here are a few ways to reincarnate everyday items. Practical or silly? You be the judge. Following...
May 29, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 1 1 recommendations | email to a friend
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Water droplets cling to a blue poppy leaf. Plants take up water several ways, through leaf openings (stoma) and from the soil. Soil is like a sponge, containing numerous pores that can hold water. This acts as a reservoir of water that is exploited by the plant roots. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Rain vs. tap water: The debate continues
Most gardeners in the UK would rather give up afternoon tea than water the garden with tap water. Rainwater is king, and it’s not because they usually have plenty of it. According to Garden Organic (gardenorganic.org.uk), the UK’s leading organic growing charity, we should be harvesting as much r...
May 21, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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A late spring snow doesn’t mean the death of hardy flowering plants like this primrose. But when the forecast calls for freezing or near-freezing temperatures, protect tender seedlings like nasturtiums and marigolds, bring tomatoes in from the greenhouse and cover up newly planted seedlings like cabbage, kale and onions. (Marion Owen photo)
Garden Gate: Sifted debris and other spring garden tips
Gardeners who sift soil are perfectionists, taking the extra step to remove sticks, rocks and shells; leaving shreds of leaves, grass, kelp and other fluff for their plants to gleefully wiggle their roots in. For greenhouse and hoophouse crops, nothing could be better. Same with growing carrots a...
May 14, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend
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