Shelley@Valley West Realty: March Things to do in the Garden

Shelley@Valley West Realty: March Things to do in the Garden: Yay! It is almost Spring! Flowers to start from seed outdoors in your garden at this time of year: Alyssum                    Baby'...

March Things to do in the Garden

Yay! It is almost Spring! Flowers to start from seed outdoors in your garden at this time of year:

Alyssum                    Baby's Breath                  Bachelor's Buttons

Calif Poppies            Calif Bluebells                 Clarkia

Larkspur                   Lupines                            Phlox

Sweet Peas                Shirley Poppies                Toad Flax

Veggies to plant now in your garden:

Onions                        Carrots                             Cilantro

Peas                            Radishes                           Spinach

Flowers to start from seed indoors:

Bee Balm                   Begonia-tubers                 Black eyed Susans

Daisies                        Nicotiana                          Mallow

Petunias                     Phlox                                 Snapdragons

Stock                          Salvias-tender                   Verbena

 

You may start seeds in seedling trays or egg cartons, using this seedling soil mix:

1 part soil

1 part leaf mold or moss

1 part sand, granite grit or pumice

Soil mix for transplants, after first true leaves appear. Carefully lift plant using the leaves and not the stem.

1 part Soil

1 part Leaf Mold

2 parts Granite Grit, Sand or Pumice

1/2 part Compost

1/2 part worm casings

A before pruning tree photo. It still looks like this, only larger now.

Now is the time to prune your plants.

Remove branches that rub together, are dead, badly damaged or diseased. Densely branched plants should be thinned out to allow sunlight in and let air circulate, helping to reduce diseases.  Knowing if your plant blooms on the old wood or new growth will be helpful when pruning, so you do not lose this season's flowers. 

Now is the time for bare root plantings:

Look for plants with strong stems and well-formed roots. Do not buy if the roots are slimy or dry. Only purchase plants that have not leafed out yet. Plant bare root plants as soon as possible after purchasing. Soak roots overnight in a bucket of water before planting. 

Dig a hole at least twice as wide as the roots. Make a cone in the center of the planting hole, speading roots over the cone. Refill hole up to the same depth, or slightly higher, as when the plant was in the field. The plant usually has a mark showing the dirt line. Hold the plant firmly while filling and firming planting hole to keep it straight. Water well to eliminate air pockets in soil, using more dirt as needed to fill in as the ground sinks. When growing season arrives, form a watering basin, using dirt mounded around the outer edge of the planting site. 

Kitten tree! My favorite kind of tree.

 

Shelley@Valley West Realty: Tips for Selling Your Home:Clean, Clean, Clean

Shelley@Valley West Realty: Tips for Selling Your Home:Clean, Clean, Clean: Februum: Roman ritual cleansing ceremony using lavendar and other herbs to scent homes.  Do not just de-clutter, deep clean to let ...

Tips for Selling Your Home:Clean, Clean, Clean

Februum: Roman ritual cleansing ceremony using lavendar and other herbs to scent homes.

 Do not just de-clutter, deep clean to let your home shine!

 

Start at the top when cleaning your house.

If you do not have a ceiling brush, a broom with a clean, dry towel wrapped around the bristles will work for dusting and de-webbing your ceiling. Sweep the whole ceiling, especially the corners and door frames, being careful of light fixtures and pictures on the wall. 

Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda as cleansers:

Wipe down the walls with the following recipe, this will clean and deodorize:

1    Cup Ammonia
1/2 Cup Vinegar, White or Apple Cider 
1/4 Cup Baking Soda
1 Gallon Warm Water
Mix well, then use with clean towel to wash walls, ceilings, doors and cabinets.
If using on wood surfaces, it may dull finishes.
If using on softer stone surfaces, it may cause etching.

Clean your windows to show your beautiful view.

Clean windows and glass doors improve the first impression of your home. The best way to avoid streaks when cleaning windows is to not wash in the direct sun.

Glass Cleaner:

1/2 Water and 1/2 Vinegar, White or Apple Cider. Mix together in spray bottle.
Spray on glass surface and wipe dry with a clean, dry towel.

Using Vinegar and Baking Soda as a toilet bowl cleaner:

This recipe is great for cleaning the toilet bowl, especially if you have a septic tank:

1/4 Cup Baking Soda
1     Cup Vinegar, White or Apple Cider
Put the Soda in the water in the toilet bowl, then add the Vinegar. It makes a neat foaming action, like the volcano experments in school. Let sit for at least 10 minutes, then brush with toilet brush. If there are hard water lines or marks, use a pumice stone to remove.

Freshen up your drains. Sprinkle 1/8 Cup Baking Soda in your sink, tub and shower drains, add Vinegar. Let sit at least 10 minutes, then flush with hot water.

Clean litter boxes.

Remove the litter boxes, from the rooms where there are no kitties, when showing your home. 

Clean up, do not be Cleaned Out. 

Secure Jewelry, Cash, Keys, Valuables and All Medications before showings. I also recommend hiding Calendars, your appointments are in plain sight showing when you will be out of the house.

Most people are trustworthy. Some people are not. Treat all showings as being shown to very tall toddlers with sticky fingers. 

Use a licensed Real Estate Agent for best results! 

Dog Treats:Dinner, snacks and walks

Favorite Dog and People things. Food, treats and walks

Dog Dinner:

Our dogs love this recipe for their dinner. They also have a good quality dry dog food, Fromm, that we used to let the dogs free feed on until the cats decided that they also liked the dry dog food. Now the pups have dry food in the morning with 1 1/4 cups of homemade food, late afternoon with 1 lightly cooked scrambled egg and 2TBS yogurt and evening-after potty walk. 

Dog Food Recipe:

4 Cups Water
1 Cup Wild Rice or Barley
1 1/2 Lbs Beef, cut into pieces raw or after cooked-I use what ever is on sale at the time:petite steaks, round steak,roast,london broil
2 Cups Yams or carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
1 or 2 Apples, cored and cut into pieces
1 Cup Blue or Blackberries
1 Cup dry oatmeal, quick cooking
1 Can Pumpkin
Using a large soup pot add the water, rice or barley and beef. Bring to a boil, turn down burner and simmer, with lid on, for 45 minutes. After 20 minutes of simmering add yams or carrots. Add apples and berries in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Add the oatmeal in the last 3 minutes of cooking, remove lid and stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the pumpkin. Cool before serving. I split the food into 3 separate dishes for storage, freezing 2 and keeping one in the refrigerator. It takes at least one day to thaw the container out. Serving size about 1 1/4 cups.

Dog treats:

This recipe comes from Spend with Pennies by Samantha. Our dogs love these and they are easy to make using only 6 ingredients:

Pumpkin Dog Treats:

3/4 Cup Pumpkin puree-pure pumkin, not pie filling with sugar added
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter-NOT containing xylitol, a sugar substitute, that may be toxic to dogs.
1 Egg Yolk
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Preheat oven to 375F. Line cooking sheet with parchment paper. Mix pumpkin, peanut butter and yolk together. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients, add gradually to wet until completely combined. Roll out dough on floured surface to approx. 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutter to make shapes. Place on lined cookie sheets at least 1" apart. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes with small shapes, 25 minutes for large shapes. Keep uneaten treats in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Favorite Dog Walks:

Some of our favorite dog walking places are:

Sarah Helmick State Park: 

Located approx. 6 miles south of Monmouth on the Luckiamute River. Take 99W to Old Fort Road turn west follow to Helmick Road, turn south cross the river and the park is to the west of the road. Sarah Helmick State Park is the first State Park established in Oregon.

Luckiamute Landing:

This park is located on Buena Vista Road, south of  Buena Vista. There are two different areas to hike, one is the North Luckiamute Landing which is right next to the Luckiamute River and the other is south, closer to Springhill Drive.

Cemeteries:

It may sound weird, but some of our favorite walking areas are in the local cemeteries. Usually hardly any alive people or pets, the cemeteries are located in beautiful grassy and treed areas. Kings Valley on Kings Valley Hwy, Wormer on Kings Valley Hwy, FirCrest on Helmick Rd and Dallas Cemeteries are nice walking areas. Be polite and take dog poo bags.

Falls City & Philomath Fabulous Food/February Fun (Kittens)

 

Valentine's Dinner in Falls City at The Boondocks, 318 N. Main St, Falls City OR:

February 14th: The Boondocks will be serving Lobster and Steak dinner for you and your Valentine. 

Every Thursday is Taco Thursday at The Boondocks.

Every Friday night is Steak Night.

Every Sunday features homemade Pizza and Lasagna.

Our favorite special day, or any day, lunch place! Great food, friendly people.

 

Valentine's Eve Dinner at Eats and Treats 1644 Main St, Philomath Or:

February 13th, 5pm to 8pm, Valentine's Eve Dinner will be served. Advance reservations are required. Call (541) 307-0225 to make your reservation. 

Bake Sale at the Kings Valley Store:

February 14th, 11am to 3pm, the Happy Worker's Club will be having their 3rd annual Bake Sale on the front porch of the Kings Valley Store to benefit the upkeep and maintenance of the HWC Community Center. Stop by the Kings Valley Store, 39088 Kings Valley Hwy, for homemade soups, Logger Dogs, fresh made sandwiches and homemade goodies along with groceries.

Heartland Humane Society, 398 SW Twin Oaks Circle, Corvallis OR, Help with Kittens and Cats Volunteering:

February 13th at 3:30 pm Heartland Humane Society is having a Help with Kittens and Cats volunteering event. This event is being held every second Friday, March through December. Kittens, kittens, kittens!

Corvallis Winter Market is being held every Saturday 9a-1p:

Winter Market is being held at the Benton County Fairgrounds every Saturday from 9am to 1pm. 

Corvallis Benton County Library Book Sale:

Book Sale to be held at Corvallis Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis. Hours:

Feb. 21st 6pm-8pm

Feb. 22nd 9am-4pm

Feb. 23rd 10am-3pm

January gardening things to do now

Now is the time to start planning your spring and summer gardens, ordering seeds and starting cuttings. 

Planting seeds indoors now for transplanting:

Use a good seedling soil mix with no clods. Cover the seeds with soil at a depth of 3 times the thickness of the seed. If the seeds are tiny, like carrot seeds, mix seed with sand before planting to avoid over seeding an area. Keep the soil moist until the seed leaves appear. Use plastic or glass over the pots or flats to help keep soil evenly moist and warm. As soon as leaves appear remove covering and allow soil to dry slightly between waterings, move seedlings to a cooler area and  remove heat pads. Stir the surface of the soil with a fork or stick to aerate the soil and help reduce diseases that can occur in damp soil. Use small fans to blow air across the plants to circulate the air and keep the damping off diseases from starting.

Vegetable seeds to plant indoors now for transplanting later:

Artichoke, Endive, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions

Flower seeds:

Bee Balm, Carnations, Dahlia seeds, Geraniums, Petunias, Snapdragons, Wallflower, Yarrow

Take Hardwood cuttings of shrubs and trees for propagation:

Most deciduous trees and shrubs may be propagated by hardwood cuttings during the dormant season.
Dogwood, Crepe Myrtle, Fig, Grape, Honeysuckle, Rose Mallow, Spiraea, Star Jasmine and Willow are some plants to try propagating with hardwood cuttings this time of year.

Bulbs:

If you bought bulbs in the fall and did not get around to planting at that time, plant now if the soil is not frozen.

Happy Gardening, it will be Summer soon(ish)!