A garden bed at the city’s Pickering Barn demonstration garden displays cauliflower, celery, beets, carrots, green onions, herbs, beans, cucumbers, turnips and radishes. By Greg Farrar

Summer gardens are a treasure trove of tasty treats. Ripe strawberries abound, string beans spring up faster than you can pick them, and the raspberries and blackberries multiply exponentially.

While it’s nice to bite into a succulent ripe apple that fell to the ground, the apple tree you inherited from your home’s previous owners can sometimes produce more fruit than you can possibly find time to store. You’d bake another pie for the neighbor, but she threatened you with bodily harm should you bring another and derail her triathlon training.

So, what do you do with your garden’s bounty when there’s just too much?

Share it.

It’s the most logical thing to do with an abundance of food. After all, people clean out pantries and donate canned food to community meal programs. But donating your fresh produce to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank can be even better.

It is something community garden organizers, and even the city of Issaquah, have been doing for years.

In fact, the city just made a 72-pound donation of fresh produce to the food bank a few weeks ago, according to Pickering Garden coordinator Laura Matter, who works for Seattle Tilth. The mix included garlic, chard, kale, lettuce, basil, fennel, onion, garlic, turnips and turnip greens.

“We’re doing some amazing stuff,” Senior Resource Conservation Manager MaryJoe de Beck said, “although, it’s now just being harvested, because it took so long to warm up here that it’s still early in the season.”

For former Klahanie Pea-Patch organizer Roy Oehler, donating part of the community’s bounty was something he talked to food bank organizers about even before getting the first crop.

“They love to have fresh produce, especially when it is grown organically, which is what most people do in their own gardens,” he said. “They need whatever you can bring, because the people who use the food bank as a resource need all the help they can get.”

The food and clothing bank serves people in the 98075, 98029, 98027 and 98059 ZIP codes.

Families whose children typically get breakfast and lunch through school free and reduced-price meal programs aren’t getting those meals when school is out for summer. That causes additional financial hardship for many families.

You can also check with your church or even one of the many homeless encampments, like Tent City 4, which Issaquah hosted from January to April, Oehler said.

“If you have excess food, especially fresh vegetables and fruits, there is never any reason for it to go to waste,” he said. “I cry when I see it go to waste, because there are people just begging for it.”

Of course, you can also save some fresh fruits and veggies for yourself. Schedule a half-day every week to pick and process your garden’s latest crops. Canning and freezing are two really good methods to preserve them.

Beans, corn, beets, asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, peas, peaches and pears all can very well.

“Growing up, my mother did a lot of canning. I got so sick and tired of green beans and beets, because they lasted for 10 years,” Oehler said. “Canned beets, pickled beets, stewed beets, but she fed a family of five and we didn’t have very much money. If it wasn’t for her canning and her gardening, we probably wouldn’t have eaten very much.”

Oehler’s preferred method of storing many of his fruits and veggies, though, he said is freezing them. Foods that freeze really well are berries, apples, corn, beans, peas, carrots and grapes.

“My wife and I, we never buy canned vegetables. If we buy them, we buy frozen, because they actually taste better,” because it preserves the flavor and texture better, he said. “We freeze a lot of our own, too.

“Just wash them good, dry them up completely and put them in a bag and stick them in the freezer,” he said. “It’s really easy.”

You can also make pickled foods, like pickles and spicy green beans, or you can make jam from berries.

Plants do not agree. They are very busy this month.

August is the time when most plants are finished growing and are “hardening off” to prepare for winter. That means it is a bad time to fertilize them. Stop fertilizing by Aug. 1. You don’t want to force your plants to put out new growth this month, because they may not have time to “harden off” before winter.

The next general guideline for August is don’t prune. There are some plants that don’t care when you prune, but it’s hard to remember each one’s preferences. So, as a rule, don’t prune between Aug. 1 and frost. That way you won’t get a burst of tender new growth sprouting up just before the deadly nor’easter hits.

Now, you are thinking, so what’s wrong with that: two things I don’t have to do in August. But it doesn’t end here. August is usually our driest month. That means we need to water to keep plants alive. You can let your lawn dry out and turn brown, because it will come back when the rain starts. But you cannot let plants dry out and expect them to survive.

August is the month when plants start producing fruits and seeds. That means it’s time to harvest and reap the goodness of local produce in season. If you are ambitious, consider freezing or canning. Check out the Issaquah Farmers Market and fruit stands for local produce if you haven’t grown your own. Knowing how delicious and nutritious locally produced food is, we should all think about growing good things to eat. Now is a great time to plan for new a vegetable garden next year.

August is a wonderful month to check out trees and shrubs you may want to propagate. Many hard wood cuttings are taken in August. Plants are producing seeds now, so check them for seeds you may want to try. A greenhouse or cold frame helps, but people have had good results in a north or east facing window, especially if it’s not in a heated space.

Our August this year is late. Our cool, wet spring has delayed berry and fruit production west of the Cascades. But the feeling and mood is upon many of us. It’s time to be busy, to reap what the garden offers and to savor the tastes, colors and smells that are produced during the hot and dry days of August.

Jane Garrison is a local landscape architect and master gardener who gardens in glacial till on the plateau.

Andrew Merges (left) and his wife Angela tend to their personal bed in the Issaquah Flatland Community Garden. By Tim Pfarr

For someone who lives in an apartment or condominium, it may seem the only way to have a personal garden is to dump a bunch of soil in the bathtub, buy an ultraviolet lamp and install some tomato plants. Well, it’s time these people got word there is such a thing as a community garden, and that bathing can once again ensue.

Just a couple of blocks north of Issaquah Valley Elementary School, one can find the Issaquah Flatland Community Garden. The project came to life in May 2009 thanks to many volunteers and a partnership between Sustainable Issaquah and the company AtWork!, which helps people with disabilities be productive, integrated and contributing members of their communities.

The garden on the site of the AtWork! Issaquah office turned out to be hotter than jalapeños when it opened, its 24 beds filling almost instantly.

“The community garden kind of rose to the top as a low-hanging fruit,” said Chantal Stevens, Sustainable Issaquah co-founder. “Everybody wanted one.”

Dennis Wajda, AtWork! employment consultant and community liaison, agreed.

“We never had to go door to door or hang anything,” he said. “People just came.”

He said volunteers worked expediently in ripping out part of the AtWork! lawn, installing the garden and building a fence around it.

“Literally, in one month, it went from looking like that grass to this,” Wajda said, motioning to the garden and the grass that still surrounds it.

Each 4-by-15 bed costs $40 per year, and the cost covers watering. Gardeners must also bring their own plants. Of the garden’s 24 beds, six are designated “community impact beds,” and the produce they yield goes directly to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank.The impact beds are divided into thirds, and every member of the garden chooses one of these small beds to tend. Last year, the six beds yielded 500 pounds of produce.

People with disabilities also help with the community impact beds by delivering produce to the food bank.

Although the garden is full, you can join a waiting list on the garden’s website and volunteer while you wait by weeding, donating plants and watering the garden.

Members of the garden also get access to the community herb bed, which all members help with and use. Among the herbs grown there are sage, parsley, thyme, oregano and cilantro.

The Flatland Community Garden will be undergoing some changes in the coming days. A large stump adjacent to the garden is slated for removal to make way for a handicapped-accessible bed.

Furthermore, the city Arts Commission has awarded the garden a $10,000 grant that will be used to construct an aesthetically pleasing gate. The garden has until the end of the year to use the grant funds.

Wajda said it will not undergo any further significant expansion for at least another year or two, because the AtWork! building is being remodeled.

Two gardeners who have taken full advantage of the garden are husband and wife Andrew and Angela Merges, of Issaquah.

Angela said she located the garden while searching online for a garden to join. The garden was full when she discovered it, but she joined the waiting list and spent a year volunteering before she was able to get a bed of her own.

“I just wanted to get my hands dirty,” she said. “So, I went out and played in the garden.”

The Merges operate a bed of their own, and Angela considers their bed a “snack garden,” because it grows peas, radishes, carrots, spinach, onions, tomatoes and beans.

Andrew said he loves the herb garden as well.

“Just forget dry herbs when you have an herb garden,” he said.

Sammamish resident Wally Presbo also operates two small community impact beds, and he does so in conjunction with his church, Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ in Sammamish.

Presbo, a master gardener, uses his beds to teach children from his church about gardening. He grows lettuce, spinach, radishes, potatoes, onions, snap peas, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and carrots. Ninety percent of the produce from his beds is donated to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank.

“It’s a hands-on thing,” Presbo said. “I set up a time when I’m going to be there, and they show up and help plant literally everything.”

Tips from the gardeners

-Plant your garden in the warmest, sunniest place you can.

-Start with good soil that drains well.

-Use a raised bed for an open garden.

-Water plants at ground level, especially potato and tomato plants.

-Keep the garden weeded.

-Give plants in an open garden one inch of water per week.

-Use organic fertilizer.

-Don’t let anything dry out.

-Use marigold and cayenne pepper to keep out animals, such as rabbits and slugs.

Follow these safety tips during summer and the rest of the year:

• When getting ready to landscape a garden, pull a tree stump, build a fence or undertake any other digging activity, call 811 — the free, call-before-you-dig-hotline — to avoid potential hazards associated with striking or digging up underground utilities.
• Place new trees away from overhead power lines. Do not build playhouses or platforms in trees with nearby power lines.
• Never climb trees near power lines — even if the power lines are not touching the tree.
• Avoid flying kites, metallic balloons and radio-controlled toys near power lines. If a kite or Mylar balloon drifts near a power line, let it go. Never try to retrieve anything caught in a power line or from a tree located near a power line.
• Never install hot tubs, swimming or wading pools underneath or near power lines.

PSE advises anyone who damages a natural gas line, or who smells the odor, to quickly move a safe distance from the damaged line, call 911 and report the damage to PSE by calling 888-225-5773 toll free.

Treasure Hunters Roadshow, a traveling treasure hunt, rolled into Issaquah last week and offered locals a chance to discuss antiques and collectibles with experts.

Clint Crook, a roadshow representative, said some of the more unusual pieces to reach the roadshow included a bed believed to once belong to Johnny Cash. Everyday fare included smaller items pulled from closets, dressers and jewelry boxes.

Bob Steiner (left), a buyer with Treasure Hunters Roadshow, looks at the silver coins and jewelry of former Tiger Mountain resident Freda Stranack, 91 (center), who came with daughter Patty Parker to the Hilton Garden Inn in Issaquah. Photos by Greg Farrar

Crook said although collectors curtailed purchases because of the recession, some items remain hot. Early Barbie dolls attract attention. The vintage toys can fetch thousands of dollars from high-end collectors.

Other surefire sellers: old-school guitars and Winchester firearms. Crook said the Treasure Hunters Roadshow team had purchased a vintage guitar for $60,000 before the Issaquah stop. The guns, manufactured in the late 1800s, recall the rough-and-tumble days of the Old West — and demand a pretty penny from gun collectors. Crook said roadshow buyers secured $40,000 for a vintage pistol before the Issaquah stop.

The pieces carted to the Treasure Hunters Roadshow offered hints about how to spot potential valuables amid antiques.

Hundreds of people from Issaquah, the Eastside and the region unpacked antique lamps, hand-painted vases and porcelain figurines from bubble wrap in a hotel conference room last week. Organizers estimated the five-day event could draw as many as 1,200 people.

Silverware — the real stuff — and pre-1965 coins — comprised mostly of silver — also landed on buyers’ tables at the Treasure Hunters Roadshow. The most common item unloaded by attendees: gold jewelry. The price of gold has risen as investors sought a more stable investment in a roiling market.

The event bore similarities to the roving “Antiques Roadshow” broadcast on PBS. Though the “Antiques Roadshow” and Treasure Hunters Roadshow teams both appraise pieces, employees for the latter buy pieces outright.

“If you want to guarantee that I’m going to hand over a check, bring in your precious metals,” Crook said June 3, the third day of the Issaquah stop.

On the Web

Find the next Treasure Hunters Roadshow stop. Determine the value of heirlooms and oddities with a tips-of-the-trade guide and experts’ library on the website for PBS series “Antiques Roadshow” here.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

We don’t like to work in the yard when it rains, so we end up with yards that really need hair cuts. Look at it as an opportunity. Even if you don’t have a good landscape design, it can be simple to make it look so much better.

Trees, shrubs and groundcovers have different basic forms. The trick is to enhance each plant with pruning to fit its own character, and keep each of the three — shrubs, groundcover and trees — visually separated from one another.

Columnar shrubs: Clip off floppy side branches and top them if too tall.

Mounding shrubs: Trim to nearly flat, or rounded with even tops, not ragged. Allow them to grow together if they are close enough. One mass often looks nicer than individual lumps, but it may be difficult to reach across the next time you prune.Open shrubs: Trim out foliage, so you can see wood here and there.

Sprawling shrubs: Allow to grow together and clip the tops to form a tall groundcover.

Groundcover: Allow to cover to prevent weed growth and erosion. Do not allow groundcover to grow up into shrubs. Keep it mowed or clipped low, and keep the shrubs clipped above it to create a line or shadow between the two.

Multitrunked trees: They need to have their trunks exposed, because they are usually very nice to look at. So, limb them up and clip off little, crossing branches and leaves that detract from the main form.

Columnar and conical trees: Like columnar shrubs, they need to be kept upright by pruning any flopping side branches. Never top a fir or spruce. The best way to keep pines dense and controlled is to cut back the candles (new growth) by no more than 50 percent. Cedar and hemlock can be clipped back for a denser look.

Weeping trees: Do not allow them to weep into other plants, although they make great playhouses if they do.

Spreading trees: This tree type must have room to spread. They may be limbed up and underplanted with shade-tolerant shrubs or groundcover and may be kept lower if allowed to spread.

Openly branched trees: Big limbs need to be taken all the way back to another big limb or the trunk. End-pruning limbs usually results in ugly deforming. Sometimes, we see this type of pruning where the power company trims around the power lines.

Don’t let these guidelines scare you. If your yard is as overgrown as mine right now, a little pruning can only help it. Who knows? You just might be able to make your yard look like you are following a terrific landscape plan. It’s worth a try.

Jane Garrison is a local landscape architect and master gardener who gardens in glacial till on the plateau.

Now that winter has finally relinquished its grasp on local weather, allowing a transition to spring, many homeowners have probably noticed the grass in the yard has grown out of control since last fall.

This leaves them to answer the question — is their mower up to the task or is it time for a new one?

Homeowners in the market for a new mower have myriad choices when it comes to lawn maintenance. Randy Byrd, floor associate at The Home Depot, lends his years of expertise to help steer potential buyers toward the right mower for the right yard.

The first question Byrd asks is the size of the yard, to help determine whether the homeowner needs a riding lawn mower or a push model.

“It matters if the yard is hilly or flat and if it’s just a 20-square foot patch in the suburbs,” Byrd said.

The general standard, unless you’re looking for extra exercise, is steer toward a push mower if it would take less than an hour. For those with large lawns, riding mowers come in the standard 42-inch deck (the width of the area blades cut) all the way up to 52 inches.

Depending on the job, there are many new mowers to select from. Thinkstock photo

If going with a walking mower, the next decision to consider is push or self-propelled. Byrd said that while propelled mowers are growing in popularity, it still comes down to personal preference.

“Self-propelled mowers are pretty much all standard now,” he added.

So, the choice with propelled mowers is now like choosing options for a car — front-wheel or rear-wheel drive.

“Rear-wheel drive is easier to handle, but isn’t as powerful going up a hill or going through tall grass,” Byrd explained.

The latest trend in motorized mowers is the hydrostatic engine.

“It’s the big thing now,” Byrd said. “There’s no shifting speeds, just like an automatic car.”

Next, there’s the decision to go with the standard gas engine or side with the growing number of owners who choose electric. While electric mowers have been around a while, a growing number are battery powered, so no more 100-foot extension cords trailing behind the mower.

Byrd said even the batteries are getting better each year.

“Most batteries used to last about 30 minutes, but we have one mower with a 48-volt cordless that lasts up to two hours,” he said.

And for the truly conscientious looking for the lowest carbon footprint, the mower market features a solar-powered model. But it’s not readily available at many home improvement stores yet.

For homeowners who choose to stick with a gas mower, Bryd reminds them to change the fuel every so often if the mower has sat idle.

“The gas we use these days has so much ethanol in it, it could ruin the mower if you leave it in too long,” he said.

Newer technology is even reaching underneath with the blades. Bryd said most mowers feature di-cut blades that cut grass on both sides, requiring less change outs during the life of the mower.

Once the mower is chosen and put to use, don’t forget the next step in lawn care — lawn maintenance.

“Organic fertilizer is getting big,” Byrd said. “It still has nitrogen, but no chemicals, making it safer for the pets and for nearby lakes with no chemical runoff.”

Another step he recommends is adding a soil sweetener to the lawn, which reduces the amount of PH.

“A high PH in the soil is the reason so many people get so many weeds in their lawn,” he said. “Adding a sweetener, which has lime, once or twice a year for two or three years can permanently lower the soil PH. The homeowner would never have to use weed killer again on the yard.”

If homeowners still have questions about what’s best for their yard, Bryd said many home improvement stores, like The Home Depot, have a garden club on their website to submit questions and receive easy answers.

David Hayes: dhayes@isspress.com, 392-6434, ext. 237. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

It’s important to clean the grass and debris buildup from under the mower deck and on the cutting blades at frequent intervals in order to prevent clogging and to improve cutting performance. Do not use sharp instruments to clean the deck. Always wear safety glasses, and make sure the spark plug wire is removed from the spark plug before performing any maintenance.

Change the air filter and oil

In order for your mower to run at its optimum level, you must change the oil and air filter once a year.

Replace or clean spark plugs

Your spark plugs should be replaced when you notice rust forming around them; however, it’s important to clean them on a regular basis. If you don’t replace or clean the spark plugs, the mower will not function properly.

Sharpen or replace mower blades

In order to get the best cut possible, sharpen or replace the blades. You can use a metal file to sharpen blades, but if you’re uncomfortable doing it yourself, take it to your local hardware store.

Use fresh gas and fuel stabilizer

Old gas can clog the engine, which can cause major system damage to your mower. Be sure to use up or empty gas at the end of the season and start with a fresh tank every 30 days. Always use a minimum of 87-octane gas with no more than 10 percent ethanol and add fuel stabilizer to your gas can at every refill to protect your mower from problems that can be caused by today’s ethanol-blended fuels.

Source: MTD Products Inc.

• “Master Gardeners” — 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. through July
• “Grow Great Tomatoes” — 10 a.m. May 20
• “Landscaping with Native Plants” — 10:30 a.m. June 12
• “Herb Harvest” — 10:30 a.m. June 19

If you dig into the rising trend of urban farming, it could come from your own backyard.

Urban farming has become increasingly popular in recent years, and people are pushing its boundaries beyond a few tomato plants. Year-round vegetable, fruit and herb gardens, and chickens, goats and even bees are now being raised in people’s yards.

“The last couple years, we’ve seen a huge upsurge in people’s interest in growing food in the city,” said Liza Burke, communications director of Seattle Tilth, a nonprofit education group with classes in Seattle and Issaquah.

Such people come from all walks of life.

The demand for chickens has “become insane” at The Grange Supply in Issaquah, said Susan Saadati, who orders things including baby chicks for the company.

“Most of our customers are new to chickens,” she said.

Many people might be intimidated at the idea of raising livestock or even just lima beans in their backyard, but anyone can be an urban farmer, experts said.

Kecen Zhou, a volunteer at Seattle Tilth’s community learning garden at Pickering Barn, helps plant vegetable seedlings. contributed

For the cluck of it

For all their clucking and pecking, chickens are low maintenance.

“They’re so easy, and then they give you back presents for your time and energy,” Saadati said.

The big time investment comes in building a coop, but one can easily be purchased from the Grange and other suppliers in the area.

Some guidelines need to be followed when raising chicks, which need to be kept warm in a brooder, a small space like a rabbit cage or even a cardboard box lined with wood shavings.

Clean water and food has to be available, and the wood shavings should be changed every few days.

When they are older and have their feathers, then can be moved into a coop, which should be confined to protect them from predators and sometimes the family dog or cat.

Aside from food and water, little else is needed.

“They just do their chicken thing, which is scratching at the dirt and putting themselves to sleep” at night, Saadati said.

All you have to do, she said, is open the hen house in the morning, close the door at night, give them food and water every few days, and collect the eggs.

And fresh laid eggs are “much richer,” she said.

There is a multitude of chicken breeds, which rise and fall in popularity over the years. The fad last year at the Grange, Saadati said, was for marans.

Others, like Rhode Island reds, are popular every year.

But the breed doesn’t really matter when it comes to laying eggs.

“They all lay really good eggs,” she said.

While all eggs taste the same, they certainly don’t look the same.

Marans lay dark brown eggs, while araucanas lay bluish-green eggs.

Colored eggs can be a great way to interest children in chickens.

“If you come up with different color eggs, that is like Easter,” Saadati said.

Having children involved in raising chickens teaches them responsibility for another living animal and where their food comes from, she said.

For economy or hobby

Knowing where food comes from is one reason many people have taken up urban farming, Burke said.

But there are other reasons, too.

She’s heard a wide variety of reasons from customers at Seattle Tilth. Some do it to save money. For others, it is a hobby. Some say food tastes better when they grow it. Increasingly, people tell her they are interested in eating locally.

“People are concerned about where their food comes from,” said Laura Matter, a volunteer with Seattle Tilth who helps tend to the group’s garden at Pickering Barn.

Matter also answers the group’s garden question hotline, and said in the past two years she’s spoken to an increasing number of people in their 20s who are starting gardens.

Breaking ground on a garden can be intimidating.

“It can be pretty bewildering, because there’s so much to know,” she said.

First-time gardeners need to start small and first focus on building healthy soil. A soil analysis can be done through the King County Conservation District for a nominal fee.

Based on the results, the soil should be supplemented, if needed, to ensure it is the right mix of mineral content (nonchemical fertilizer), organic matter (compost), air and water. The right combination supports a healthy community of microorganisms, which help plants grow.

Deciding what to grow

After that, Matter said, a gardener should sit down and think about what he or she eats, and plant that.

“You don’t want to end up with a ton of cherry tomatoes if you don’t really like tomatoes,” she said.

Once the garden is going, it is like having a fresh produce stand outside.

“As you get into the (peak) season, you’re basically picking dinner,” Matter said, adding, “You could have essentially a whole salad growing outside your house.”

One nice perk of a garden is you can pick only what you need, meaning no more uneaten vegetables going bad in your refrigerator.

A garden doesn’t require much space either. Matter’s yard is mostly shaded, so she grows a few plants in containers and also tends a P-Patch.

While gardening does require some small time commitment, you don’t need a lot of time or a green thumb to do it.

It is also something that can be done year round in the Pacific Northwest.

“When you pull something out, you put something back in,” Matter said.

Gardening never grows old, either.

“There’s always something new to learn, and that’s what keeps it fun,” Burke said.

It can also be fun for the whole family.

“For kids, it can be lots of fun playing in the dirt outside and with critters,” she said.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Resources

• Seattle Tilth www.seattletilth.org
• Seattle Tilth’s garden hotline 206-633-0224
• Seattle Urban Farm Co. www.seattleurbanfarmco.com
• King County Conservation District: www.kingcd.org
• City of Issaquah Resource Conservation Office www.ci.issaquah.wa.us (find the office under the “departments” heading)
• The Grange Supply www.grangesupplyinc.com
• Backyard chicken forum
• www.backyardchickens.com

Events

Seattle Tilth’s A Day in the Garden at Issaquah

10 a.m. – 3 p.m. April 17, Pickering Barn’s community learning garden

1730 10th Ave. N.W.

Seattle Tilth’s Issaquah

Edible Plant Sale

9 a.m. – 2 p.m. May 22

Pickering Barn

City of Issaquah’s Comprehensive Organic Gardener Program

7-9 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturdays

May 6 – May 27

Pickering Barn

Popular crops by season

Winter/late winter

Kale, cabbages, collards, leeks, carrots

Spring

Lettuce, arugula, spinach, chard, green onions, radishes

Summer

Greens and root crops, potatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, garlic

Late summer/fall

Tomatoes, winter squash, pumpkins, parsnips, bok choy, radishes, lettuce