Gardening, from the Masters

For gardeners, stopping by the Flower Building to chat with the Washington State University Master Gardeners might be on the list of things to do at the Grant County Fair.

Marta Tredway and Glenn Martin, Master Gardeners from Quincy, were available in the Flower Building on Wednesday afternoon to answer questions and offer their expertise to patrons making their way around the building to check out flowers on display.

Tredway has been a Master Gardener since 2003 and said there aren’t many others around this area and they are spread throughout Grant and Adams County. She also said Master Gardeners coming to the fair is an annual event.

“The stuff that we teach other people comes from WSU and it’s tried and true,” Tredway said. “It’s not someone who decided they were going to write a book; this is all tried and true and has been tested over the years.”

She said she expects the recent extreme heat to be a topic she hears quite a few questions about this week from gardeners. She said the heat is going to be an issue well beyond this year and could have an effect for the next four or five years.

“I just had one the other day, a lady asking about one of her trees,” Tredway said. “It’s a flowering tree. I said you’re gonna see if it dies back; it’s probably going to die back because of the heat.”

In addition to questions about dealing with the high temperatures this summer, Tredway said she gets a lot of questions about growing produce, such as tomatoes or zucchini. Patrons will stop and ask her why their tomato plants aren’t doing well, which is possibly because there aren’t enough bees.

Others will ask why their zucchini plants have flowers and aren’t producing any zucchinis, to which Tredway said she will explain it’s a male flower and offers some tips on telling the difference between the two.

She said she’s found planting zucchini a little bit later in the year can help gardeners miss some of the troubles with squash bugs.

In regard to flowers, she said there’s a bit of everything that can grow here. A lot of the flowers on display in the Flower Building on Wednesday afternoon were dahlias, a popular choice for gardeners.

“Marigolds are really good to play around your garden because they stink and it gets rid of the bugs,” Tredway said.

Succulents, such as cacti, have continued to grow in popularity in recent years due to how easy they are to raise. Tredway said people can simply put them in the ground and maybe water them once a month.

“Don’t water them November through January, they get way overwatered,” Tredway said.

When it comes to raising fruit trees, Tredway said simply “don’t” unless it’s peaches or nectarines. Growing anything like cherries or apples can become troublesome, particularly if pests spread into commercial orchards in the area.

In addition to garnering advice from experts, patrons are also treated to a variety of displays from local nurseries, businesses and gardeners who have brought in their flowers and plants. Gardeners can get a glimpse of not only what other gardeners are growing, but what plants might be available to them in their area.

Tredway said she sees a blend of both experienced gardeners coming in for specific advice and newcomers simply wanting to know how to get started. But she said a garden is always an experiment.

“It always is,” Tredway said.