Blog

Sam Says – April 2018

Sam Says for April 2018 - Both Washington State and National Arbor Day will be celebrated this month. Washington Arbor Day is Wednesday April 11th, and National Arbor Day is on Friday, April 27th. These are especially good days to plant a tree or a shrub if your...

Sam Says – March 2018

Sam Says for March 2018:  -Watch for new growth on perennials and bait for slugs, if necessary. - Orchard Mason Bees will be out this month. Make sure you have trees and shrubs in bloom and a shallow water source available to them. Your new, clean tubes should be in...

Sam Says – February 2018

Sam Says for February 2018 - Get ready to garden.  Start cool season crops from seed indoors this month (Arugula, Asparagus, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Chives, Lettuce, Onion, Parsley, Peppers and Tomatoes). - Summer flowering bulbs can be planted now and...

Sam Says – January 2018

Sam Says for January 2018 o  If it snows - especially heavy wet snow – prevent limb breakage by knocking snow off early.  Evergreen magnolias, pyramidal cedars, arborvitaes and sweet gum trees are most vulnerable. o  Prune off dead flower stems on Sedum Autumn Joy and...

Sam Says – December 2017

Sam Says for December 2017 Don’t forget to spend your ValNur PLANT BUCKS before the Nursery closes on Sunday, December 24th, 2017. Don’t know about our customer rewards program? Give us a call at 360-779-3806. Remember the humming birds. Anna’s humming bird rarely...

Sam Says – November 2017

Tips for November: Apply Lime to your lawn. The Calcium in Dolomite Lime or Super Sweet is needed because in areas of high annual rainfall, calcium is leached from the soil. Apply Dolomite Lime at the rate of forty pounds per 1,000 square feet or Super Sweet at the...

October “Sam Says”

Sam Says for October 2017 Cover crops (green manure) can be planted in October and November. A mixture of vetch, clover and annual rye works really well. If you are not familiar with the benefits of a cover crop in your vegetable garden, give us a call. Or, you can...

September “Sam Says”

Sam Says for September 2017 Time to prune Wisteria again. Cut new long whippy stems back to leave 3 to 6 leaves on the stem at a point where the stem joins a main trunk or limb. If your Wisteria hasn’t bloomed well, try feeding the plant in addition to pruning. Use...

Harvesting our Yacon – Bolivian Sunroot

In the spring of 2016 we were offered some Yacon starts, not knowing much about it. The tubers were really tasty. The staff loved 'em! We started a bunch of new plants and sold them. We planted on for us, and here is the story. We had to wait until it stopped growing,...

Flaky Fir, An Obscured View

Every Christmas season at Valley Nursery, we receive a nice selection of living Christmas trees. This year in particular, a new flavor showed up, which has me in awe. Abies Squamata, commonly known as Flaky Fir, gives the classic appeal of an upright fir with a...