Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 25, 2015 9A
Polk County Living
Wait before planting vegetable garden
BIRTHS
ed using some sort of pro-
tection from the chill like a
floating row cover, individual
glass or plastic cloches, or
even milk jugs or soda bot-
tles with the top cut out and
turned upside down over
plants. For directions on
building a large, green-
house-type cloche with PVC
pipe and plastic, check out
the OSU Extension guide on
How to Build Your Own
Raised Bed Cloche.
Whether the warm winter
will mean soil warms earlier
this year is a matter of con-
jecture, Miller said. There
still could be a cold snap in
the next month.
“Gardening depends on
the weather, which is unpre-
dictable,” he said. “But it
pays to wait.”
You’ll find more informa-
tion about vegetable gar-
dening, including schedules
for planting, in the compre-
hensive Extension publica-
tion called Growing Your
Own.
Alex Thomas Lofton was
born to Caleb and Sarah
Lofton of Monmouth at
2:06 a.m. on Feb. 6 at Sil-
verton Hospital Family
Birth Center.
Alex weighed 8 pounds,
13 ounces, and was 21½
inches long.
Alex is the couple’s first
child.
Grandparents are
Stephen and Emmy Win-
ters of Independence, and
John and Sharon Lofton of
Monmouth.
Great-grandparents are
Russ and Marilee Bell of
Florida.
A milder-than-usual win-
ter has vegetable gardeners
itching to get their hands in
the soil. But that’s not a great
idea.
“One of the biggest mis-
takes people make is to plant
too early,” said Weston
Miller, a horticulturist with
Oregon State University’s Ex-
tension Service. “They get
excited when it’s sunny for a
few days, put plants in the
ground and think they will
grow. But the seeds either rot
from damping off fungus or
germinate very slowly. At the
very least, they’ll be stressed
for the rest of the season and
never catch up.”
Wait at least until the end
of February or first part of
March in the North
Willamette Valley, he ad-
vised, and then only plant
cool-season vegetables like
peas, arugula, mustard,
radishes and turnips.
In April, he said, expand
the palette to include car-
rots, beets, scallions, chives,
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
parsley and cutting greens
that are easy to grow from
seed; or plant already-start-
ed transplants of kale, head
lettuce, chard, leeks and
onions.
An inexpensive soil ther-
mometer helps keep plant-
ing time in perspective.
“Soil temperatures right
now are in the 40s,” Miller
said. “That’s too cold. Fifty
degrees is a good bench-
mark for cool-season crops.
And the soil should be 60 de-
grees or more for warm-
weather plants like toma-
toes, peppers and basil. In
fact, for tomatoes it should
ideally be 65 to 70.”
If you can’t resist the urge
to plant, Miller recommend-
Five Tips for a Successful Garden
• Prepare the soil. For existing garden beds: Add 5 to 10
pounds per 100 square feet of lime in the fall. Before planting,
add a moderate amount of compost (¼ to 1 inch) and a bal-
anced fertilizer (all three numbers on the bag are the same)
according to package directions. Incorporate the materials
into the top 8 to 12 inches with a digging fork or spade. Rake
bed before planting seeds or transplants. For new garden
beds: Remove sod or weeds to expose soil. Liberally add 4 to
6 inches of compost, agricultural lime and a balanced fertiliz-
er and incorporate into the top 8 to 12 inches with a digging
fork or spade. Prepare seed or transplant bed with rake.
• In addition to adding complete fertilizer to the soil, use a
soluble fertilizer like fish emulsion for transplants, especially
early in the season or if the plants are not thriving.
• Use transplants when possible. Crops that do best when
seeded directly into the garden include carrots, parsnips,
beets, radish, turnips, mustard and arugula. Most other crops
can and should be transplanted to make the gardening
process easier, particularly for weed control. Grow your own
transplants or look for high-quality starts (not root bound,
stunted, off-color) at the garden center for best results.
• Control weeds early in the growth cycle of your veggies.
• Monitor and control slugs and other insect pests often.
Keep an eye out for slugs. Find them under debris and in the
folds of plants and dispatch them by dropping into soapy
water or cutting them in half with scissors. Look for aphids,
imported cabbage butterfly larvae, and other pesky critters
on the underside of the leaves. Squash them.
—Weston Miller, horticulturist, OSU Extension Service
MI TOWN
What a joy it is to begin al-
most every day with a spec-
tacular sunrise — and the
evening sunsets are almost
as great.
Those extra minutes of
brightness at the beginning
and end of the day help us to
realize that springtime will
be here almost before we
know it. Even with March
just a few days away, though,
it’s good to keep in mind that
winter’s chill hasn’t gone
away for the season quite
yet.
It’s been great to hear the
sounds of children playing in
backyards and riding bikes
through the neighborhood,
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
and to see the pretty daffodils
and violets raise their little
faces toward the sunshine
every morning. Although we
would love to take a trip to
Florida to see kids and grand-
kids, as well as our beloved
Boston Red Sox in spring
training, this is definitely not
the winter to leave Oregon.
—
If you’re in the mood for
some early spring cleaning
and have drawers and cup-
boards full of craft projects
that never quite got started
— much less finished —
here’s the answer to the
question of what do you do
with all that “stuff”?
The Friends of the Mon-
mouth Senior Center is hav-
ing a craft supply sale on
March 14 from 9 a.m. until 3
p.m. For a table rental fee of
$10, you can set up all those
supplies to sell to someone
who will really use them,
and earn some money to
buy something from some-
body else that you will use.
Table rental fees are going to
benefit the Monmouth Sen-
ior Center’s Building Expan-
sion Fund.
Call the center at 503 838-
5678 to reserve your table.
—
I stopped by the Mon-
mouth Public Library to check
out the new seed lending pro-
gram and was so pleased to
see how well it is going.
There is an abundance of
seeds — both vegetable and
flower — and charts showing
the best planting times in
our area. Our wonderful
Willamette Valley has the
best climate and soil — and
it would be a shame to not
have gardens of some type.
Tomatoes can be grown in a
bucket on an apartment
ledge or in a sunny window.
Lettuce and herbs and so
many other vegetables are
easily grown in the smallest
of plots in the backyard, and
you can have a fresh salad
every day all summer long.
It’s a great project to do with
kids and grandkids, too.
I didn’t know how to make
a little planter from old
newspaper, so seeds can
sprout on a window sill, but
it’s something new I learned
at the library. Any adult can
pick up five free seed packets
every day the library is open.
PEDEE NEWS
April Makalea will give a
presentation on planning
your garden Thursday at 7
p.m. in the Pedee Church
basement. The Makaleas are
real experts at gardening and
anything else involving self-
sufficient living, so it should
be interesting. Everyone is
welcome.
—
I will be hosting a class on
very beginning quilting
Wednesday (today) at 1 p.m.
at the Pedee Women’s Club,
but we will also repeat
and/or continue on March
18 if you miss this class.
—
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
Amanda Bennett, grand-
daughter of Pete and La-
Verne Bennett, graduated
last week from Leadership
Training School at Sheppard
Air Force Base in Wichita
Falls, Texas, in preparation
for her advancement to staff
sergeant. She received the
Academic Achievement
Call us.
The Itemizer Observer can help you ex-
pand your market share and make your
business more profitable.
Call us at 503-623-2373 and make
Award at that time. Earlier in
the week, she was awarded
Outstanding Chapel Airman
of the Year. Amanda is a
chaplain’s assistant.
—
The Cameron family cele-
brated Steve’s birthday on
Feb. 14 and grandson Noah’s
birthday on Feb. 16.
Steve and Audrey
Cameron and son Clayton
and his friend Jennifer Har-
mon met Audrey’s sister,
Susan Munson, in Albany for
brunch on Saturday. After-
ward, Steve, Audrey and
Susan went to visit her hus-
band, Bill, at the Mennonite
Village and enjoyed a sing-
along of some old songs with
the residents there.
Daughter Stephanie Barth
and granddaughter Ana
came to the farm in the af-
ternoon, bringing home-
made berry pies for Steve.
Steve and Audrey joined
the family and several neigh-
bor kids at Clayton’s home in
Falls City on Feb. 16 to cele-
brate Noah’s 9th birthday.
Noah’s Aunt Stephanie and
cousin Ana came from
Guthrie Road, and Uncle
James, Aunt Jennifer and
cousin Eliana came from
Milwaukie to spend the day.
Riyah Marie Birchell
and Roman LeRoy Birchell
were born to Tyler and
Nicole Birchell of Salem on
Feb. 10 at Salem Hospital
Family Birth Center.
Riyah was born at 2:59
p. m . S h e w e i g h e d 5
pounds, 4 ounces, and was
18 inches long.
Roman was born at 3:02
p. m . He we i g h e d 5
pounds, 6 ounces, and was
18½ inches long.
Riyah and Roman are
the couple’s first children.
Grandparents are Chris
and Regina Archer of San
Rafael, Calif., and Brian
and Sandy Birchell of
Salem.
Great-grandparents are
George and Wilda Birchell
of Dallas, Gail Lefever of
Dallas, and Neils and Al-
berta Eriksson of Mill Val-
ley, Calif.
Brown
Vera Emma-Lee Brown
was born to Eric and
Shavon Brown of Mon-
mouth at 2:59 a.m. on Feb.
14 at Salem Hospital Fami-
ly Birth Center.
She weighed 7 pounds,
6 ounces, and was 18½
inches long.
Vera joins Veda, 6.
Grandparents are Laura
Rippee of Monmouth,
Glenn Brown of Palm
Springs, Calif., and Dianne
Brown of Geneva, Ohio.
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an appointment with our
Heidi, Rachel or Karen
Clayton’s friend Jennifer
made a special “volcano
cake” for Noah.
After the party, all the
kids and dads jumped on
bikes to cross the bridge to
the Falls City High School
football field, where Noah’s
dad and his Uncle James
helped him set off a rocket.
The sky was a spectacular
blue and the rocket soared
high in the air, coming
down via parachute. The
kids spread out across the
field to catch it, but it went
so high that it crossed the
river and came down near
Clayton’s house.
Lofton
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MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG)
(1:10 4:00)
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) (1:15 4:05)
(1:20 4:10)
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Digital) (R)
(1:05 3:10 5:20)
LAZARUS EFFECT (Digital) (PG13)
(12:00 2:20 4:45)
FOCUS (Digital) (R)
(1:05)
BIRDMAN (Digital) (R)
(3:50)
AMERICAN SNIPER (Digital) (R)
SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT
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OF THE WATER (Digital 2D) (PG)
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 (Digital) (R)
(12:25 2:50 5:15)
THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13)
6:50
6:55
7:00
7:30
7:20
6:45
9:15
7:10 9:20
7:40 9:55
Sunday March 1
MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG)
(1:10 4:00)
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) (1:15 4:05)
(1:20 4:10)
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Digital) (R)
(1:05 3:10 5:20)
LAZARUS EFFECT (Digital) (PG13)
(12:00 2:20 4:45)
FOCUS (Digital) (R)
(1:05)
BIRDMAN (Digital) (R)
(3:50)
AMERICAN SNIPER (Digital) (R)
SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT
(12:30 2:45 5:00)
OF THE WATER (Digital 2D) (PG)
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 (Digital) (R)
(12:25 2:50 5:15)
THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13)
6:50
6:55
7:00
7:30
7:20
6:45
7:10
7:40
Monday - Thursday March 2 - March 5
MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG)
(1:10 4:00)
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) (1:15 4:05)
(1:20 4:10)
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Digital) (R)
(1:05 3:10 5:20)
LAZARUS EFFECT (Digital) (PG13)
(2:20 4:45)
FOCUS (Digital) (R)
(1:05)
BIRDMAN (Digital) (R)
(3:50)
AMERICAN SNIPER (Digital) (R)
SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT
(2:45 5:00)
OF THE WATER (Digital 2D) (PG)
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 (Digital) (R)
(2:50 5:15)
THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13)
6:50
6:55
7:00
7:30
7:20
6:45
7:10
7:40
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