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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Newspaper pots are eco-friendly, easy on the wallet
The Quarantine List
By Jess Draper
Correspondent
Editor 9s note: The
Nugget continues its series
of recommendations for
reading and viewing during
the pandemic shutdown.
<The
Ve g e t a b l e
Gardener 9s BIBLE= by
Edward C. Smith.
I9ve read my fair share
of gardening books (dur-
ing college I worked at a
delightful garden store in
downtown Seattle where
we were encouraged to
borrow the books) and this
is the one that I open again
and again 4 for the last 10
years!
In this 350-page refer-
ence book complete with
full-color photos of plants,
pests, and processes, Ed
shares his WORD approach
to successful garden-
ing in America9s north-
ern regions: Wide rows,
Organic methods, Raised
beds, Deep soil.
My family9s little gar-
den here in Sisters is based
on his methods and we do
have successes (and plenty
of failures since this is
Central Oregon and nothing
about gardening is a sure
thing). Like most things in
life, you need to consider
your garden9s success over
the long term, not by an
individual crop or season.
This book shines here as it
takes you through nurturing
soil health, crop rotations,
composting, and more.
The book is divided into
three parts that cover plan-
ning your garden for higher
yields with less work, how
to nurture healthy soil and
deal with garden pests, and
a pretty comprehensive
directory of vegetables and
herbs.
Starting seeds indoors
has been on my agenda
recently (see sidebar for a
low-cost solution). While
it really is doable for any-
one, understanding how
soon to get seeds started
before the last frost date,
what temperatures differ-
ent seeds germinate at, and
when to fertilize your seed
starts will greatly increase
your success. Ed9s book
has you covered with all
this information.
Crop rotation is a great
topic to read up on. Did you
know that when you rotate
your crops around the gar-
den from year to year in a
planned manner you can
reduce incidence of dis-
ease and pests since many
eggs, larvae, and soilborne
diseases spend winter in
the soil? When you strate-
gically change locations of
your crops, the nuisances
are less prolific because
their preferred food or host
isn9t readily available.
Folk wisdom says that
<a very good gardener
grows soil= because that
is the keystone that takes
seeds to harvest. Good gar-
den soil is a collection of
the myriad nutrients plants
need for healthy growth as
well as the worms, beetles,
bacteria and fungi that help
create the living ecology
where plants thrive. This
past weekend as I worked
on preparing our garden
beds it was thrilling for me
and my almost-four-year-
old to spy all the worms,
beetles, and spiders buried
in the ground and hiding
under rocks.
Kohlrabi made its way
into my garden lineup after
reading about it in this
book. As with all of the
vegetables in the directory
section, there are recom-
mendations for choosing
the best site, how to sow
and grow it, and how to
harvest and store it. I like
to grow kohlrabi because
you can eat young leaves as
salad greens, the full grown
vegetable is a great substi-
tute for cabbage (without
the insect troubles often
associated with cabbage),
and it stores well.
Easy 4 and free 4 seed-starting pots can
be placed into a standard seed flat or what-
ever salad clam shell, large food storage con-
tainer, etc. that you may have on hand. The
only supplies needed are a couple copies of
The Nugget (it9s printed with non-toxic soy-
based inks, in case you9re wondering) that
you9re done reading, an empty toilet paper
roll (or tomato paste can), scissors, pencil
and a ruler. If you have kiddos, this is a fun
activity to do together 4 my 4-year-old had
a great time and was especially good at fill-
ing the pots with soil using an old coffee
scoop.
Measure and mark three-inch vertical
strips on your paper.
Cut the strips 4 I found about 10 sheets
easy to cut through at once. Repeat until the
paper (excluding folded spine) is all in three-
inch wide strips.
Position a strip perpendicular to the toilet
paper roll with approximately one inch over-
hanging the end of the roll. Wrap the strip
around the roll the entire length of the strip,
not too tight or it will be difficult to slide off.
Fold over the portion extending past the
roll to create the bottom. Pinches the edges a
bit so the form holds then pull the paper off
the roll.
Gently fill the pots with seed starting mix-
ture all the way to the top, firm the soil so
they are good and full. We used an old coffee
scoop to make filling them easier.
Line the filled pots up in your tray. Add
seeds of your choice according to package
directions 4 pay attention to planting depth,
temperature required for germination, and
how soon you should start seeds indoors
before the last frost date. (In Sisters there
may not be a <last frost= date, but when the
Serving Sisters Since 1976
ng on
i
o
g
t
e
g
o
Need t
e’ve
W
?
s
t
c
e
j
o
spring pr ing you need!
th
FREE
got every
Local
snow is off of Black Butte you should be
OK to put your plants out with protection as
needed.) I just started my tomato seeds for
now. In a few weeks I9ll start cucumbers,
peppers, and zucchinis.
Remember that drainage is key to seed
starting success, as is keeping the soil moist
and warm. A sunny kitchen window usually
works for me. Some folks like to get the ger-
mination started on top of the refrigerator for
added warmth.
Let us show you
how much you can
save this year!
Call 541-588-6245,
for a free quote!
257 S. Pine St., #101
www.farmersagent.com/jrybka
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ows
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Visit sistersrecreation.com
for updates and “like” us on our
Facebook page for virtual
recreation opportunities.
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