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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2011)
10 community april26 2011 Diggin’ In The Dirt: A Cool Spring By Chip Bubl Oregon State University Extension Service-- Columbia County 16th Annual Spring Garden Fair Saturday, April 30th in St. Helens! It’s that time of year again. The OSU/Columbia County Master Gardeners™ are putting on their Spring Garden Fair Saturday, April 30 th , from 9:00A.M. Until 3:00 P.M. at the St. Helens High School Commons. Highlighting the Fair are the tomato plants. Over 6,000 plants, consisting of over 40 varieties, both heirlooms and standards, will be sold for $1.25 each. There will be many other vendors selling a variety of annual, herbaceous perennial and woody plants. Garden art, garden books and other garden accoutrements will also be available. Master Gardeners will be available to answer tomato and gardening questions. There will be displays and raffles. As always, admission to the fair is free. See you there! Transplanting root-bound trees This is the month when volumes of plants are moved from nurseries to yards. Most woody plants (trees and shrubs) are sold in containers. The plant you buy may have been in the pot anywhere from two to four years. It is not uncommon to find plants that are quite root-bound. Those plants have circling large roots or perhaps roots with big kinks. Unfortunately, root-bound plants may take a long time to move into the surrounding soil that they remove air pockets. Mulch the tree with are supposed to live in. As their tops 4-6 inches of good compost and any of develop but the roots do not, they can be the potting mix you removed from the killed during periods of warm weather. roots earlier. A surprising number of trees that fail to You can add a little nitrogen to thrive are found to have never grown the surface. Remember to control any into the soil at all. invading weeds and especially to keep Can you re-invigorate a root the planting watered throughout the system before you summer and into fall. plant the tree or shrub? You can, if you follow Will we have fruit? Can you re- the advice from an The cool weather may invigorate a root Extension specialist have an impact on fruit set. system before from WSU. Ms. Two factors are in play. you plant the tree Chalker-Scott suggests First, if at your locations, or shrub? You taking the plant out of your trees may be slower to can, if you follow the container and then bloom. In general, delayed the advice from washing all the soil bloom tends to favor better an Extension or planting media off pollination because the specialist from the roots. This can be weather (less rain and cold) WSU. done in a wheelbarrow. usually improves. That Straighten as many said, there is a forecast for roots as you can. Then some very cold weather take a look at all the roots. Look for roots that may hit around April 24th. Fully that are circling or kinked and try to cut opened blossoms facing sub-freezing back to places where you can straighten temperatures may be damaged. With the growth out. Keep the roots moist as apples, we can lose a lot of blooms you do this and try to be in the shade. and still have a crop if the late or early She reports cutting as much as 70% of a blooms set fruit. With cherries, we want root system and having the tree perform nicely. Before you start the root pruning, dig a nice hole for the tree that is wide but not deep. Once the tree is ready to go in, create a mound in the center of the hole onto which you can place the plant and distribute the roots around the mound. Back-fill the hole with topsoil from the site. Firm the back-filled soil with your hands or by gentle watering to Digitaria (crab grass) Mariolino’s Pizza & Grill Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner & ice cream Family owned and operated for over 40 years. 721 Madison Avenue, Vernonia id e v o pr rnet w n o I n te e W DSL (503) 429-5018 all the fruit we can get, so each blossom lost is significant. The bees have been sluggish in the cold. Mason bees emerged late and honey bees are spotty. Now we need good pollination weather. Mild temperatures and only moderate amounts of rain would be perfect. Crab grass isn’t quack grass We are often asked how to control crabgrass in lawns. The problem is that crabgrass is seldom found in our lawns. It is in the garden beds and along the roadside. In fact, it is fairly common wherever the ground is bare or disturbed in the spring. That is because crabgrass is an annual grass. It germinates in the spring and summer, sets seed and dies. It cannot compete with our turf grasses that grow all year long. The only annual grass that competes well is annual bluegrass that grows in the winter and is going to seed now (if you aren’t mowing it much). The weedy grasses in most lawns are quack grass, velvet grass, Elytrigia repens (quack grass) bentgrass, and the above-mentioned annual bluegrass. There are some products that control bluegrass. These are applied in the fall/winter. Sadly, we have no options to control bentgrass, quack grass or velvet grass without damaging our desired turf varieties. Many homeowners will treat the “bad” grass patches with Roundup™ and then overseed with lawn seed when the treated grasses die. Or fertilize them so they all get deeper green, and live with them for a number of years. The Extension Service offers its programs and materials equally to all people. Free newsletter The Oregon State University Extension office in Columbia County publishes a monthly newsletter on gardening and farming topics (called County Living) written/edited by yours truly. All you need to do is ask for it and it will be mailed to you. Call (503) 397- 3462 to be put on the list. Alternatively, you can find it on the web at “http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ columbia/ and click on newsletters. Contact information for the Extension office Oregon State University Extension Service – Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Highway (across from the Legacy clinic) St. Helens, OR 97051 (503) 397-3462 Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu s t o We ck no ba w tte rie s aga s COMPUTER & INTERNET SERVICES •Computer Servicing • Upgrades & Repairs • Office Supplies • Media Transfers • Ink and Toner Refills 503.429.TECH • New & Used Computers in stock • Cell Phone Service & Accessories • Color Copies & Printing Available • Notary Services • Internet - DSL, Wireless & Dial up 866 Bridge Street, Vernonia Phone (503) 429.2617 Kitchen Countertops Fax (503) 429.0941 Fireplace & Furniture ABSOLUTE@AGALIS.NET Tubs & Vanities www.absolutemarbleandgraniteinc.net
