in other words
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Slug Patrol
By Chip Bubl
out (pun intended) to include a number
Oregon State University Extension of ornamental varieties as well. This is
Service
a very popular sale. Get there early for
Columbia County
the best selection. For more information,
call 503 556-8800.
Pruning workshop at the Fairgrounds Cardboard for weed control
in St. Helens – March 10th
For those of you who don’t
The Columbia County Master wish to use chemicals on your garden
Gardeners are putting on a pruning for late spring weed control, you can
workshop on Saturday, March 10tth from use cardboard. Place a single layer of
10:00 am to 11:30 am at the Columbia cardboard (or several thicknesses of
County Fairgrounds. Topics will include newspaper) over the garden area and
pruning fruit trees, small fruits (grapes, cover the sheets with compost or other
blueberries, trailing berries, etc.), roses, organic matter. Wait several months, and
and other woody plants. There will be a till it all into the garden. The rain will
brief discussion of fruit tree diseases and make the cardboard easy to till and the
insects. Also included is a demonstration shading will eliminate a good portion
of pruning tool sharpening and of the quackgrass, chickweed, and other
maintenance. The event is free and open winter weeds. Some gardeners transplant
to the public. Dress for the weather and starts right through un-tilled cardboard.
bring pruning tools if so inclined.
However, you should make some holes
Columbia County Small Woodlands in it with rebar to allow irrigation water
Association Tree Sale March 10th
to reach roots. The cardboard needs to
The fourteenth annual tree sale go on right away to have the desired
sponsored by the Columbia County results.
Small Woodlands Association will be
Cardboard (or newspaper) and
held at the Lawrence Oil parking lot organic mulch can also be used on the
on Highway 30 on the north edge of St. garden paths in the summer.
Helens on Saturday, March 10th from Fertilizing berries
8:30 AM to 2:00 PM. The group started
This is a good month to fertilize
out selling mainly trees for reforestation Marion berries and raspberries at a rate
and native plantings including bundles of .one-half to three-quarters of a pound
of Douglas fir, Western Red Cedar, of 10-20-20 or its organic equivalent per
Oregon Ash and other native species. 10 feet of row. If the organic fertilizer
They still do that but have branched was half as strong as the 10-20 -20 based
On the Shelves: What’s
Happening at the Vernonia Library
2012
7
Slug patrol
Herbaceous perennials
are showing green tips,
vegetable starts can be
purchased, and onion sets
should be plants soon. So
what time is it? It’s slug time.
Yes, they’re back. Of course,
I know they never left but at
least they stayed out of sight
for a while. As slugs emerge
from under rocks and from
cracks in the soil, the wise gardener must
take action.
Slug baits come in two basic
formulations. The most common
active ingredient is metaldehyde.
This compound, which by itself isn’t
particularly attractive to slugs, is paired
with something they will eat readily.
Once consumed, metaldehyde causes
intense mucous production and if there
is any sun, slugs quickly desiccate.
This compound works well as a quick
“knockdown” of the slug population and
depending on the bait material, may stay
active for several weeks. The big concern
with “meta” baits is their toxicity to pets,
especially dogs. Recent formulations
have tried to create repellent compounds
that dogs will avoid but slugs will not.
continued on page 12
Council Approves Release of
Escrow Funds continued from front page
School district is scheduled to move
into its new K-12 facility in the fall of
2012.
According to Superintendent
Cox, who was present a the Council
meeting, the School District had set aside
one million dollars of the federal funds
that were received for the purchase of
the current school site to build the New
Spencer Park, along with $1.3 million
for the deconstruction. The School
District is required to replace City sports
fields that were lost in the exchange of
properties between the City and School
District that provided some of the space
for the new school construction.
The City of Vernonia is
currently planning to develop additional
amentities at the new park site.
Based on current estimates and
a bid, the School District believes there
are excess funds in the escrow account
set aside for construction of the new
sports fields and asked for the release of
the funds to help with cash flow on the
school construction project.
Jim Teirney, Executive Director
of Community Action Team, the County
Project Manager for flood related
projects, also presented information on
his review of the estimated costs for
construction of the New Spencer Park
and recommended Council allow the
release of the funds. The Columbia
County Commissioners approved the
release of funds earlier in the month.
The School District requested
the release of $495,472 which leaves
a balce of 125% of the estimate for the
new park construction.
After several Council members
raised concerns about this release of
funds, Cox, Vernonia City Administrator
Bill Haack, and Tierney explained that
the City, County and School District
have a signed several Intergovernmental
Agreements which guarantees the City
that the School District will complete the
demolition and construction of the New
Spencer Park as agreed.
Council approved the release of
funds by a unanimous vote of 5-0.
ral
Path Health Ser
ces
vi
Na
tu
Library Tree—There is
something new inside the
Vernonia Library—a tree!
The handmade tree is
the first step in the creation of a
Kids Corner that the Vernonia
Library staff is working to
create to make the Library
more fun and interesting for
their youngest readers.
The tree was designed
and created by local resident
Jennifer
Draeger,
who
volunteered her time and
energy. Materials for the
project were purchased by
the Vernonia Friends of the
Library. The tree was installed
by Brent Wack of Harmony
Contracting, LLC, who also
volunteered his time.
on the numbers on the bag, you would
double the amount you apply. The rule
that “ a pint is a pound the world around”
should help you measure what you need.
Spread the fertilizer in a uniform pattern
across the berry bed (usually 2-3 feet
wide). Many gardeners (and farmers)
fertilize the plants again when they are in
flower (usually in early-mid June) with
a product that is only nitrogen like urea
(non-organic) or bloodmeal (organic).
Mature blueberries need about
.75 to .1.0 cup of a similar fertilizer per
plant at this time of year. Generally,
an acidifying nitrogen source like
ammonium sulfate is applied in May as
well. Since blueberry roots on one side
don’t share the fertilizer with parts of
the plant on the other side, careful and
uniform spreading in a foot-wide band
around the plant is very important.
february28
Dr. Carol McIntyre
Naturopathic & Chinese Medicine
Owned and Operated by
Don & Kim Wallace
503.429.3928
cccmnd@yahoo.com
naturalpathhealthservices.com
786 Bridge Street
Vernonia, OR, 97064
