in other words
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Some Like it Hot!
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University Extension Service
Columbia County
A soil thermometer is a great gardener’s
gadget. To get good information, measure the soil
temperature at a two-inch depth at 9:00 am over several
days. Without a soil thermometer, you can estimate that
the soil temperature will be a week behind the average
air temperature.
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17 th Annual Spring Garden Fair Saturday, April
28 th 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 28th from 9:00am
until 3:00pm at the St. Helens High School Commons.
Highlighting the Fair are the tomato plants. Over 5,000
plants consisting of over 40 varieties, both heirlooms
and standards, will be sold for $1.50 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!
Here are some minimum germination
Vegetable gardening tips
temperatures for seeds in well-drained gardens:
To give seedlings and transplants a “jump
start”, make sure phosphorus is available in cold soils. Basil
60-65° F
Do this by banding super phosphate (0-20-0) under the Beans
48-52
seeds or transplants. Make a three inch deep furrow Cabbage
38-40
(for seed) or a six inch deep furrow for transplants in Corn
46-50
the planting area. Into this furrow, evenly sprinkle one- Melons
55-60
half cup of super phosphate per 40 linear feet of bed. Onions
34-36
Cover the band of super phosphate with at least two Peas
34-36
inches of soil.
Peppers
55-60
You can use a high phosphorus transplant Tomatoes
50-55
drench several times as a substitute. African violet
fertilizers would work well.
But for all of these, the warmer the soil, the
For best results, select transplants that are about better they emerge.
as tall as they are wide, dark green in color, vigorously
It is possible to warm the soil before seeding
growing, and free of spots on the leaves.
(or transplanting) by covering it with clear or black
To thin larger plants, use a knife to cut the stems plastic. Clear plastic warms more but it also stimulates
at ground level. This reduces the plant competition weed growth. Raised beds drain off excess moisture
(which you need to do to get good plant vigor) and and, as a result, warm more quickly.
does not damage the root systems of the remaining
Once the seed is in the ground, it is not
vegetables. Pulling plants can damage the remaining unusual for the weather to turn cold and rainy. Newly
plants. Also, keep weeding.
planted rows could be covered with plastic tunnels or
Some like it hot
Soil temperature can have
a huge impact on seed germination.
Path Health Ser
Inexperienced gardeners often plant
ral
heat-loving vegetables like corn,
beans, and the squash/melon family
before the soil is warm enough for
rapid germination. In such conditions,
the roots and shoots may emerge
slowly. The longer the process takes,
the greater the chance the seed will
mold or be eaten by soil insects.
The
“high-sugar”
corn
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However, they are more sensitive to
poor germination conditions (cold,
503.429.3928
wet soils). It is not uncommon to lose
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a third or more of the seed planted.
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You can reduce the problem
by planting enough seed so that, even
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in a bad year, you will still have a
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floating row covers to keep them warm until the seeds
germinate. Plastic on wire hoops works well but must
be lifted most mornings to avoid frying the plants
underneath. Floating covers can be left in place but
don’t forget to bait for slugs. Floating row covers do
have the additional advantage of confusing crows. Once
the corn is 3-4 inches high, the pleasure that crows take
in pulling it up is gone, so the covers can be removed.
Don’t feed landscape clippings to livestock!
There are a lot of landscape plants that can harm
livestock. I get several calls a year about a poisoning
which, upon discussion, can be traced back to clippings
being dumped over the fence. The consequences of a
steer eating relatively small amounts of yew or Pieris
andromeda foliage are rapid and often fatal. Other
common (and not so common) landscape plants are
equally toxic. It is never a good idea to supplement the
pasture with such material. Garden crops like corn and
beans are fine, but squash, tomato, and potato vines are
all toxic.
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