6
community
june26
2012
Diggin in the Dirt: Zombie Trees and Shrubs!
By Chip Bubl
2012 Summer Food Preservation
Classes
Call now to reserve your spot!
Back by popular demand are
our OSU Extension summer food
preservation classes taught by Jenny
Rudolph. This series of classes is great
for both the beginner and the experienced
canner. Classes will be held in St.
Helens at the First Lutheran Church on
360 Wyeth Street (the corner of North
4th and Wyeth). Class size is limited to
allow for hands-on involvement in the
kitchen:
July 11, 5:30 to 8:30 pm – Jams
and Jellies; July 25th, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Fruits and Pie Fillings; August 8th,
5:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Pressure Canning
Vegetables and Meats; August 22nd,
5:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Canning Pickles,
Tomatoes and Salsas.
Cost to attend is $20 per class
or $70 for all four. A small number of
scholarships are available. Payment
must be made in advance to hold your
spot. Contact the OSU Extension Service
– Columbia County office at 503- 397-
3462 to register.
Soil crusting
Some seeds really have to
struggle. Carrot, lettuce, dill, beet and
chard all have to work to get through
soils that have formed a significant crust.
Given our standard clay-based soils
and any rainfall or sprinkler irrigation,
crusting is a fact of life.
The enterprising gardener will
plan for crusts. Sensitive seed should
be sowed in furrows and covered with
potting mix instead of soil. Floating row
covers, which are useful in keeping the
carrot rust fly out of the carrot patch,
also intercept the drops of rain and allow
the water to float softly to earth, slowing
the crusting process. The addition of
organic matter to soils will lower reduce
the crusting potential.
Zombie trees and shrubs
Every gardener makes mistakes.
Most of the time, the mistakes can be
pulled up, composted, and forgotten.
But there are some plants that don’t go
quietly. Certain annual plants are prolific
self-seeders and will supply your garden
with their progeny for years to come.
Herbaceous perennials like comfrey
and the Japanese knotweed group have
very persistent crowns and running
roots which can be a huge challenge to
completely eliminate.
But the most desperate calls I
get are from homeowners that cut down
a particular tree or shrub and thought that
was the end of the story. Then the root
suckers start to appear (the dead alive),
spreading their shoots through lawns,
flower beds, and anywhere else they can
get some sun. If you mow these woody
shoots, others quickly appear. Pulling
them is difficult and not all that effective
unless you are very, very persistent.
Here is a list of some trees
and shrubs that cause most of the
aggravation: locusts, some ornamental
and edible stone fruits (cherries and plum
rootstocks, especially), Japanese quince
(a shrub), some willows, some aspens
and cottonwoods, sumac, Chinese elm,
Liquidamber (sweetgum) and Rose of
Sharon.
If you have one of these trees
and plan to remove it, you can treat the
cut surface within 20 minutes of cutting
by painting on an undiluted herbicide
containing
glyphosate
(Roundup
and other trade names) or triclopyr
(Crossbow and other trade names). This
approach is usually successful, though
not always giving 100% control. The
only organic stump treatments I have
seen involve drilling holes in the stump
and pouring rock salt into them. Results
have been mixed with good results
sometimes and little or no impact on
other situations and/or species.
If the tree or shrub was removed
last year and now you have an invasion
zombie suckers, treatment is more
complicated. If you can make a new cut
on the stump into still living wood, the
herbicide paint-on treatment should still
work.
If no living wood is apparent,
then your treatments have to focus on the
shoots. The leaves continually renew the
carbohydrate storage in the roots. If you
never take vacations for several years
and daily patrol to remove suckers, you
might be able to wear out the roots. This
was recently described as “carb starve”
by a local resident to whom I was talking
about her particular invasive sprout
problem. It really does work if you are
persistent. You can dig out “sprouting”
roots that are close to the surface. This is
also effective but often hard work.
Mowing can be useful on some
species and quite ineffective on others.
The leaves can help move an herbicide
down to the roots, especially in the fall
when the tree is stocking up for winter.
You might have to live with the suckers
for several months and then treat with an
appropriate herbicide in early October.
Triclopyr doesn’t damage grass but is
hard on most other plants. Glyphosate
is completely non-selective and can
damage both grass and broadleaves. Use
any herbicide you purchase with care
and follow all label directions.
Plant an extra row or two (or three!)
of vegetables for the Food Bank.
What produce you can donate is really
important.
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
Wauna Federal Credit Union
Recognized by Oregon Business
Magazine and Portland Business
Journal Debi Smiley Stacey Poor Wauna
Federal Credit Union has been listed
in the Top 100 Best Green Businesses
to Work for in Oregon, sponsored by
Oregon Business magazine. Based on its
widely recognized Top 100 Businesses
to Work for in Oregon, the Top 100
Green Businesses list is based on the
results of an individual employee survey
and an independent assessment of the
employers’ sustainability practices.
The Credit Union has also been
recently recognized by the Portland
Business Journal as a Top 5 Healthiest
Employer in Oregon. The Healthiest
Employers in Oregon recognizes
employers based on their employee
wellness programs and their innovative
ways to reduce absenteeism and lower
the average medical costs per employee.
Wauna Federal Credit Union was ranked
4th in the Employers with 2-99 total
employees.
“We are extremely proud of our
organization’s commitment to programs
that support doing the right thing for
an internal and external environment,
including our Green Initiatives Program
launched in 2008 and the exciting
activities associated with improving
the wellness of our employees and
their families,” reported Debi Smiley,
Executive Vice President & COO.
Smiley, CEO & President
Robert Blumberg, and Bob Horness,
Building Maintenance Technician
and architect of the Green Initiatives
program, represented the Credit Union
during the recent Top 100 Best Green
Businesses to Work for in Oregon
recognition luncheon. According to
Smiley, the success of the Credit Union
stems from 100% participation by the
staff in the Green Initiatives program.
“Having someone such as Bob to help
champion our green program has been
instrumental in our staff following
recycle and energy-efficiency practices,
both at work and at home.”
A
total of 431 businesses submitted an
entry in the 2012 award program. The
June edition of the Oregon Business
magazine features the entire list of the
100 Best Green Businesses to Work for
in Oregon. Wauna Federal Credit Union
is the only credit union listed in the Top
100, and the only business listed from
Clatsop and Columbia Counties.
Stacey
Poor,
Training
Coordinator, and Megan Gillespie,
Call Center Representative and
fellow Wellness Committee member,
represented the Credit Union during
the Healthiest Employers in Oregon
recognition event.
Wauna FCU Recognized as Top
Oregon Business
