8
in other words
june18
2015
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Those Pesky Earwigs
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University
Extension Service - Columbia County
Food Preservation Questions?
OSU Extension Service Has Answers.
Are you planning to preserve
food from your garden or purchased
from a farm this summer? If so, call or
visit the OSU Extension Service office
before you start canning, freezing, or
drying. Costly and potentially harmful
mistakes can be made by using outdated
canning recipes and instructions. You
can find free publications AND pressure
gauge testing at the Columbia County
Extension office located at 505 N.
Columbia River Highway in St. Helens
(across from the Legacy Clinic). If you
have questions, phone the office at (503)
397-3462. You can download for free
all our food preservation publications
at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/
food-preservation. An additional great
resource is the National Center for home
Food Preservation at http://www.uga.
edu/nchfp/. In July, the OSU Extension
Statewide Food Preservation Hotline
(1-800-3547319) will open Monday
through Friday from 9am - 2pm starting
on July 13th and ending on October
16th.
Garden Updates:
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, soil
crusting is a fact of life. So are seeds that
don’t ever emerge.
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 warming
crops and excluding some insects,
also intercept rain drops and allow the
water to float softly to earth, slowing
the crusting process. Our grandparents
used to cover crust-sensitive seedlings
with burlap bags that worked a lot like
row covers except that they had to be
removed quickly once the seeds break
through to get some sun light.
Those pesky earwigs
Earwigs tend to gradually
increase in well-managed gardens. They
must like the variety in a cultivated
landscape. Earwigs are opportunists,
feeding on mold, decaying vegetation,
dying leaves or even healthy leaves and
flowers. They also eat other insects like
aphids. Earwigs seek refuge in any tight
dark place during the day and come out
to feed at night. For that reason, they are
often found in flowers such as dahlias.
When they drop from the floral vase onto
the table, they aren’t much appreciated.
An old earwig remedy is to
leave tightly rolled up newspapers
where earwigs are creating a problem.
The earwigs crawl inside to hide from
the sun. In the morning, you can gather
up the newspaper “logs”, put them in
a plastic bag, and freeze them. The
logs can be reused. There are several
chemicals registered on ornamentals, but
you must be careful that your spraying
WANTED
Volunteers for Jamboree
The Vernonia Friendship Jamboree
and Logging Show is an annual
event which welcomes visitors,
residents and old friends to
celebrate and showcase our
community with food, music,
activities and events.
The Jamboree
Committee - your
friends and neighbors
who make this event
happen each year.
WE NEED YOU!
Join the Committee!
We meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month.
WE NEED YOUR
skills
ideas
intelligence
energy
doesn’t hurt bees visiting the flowers.
Snakes for pest control
Gardeners should be glad to see
snakes around the garden. These much-
maligned reptiles consume garden pests
including slugs, grubs, mice, voles and
rats.
The vast majority of snakes in
Oregon are very beneficial. Some, like
garter snakes, eat slugs. Others, like the
sharp-tailed snake, eat slugs and grubs.
Rubber boas specialize in eating mice
and voles, going down their tunnels after
them.
Garter snakes are the type of
snake most often seen by urban and
suburban gardeners. Two species of
garter snakes are commonly found
throughout much of Oregon, except
the mountains: the abundant western
terrestrial garter snake and the common
garter snake. In western Oregon, a third
species is also present, the northwestern
garter snake.
Garter snakes generally breed in
the spring and give birth to live young
(they don’t lay eggs) in the late summer
or fall. Often, young are not seen until
the following spring, after they emerge
from hibernation after their first winter.
Most young garter snakes don’t survive
into adulthood. They are killed off by
predators, cars and lawnmowers.
To make your property garter
snake friendly:
• Walk your lawn before you mow it
to scare the snakes into hiding. Lawn
mowers are deadly to snakes because
they can’t hear like we do. Rather, they
feel vibrations.
• Provide habitat for snakes if you have
room. Old plywood or corrugated metal
roofing left loosely on the ground in an
out of the way place on your property
provides hiding and nesting places for
slithering creatures. Old stumps and
large rocks also make good snake habitat.
The western rattlesnake, the
only species of truly venomous snake
native to Oregon, feeds on mice, rats and
other smaller animals. Rattlesnakes were
once more commonly found on both the
west and east sides of the Cascades. But
they have all but been killed off on the
west side.
Rattlers are rare in northwestern
Oregon. They were shot out 100 years
ago by early settlers. There are a few dens
left, but only in really isolated places. In
southern and eastern Oregon, however,
rattlers are more common. Caution
should be exercised in rattlesnake
country.
For more information, check
out the photo-illustrated book, “Reptiles
of Washington and Oregon,” published
by the Seattle Audubon Society and
edited by Robert M. Storm and William
P. Leonard. From Robert Mason, OSU
Zoology Department
This could save your life
Farmers and rural residents are
well acquainted with electric pumps.
This is the time of year that many of
us start our pumps back up for summer
irrigation. A pump installer has a habit
that he feels has saved his life several
times. He never takes hold of any part
of a pump installation until he slaps it
with the back of his hand to check for
electrical current. The reason is muscle
contraction. If you take hold of a “hot”
pipe or pump (one that’s improperly
grounded) an electrical charge may not
allow you to let go. By testing them
with the back of your hand, you may get
burned knuckles, but at least you’ll be
alive.
Plant an extra row for the food bank,
senior centers, or community meals
programs. Cash donations to buy food
are also greatly appreciated.
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. You can also
be sent an email when the newsletter is
posted.
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
We could use your help with:
• Set up/Tear down
• Traffic Control
• Logistics
• Planning
• Info Booth
• Music Coordination
• Electrical Specialist
• Vendor Coordination
• Parade Assistant
• Parade Registration
VOLUNTEER AND GET ONE OF THE YELLOW T-SHIRTS!
For more information to volunteer
and help make Jamboree happen contact:
Megan at (971)254-6826 or
Volunteer@VernoniaFriendshipJamboree.com.
Need more room?
See us for the lowest prices
GUARANTEED!
Debit/Credit now accepted
5x10 $39
10x10 $69
10x20 $99
RV Storage $149
Outside storage available
Totally fenced and gated
Padlocks Available
Authorized
U-Haul Dealer
Boxes and Supplies Available
We can make your reservation
Pick up here or anywhere
58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292
Vernonia, Oregon 97064
(503) 429-7867
10-6 Tue-Sat
12-4 Sun
