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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2015)
8 in other words july16 2015 Diggin’ in the Dirt: Gardening This Year 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 Costly and potentially harmful mistakes can be made by using outdated canning recipes and instructions.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 9:00 am – 2:00 pm starting on July 13th and ending on October 16th. The gardening year so far This has been a mostly exceptional garden year to this point with a few exceptions. Many gardens were planted early and the first crops of broccoli, peas, lettuce, and even beans have already been harvested. Tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are thriving. Corn is waist high in some gardens and it may not be too late to plant a second crop of a short season variety. Plant for winter crops of kale, lettuce, chard, and others now. Small fruit (strawberries, blueberries, and the blackberry types) matured 2-3 weeks early and some fruit, especially raspberries, got sunburned. It is absolutely crucial that newly planted trees and shrubs be kept watered. There is very little water left in the lower soil profiles. So you have to provide what your plants need. In the current weather, the moisture loss from your plants and direct evaporation is about .28 inches per day. That requires two inches of water a week to replenish that loss. Mulching helps, especially around vegetables, but I would still aim to provide the two inches. This probably will not be a year to experiment with “no water” tomatoes. Container plants have to be watered often, perhaps twice a day in the worst heat. Shallow rooted plants like rhododendrons may need 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 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. more assistance this year. Blueberries need lots of water most years and are really going to be stressed if this weather continues. I expect to see more cases of sunburned and heat stressed plants. Damage often shows up first on the southwest side of the tree or shrub due to exposure to the direct rays of the sun at the hottest time of the day. Be careful about the timing of summer pruning if it is hot when you do it. Some fruit and leaves can easily sunburn when branches that shaded them are removed. The insect picture is mixed. There have been a lot more cucumber beetles and especially maggots of the cherry fruit flies in the cherries. Tent caterpillar populations crashed despite their very early start. Brown marmorated stink bugs (and all stink bugs) seem to be more abundant. Spotted wing drosophila risk is not yet clear. There are some exceptionally large colonies of bald-faced hornets for this time of year. I have seen nests that are already 18-24 inches long and easily 12 inches across. This is going to make for a very exciting outdoor eating experience. Most of these nests are high up in trees or in the peaks of the eaves on houses. It can be very hard to get close enough to safely spray the nests. I am not a fan of climbing high on ladders around yellow jackets and their kin. The colony will die in the fall and the nest will not be reused. Be exceptionally careful with the use of broadleaf herbicides that contain phenoxy “esters.” This includes Crossbow™ and many lawn herbicides. In temperatures above 80 degrees, the herbicide can leave where it was sprayed and travel around your garden or that of your neighbors. It will twist and stunt sensitive plants like grapes, tomatoes, green beans, and squash. Finally, be careful working in the heat. Heat stroke is potentially fatal if not treated promptly. Prevention includes lots of water, working more during the cooler hours of the day, hats, and working in short cycles as it warms up. Harvesting garlic July is garlic month. Generally, garlic is ready to harvest. The warm weather seems to have pushed the garlic a little faster. The lack of water is probably going to result in smaller bulbs unless you watered in May and June this year. Usually, watering is not necessary. How can you tell if the garlic is ripe? Look at a well-formed bulb and pull it apart. Count the number of “skins” to the outermost set of cloves. If the plant has lost all but three of the outer skins, harvest the bulbs. If there are more skins, you have a little time. Be sure to eat the garlic you have examined. The skins help to keep the garlic dormant during winter storage and also make the bulb look more attractive. Garlic doesn’t have to be brown before harvest. Often, the garlic will have green tops at the best “skin” stage for harvest. That is not a problem. When you harvest the bulbs, tie the tops into bundles and hang the bulbs from rafters in your garage or barn or place them on a screen so that they have good air circulation while they are curing. They shouldn’t be exposed to the direct sun when drying. You can eat the garlic any time. Save the best bulbs to plant this October. 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 Need more room? See us for the lowest prices GUARANTEED! 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