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using outdated canning recipes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
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