8
in other words
may19
2016
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Managing Bambi
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University
Extension Service - Columbia County
Information needed for new version of
the Local Food Guide
Our Extension office is gathering
information for a new version of the local
food guide. We need your help to locate
farmers that are either selling food direct
to consumers from the farm, farmers’
markets, and/or through a CSA. Food
can be u-picked or already picked. We
are also interested in anyone selling local
meat, fish, or cheese. Finally, we would
like to list people that raise transplants
of vegetables that they sell directly to
consumers at any of the venues listed
above. You can call or email Jenny
Rudolph (jenny.rudolph@oregonstate.
edu) or myself (chip.bubl@oregonstsate.
edu ) or call the office directly (503 397-
3462) with your information.
Heat loving crops
Oregon’s erratic spring weather,
often with below freezing conditions one
day, a downpour the next and 70 degrees
the following day, may play havoc with
warm season crop seed germination.
As a result, Oregonians have
great success growing tomatoes,
eggplants and pepper plants started
indoors or in a greenhouse, then
transplanted into the garden when the
soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees.
But some warm season crops,
including beans, cucumbers, squash,
corn, and melons are more successfully
grown if they are directly seeded into the
soil.
Here are tips to avoid
germination failure in direct seeded,
warm season crops:
• Wait to plant warm weather crops until
the soil reaches 70 degrees at the two-
inch depth during the day.
• Plant shallowly. Small seeded crops
such as tomato and pepper should be
planted no more than one-fourth to one-
half inch deep when direct seeding.
Larger seeded crops such as beans and
corn seed should be covered with sand,
vermiculite, fine peat moss or perlite
instead of soil.
• Buy short season varieties.
• Warm the soil prior to planting and
until seedlings emerge with a plastic
mulch, cloche, Wall-o’-Water, spun fiber
or fabric “floating” row cover or cold
frame. After seedlings emerge, remove
close fitting, non-breathing covers such
as clear polyethylene to prevent cooking
the seedlings. Floating row covers of
spun-bonded fabric may be left on the
seedlings if they are loose enough to
allow the plants to grow, for up to six
weeks after emergence. Watch for and
remove weeds that may also emerge
quickly with the crops.
• For planting, prepare a well aerated
soil, incorporating plenty of well
decomposed organic matter.
• Do not soak any type of seed to pre-
sprout for more than four hours. In four
hours most seeds will have become fully
imbibed and the first chemical changes
in germination will have begun. If you
do pre-soak seeds, rinse them several
times with tepid water, being careful to
discard the soaking water which may
contain seed treatment chemicals. Plant
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the seed promptly after soaking.
• Do not soak bean and corn seed at all,
as they can be seriously damaged by
soaking.
From Dr. Bill Mansour, Extension
Vegetable Specialist, emeritus
Managing Bambi
The tree or shrub or vegetable
we plant will only thrive if Bambi or
her brethren don’t covet it. So what are
our options? First, you can plant trees
and shrubs deer don’t like. The Sunset
Garden book has a list or you can go
to our web page (http://extension.
oregonstate.edu/columbia/) and
get a list there. There are few
edible plants on that list but
lots of nice ornamental
species. Or you can
fence deer out, usually
the best solution. More
on that next month.
Repellents can
be used only on plants
not producing food in the
season you use a repellent.
The most effective products
seem to be ones that have
something rotten in them. Deer-
Away™ has “putrescent egg solids” as
the active ingredient, otherwise known
as rotten eggs.
Another product that has a good
reputation currently (and did the best in
a test in the Olympic Rain Forest on a
forest replant site) is a product called
Plantskydd™. While the ingredients
are proprietary, they seem to be based
on rotten things from Sweden formula
(perhaps fermented blood meal). Less
effective are mixtures that rely on
garlic or hot pepper extracts. Mint oil
repels east coast deer but there has
been little testing here. There are a lot
of new products on the market so this
is still a work in progress.
Repellents should be applied
now and re-applied several times,
especially after rain.
A homemade deer repellent:
Beat one egg with ½ cup milk (past
its use by date and slightly smelly is
better). Add 1 tablespoon of cooking
oil and one tablespoon of liquid dish
detergent. Add mixture (using a sieve
to remove any clumps) to a gallon of
water and stir or shake well. Spray
mixture on non-edible plants every one
to two weeks. If you try it, let me know
if it works for you.
Food Safety or 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 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/
f o o d - p r e s e r v a t i o n .
An additional great
resource is the National
Center for Home Food
Preservation at http://
www.uga.edu/nchfp/ .
Take excess produce to 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 Country 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
sign up for email notification of when to
find the latest edition on the web at http://
extension.oregonstate.edu/columbia/.
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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Pastor Grant Williams
Colors Presented By
Aloha Post #104
Speaker
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Former Mayor City of Vernonia
Music
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For information, please call Vernonia City Hall 503-429-5291
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