Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2016)
in other words july21 2016 Diggin’ in the Dirt: Tomato Topics Garden topics What a strange summer. Early warm weather in May and June (brief- ly near 100 degrees in south County) pushed fruit and other crops like lettuce to mature early. The recent cool weather slowed everything down. Corn is behind Walkers Take to the Streets to Fight Suicide Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet suicide is preventable. More than 500 people throughout Columbia County are expected to participate in the first annual Columbia County Out of the Darkness Community Walk. The event is hosted by the Scappoose Police Department and Columbia Community Mental Health and will be held at 11:00 am, September, 10, 2016 at the Scappoose High School. This fundraising walk supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) local and national education and advocacy programs and its bold goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide by 20% by 2025. Suicide touches one in five American families. The walk hopes to FOR TOWING EMERGENCIES IN AND AROUND THE VERNONIA AREA raise awareness about this important mental health issue, reduce stigma, save lives, and bring hope to those affected by suicide. The Columbia County Out of the Darkness Walk is one of more than 375 Out of the Darkness Community Walks being held nationwide this year. The walks are expected to unite more than 250,000 walkers and raise millions for suicide prevention efforts. With this walk being the first annual Out of the Darkness Walk held in Columbia County the Scappoose Police Department and Columbia Community Mental Health hopes to achieve their goal and raise over $7,500 with over 500 participants. “These walks are about turning hope into action,” said AFSP CEO Robert Gebbia. “Suicide is a serious problem, but it’s a problem we can solve. The research has shown us continued on page 17 Tomato topics This isn’t the best of tomato years but the plants seem to be holding up well and should respond when we get warmer weather. We are continuing to have most- ly cool nights. Lots of tomato variet- ies don’t set fruit in cool temperatures. Flowers will form and then drop off. Many heirloom varieties or hybrids like Big Beef need night temperatures above 60 degrees to reliably set fruit. The Ore- gon-bred varieties (Oregon Spring, San- tiam, Willamette, Siletz, etc.) will set in cooler temperatures as will the Czech va- riety Stupice. We needed more of them in our tomato portfolio this year. The cooler weather can also create strangely shaped fruit due to incomplete pollination. Wet weather accelerates tomato diseases, especially Late Blight. That dis- ease knocked out most Columbia County tomatoes in the first two weeks of Sep- tember about five years ago, just as the fruit was really starting to mature. Our unsettled weather pattern is still leav- ing us vulnerable to the same scenario. Watch the weather forecasts carefully and if there is a predicted period of rain or mist, spray a copper fungicide on the foliage and fruit before the rains start. Spray your potato vines as well. Make additional sprays as needed. The rain caused disease will take out some tomato varieties but the spraying clearly assists others to come through that wet patch. The rule with this disease and a copper treatment is that it has to be used before the disease gets rolling. Many copper products are considered to be acceptable in organic growing programs. So far, I have had few complaints to date about blossom end rot, probably due to the slow growth of the tomatoes. This nutritional disorder causes a brown patch on the bottom of the tomato. It starts with a shortage of calcium and is aggravated by rapid leaf/fruit growth and inconsistent watering (and/or mole tun- nels around the roots). Heavy fruit ripen- ing is just starting so the problem should be more common soon. Peppers are also prone to the disorder. Finally, here is an answer to a question many had several years ago about “puffy” tomatoes. These were to- matoes with little weight and substance for their size. There are several factors that come into play. One cause can be cool temperatures that lead to poor seed count inside the fruit. That leads to little “gel” in the seed cavity and less moisture throughout the flesh. But cool tempera- tures weren’t a problem two years ago, high temperatures were. It turns out that Vernonia Dental an Hundreds of Walks Being Held Nationwide Through December 2016 owl will have the last word. e rm Polife and County personnel are required to use a rotation of available providers, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY ASK for a servife by name. REQUEST TOWING SERVICE FROM D Shop Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00 - 6:00 h . r C temperatures above 75 degrees at night can do the same thing as cool tempera- tures and lower the internal seed count. That is what I think happened during our extended heat wave in the 2009 summer. There is some evidence that high nitro- gen, low potassium soil levels can make the problem worse. In addition, some breeding lines that were developed for stuffed tomatoes are more likely to show the problem. Food Safety or Food Preservation Ques- tions? OSU Extension Service Has An- swers. 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 Colum- bia 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 publi- cations 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/. 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 pro- grams and materials equally to all people. Free newsletter The Oregon State University Ex- tension office in Columbia County pub- lishes a monthly newsletter on garden- ing 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 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 Ser- vice – Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Highway (across from the Legacy clinic) St. Helens, OR 97051 (503) 397-3462 Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu D Food Preservation Classes in St. Hel- ens Back by popular demand are our summer food preservation classes. These classes are great for both the beginner and experienced canner. Classes will be held in St. Helens at the Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District building. Class size is limited to allow for hands-on involvement in the kitchen. The classes will be on two Saturdays. The first is on July 30, 9 am to 1 pm – Wa- ter Bath Canning High-Acid Foods and the second on August 27, 9 am to 1 pm – Pressure Canning Low-Acid Foods. Cost to attend is $30 per class. 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 or online at http://exten- sion.oregonstate.edu/columbia . and so are tomatoes and peppers. Cab- bage and second lettuce and greens crops are doing well. You might not want to look too closely at some of the berries you are picking. The spotted wing drosophila (SWD) had a very good winter and as a result, females are laying abundant eggs in small fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and the black- berry types. The eggs develop into tiny maggots. It is most disturbing when you start making jam and the surface of your mixture is wiggling. But just skim them off. For more information, go to the spot- ted wing drosophila website managed by OSU http://spottedwing.org/. The eggs generally are laid in the ripest fruit so spraying is complicated. There are some products with spinosad (organic forms are available) in them that have short spraying to picking intervals. Removing fallen fruit (often the birds will help) re- duces the SWD population for next year. Why are crows sometimes seen chasing owls during daylight hours? A roosting crow is quite vulnerable to night predation by owls, so crows certainly view them with a jaundiced eye. When an owl is flushed from its roost during daylight hours, the crows see it as a threat and gang up to scare it away. The owl is no good at aerial combat and so will flee the irritated crows. But one suspects the DM By Chip Bubl Oregon State University Extension Service - Columbia County r h p o is t M er . h S c eu 622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064 phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881 For fast cash! 010412 8 2245 Baseline St., Cornelius (Across from Fred Meyer) 503-530-8119 State Licensed PB-0388 Open everyday at 9 a.m.
