10
In Other Words
January 21
2021
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Baby Bees at Play
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University Extension
Service – Columbia County
Vegetable seeds in 2021
The Pandemic has taught
us a lot but at a terrific cost in lives
and economic stability. When the
first shutdown came in mid-March,
there was panic buying of staples
like toilet paper, flour, sugar, meat,
and beans. Soon it became clear that
supply chains for almost everything
that wasn’t digital were under stress.
Meat prices spiked as packing plants
slowed or had to close as their labor
force got COVID. In response, farm-
ers killed hogs and chickens because
they couldn’t sell them and they cost
too much to feed.
By early April, people started
to become seriously concerned about
food. Many decided that, with more
time on their hands and room for a gar-
den, this was the year to get serious
about home grown and preserved food.
Almost overnight, vegetable seeds dis-
appeared from most stores. The stores
found that they couldn’t restock because
there were more important items to be
transported. That amplified the percep-
tion that this was a serious crisis. Veg-
etable starts disappeared equally fast.
And again, nursery businesses were un-
able to get more seeds to quickly grow
extra starts.
But eventually many gardens
got planted. It turned out to be a rela-
tively good gardening year. Parts of
May and early June were cooler than
was good for peppers and tomatoes but
ultimately, harvests were abundant.
So, what about seed supply for
2021? After talking to people in the
vegetable seed industry, seed should
be more plentiful this year. Transporta-
tion infrastructure is back up. The U.S.
Postal Service is rapidly recovering
from the holiday rush. That said, order-
ing seed early will ensure you get your
first choice of the vegetable varieties
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you want. There is, again, evidence that
seed stock are being rapidly depleted.
Seed catalogs for 2021 are out. Almost
all are online. It is time to think about
what you want to grow more of or less
of and what new crops and/or varieties
you might like to try.
If you have seed left over from
last year, put them in the refrigerator (in
a tightly closed container so they stay
really dry) or freezer. That will prolong
their value by slowing their loss of vigor.
But don’t use seed that is more than two
years old if it hasn’t been stored cold
and dry. It may germinate but the vigor
of the seedling won’t be as good as it
should be. The chart shows how vigor
of the seedling decreases faster than the
germination percentage of the seed.
You might think about saving
some seeds from your 2021 garden.
Tomatoes, peppers, green beans, peas,
and lettuce are easy to save, assuming
that the variety you grew wasn’t a hy-
brid (check the seed packet or go online
to be sure). Chard, beets, and spinach
can be saved if they aren’t blooming at
the same time. The cabbage family is a
challenge since many types can readily
cross with each other. Same with win-
ter squash. But if you do get in the seed
saving mode and there was another seed
shortage, you would at least have the
basics of a good garden already.
George Washington,
Composter in Chief
Many of our first political lead-
ers came from an agrarian background.
They were inveterate experimenters, the
agricultural scientists of their day. Presi-
dent Jefferson was well-known for his
farm innovations.
Washington also had a lively
interest in farm improvements. He
raised a range of crops on thin Virgin-
ia soil and was painfully aware of the
impact that farming practices of his
day had on soil structure and produc-
tivity.
He believed that for farmers to
prosper, they had to return nutrients to
the soil. He added, at various times,
fish heads, plaster of Paris, creek mud,
and manure to his land. There is writ-
ten and archeological evidence that
Washington built a large structure to
compost manure and crop residues
prior to adding it back to the land. The
building, called the “dung repository”
featured masonry sides, a rammed
earth and cobble floor to hold the liq-
uid fraction, and a roof supported by
posts. While there was little information
on what was actually composted, Wash-
ington wrote these instructions: “Let
others rake and scrap up all the trash, of
every sort and kind about the houses…
and throw it (all I mean that will make
dung) into the Stercorary.” Since most
of what was around the houses then was
of organic or mineral origin, it was prob-
ably largely compostable. The last term
was his name for the structure. Inspiring
advice from one of the founding fathers,
though not widely quoted. This article
was inspired by a brief piece I read
years ago in the “City Farmer” which is
still in business https://cityfarmer.info/
urban-farm-magazine/ and here is the
original article: https://cityfarmer.org/
washington.html.
Bees at play
Bees are a delight to scientists
since they exhibit complex social be-
haviors but are rather easy to study. A
question left unanswered by the great
bee student Karl von Frisch was how
bees locate the landmarks that guide
their foraging behavior. Bees engage in
“play flights” as youngsters. On a bright,
sunny day, bunches of young bees burst
from the hive all at once and turn around
to look at the hive. They return after a
short time, buzzing around the nest.
Think about it. Before the “baby’ bees
came out all they knew was the darkness
of the nest!
A researcher back east attached
tiny transponders to record the flights
of young bees. She noted the pathway
and time of each flight. She found that
young bees view the hive and the land-
scape features from different points on
successive flights. As they learned more
they flew further and faster. Some bees
made 18 orientation flights. She noted
that it is amazing that they can find their
way in the world from distances up to
seven miles from the nest. And all this
with brains the size of grass seeds!
The OSU Extension office is closed
to face-to-face public contact but you
can still reach us!
Free newsletter (what a deal!)
The Oregon State University
Extension office in Columbia Coun-
try 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 or emailed to you. Call
(503) 397-3462 to be put on the list. Al-
ternatively, you can find it on the web at
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/colum-
bia/ and click on newsletters.
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.
Contact information
for the Extension office
Oregon State University Extension
Service – Columbia County
505 N. Columbia River Highway
St. Helens, OR 97051
(503) 397-3462
Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu
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