Wednesday February 21,1979
Page 8 — Vernonia Freedom
Extension agent has many tips for winter
by Charles E. Bubl
Columbia County Extension agent
Test soil
Winter is the traditional time tpr
gardeners to plan ahead for spring
planting. Testing the soil for its nutrient
content is an important consideration
that can. best be done in the winter,
according to Chip Bubl, Columbia County
Extension agent.
A soil test is a laboratory chemical
analysis of soil that determines the
supply of available nutrients Such as
phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, the
percent of organic matter, and the soil
acidity or alkalinity.
A soil test can help gardeners overcome
nutrient shortages or excesses in their
soil. For example, many garden soil
samples show that gardeners tend to
apply too much phosphorus and
potassium and not enough calcium, Bubl
observed.
When nutrient imbalances exist,
applying a complete fertilizer can be
costly and frustrating because the garden
is not likely to produce up to its potential.
Soil tests are also valuable if there were
problems in a garden that couldn’t be
attributed to some other cause, or if a plot
is being gardened for the first time.
To obtain a. soil test, contact your
county Extension office and ask for a Soil
testing kit. The kit includes directions Qn
how to collect a soil sample and other
necessary information. A standard soil
test costs $5.
About a month after sending the soil
sample to OSU Soil Testing Lab, thé
results of the analysis are sent to the
county Extension agent, who interprets
them and mails recommendations for a
soil fertilizing program directly to the
home gardener. ‘‘With a soil analysis as a
guide, home gardeners have a better
chance of growing a productive garden
and using fertilizer efficiently,“ SAYS
BubL
Some vegetables grown in the home
garden are known as “cool season crops.”
“The térm refers to vegetables grown in
cooler, weather which other garden crops
such as com and beans will not tolérate, ”
says Chip Bubl, Columbia County
Extension agent.
Not only'do cool season crops survive in
cold weather, many of them actually grow
best under relatively cool temperatures
(50 to 65 degrees F). With some, the
quality is reduced by the summer heat.
Cool season crops grown in Oregon
include bruccoli, cabbage, lettucé, onions,
peas, potatoes, spinach, and turnips.
Others are beets, carrots, chard, parsnips
and radishes.
Naturally, cool season crops are usually
the first to be planted in the home garden.
However, specific planting dates vary
from vegétable to vegetable and on the
local growing seasons in different parts of
Oregon. ,
Bubl gives the following advice on some
of the more popular cool season
vegetables.
Peas. Among the earliest to be planted
of all the cool season crops. They should
be planted as soon as the soil can be
worked in most partis of the state. Plant
seed directly in their permanent row.
Young plants do not transplant well. Peas
are sensitive to summer heat and many
varieties are susceptible to virus
disorders spread by aphids and other
spring insects. Early plantings usually do
best.
Onions. Plant from seeds, transplants
or sets. Onion sets can go in as Soon as the
soil is workable. Sets can be grown in
flower pots in the house if the garden
remains too sloppy.
Lettuce. Grown from transplants, but
cheaper to grow from seed. Early
plantings tend to éxcape the ravages of
insect infestations that can quickly
destroy summer plantings.
“Home and Farm Vegetable Garden”
EC 871, an ÓSU Extension publication
contains more specific information on all
garden vegetables, including varieties
and planting dates for the different
growing conditions throughout the state.
EC 871 is available free from the
Columbia County Extension Office,
Courthouse, St. Helens, OR 97051
Apple scab
Apple scab, a common disease in home
apple orchards, can be controlled by a
series of four fungicide sprays beginning
in February.
“Apple scab causes brown, scabby
blotches on the surface of apples,” says
Chip Bubl, Columbia County Extension
agent.
Often these scaly, crusty areas become
cracked. When the spots overlap, the
cracking may be severe. Although the
scab results in unattractive fruit, the
apples are safe for eating.
In addition to apple trees, the disease
also attacks flowering apples.
In the spring, the disease first appears
on the blossoms and leaves as olive-green
spots with uneven feathery margins. The
spots on the leaves turn brown-black,
become raised and take on a velvety
appearance.
On the fruit, scab spots appear as
rough, dark green areas on the end or side
of the apple and eventually cause it to be
misshapen and dwarfed. The spots later
turn brown and develop cracks.
“Apple scab spreads quickly from early
infections to other leaves and young
fruits, causinjg both leaves and fruits to
drop,’’says Bubl.
Scab continues to spread through the
growing season whenever moisture is
present from rains, irrigation or dew.
Because scab is spread so easily, the
best method of control is by the
application of fungicides. Several sprays
are necessary because the leaves and fruit
are continually enlarging, and within a
few days of a spray application new leaf
and fruit tissue appear which heed
protection.
Good results can be obtained by using
the following spray schedule:
1. Dormant spray. In the early spring
just before the buds open—usually the
middle to end of February—spray the tree
throughly with lime sulfur mixed at
dormant strength as indicated on the
label.
2. Pink stage spray. When the blossom
buds show pink (just before the blossom
opens), spray with lime sulfur mixed at a
rate of one-half cup per gallon of water.
3. Petal fall spray. When most blossom
petals have fallen, spray with a wettable
sulfur powder mixed at a rate of six
tablespoons per gallon of water.
4. Three weeks after petal, fall spray.
Repeat petal fall spray. Through spraying
is essential, Bubl advises. Be sure all
parts of the tree—limbs, branches, twigs,
leaves and fruits—are covered.
The amount of spray required will vary,
according to the size of the tree and
amount of foliage. An 8 year old dormant
apple tree will require approximately one
and one-half gallons of spray. The same
tree in full foliage may need 3 gallons of
spray.
' Be careful when using lime sulfur, Bubl
advises. It will discolor paint on houses
and other buildings. Use a large piece of
cardboard, canvas, or other sheeting to
prevent the lime sulfur spray or spray
drift from getting on nearby, painted
buildings.
Prune raspberries
Some wintertime attention to red ;
raspberries will stimulate spring growth
and berry production for good eating next
summer.
“YoU want to prevent the individual
raspberry plants from growing in a
tangled thicket by pruning and training
them,” says Chip Bubl, Columbia County
Extension Agent.
Pruning is done to remove weak canes
and the tips of long canes and to help
maintain some sort of trellis system. The
canes of one-crop varieties are biennial in
habit; that is, they grow the first year and
make fruit the second year.
The new canes that appeared last
Vernonia Food Cooperation
CRAB FEED
Tax Poor Breakfast:
z 9th Annual Crab Feed
at
V ernonia G olf C ourse
C lubhouse
2 eggs, 2 hotcakes or hashbrowns,
toast plus ham, bacon or sausage
and coffee.
SJ95
Good through Feb. 28th
Saturday, March 3rd, 1979
5:30 to 9:oo p.m.
Have a Pepsi in a Fonz Glass
59C — Keep the glass!
$6.00 per person
PINE CONE
sponsored by
This item featured by Co-op members
Jenelle Wiggins and John Wysong
V ernonia M en ’ s G olf A sso .
U.S.Bankisinthe
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Cornish Game Hen
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