COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL June 10, 2015
7A
This is the year to grow
big, beautiful tomatoes
BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
Child + Pet =
LOVE
Something caught my eye!
Ten-year-old child, Helia, was
out walking with her parents and
her seven month old Minchin
(Minature
Pinscher/Chihua-
hua) puppy, Valen. There was
something extra special about
the child’s and the dog’s heart-
bond.
Helia held little Valen lightly
and naturally as if he were part
of her body, a treasure to care
for, so gentle and loving. But
the look on the puppy’s face
told the rest of the tale. He was
totally trusting, devoted, and so
comfortable that he melted into
her body as she held him. They
fi t purr-fectly together like a
bookmark to a book.
Her father, Dr. Fattahi said,
“She loves him. He loves her.”
Simply the truth to all eyes.
As the Puppy-rozzi it is my
job to get “the rest of the story,”
so here it is!
“Valen is not my fi rst dog!”
said Helia, “I was born in Iran,
and had a dog, Honey, who died
before we moved to Canada.
When my parents said I could
have a dog again, I looked for
dogs on the Internet. I think
the Minchin breed is beautiful,
so when I saw Valen I got him.
I named him Valen because I
love him and Valen means Val-
entine. We speak Farsi at home,
so Valen understands English
and Farsi. He is such a smart
puppy!
My mom does not like Valen
to sleep with me, but he does not
listen to mom, so he sleeps next
to me. He loves pillows, so he
sleeps on my pillow. He does
not put all of his body on my
pillow, just his head like a hu-
man. He looks so cute.
I love it when he tries kissing
me on the lips, and if he can’t
kiss me, then he starts making
an adorable baby sound.
It is my responsibility to feed
and walk Valen for one hour of
exercise so he will be healthy.
N
Photo by Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe”
Mrs. and Dr. Fattahi support their daughter, Helia, in her
love of dogs and her adoption of Valen. Helia’s deep bond
with Valen will be one of her best lifelong memories.
When it is raining, Valen wears
little blue rain shoes, and he
walks funny in them.
He loves playing hide-and-
seek! I do too! Valen goes and
hides. When I fi nd him, he starts
running. I chase him until I get
him. Then it is my turn to hide
and Valen has to fi nd me. After
he fi nds me, I run away, so he
can chase me. He is my best
friend and I am his.
His CRAZY habit is that he
won’t chase any balls; big ones,
little ones, or ones with holes in
them.
I chose a dog for my pet be-
cause I’m a dog person. I love
dogs. I will always love dogs
and will never have a pet that is
not a dog!”
medical expenses for the home-
less and injured cats.
All animal rescue groups wel-
come donations of time, fi nanc-
es, food, and towels etc. Check
your pet shelter’s website for
their “most wanted items”.
Petfi nder is referenced at the
end of each ‘Tips ‘n’ Tales’ to
facilitate your search for your
next-best furry friend. www.
PetFinder.com
Type in the pet’s breed and
your city to locate adoptable
pets in shelters/rescue groups
close to you. Animals in shel-
ters are litter-ly dying to fi nd a
home! When you rescue pets
from shelters, you are also not
purr-petuating the existence of
torturous puppy/kitten mills.
Tips
You will fi nd 33,900 adopt-
able pets on Petfi nder from
13,342 adoption groups at your
fi ngertips!
Last year, one pet shelter
alone found homes for 412
cats! It took 211 volunteers and
49,997 hours of fostering and
socializing the cats purr-paring
them for their fur-ever homes.
Important fi nancial donations
made it paws-ible to cover the
othing drives Oregon vegetable gar-
deners to distraction like the elusive
quest for a ripe crop of tomatoes. There’s the
fi ckle weather to consider, diseases to battle
and insects to thwart.
“Everyone wants to grow tomatoes,” said
Amy Jo Detweiler, a horticulturist with Ore-
gon State University’s Extension Service. “It’s
a universal food people tend to like.”
Wanting to grow them and actually doing it
are two different things, though. Short growing
seasons on both sides of the Cascade Range
and faint sun at the coast often mean tomatoes
take their sweet time to ripen, if they do at all.
This year could be different, Detweiler said. A
warmer-than-usual spring has heated the soil
earlier, giving tomatoes the conditions they
need to get a good jump on the season.
If you haven’t already planted your crop, it’s
time. When shopping for tomatoes for shorter
growing seasons, Detweiler recommends buy-
ing those with 60 to 70 days to maturity rather
than 70 to 100.
“Some of those are ‘Legend,’ ‘Early Girl’
and ‘Siletz,’ all developed by OSU,” she said.
Cherry tomatoes like ‘Sun Gold,’ Gold Nug-
get’ and ‘Sweet Million’ ripen early and are a
good bet for beginners. Big, beefsteak types
can be challenging, though this year would be
the year to try them.
Tomatoes are either indeterminate or deter-
minate, Detweiler explained. The former ripen
throughout the season, while determinate can
be harvested all at once for making sauces,
salsas and the like. For detailed information
and recipes for canning, refer to OSU Exten-
sion’s guide to Canning Tomatoes and Tomato
Products in English or Spanish.
In colder climates east of the Cascades,
growing tomatoes with protection is a neces-
sity because of the possibility of frost at any
time of year, according to Detweiler. If you
don’t have a greenhouse, use a cloche or row
cover. When plants are young, use water rings.
They have channels of water that collect heat
during the day and refl ect it to plants at night
and are readily available at garden centers.
Covering the soil around plants with plastic
sheeting will also help.
Detweiler’s tips for growing tomatoes:
Select sturdy plants.
Put in a plot that gets a good six hours of
sun.
Plant in well-drained soil that’s been amend-
ed with organic material such as compost or
well-rotted manure.
Pluck off leaves at the bottom of the stem
and bury in soil fi ve to 10 inches deeper than
it came in the pot. Additional roots will form
along the stem. As the plant grows remove
branches and leaves close to the ground to
help prevent soil-borne diseases.
Give plants plenty of room so that air can
circulate and sun can penetrate. This will re-
sult in more vigorous plants that can more eas-
ily fi ght off diseases or pests.
Use a strong tomato cage or trellis for sup-
port.
Start fertilizing about two weeks after plant-
ing with a 5-10-10 or 5-10-mixture. Feed ac-
cording to package directions about every
three weeks until fruit ripens.
Don’t wait for soil to completely dry out
between waterings. Irrigate deeply every two
to three days, more often in particularly hot
days.
On side stems with no blossoms, pinch them
off at the V where they meet a main stem. This
will force energy to develop the fruit rather
than plant foliage.
Get more information on all aspects of grow-
ing tomatoes in OSU Extension’s publication
Grow Your Own Tomatoes and Tomatillos or
call a Master Gardener in your area.
photo by Lynn
Ketchum
Follow a
few tips
and grow
a crop of
enviable
toma-
toes like
'Legend,'
a variety
developed
by Oregon
State Uni-
versity
Tell us how wonderful your
pet is!
angelscribe@msn.com
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