COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL August 10, 2016
7A
Don’t be fooled; fi gs grow
fi ne in western Oregon
BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
T
Fired From Doggy
Day Care!
“
At the shelter,” said Ge-
nine, “they told us that
Jackson’s feral Terrier-mix litter
was discovered in the woods.
He was as cute as a button, but
so disproportionate that he could
chase and catch his tail! His
eyes are rimmed in black like
Disney’s Captain Jack Sparrow,
so his nickname is ‘Jacko’.
This is defi nitely a family
dog! Our daughter ‘helped’ by
temporarily moving home to
help the puppy settle in and our
youngest son took Jackson to
obedience class.
Like any youngster, human or
canine, Jackson lives to play. His
favorite time, at obedience class,
was ‘play time’. He learned
how to ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ and he’s
fi nally mastered the command
to ‘come’, as long as he doesn’t
have a stick in his mouth!
Unfortunately, while he’s pas-
sionate about retrieving sticks he
won’t give them back! He runs
20 yards from us, puts it down,
and then stands over it guarding
it. The only way to get him to
give up one stick is to throw an-
other! Has he reversed roles and
is training ‘us’ to fetch!?
Jackson likes a good game of
‘Chase Me-Chase Me’ or having
sticks tossed in a creek, river or
ocean. He loves the water (deep
puddles) and as soon as he sees
any he runs right in — rain,
shine or cold!
Jackson has a love/hate rela-
tionship with stuffed dog toys
and their squeakers. He’s a pro
who rips a toy apart in mere
minutes and retrieves its squeak-
er, just like a kid with a box of
cereal digging for the prize.
He then plays with the plastic
squeaker- throwing it around
and carrying it in his mouth - for
hours. Maybe Jackson thinks
that the squeaker is the toy and
that the rest of the stuffed ani-
mal is gift wrap? Our home is
always littered with mysterious
bits of stuffi ng.
Last year, my husband, Keith,
asked for an unusual birthday
gift — to have Jackson’s DNA
deciphered. Because Jackson
looks foreign to any other dog
on the planet, my husband re-
ceived his wish. I presented
him with a doggy DNA test kit.
We swabbed inside Jackson’s
cheek and sent it into the lab.
We deliberately did not include
a photograph, so it would be a
blind study. We also did not de-
scribe him or the color of his
soft wiry-black-brown and or-
ange fur with his white tipped
tail and paws.
Here are the surprising re-
sults!
20-40 % Irish Setter
20-40 % Alaska Malamute
10-20% Dalmatian, Peking-
ese and English Setter
Not a bit of Terrier in the mix!
The Red Irish Setter explains
his coloring, and malamutes are
known for two things, which
explains Jackson’s beautiful
black lined eyes and his desire
to vocalize. He’ll march into
the family room and start ‘talk-
ing’. His tone modulates up and
down and he goes on for several
minutes — he is defi nitely tell-
ing us something, but we can’t
translate his dog tales!
Jackson loves his family —
paws-ibly that is why he failed
doggie daycare!?
“He went four times,” laughs
Genine, “before they advised
me not to bring him back, be-
cause he spent the entire time
waiting by the front gate look-
ing for me to return and ‘rescue’
him. To rub insult into injury or
‘mother’s guilt’ they showed me
a video of Jackson desperately
waiting for my return.
Now, for socialization he
‘visits’ our son’s girlfriend who
moonlights as a dog walker.
Jackson’s new buddy is her
client’s bird-obsessed dog who
Photo by Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe”
Genine had her four-year-old Jackson’s DNA tested to
research why this Disney’s ‘Lady and the Tramp’ look-
a-like dog had wild orange eyes and fur, and beautiful-
long-silky Mandarin earring ears!
spends his time running around
trying to catch birds.”
Jackson is paws-itive that the
dog is playing ‘Chase Me-Chase
Me’, so he joins in chasing the
dog. At the end of the day, both
dogs are worn out!
“I take Jackson to a ‘People
Only’ walking path with a dog
path beside it,” said Genine,
“that is divided by a chain link
fence. There are occasional
breaks in the fence allowing
parents to attend their dog. But
at each break, Jackson gleefully
bounced off the doggie trail to
join us. We had to train him to
‘stay’ on ‘his’ trail.
My human walking buddy ad-
mitted, ‘We had a Spaniel that
I tried walking on the divided
lanes, but in 17 years I never
succeeded. Instead I ended up
walking with him on the dog
path or carrying him on the hu-
man side!’ Sometimes I think
dogs are smarter than their peo-
ple!”
nine, “we were instructed for
as long as it took to not take our
dogs off leash until we were con-
fi dent that they would respond
to the ‘come’ command. We
faithfully kept Jackson on leash
until he was a year old for his
safety. It is life saving for dogs
to STOP when you spot danger
and they are focused on running
after a ball, friend or stick.”
Share your pet tips and tales.
angelscribe@msn.com
hough they look tropical
and taste exotic, fi gs grow
fi ne in the long corridor of west-
ern Oregon, where the climate
offers not-too-cold winters and
hot-enough summers.
“I get a lot of people asking
me if they can grow fi gs,” said
Steve Renquist, a horticulturist
with Oregon State University
Extension Service in Roseburg.
“Boy, can you grow fi gs.”
The cooler summers of the
coast and colder winter temper-
atures east of the Cascades are
a different story, though. The
weather in those areas is not
conducive to growing the love-
it or leave-it fruit.
Not all varieties of fi gs thrive,
however. Of 100 or more cul-
tivars, Renquist recommends
three fi gs: ‘White Kadota,’ ‘Des-
ert King’ and ‘Lattarula,’ which
he prefers for fresh eating. All
have yellowish-green skin and
amber fl esh. They are suffi cient-
ly cold hardy, ripen nicely and
may produce two harvests.
Except for pruning, which
can be tricky for beginners, the
plants are pretty bullet proof,
according to Renquist. Plant
them in quick-draining soil in
the hottest spot in the garden
and you’ve done your duty.
“One of the things I like really
well is that fi gs are a wonderful
fruit crop for home gardeners
because you never have to spray
for anything,” he said. “These
trees work so well in backyard
situations.”
When it comes time to plant
– fall is optimal – choose a
south-facing aspect where the
sun shines all or most of the day.
The soil should be loose enough
to drain well. Adding organic
material will help with that.
Make sure the pH is neutral;
shoot for 6.5 to 7. Adding lime
to the soil will bring western
Oregon’s typically acidic-lean-
ing soil up to the correct level,
Renquist said.
Planting is no different than
other trees. Dig a hole twice
as wide as the root ball and the
same depth as it is in the pot.
Work some compost into the
hole, place the plant and back-
fi ll with soil. Water well and
you’re good to go. Rather than
using commercial fertilizer, top
dress the soil around the tree
with compost once a year. Don’t
expect fruit for the fi rst few sea-
sons.
As far as watering, less is
more. Once roots are well es-
tablished, an inch of water every
couple of weeks is suffi cient.
“If you’re soaking them,
you’re making more plant
growth, which you don’t need,”
Renquist said. “These really are
drought-hardy trees. You’ll have
more concentrated fl avors and
control of growth if you’re giv-
ing a modest amount of water.”
To add more fi g trees to
your collection, propagating
by cuttings is an easy task. In
winter when the plant is dor-
Please see FIGS, Page 8A
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TIPS
“At puppy school,” said Ge-
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