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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 21, 2015 9A Polk County Living Correct fruit tree pruning is key Anyone who buys or in- herits a fruit tree faces the intimidating crossroads of how, when and if they should prune. “It’s one of the most diffi- cult things for people to un- derstand,” said Ross Penhal- legon, horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Ex- tension Service. “Ultimately, they make a few cuts and think, ‘Oh, I’m going to hurt the tree,’ and run back into the house to watch TV.” But without the proper maintenance, production of fruit falls off, diseases in- crease and frustration goes off the chart. The key at that point is to clear out the center of the tree to let sunlight in, or cut the tree down and plant four dwarf varieties that get to be 10 feet rather than 40 feet. “I call the big ones man- killer trees,” Penhallegon said. “You have to climb up to the top and spend hours and hours pruning out suckers. You can do that every year or take a lot less time to prune smaller trees. After all, how K YM P OKORNY Your Garden much fruit do you eat? If a tree produces 20, 40, 50 pounds, most of it hits the ground and you don’t pick it up.” For 25 years Penhallegon has taught hands-on classes on pruning fruit trees to hun- dreds of people annually, handing out more than 15,000 of Extension’s Training and Pruning Your Home Or- chard. Several workshops are coming up later this month and February in nearby Ben- ton, Linn and Lane counties. It’s important to read up on pruning, but it can be confusing. “The key is coming to the class,” Penhallegon said. “Read about pruning, do some pruning and then read about it again. The lights come on, and that’s so liberating.” Unless you’ve got an emo- tional connection to the tree, he recommends cutting down out-of-control trees. But if you want to keep it, he’ll teach you to rejuvenate one, too. Anytime December through February is a good time for pruning. “We let people know that they can prune their trees fairly hard and still get fruit and not hurt their tree,” he said. “The answer is that every time you prune a branch ask what happens “I call the big ones man-killer trees. You have to climb up to the top and spend hours and hours pruning out suckers.” —Ross Penhallegon, OSU Extension Service horticulturalist where you’ve pruned. It grows back. Even if you cut it back to six inches, 99.99 percent of the time it grows back, espe- cially apples and pears.” Before cutting down a tree, check with your city for local regulations. Penhallegon offers a num- ber of tips for pruning fruit trees. • Start with the right equipment and don’t stint on price. You’ll want good- quality 18-inch loppers, pruners and a handsaw. If you need to use a ladder, be sure it’s in good condition. • The best time to prune is February, but any time leaves are off from December through February will work. • Remove dead, dying and diseased limbs first. • Take out crossing limbs and remove limbs that grow down or straight up. • Clear out the center of the tree, and prune the top of the tree more heavily than the lower portion. • Only take out one-third of the limbs at once. MI TOWN The Polk County Board of Commissioners is present- ing a public hearing regard- ing the proposed county public safety levy Wednes- day (today) at 6 p.m. at the Monmouth Public Library. The library is located at 168 Ecols St. S., and there is plenty of parking available. If you didn’t attend the hearing in Dallas last week, try to make every effort to at- tend this meeting. The pro- posed cost of the five-year levy is 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value — about $90 per year on a property as- sessed at $200,000, less than $10 per month. That’s basi- cally a trip through a fast food drive-thru for one per- son. If this proposal is placed on the ballot and were to pass, we’ll receive funding to help with jail expenses, com- P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist munity corrections, juvenile department, district attor- ney’s office and restoration of sheriff’s patrols that have been drastically cut the last several months. No matter what our eco- nomic and status or political beliefs may be, the good health of MI Town and all of our communities depends upon the services provided for our citizens. We all need to do whatever we can to see that good law enforcement and related services are there, for our local business- es, families and children. Think about all the good things that will be provided with funding from this levy. — By press time, I will be closing in on another birth- day, which puts me at the three-quarter century mark. It is hard to believe that I’ve been hanging around this big, blue marble so many years, but that’s what the cal- endar says. Instead of facing the facts, I’d rather focus on what Satchel Paige, who was a famous baseball pitcher in the Negro Leagues before he played for the St. Louis Browns, had to say about aging. When a newspaper re- porter asked him why he was still playing ball at his age, he asked the reporter, “How old do you think you’d be, if you didn’t know how old you were?” I like that statement and the attitude BIRTHS Hampton Josephine Louise Hampton was born to Matt and Holly Hampton of Boise, Idaho, at 2:49 a.m. on Nov. 25 at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise. She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 19¾ inches long. Josephine is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are Dave and Mary Jo Hampton of Dallas and Dave and Diana Myers of Redding, Calif. Great-grandparents are JoAnn Myers of Napa, Calif., and Tom and Wilma Doyle of Hamilton, Mont. Cogswell Jocelyn Ann Cogswell was born to Gabriel Cogswell and Peggy Sue Archer of Corvallis at 8:04 a.m. on Jan. 8 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 19¼ inches long. Jocelyn is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are Doug and Bobbie Cogswell of Dallas and Sharon Archer of Keizer. Great-grandparents are Ernest and Marilyn Cogswell of Dallas and Janice Jacobsen of Dallas. Bunnell Kayetan Malik Joseph Bunnell was born to Thomas Bunnell and Amber Reese of Dallas at 7:29 p.m. on Jan. 9 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. He weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 21 inches long. Kayetan joins Kolton, 1. Grandparents are Felix Avila and Jeanetta Reese of Inde- pendence, Aaron and Jennifer Reese of Brockport, N.Y., and Levi and Kate Brunnell of Dallas. Great-grandparents are Chuck and Lori Holbrook of Dallas and Thomas and Peggy Ainsworth of Florence. Olivares Cortes that went with it. Reaching a certain age doesn’t necessarily bring wisdom, but simply having “been there and done that” can bring perspective and to give advice when asked (whether it is listened to or not is another story), and to try to be silent if you can’t say something good about somebody else. Aging also brings maturity as well as the time to spend participating in lots of vol- unteer activities and finding positive things to do. It also brings time to sit by the kitchen window and watch the birds in the backyard, or to read a good book while sitting in a comfy chair be- side a cozy fire. — Flu season is upon us. Be sure your family is immu- nized and protected. Adelyn Olivares Cortes was born to Jorge Olivares and Leonor Bedolla Cortes of Salem at 8:05 p.m. on Jan. 9 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Adelyn is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are Jorge and Maria Olivares of Independ- ence and Laura Cortes of Salem. Hickman Abby Lynn Hickman was born to Jeffrey and Kayla Hick- man of Dallas at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Abby joins Tucker, 1. Grandparents are Karen Jonk of Veneta, Steve and Hope Gregory of Dallas, Lyn Hickman of Lebanon, and Ralph and Debbi Hickman of Independence. Great-grandmother is Phyllis Gregory of Dallas. Itemizer-Observer YOUR COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE Subscribe Today 503-623-2373 • www.polkio.com