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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 18, 2015 9A Spring is the time for thinking about fertilizers. Organic options are a great way to go. Organic fertilizers such as manures, compost or bone meal are derived directly from plant or animal sources, according to Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State Uni- versity Extension Service. In- organic fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate or am- monium phosphate are often called commercial or synthetic fertilizers because they go through a manufac- turing process, although many of them come from naturally occurring mineral deposits. Inorganic fertilizers usual- ly contain only a few nutri- ents — generally nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sul- fur and sometimes micronu- trients, either singly or in combination. These nutri- ents are in a form readily available to plants. However, since they are lost from the soil quickly, you may have to fertilize plants several times during the growing season unless you use a specially for- mulated, slow-release type. Some nutrients, such as nitrate, are quickly available for uptake by plant roots, Penhallegon said. If you need only a certain element such as nitrogen and want it to be quickly available to K YM P OKORNY Your Garden your plants, an inorganic fer- tilizer such as ammonium nitrate might be in order. Organic fertilizers usually contain plant nutrients in low concentrations. Many of these nutrients have to be converted into inorganic forms by soil bacteria and fungi before plants can use them, so they typically are more slowly released, espe- cially during cold weather when soil microbes are not as active. But organic fertilizers have advantages. They don’t make a crust on the soil as inorganic fertilizers some- times do. They improve water movement into the soil and, in time, add struc- ture to the soil. Organics feed beneficial microbes, making the soil easier to work. But they may cost more than chemical, or inor- ganic, fertilizers because they are less concentrated, supplying fewer nutrients pound for pound. Since many chemical/in- organic fertilizers are con- centrated and very soluble, it’s easier to apply too much and damage your plants. Fresh, non-composted ma- nure can damage your plants as well, because some ma- nure contains harmful amounts of salts. They can also be a source of weed seeds. Penhallegon has collected information about the nitro- gen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content of many of the organic sub- stances commonly used as fertilizer in Oregon. His re- port, “Values of Organic Fer- tilizers,” also contains infor- mation about how quickly an organic fertilizer releases available nutrients and a ref- erence list on organic gar- dening. “One of the most difficult things to determine for an organic gardener is how much organic fertilizer to use, say on 1,000 square feet of garden,” said Penhalle- gon. “For a fertilizer with an N-P-K ratio of 12-11-2, this means 12 percent is nitro- gen, 11 percent is phospho- rus and 2 percent is potassi- um. In simple terms, this means each 100-pound bag of the fertilizer would con- tain 12 pounds of nitrogen, 11 pounds phosphorus and 2 pounds nitrogen. “For example, using 12- 11-2 fertilizer, if we knew we wanted to apply 1 pound of nitrogen, we would use 1/12th of 100 pounds,” he said. “This equals about 8 pounds of this fertilizer ap- plied to get 1 pound of nitro- gen out there in the soil.” Blood meal (12.5-1.5-0.6) releases nutrients over a pe- riod of two to six weeks. Burned eggshells (0-.5-.3), fish emulsion (5-1-1) and urea (urine) (46-0-0) are the fastest-acting organic fertil- izers, lasting only a couple of weeks. To boost the nitrogen con- tent of your soils, apply ni- trogen-rich urea (42 to 46 percent N), feathers (15 per- cent N), blood meal (12.5 percent N) or dried blood (12 percent N). Organic amendments highest in phosphorus in- clude rock phosphate (20 to 33 percent P), bone meal (15 to 27 percent P) and col- loidal phosphate (17 to 25 percent P). High in potassi- um are kelp (4 to 13 percent K), wood ash (3 to 7 percent K), granite meal (3 to 6 per- cent K) and greensand (5 percent K). To make soil less acidic, gardeners want materials rich in calcium, including clamshells, oyster shells, wood ashes, dolomite and gypsum (all are at least 30 percent calcium carbonate or straight calcium). Many garden centers and feed stores carry organic fer- tilizers and amendments for gardens. MI TOWN Springtime has always been a season of renewal and a celebration of new life, with baby lambs romping in fields and birds building nests for their little families. Springtime brings us St. Patrick’s Day cel- ebrations — where everybody is Irish for just one day — and corned beef, cabbage and songs to sing around the piano. Easter brings us hope, joy and the promises of re- newal of mind and spirit. Springtime is happy and good for young and old and every- one in between. — What doesn’t belong in springtime — or any other time of year — is meanness and hatred. It seems there is an abundance of nastiness and bad behavior that con- tinues to crop up nearly e ve r y w h e re. Fra t e r n i t y brothers are singing racist songs that are going viral on P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist the Internet; some church leaders are screaming hatred from their pulpits; people are shooting at each other and targeting law enforce- ment officers; politicians are saying hateful things about each other; people are talk- ing about “taking our coun- try back.” The words and ac- tions seem to be escalating faster every day. People with income from trust funds complain about “lazy people” who use food stamps to feed their families. (Full disclosure here: Mem- bers of my family represent every race, religion, ethnic, Music from the Redgate Winery Fieldhouse Saturday March 21, 1- 4 PM featuring Diamondback $5.00 cover • Must be 21 Food vailable Tasting fees & glasses of wine $5.00 8175 Buena Vista Road Independence • 503-428-7115 • www.redgatevineyard.com and socioeconomic group. An insult to one is an insult to somebody I love. I love my country and believe our na- tion is strong and true.) I think that’s pretty represen- tative of most of us. When hateful slurs are made, peo- ple are hurt, and nothing good comes from any of it. The anonymity of the In- ternet has given everyone the chance to scream, yell and carry on, and it’s proba- bly healthy to get it all said to those who are in agreement with what we have to say. After all, we do have First Amendment rights. What’s so sad and mean is to hear vicious words said in the presence of children or oth- ers for no other purpose than to be hateful and hurt- ful. Wouldn’t it be great to make springtime resolutions — to really think about oth- ers who are different — and not criticize those who aren’t like us. We can all do better. — The recent change to day- light saving time is a re- minder to check your home smoke alarms. If you haven’t checked your smoke detec- tors lately, Polk County Fire District No. 1 members can stop by your residence to change batteries and check your alarm to be sure it is working properly. Call 503- 838-1510 during regular business hours for more in- formation. — See you Thursday for soup and pie at the Monmouth Senior Center, 180 S. Warren St. Doors open at 11 a.m., and variety of soups and pie will be served. Cost is a suggested donation of $3 per bowl of soup and $2 per slice of pie. It’s a wonderful way to cele- brate springtime in MI Town. West Valley Housing Authority will hold their Work Session Meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 beginning at 11:30 a.m. at 204 SW Walnut in Dallas, Oregon. The Regular Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at 204 SW Walnut in Dallas, Oregon. An Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660 will be held immediately following the Regular Meeting. Agenda for the meeting is posted on the Housing Authority website at www.wvpha.org. The location for the meeting is handicapped accessible. Please advise the West Valley Housing Authority if you need any special accommodations to attend the meeting. For information, please call 503-623- 8387, TDD 1-800-735-2900. ENGAGEMENTS Barnes-Cruickshank Brooke Bar nes of Amity and William Tell Cruickshank of Sheridan are planning an August wedding. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Doug and Carla Barnes of Amity. Her fiancé is the son of Bryce and Carrie Cruick- shank of Sheridan. Brooke, a 2013 gradu- ate of Perrydale High School, is a student at Chemeketa Community College in McMinnville. William, a 2014 graduate of Central High School, is a student at George Fox University in Newberg pursuing his bachelor’s degree in business management. The wedding is set for Aug. 1 at William’s grandparents’ home in Dallas. BIRTHS Winter Natalie Marie Winter was born to John and Mandi Win- ter of Independence at 2:44 p.m. on March 4 at Salem Hos- pital Family Birth Center. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 20¾ inches long. Natalie joins Jason, 19 months. Grandparents are Jonathan and Jenny Naylor of Inde- pendence and Carmen Winter of Corvallis. Great-grandparents are Thomas and Lillian Mont- gomery of American Fork, Utah, and Paul and Norma Kirk of Tualatin. Delsman Axel David Lynn Delsman was born to Josh Delsman and Nicole Hale-McKibben of Dallas at 9:15 p.m. on March 6 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20 inches long. Axel is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are David and Bette McKibben of Dallas, Charlie and Cindy Delsman of Dallas, and Twilla Friesen of Culdesac, Idaho. Great-grandparents are Ed and Lavina Friesen of Dallas, Walt Gibson of Salem, Billie Gibson of Dallas, and Bob and Carol Delsman of Ashland. Minahan Morgan Eben Minahan was born to Nick and Trinity Mi- nahan of Dallas at 1:54 a.m. on March 7 at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. He weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Morgan is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are Terry and Carlotta Hall of Dallas and Mark and Joni Minahan of Dallas. Ceja Ezra Lee Ceja was born to Javier and Cassie Ceja of Dal- las at 12:27 p.m. on March 10 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Ezra joins Makaylah, 11, and Xzavier, 2. Grandparents are Edward Bennett of Dallas, Javier Ceja of Salem and Tammy Lopes of Salem. Great-grandparents are Billie Quinton of McMinnville, Lois Diaz of Buffalo, Mo., and Abel Ceja-Mendez of Mi- choacan, Mexico. March 28 10am - 4pm Pre-Sale $6 9am - 10am Admission: Adults $4 Kids 10 yrs & under Free Food Available Polk County Fairgrounds on site 520 Pacific Hwy W, Rickreall Dolls, Bears, Books, Toys, Miniatures & Related Items, Doll Stringing No Appraisals Sales Table Reservation $32 per table Arleta Day 503-581-1206 Sally Bradford 503-399-7679 Hwy 22 Rickreall Salem ★ Polk Co Fairgrounds I-5 Here’s the scoop on fertilizers 99W Polk County Living RV Space Available Knights of Columbus Friday March 20 through Thursday March 26 Matinees are all shows before 6pm. New pricing for matinees are: Adult $7.25 Children $6.75 Senior $7.00 Pricing does not reflect 3D showings. MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG) (1:10 4:00) 6.50 9:30 GUNMAN (Digital) (R) (2:00 4:40) 7:20 9:45 DISNEY’S CINDERELLA (Digital) (PG) (1:30 4:15) 7:00 9:25 INSURGENT (NEC Dolby 2D) (PG13) (1:05) 6:40 INSURGENT (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG13) (3:50) 9:20 INSURGENT (Digital 2D) (PG13) (1:35 4:20) 7:10 9:50 CHAPPIE (Digital) (R) (1:45 4:30) 7:15 9:55 RUN ALL NIGHT (R) (1:25 4:05) 6:45 9:10 SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (Digital) (PG) (1:40 4:25) 7:05 9:35 Visit our website, www.polkio.com ...for local news, sports and community events. Follow us on Recycle this newspaper. St. Thomas Moore Council Congratulates the winner of our recent fund raising raffle event Reinar Morales of Dallas has won the 2015 Alaska Fishing Trip to Pybus Point Lodge We want to thank the individuals and businesses that contributed prizes: American Outdoors • Dallas Animal Clinic Heidi’s Barber Shop • Gordon Wava Les Schwab Tires • Murphy’s Grill Shannon Morgan 31 • Tim’s Automotive VanDuzer Vineyards • Charlotte & Bill Geary Dallas Health & Vitality • Ixtapa Restaurant Mira Mar Restaurant • Platinum Spa Some Things • Town Barber Shop Wing & Prayer Alpacas