Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 17, 2015 9A
Polk County Living
Growing the perfect, tasty tomato
Nothing drives Oregon
vegetable gardeners to dis-
traction like the elusive
quest for a ripe crop of
tomatoes. There’s the fickle
weather to consider, dis-
eases to battle and insects
to thwart.
“Everyone wants to grow
tomatoes,” said Amy Jo De-
tweiler, a horticulturist with
Oregon 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 sea-
sons 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 dif-
ferent, Detweiler said. A
warmer-than-usual spring
has heated the soil earlier,
giving tomatoes the condi-
tions they need to get a
good jump on the season.
If you haven’t already
planted your crop, it’s time.
When shopping for toma-
toes for shorter growing
seasons, Detweiler recom-
mends buying those with
60 to 70 days to maturity
rather than 70 to 100.
“Some of those are ‘Leg-
end,’ ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Siletz,’
all developed by OSU,” she
said.
Cherry tomatoes like
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
‘Sun Gold,’ Gold Nugget’
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 inde-
terminate or determinate,
Detweiler explained. The
former ripen throughout
the season, while determi-
nate can be harvested all at
once for making sauces,
salsas and the like. For de-
tailed information and
recipes for canning, refer to
OSU Extension’s guide to
“Canning Tomatoes and
Tomato Products” in Eng-
lish or Spanish.
In colder climates east of
the Cascades, growing
tomatoes with protection is
a necessity 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 dur-
ing the day and reflect it to
plants at night and are
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 amended
with organic mate-
rial such as com-
post or well-rotted
manure.
• P l u c k o ff
leaves at the bot-
tom of the stem
and bury in soil five 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 result in more vigorous plants
that can more easily fight off diseases or pests.
• Use a strong tomato cage or trellis for support.
Start fertilizing about two weeks after planting with a 5-
10-10 or 5-10-5 mixture. Feed according to package direc-
tions about every three weeks until fruit ripens.
• Don’t wait for soil to completely dry out between wa-
terings. 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 de-
velop the fruit rather than plant foliage.
• For strategies on fighting common problems such as
blossom-end rot and early and late blight, check out OSU
Extension’s story on “6 common woes of tomatoes.”
• Get more information on all aspects of growing toma-
toes in OSU Extension’s publication “Grow Your Own Toma-
toes and Tomatillos” or call a Master Gardener in your area.
readily available at garden
centers. Covering the soil
around plants with plastic
sheeting will also help.
MI TOWN
Summer programs are in
full swing at both the Inde-
pendence and Monmouth li-
braries — it was so much fun
to sign up kids of all ages at
the Monmouth Public Li-
brary last week, and to dis-
cover all the good times that
are ahead for everyone.
There’s still space available
in all the reading programs,
so if your family hasn’t had
the opportunity to sign up,
please stop in at your near-
est library soon. Lots of good
prizes and fun times are in
store.
—
Summer meal sites are
open throughout MI Town
from now until Aug. 28. Kids
are hungry and families
need food assistance
throughout the year. This is a
wonderful program for fami-
lies who have been enrolled
in the free or reduced price
lunches during the school
year. Ash Creek and Mon-
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
mouth elementary schools
both serve lunch from noon
to 12:30 p.m. every weekday;
Head Start in Independence
serves breakfast (8-8:30
a.m.), lunch (11-11:30 a.m.)
and supper (3-3:30 p.m.)
every weekday; Park West
Apartments serves lunch
(12-12:30 p.m.) weekdays;
Henry Hill Educational Sup-
port Center and Independ-
ence Elementar y ser ve
breakfast (8-8:30 a.m.), and
lunch (12-12:30 p.m.) at no
charge for children through
the age of 18.
—
Many of our Western Ore-
gon University students will
be returning to their home
communities for the sum-
mer and we’ll be saying
goodbye for a few weeks to
many of our young neigh-
bors. There are many stu-
dents who will remain in our
communities to work at
local summer jobs and to at-
tend summer classes, so that
will keep the youthful pres-
ence alive and well until the
other students return in Sep-
tember. MI Town has taken
on an international feeling
with many new faces from
faraway places, and it’s been
so much fun to get to know
about other cultures.
—
Our backyard garden is
growing so well this sum-
mer, and no doubt these
hot, sunny days have con-
tributed to all those new
green leaves and branches. I
picked up seed packets —
free — at the Monmouth
Public Library some weeks
ago and it’s fun to see the
bean and pea plants show-
ing new growth every day.
This summer’s lettuce crop
is flourishing and salads
taste better than ever. We
found some good tomato
plants at the Master Garden-
er’s sale at the Polk County
Fairgrounds & Event Center,
and they are thriving, too.
—
We’ve taken some day
trips around the area and
visited Oregon’s state capitol
building, showing grandson,
MacKenzie, around the
building, watched the
House and Senate sessions,
visited the Governor’s cere-
monial office, and enjoyed
walking around the state
buildings and grounds.
Many changes since I
worked for Gov. Mark Hat-
field’s administration all
those years ago, but it’s still a
thrill to walk through those
halls.
PEDEE NEWS
Levi and Dawntae Bault
aren’t graduating this year
but 13-year-old Dawntae
says he will be spending the
summer working hard on his
4-H projects, including train-
ing the Holstein heifer he re-
ceived when he won the Polk
County 4-H Live Animal
Award at last summer’s
county fair. He will be show-
ing it this year. He also has a
horse and chickens. April
Bault, mother of the boys,
has been making matching
western shirts for the eight
members of the Pitchfork
Pals 4-H Club which Dawn-
tae belongs to. Levi will be
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
practicing football as he will
be playing for Falls City High
School this next year.
—
Card-playing friends and
family helped Paul Kovash
celebrate his 77th birthday
here on May 29, with a ham-
burger fry and then with
pinochle and Shanghai. Our
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.
daughter, Suzanne, her hus-
band, Dave, and son Derek
Burbank came over, as well
as daughter Lorraine Odell
and her family from Salem.
Jim and Donna Wernz of
Philomath, their daughter
Maralee Withcomb of Bend,
and Doug and Jan McKirdie
of Corvallis, all card-playing
fanatics, joined the family.
Derek graduated from OSU
with a master’s degree Satur-
day and will be teaching in
Culver, near Redmond.
—
I just got home from Wash-
ington D.C., last Wednesday. I
represented Oregon Women
ENGAGEMENTS
Sigler-Hill
Shandi Sigler of
Nashville, Tenn., and Cy
Hill of Nashville are plan-
ning a June 2016 wedding.
The bride-to-be is the
daughter of Jim and Diane
Sigler of Dallas. Her fiancé
is the son of Cy and
MaryAnne Hill of Dallas.
Shandi is a 2009 gradu-
ate of Dallas High School.
She is a 2014 graduate of
Middle Tennessee State
University in Murfrees-
boro, Tenn., with a bache-
lor’s degree in music busi-
ness. She is currently employed at SESAC in Nashville, as
a music licensing representative.
Cy is a 2008 graduate of Dallas High School. He is a
2014 graduate of Auto Diesel College in Nashville and re-
ceived a degree in heavy equipment. He is currently em-
ployed at Meade Equipment in Antioch, Tenn. as a heavy
equipment diesel mechanic.
The wedding is set for June 4, 2016 at Historic Cool
Springs House in Brentwood, Tenn.
Annual
FATHER’S DAY
Breakfast
Sunday, June 21
7 - 11 AM
$5 Adults • Children 6 years & under Free
— Proceeds Support —
• Relay for Life
• Frank "Harpy" Bovard Scholarship Fund
— which provides a graduating high school senior
financial assistance for college. The scholarship is
awarded through a competitive process that includes
academics, community service and an interview panel.
The members of Dallas Fire and EMS appreciate
the continued support from our community.
Come enjoy breakfast and consider becoming a volunteer.
Ben Meyer, AAMS ®
Bob Timmerman
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisor
503-606-3048
503-623-5584
193 E. Main Street Mon-
mouth, OR 97361
159 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
Kelly K. Denney
Financial Advisor
503-623-2146
for Agriculture at American
Agri-Women’s annual fly-In
to meet with agencies and
our congressional delegates
to discuss issues affecting
agriculture. We also had a
tour of President George
Washington’s estate, Mount
Vernon, a few miles away in
Virginia, and saw many of his
innovations to improve his
farm income. My friend
Marcie Anderson of Corvallis
and I co-authored a cook-
book on cooking with corn-
meal a few years ago and the
shop at Washington’s grist
mill on his farm is one of our
best customers.
244 E. Ellendale, Suite 2
Dallas, OR 97338
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Board of Directors of the Dallas Cemetery District No. 4
shall meet on June 26, 2015 at 9:00 A.M. at the cemetery office lo-
cated at 2065 SW Fairview Ave., Dallas, OR. The budget for 2015-
2017 shall be adopted at this time. The regular business shall
also be discussed.
(June 17, 2015)
Let’s Bring Back
the Bees!
Three Specialists Speak on Pollinators
INDEPENDENCE LIBRARY
June 18, at 7 PM
Free and open to the public
Friday - Wednesday June 19 - June 24
SAN ANDREAS (Digital 2D) (PG13)
(11:30 2:10 4:50)
JURASSIC WORLD (Digital 2D) (PG13)
(1:15 4:00)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (Digital 2D) (PG)
(1:40 4:10)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (Digital 2D) (PG)
(11:40 4:40)
JURASSIC WORLD (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG13) (12:50 3:40)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG)
(2:10)
JURASSIC WORLD (Digital 2D) (PG13)
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3 (Digital) (PG13)
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3 (Digital) (PG13)
(5:05)
SPY (Digital) (R)
(11:30 2:00 4:40)
TOMORROWLAND (Digital) (PG)
(11:25 2:10)
PITCH PERFECT 2 (Digital) (PG13)
(11:35 2:00)
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Digital 2D) (R)
(4:35)
7:30 10:05
6:30 9:50
6:40
7:10
9:20
9:35
7:00
9:45
10:00
7:25 10:10
7:15
7:20
9:55
Thursday June 25
SAN ANDREAS (Digital 2D) (PG13)
(11:30 2:10 4:50)
JURASSIC WORLD (Digital 2D) (PG13)
(1:15 4:00)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (Digital 2D) (PG)
(1:40 4:10)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (Digital 2D) (PG)
(11:40 4:40)
JURASSIC WORLD (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG13) (12:50 3:40)
DISNEY’S INSIDE OUT (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG)
(2:10)
JURASSIC WORLD (Digital 2D) (PG13)
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3 (Digital) (PG13)
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3 (Digital) (PG13)
(5:05)
SPY (Digital) (R)
(11:30 2:00 4:40)
TOMORROWLAND (Digital) (PG)
(11:25 2:10)
PITCH PERFECT 2 (Digital) (PG13)
(11:35 2:00)
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Digital 2D) (R)
(4:35)
TED (Digital 2D) (R)
7:30 10:05
9:50
6:40
7:10
9:35
7:00
9:45
10:00
7:25 10:10
7:15
7:20
9:55
8:00
Stephanie Parreira, staff of the Honeybee Lab, OSU,
is interested in the long-term sub-lethal effects of pes-
ticide exposure in honey bees through contamination
of the pollen diet. She is investigating the effects of a
fungicide and a neonicotinoid on different indicators of
colony health and immunity under field conditions.
Steve Coffman runs Coffman Apiary in Dallas Oregon
and is the Oregon State Bee Association Regional Rep-
resentative for North Willamette Valley. He provides
bees for California almonds and local crops in our area.
Mark Griswold Wilson has managed a professional
practice in restoration ecology, landscape design, and
environmental education for over 30 years. He makes
educational presentations and trainings on behalf of the
Xerces Society and the Pacific Northwest Urban
Meadow Group. He will speak on attracting native pol-
linators to Willamette Valley meadows and backyards.
Sponsored by Friends of Polk County
PO Box 75, Rickreall, OR 97371
503 838-4886
