Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 19, 2015 9A
Polk County Living
Extend vegetable crop through fall
Fresh vegetables can be
harvested most of the year
in many places in Oregon.
In fact, many cool-season
crops produce well in the
fall and hold through the
winter if protected.
“You can plant vegetables
in mid- to late summer after
you harvest spring crops and
as space is available, and in
many years have a year-
round garden,” said Ross
Penhallegon, a horticulturist
with Oregon State Universi-
ty’s Extension Service.
Some of the best vegeta-
bles are produced during
the warm days and cold
nights of fall, he said. Light
frost adds sugar to sweet
corn and crispness to car-
rots. Parsnips, kale, collards,
Brussels sprouts and
Jerusalem artichokes also
improve with a touch of
frost.
Certain vegetables are
better-suited to fall and
winter harvest than others,
Penhallegon said.
A key to successful fall or
winter gardening is the lo-
cation of your garden.
Choose the warmest spot
you have that is not prone
to early frost, avoid the bot-
tom of a hill or an area with
lots of bushes and trees. A
south-facing slope is best
for winter sun, he said. Be
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
sure to restore nutrients re-
moved by spring and sum-
mer crops with a light layer
of compost or aged manure
or a small application of fer-
tilizer. Do not over-fertilize
with nitrogen.
“During the rainy season,
good well-drained soils are
essential,” Penhallegon ad-
vised. “Raised beds are best,
and if your soil doesn’t drain
well, amend it with organic
matter such as compost.”
Timely planting is anoth-
er key to success. Crops
need time to become well-
established before cold
weather and short days cur-
tail growth, but if you plant
too early, the young plants
can wilt in the heat or ma-
ture too soon. Choose the
fastest-maturing varieties
and pay attention to the av-
erage date of the first killing
frost in your area. Most win-
ter crops are planted from
July through August.
You can give seeds a head
start in containers or a nurs-
ery bed, or buy starts from a
garden center.
Courtesy of Oregon State University Extension Service
Fresh vegetables can be harvested most of the year in
many places in Oregon.
Here are Penhallegon’s
examples of summer-into-
fall plantings:
• Pull out old pea vines
and plant carrot seeds in
their place.
• Yank bolted broccoli
and replace with a crop of
lettuce and salad greens.
• Harvest the rest of the
beets and sow a crop of kale.
• Replace tomatoes in the
fall with an overwintering
crop of garlic or shallots.
• Remove your spent
squash plants and put in
crimson clover (a cover
crop) to protect the soil over
the winter.
• Compost bitter lettuce
and replace with a batch of
scallions, leeks or radishes.
Penhallegon suggests that
a crop that fails one year be-
cause of an unusually early
freeze or abnormally cold
winter may thrive in a
milder year. “Be willing to
experiment,” he said, “and
don’t give up if your results
some years are less than
ideal.”
MI TOWN
It was wonderful to see so
many people at the Polk
County Fair two weeks ago –
and there was indeed some-
thing for everyone to enjoy.
We ate corn on the cob and
ice cream cones, and liked
seeing the new changes at
the fairgrounds. Watching the
young people involved in 4-H
and FFA gives everyone a
positive feeling about what’s
good in our world. Unfortu-
nately, the 6 o’clock news
rarely showcases stories
about these teens and focus-
es more on sensational sto-
ries of all the bad things that
happen daily in the cities and
small communities alike.
Even in MI Town, it’s not all
sunshine and flowers — but
seeing the accomplishments
of many of our young citi-
zens, I’m optimistic that our
future is in good hands.
—
The summer concerts in
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
Main Street Park in Mon-
mouth just keep getting bet-
ter and better, and what
could be more fun on a sum-
mer evening than spending
time with friends and family,
listening to a variety of excel-
lent entertainers. Tonight
we’ll all be entertained at 6:30
by a group known as Ramble
On, a Led Zeppelin Tribute
Band. Time is passing quick-
ly, and these special summer-
time events will soon be over
for another year. Thanks to
everyone who has worked so
hard to make Wednesday
evenings so special for every-
one in MI Town.
—
Tomorrow evening will be
yet another great opportu-
nity to see a movie —
“Guardians of the Galaxy” at
the Independence Am-
phitheater. The movie be-
gins at dusk, and you’re in-
vited to bring a picnic sup-
per and get settled in early.
—
The next River’s Edge
concert will be at 7:30 p.m.
on Friday, when Chance
McKinney will be at the am-
phitheater to bring every-
one an evening of music
and entertainment.
—
We’re past the middle of
August now and it seems
like summer is flying by
more quickly every year.
Stores are featuring back-to-
school clothes and shoes,
and there are displays of
pens, notebooks and paper
everywhere you turn. Fami-
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
Dawntae Bault won the
Holstein heifer last year,
naming her Hope, and
showed her this year, win-
ning a blue ribbon in show-
manship and the breed
class, and will take her to the
state fair. He also won a
champion ribbon with his
silky chicken and showed his
horse for the first time this
year. Not only that, he got
blue ribbons in open class
baking with his angel food
cake, zucchini bread and
raspberry bread.
—
Levi Bault entered the ATV
rodeo and won trophies
in barrel racing, keyhole,
pole bending, and the
granny panty race. Bet that
last one was interesting!
—
Steve Cameron had very
successful back surgery at
the Veteran’s Hospital in
Portland last Thursday. He
was up and walking that af-
ternoon, and home on Fri-
day. He credited a wonderful
doctor up there with the suc-
cess.
—
Bert and Doris Bodine
sold their home in Pedee
and moved to Dallas last
Sunday. Hopefully it will re-
quire less care, with less land
Merrill-Chase
Heather Merrill of
Dallas and Eric Chase
of Independence are
planning a September
wedding.
The bride-to-be is
the daughter of Richard
and Kim Merrill of Dal-
las. Her fiancé is the
son of Chuck and Peggy
Chase of Independ-
ence.
Heather is a 2002
graduate of Dallas High
School and a 2014 grad-
uate of Chemeketa Community College in Salem with an
associate degree in business management. She works as
the executive assistant for the Polk County Board of Com-
missioners in Dallas.
Eric is a 1993 graduate of Central High School who
went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force until 1998. He works
as the Southern Oregon operations manager for Sierra
Springs.
The wedding is set for Sept. 2 in Punta Cana, Domini-
can Republican, on the beach.
BIRTHS
Carpenter
Dakota Joseph Carpenter was born to Matthew and
Tracey Carpenter of Dallas at 1:36 p.m. on July 29 at Silver-
ton Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.5 inches
long.
Dakota joins Dillan, 10, Savannah, 7, and Dusty, 4.
Grandparents are Jamie and Rejeania Heide of Mon-
mouth, and Dave and Judy Carpenter of Monmouth.
Great-grandparents are Patricia Heide of Monmouth
and Violet Carpenter of Monmouth.
Case
lies are enjoying these last
precious days of summer
before the regular routines
of school and homework
begin.
—
Just around the corner is
the Independence Hop and
Heritage Festival, with the
Ghost Walk already sched-
uled for Sept. 18. More in-
formation will follow as the
days get closer.
—
We ordered season tickets
and are anticipating our
Western Oregon University
Wolves’ first home game at
McArthur Stadium on Sat-
urday, Sept. 12. Ticket infor-
mation is available on the
WOU website. Sitting in the
stands on a sunny autumn
afternoon, watching “our”
college team play football is
a great way to celebrate the
beginning of a new academ-
ic year.
PEDEE NEWS
The Polk County Fair is
now history and several
Pedee kids had outstanding
results. Abigail Makalea re-
deemed herself after strug-
gling to show a pig to
win Grand Champion 4-H
Jersey dairy cow and Reserve
Champion for all breeds of
dairy cows and went on to
win the Polk County 4-H
Live Animal Award at the
Polk County Fair’s awards
ceremony on Aug. 8. To win
the award, she submitted
her 4-H records and a story
on why and how she wants
to raise the animal, and then
was interviewed by the 4-H
Live Animal Awards commit-
tee. She chose the Holstein
dairy heifer, which she
named Sugar.
—
ENGAGEMENTS
to worry about. The Women’s
Club still hopes to see Doris
on Wednesdays, though.
—
Scott Castle is inviting
anyone interested in going
through the entire Bible in
one year to contact Pedee
Church (or just show up).
They started last Thursday,
and the first week’s reading
discussion will be this Thurs-
day at 7 p.m. at the church.
Handouts of Bible reading
plans are at the church or on
the “Bible” app on your de-
vice, or use the Internet at
www.bible.com. The plan on
the app is called “Read the
Bible for Life — One Year
Chronological Reading
Plan.” This is for anyone —
church member or not,
Christian or not.
The Itemizer-Observer Your community news source
Mackenzie Robin Case was born to James and Amanda
Case of King City at 9:39 a.m. on July 31 at Kaiser Westside
Medical Center in Portland.
She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 21 inches
long.
Mackenzie joins Madison, 3.
Grandparents are Greg and Mavis Jenkins of Rickreall,
and Sherman and Mary Case of Tigard.
Great-grandparents are Caroline Knutson of Salem;
Dean and Carrol Klett of King City; Roger and Lourdes
Case of Oak Harbor, Wash.; and Dave and Arlene Ander-
sen of Burlington, Wash.
Turner
Tred Alan Turner was born to David and Tabitha Turner
of Keizer at 4:32 p.m. on Aug. 5 at Salem Hospital Family
Birth Center.
He weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 21.75 inches
long.
Tred is the couple’s first child.
Grandparents are Dave and Becky Gladish of Keizer;
Eileen Turner of Independence; and Jack and Gayle Turn-
er of Pomeroy, Wash.
Smothers/Hise
Levi Allen Smothers/Hise was born to Chad Smothers
and Penny Hise of Dallas at 6:37 a.m. on Aug. 9 at Salem
Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 20 inches
long.
Levi joins Spencer, 18, Bailey, 18, Cooper, 13, and Grif-
fin, 12.
Grandparents are Marcia Fisher of Dallas, and Merrell
and Elizabeth Smothers of Albany.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Continued from page 8A
—
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
• Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program Food Bank
— 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., 888 Monmouth Cutoff Road, Building E,
Dallas. Weekly distribution for eligible community members.
503-831-5634.
• Yoga in the Hopyard — 6 p.m., Rogue Farms Micro Hopy-
ard, 3590 Wigrich Road, Independence. Offered on the last
Wednesday of every month. Free; bring your own yoga mat.
503-838-9813.
• Music in the Park — 6:30 p.m., Main Street Park, Mon-
mouth. Coming Up Threes, celtic. Free. www.ci.monmouth.
or.us.
• American Red Cross Blood Donation — 12:30 to 6 p.m.,
Faith Evangelical Free Church, 2290 E. Ellendale Ave., Dallas.
• Dallas Family Night Out — 3 to 7 p.m., Dallas United
Methodist Church, 565 SE LaCreole Drive, Dallas. Free back-to-
school event. 503-623-8387, ext. 22 or www.dallasfami-
lynightout.com.
Call us.
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