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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2015)
8A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 9, 2015 Polk County Living BIRTHS Spiff up lawns after a tough summer K YM P OKORNY Isla Kalena Ross was born to Brian and Malia Ross, of Monmouth, at 7:53 a.m. on Aug. 18 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 10 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. Isla joins Kailani, 3. Grandparents are Carole Mills, of Los Alamitos, Calif.; Kathy Mills, of Long Beach, Calif.; and Mike and Karen Ross, of Monmouth. Great-grandparents are K. and Carol Baker, of Ankeny, Iowa; Walter and Jean Brubaker, of Brookings; Walter and Poppy Seastrom, of South Pasadena, Calif.; Wally and MaryLynn Ross, of Camdenton, Missouri. Your Garden Arciniega publications: Practical Lawn Establishment and Renova- tion, Practical Lawn Care for Western Oregon, Retail Lawn Seed Mixtures for Western Oregon and West- ern Washington and Fertiliz- ing Lawns. — Steps for Renovating Lawn For regular renovation: • Do a pH test. Either take a sample with help from Ex- tension’s Guide to Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens and send it to a soil lab, or buy a test kit at the nursery. Lawns grow well in a pH of 6 to 6.5. • Remove weeds by hand or with a broad spectrum herbicide. • Aerate lawn with a ma- chine available at rental shops. Pay particular atten- tion to bare spots or com- pacted areas. Rake off plugs of soil removed by aerator. • If the pH is on the low side (below 6.0), add lime. It’s common in western Ore- gon for lawns to need lime every two to three years. • Fertilize with a product that has plenty of nitrogen, low or no phosphorus and a medium level of potassium. Check the fertilizer label and choose something with a high first number (N), low second number (P) and medium third number (K) such as 20-2-6. You’ll get best results using a rotary spreader. • Overseed at the recom- mended rate, going a little thicker on really bare spots. Use a drop seeder for even distribution. • Water daily unless it rains. For major renovation, do the above steps and also do the following: • Mow lawn as short as possible before getting start- ed. • Before aerating, de- thatch the lawn with a de- thatching machine or power rake, which you can rent. The idea is to expose as much soil as possible. Run the machine across the lawn twice, in opposite directions. Remove loosened thatch be- fore changing direction. • After seeding, mulch with a thin layer of sawdust, bark dust or compost. A quarter inch is enough; don’t overdo it or seed will have a tough time germinat- ing. To make the job easier, rent a wire drum roller. MI TOWN After a summer of sun- shine, vacations and good times, school began yester- day for all of MI Town’s younger residents. Our streets are filled with stu- dents walking to school or on corners waiting for the big, yellow school buses, as a brand new school year be- gins. — No matter how long it’s been since we were in school, we look at those buses with a little bit of nos- talgia in our hearts. I can re- member riding the school bus for many years, and it was fun to see friends and neighbors every morning as we drove down rural roads and highways. — Some things never change as the years go by and, sadly, bullying is one of P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist them. I can remember being bullied almost on a weekly basis by a mean girl and it was an awful experi- ence. Back then it was ap- parently seen as a rite of passage and kids just had to deal with it. It’s good that teachers and other school staff members and parents can now work together to help prevent bullying, but social media sure has made it easier for bullies to reach a wider audience. The best thing people can do is to teach their children to not use words or gestures that hurt others — and to be- come aware of bad behavior before it escalates into something worse. — I’ve always thought of September as a time of new beginnings — even though our weather continues to be moderate, there is a definite change of seasons going on. The skies are darker by a few minutes every morning and our long, relaxing sum- mer evenings won’t return for several months, so it’s time to think of projects to look forward to starting — or completing — and pre- pare for the season yet to come. — The gardens are still pro- viding us with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Krist Obrist and her hard-working staff at the Monmouth Pub- A RLENE K OVASH Columnist palm farm, and a luffa farm. — Things I bet you didn’t know about some crops: Solution on Page 6A luffa sponges are grown on a vine much like a zucchini and are machine washable; if you cry while peeling onions you’ll be resistant after twenty minutes and have no more trouble; hy- droponic tomato plants grow 30 feet tall and use one-sixth the water of grow- ing in soil; and avocados grow on the tree for two years before being picked. In Emma Louise Kirk was born to Sean Kirk and Erin Vill- wock, of Independence, at 9:33 a.m. on Aug. 29 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20.5 inches long. Emma is the couple’s first child. Grandparents are Janice Villwock, of Independence; Roger Villwock, of Monmouth; Tom and Donna Kirk, of Monmouth; and Laura Grey, of Monmouth. Great-grandparents are Lloyd Wright, of Rickreall; and Mabel Hansson, of Peoria, Ariz. Sat Sept 19th 10am - 4pm Pre-Sale $6 9am - 10am Admission: Adults $4 Kids 10 yrs & under Free Food Available on site Polk County Fairgrounds 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 Bradfrod 503-399-7679 Hwy 22 Rickreall Salem ★ Polk Co Fairgrounds RV Space Available Offering the HIGHEST QUALITY LANDSCAPING & Irrigation Products & Services lic Library started a new program this spring — a seed lending library — where we could check out packets of various vegetable and flower seeds to plant at home. We enjoyed fresh peas in the early summer and are putting many con- tainers of green beans in the freezer to enjoy this winter when vegetables fresh from the garden will just be a memory. It looks to be a bountiful year for grapes and the tomatoes just keep on giving us their all. — One sure sign that Miss Autumn is on her way to MI Town is the announcement of the Soup and Pie Sale at Monmouth Senior Center. The date is set for Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. More details to come in a future column. 971-388-3124 “We’ll work hard - so you’ll love your yard!” Serving Western Oregon Since 1992 John Gimby, Owner/Operator omegalandscapemaintenance.com/services SHAMANIC HEALING The teaching spirits are fully realized, transcen- dent, compassionate beings who are available to us for healing and wisdom. They give us per- spectives we don’t see for personal empower- ment, healing, knowledge and transformational growth. Marian Simon, MA SHAMANIC PRACTITIONER & COUNSELOR Specializing in Spiritual Healing & Development PEDEE NEWS As I write this I’m still on a two-week road trip with American Agri-Women, a national organization of farm women. I’m on the western states leg of AAW’s “Drive Across America” with AAW president Sue McCrum, of Maine, celebrating our 40th year. We’ve been on some amazing ag tours, in- cluding an onion processing plant, cotton farm, date Kirk I-5 PHOTO FROM FLICKR, BY HEIPEI/Itemizer-Observer Now is a good time to whip your lawn back into shape, but starting over usually isn’t necessary. Elias Christian Arciniega was born to Ricardo and Anita Arciniega, of Independence, at 6:04 a.m. on Aug. 24 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Elias is the couple’s first child. Grandparent is Donald Berry, of Cascade Locks. LCB#8907 inch at a time is a waste. So irrigate more frequently with less amounts when it’s not raining.” Fertilize four times a year. An easy way to remember is to apply on Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving. When it comes to mow- ing, never remove more than one-third of the grass at one time. That means if the lawn is 3 inches long, cut only 1 inch. Cutting more than one-third weak- ens the lawn, leaving it vul- nerable to weeds and dis- eases. For most grasses, 2 inches is about top range of what a homeowner will tol- erate, but higher is even better. “Increase the height of the grass as tall as you can stand it and mow once a week,” he said. “If you mow it to an inch, it’s horrible to the health of the plant because you’re decreasing rooting depth and stress tolerance. And you’ll have to water more often.” Mow once a week in spring and fall, less often during summer and winter months. Instead of bagging up clippings, consider leav- ing them where they fall. They break down quickly and resupply much-needed nitrogen. The more often you mow, the easier this is to do. Don’t, however, leave clumps of clippings sitting on the lawn. For more information, watch Kowalewski’s video Integrated Pest Manage- m e n t f o r Tu r f g r a s s a t http://horticulture.oregon- state.edu/group/beaverturf. Or check out the following Ross 99W Lawns languish in the heat of summer unless showered with the water they require to thrive. But not to worry, the grass isn’t dead. Come fall when the rains start again, grass greens up quickly, said Alec Kowalews- ki, turf specialist for Oregon State University’s Extension Service. While letting your lawn go dormant in summer isn’t a bad thing — especially with concern about water short- ages — lack of irrigation does allow pesky weeds to gain a foothold, he said. And regular wear and tear can cause compaction within a lawn, which leads to brown or bare spots. Now is a good time to whip your lawn back into shape, but starting over usu- ally isn’t necessary. “You should always try renovation before putting in a new lawn because it’s diffi- cult to get a stand of grass established,” Kowalewski said. “So if you have some- thing to begin with, go with renovating.” What you have to begin with can vary from address- ing a few brown spots to a desert of weeds to hardpan soil. Assess your lawn’s level of neediness and then pro- ceed with a regular renova- tion or a no-holds-barred one. Most often, a regular tune up is all that’s needed. Once you’ve got your lawn established, follow Kowalewski’s three steps to a healthy lawn that will out- compete those pesky weeds: water, fertilize and mow properly. Watering is a matter of 1 inch a week, but don’t do it all at once. “If you look at the roots, the majority are in the top 1 inch of the soil,” he said. “The deeper you go the fewer roots there are so wa- tering more than a quarter 503-831-0158 • Soul Retrieval - lost soul parts due to trauma • Extraction - clearing localized illness • Divination or message from the spirits • Power animal retrieval - given a spirit animal for guidance and protection • Healing with spiritual light • Soul remembering - a symbol to remind you of your true self • Unravel curses from the past • Remove spirit intrusion or possession • Cutting emotional ties that bind • Psychopomp - guiding souls of the dead to cross over • Clearing of home, property or business • Healing ancestral lines simonart@teleport.com • http://mariansimon.com 2014, there were more bees around than there have been in years and the tech- nology agriculture is now using saves huge amounts of water and energy. — We also visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, which are huge and fantastic — a prehistoric underground wonderland. 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