Polk County Living
polk County itemizer-Observer • July 12, 2017 9A
Start now to reap vegetables in fall
As we settle in at the
table of summer’s harvest,
savvy gardeners pause long
enough to consider the
coming season.
“Most folks are familiar
with and love summer veg-
etables, but if you want to
maximize your food and
nutrition, then growing fall
crops is a great strategy,”
said Weston Miller, a horti-
culturist with Oregon State
University Extension Serv-
ice.
The window of opportu-
nity for planting those
crops is short — as daylight
decreases, it becomes hard-
er and harder to hit it right.
So, begin now to tuck seeds
or transplants into the soil.
“Yes, it is hot and it might
seem counterintuitive to
plant now, but if you want
to harvest in fall, it’s got to
be now,” Miller said. “You
just have to take steps to
mitigate the heat.”
Plant in morning or
evening and make sure to
monitor the soil closely so it
doesn’t dry out. Water
daily, twice if it’s especially
hot. Concentrate your ef-
forts on the top couple of
inches of soil where seeds
are germinating and the
small root systems of new
plants are getting off to a
start.
If the weather turns
scorching hot, you may
have to resort to shade
cloth or Reemay, a very
lightweight fabric that al-
lows light and water
through but helps keep
plants from burning. Some
crops like carrots, beets and
direct-seeded greens don’t
mind having the cloth
placed right on top; bigger
crops like broccoli and pep-
pers might appreciate hav-
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
ing it propped up on the
same type of wire or plastic
hoops used to make cloches
or cold frames.
As you get ready to plant,
add about a quarter-inch of
compost and some organic
fertilizer to the soil. Both
break down faster in the
heat of summer soil than in
cooler months and make
nutrients available quicker
than usual, Miller said.
After planting, use a water-
soluble fertilizer like fish
emulsion on the trans-
https://flic.kr/p/it8swa
plants to get them well es- Harvest carrots and other vegetables in fall by sowing
tablished.
in July and August.
Whether to plant seeds or
transplants depends on the best success. Look for high- nutrients as plants get es-
crop and, to some extent, quality plants that aren’t tablished.
Miller recommends allo-
how you’re going to use it. root-bound, stunted or off-
cating half of your garden
Plants that do best directly color.
Once you get the new space for typical summer
seeded include carrots,
parsnips, beets, radish, plants in the ground, don’t crops like tomatoes, beans
and cucumbers
mustard and
and the other
arugula. Many
Weston Miller’s guide for planting a
half for cool sea-
crops like kale,
son crops like
chard and let-
fall vegetable garden
kale, scallions,
tuce can be
carrots, beets
sown heavily
DIRECT SEED
and lettuce.
for “cut and
July: carrots, beets, scallions, radish, cutting
greens
“That will give
come again”
early August: carrots, beets, scallions, spinach
you the most
greens. Cut the
late August, early september: radish, cutting
from your gar-
greens above
greens, arugula, mustard
den,” he said.
the crown of
October: garlic
For more in-
the plant when
TRANSPLANTS
formation on ex-
the leaves reach
Mid-July through August: kale, head lettuce,
tended-season
4 to 6 inches.
chicory, chard, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli,
vegetable gar-
You can get two
kohlrabi, leeks, onion
dening, refer to
to three cut-
september: overwintering brassicas
these Extension
tings if you give
publications:
them plenty of
water and some fish emul- dawdle on weed control. Fall and Winter Vegetable
Weed once a week for four Gardening in the Pacific
sion after each cutting.
All other crops can and weeks to keep weeds from Northwest and Growing
should be transplanted for competing for water and Your Own.
MI TOWN
The bright red, white and
blue decorations have been
packed away for another
year, the kids have finished
all their candy stash gath-
ered from the Fourth of July
parade and the remnants of
fireworks packages were
relegated to the trash can
several days ago. We’ve put
away the American flags
until the next national holi-
day and are busy planning
summer trips, working in
the garden or catching up
on all those endless house
and yard projects that
never, ever seem to get
done.
—
If one of those projects
was to downsize and find
new homes for clothing
that doesn’t fit anymore,
dishes currently in boxes in
the basement or garage,
pictures and decorative
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
items that someone else
might be happy to use in
their homes or apartments
— help is on the way. The
Monmouth Business Asso-
ciation is sponsoring the
Community Yard Sale in
Main Street Park on Sept. 2
from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
There is no charge to re-
serve a spot to display and
sell all those items to willing
buyers. Please register on-
line at the Monmouth-In-
dependence Chamber of
Commerce website at
http//www.micc-or.org/ or
call Mark Fancey at 503-
751-0147. This is the eighth
year for the community
garage sale, which has al-
ways been a great event.
—
We were recently walking
home from Main Street
Park and saw a young man
carrying a big bouquet of
fresh flowers. I compli-
mented him on how pretty
they were, and he told me
they were for a memorial to
his fiancée, who died in a
car crash last year. He told
me that he loved and
missed her so much.
—
It’s so easy for us to get
caught up into everyday
drama, to complain about
politics, or traffic or so much
trivia that we miss the bigger
picture, that people have
truly suffered life-changing
tragedies and are getting
through their days the best
way they possibly can. Lives
can be forever altered in a
split second, and nothing is
ever the same again.
—
Talking for a few minutes
with this young man re-
minded me to be grateful
for the good things in our
lives, of those whom we
love, those who love us, the
beauty of a sunrise and how
good a glass of fresh lemon-
ade tastes on a hot summer
day. Petting a sweet dog
while on a walk or enjoying
a good book with a cat
sleeping beside you in a
comfy chair. How we are so
thankful that our children
and our grandchildren are
happy and healthy and en-
joying life. May our hearts
be open to those who are
truly suffering such a great
loss. And may we be grateful
for our blessings every day.
PEDEE NEWS
Two “Quilts of Valor” were
presented to veterans on July
2 at the annual Jones family
Fourth of July picnic at Don
and Zee Edward’s house in
Dallas. One was presented to
Ted Jones’ brother-in-law
Bud Brown, who served in
the U.S. Navy in World War
II. At one point his ship was
bombed 150 miles from Oki-
nawa and he wound up in
the water until another ship
picked him up. Otherwise it
was going to be a long swim.
A quilt was also presented to
Raymond Jones who served
in the U.S. Army as a combat
engineer (building roads and
such) in Vietnam. Since Ted
Jones passed away before re-
ceiving a quilt, his wife Alber-
ta appreciated being pre-
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
sented with a wall hanging
commemorating Ted’s serv-
ice in WWII. Faith Holloway,
special events coordinator
for Northwest Oregon Quilts
of Valor came down to pres-
ent the quilts. The Quilts of
Valor Foundation members
make comforting and heal-
ing patriotic quilts for veter-
ans touched by war to show
them how much we appre-
ciate and love them.
—
Itemizer-Observer
July 1 was the date of
Pedee’s wedding of the year.
Jon and Juli Bansen’s son
Ross married Brenna Heide,
daughter of Tracy and Suzy
Heide of Suver, at the beauti-
fully remodeled barn at the
old Skidmore farm on Kings
Valley Highway. The weather
was perfect as the couple
said their vows under the
trees, then a buffet was
served to the guests inside
before all danced the night
away. Ross’s father Jon offici-
ated at the wedding and his
grandfather gave a heartfelt
message as he welcomed
Brenna into the family.
—
Last week my daughter
Suzanne Burbank and I host-
ed the kids in the neighbor-
hood, as one week’s activity
substituting for Pedee
Church’s VBS. We had yard
games, a scavenger hunt and
cookie decorating, and then
followed up with blowing big
bubbles. For the scavenger
hunt, we matched the 14 kids
up by having the oldest pair
up with the youngest and so
on down the line, then tied
them together with yarn so
the older couldn’t run off
from the younger. Worked
great. The last thing we did
was to make big soap bubbles
using a giant bubble mixture
(ask me for the recipe) and
yarn tied into loops. So fun.
Kailey Traglia and Alex Rus-
sell were the champion bub-
ble makers, followed close
behind by Leo Mellein.
Visit our website, www.polkio.com
for local news, sports
and community events.
ANNIVERSARIES
50th - Green
Bob and
Donna (Hen-
son) Green will
celebrate 50
years of mar-
riage on July
14, 2017.
The couple
was married at
First Baptist
Church in Dal-
las by Pastor EJ
Cobb.
The couple
lived in south-
ern California and London, England, early in their mar-
riage while Bob served in the U.S. Navy. They settled into
their current home in the Salt Creek area in 1981. They
have traveled to 33 states and 26 countries together since
they were married.
Bob and Donna are both retired and enjoy traveling, at-
tending car shows with their MGs and spending time with
their six grandchildren.
Friends are encouraged to send a personal note to Bob
and Donna sharing their favorite memory. Per their re-
quest, a formal gathering will not be held.
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES
These Polk County groups would welcome individuals
who have time or expertise to volunteer. Organizations
that would like to be added to this list should call 503-623-
2373 or email IOnews@polkio.com.
• AArp Foundation Tax-Aide – 503-930-7636
• After DArC — 503-623-9501
• American Cancer society road to recovery
— 1-800-227-2345
• Arc of polk County — 541-223-3261
• Ash Creek Arts Center – 971-599-3301
• Court-Appointed special Advocates (CAsA) of
polk County inc. — 503-623-8473
• Central school District — 503-838-0030
• City of Dallas — 503-831-3502
• City of independence — 503-838-1212
• City of Monmouth — 503-751-0145
• Crime Victims Assistance program — 503-623-9268
• Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce — 503-623-2564
• Dallas Fire Department — 503-831-3532
• Dallas Food Bank — 503-623-3578
• Dallas Kids, inc. — 503-623-6419
• Dallas police Department — 503-831-3582
• Dallas public library — 503-623-2633
• Dallas retirement Village — 503-623-5581
• Dallas school District — 503-623-5594
• Delbert hunter Arboretum — 503-623-7359
• ella Curran Food Bank — 503-838-1276
• Falls City Arts Center — 503-559-6291
• Falls City school District — 503-787-3531
• Family Building Blocks – 503-566-2132, ext. 308.
• Friends of the Dallas library — 503-559-3830
• Gentle house Gardens, Monmouth — 503-838-2995
• Girl scouts of southwest Washington and Oregon
— 1-800-338-5248
• h-2-O — 503-831-4736
hArT (horses Adaptive riding and Therapy)
— 971-301-4278
• handsOn Mid-Willamette Valley — 503-363-1651
• heron pointe Assisted living — 503-838-6850
• independence health and rehabilitation
— 503-838-0001
• independence public library — 503-838-1811
• Kings Valley Charter school — 541-929-2134
• luckiamute Watershed Council — 503-837-0237
• luckiamute Valley Charter school — 503-623-4837
• Meals on Wheels — 503-838-2084
• Monmouth-independence Chamber of Commerce
— 503-838-4268
• Monmouth-independence YMCA — 503-838-4042
• Monmouth public library — 503-838-1932
• Northwest human services — 503-588-5828
• Oregon Child Development Coalition — 503-838-2745
• OsU extension service - polk County — 503-623-8395
• perrydale school District — 503-623-2040
• polk Community Development Corporation
— 503-831-3173
• polk County Community emergency response Team
— 503-623-9396
• polk County Museum — 503-623-6251
• polk County public health — 503-623-8175
• polk County resource Center — 503-623-8429
• polk soil and Water Conservation District
— 503-623-9680
• relief Nursery Classroom — 503-566-2132
• sABle house — 503-623-6703
• sAlT (sheriff’s Auxiliary & Law Enforcement Together)
— 503-851-9366
• Salvation Army — 503-798-4783
• SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) — 503-391-8423
• Salem Health West Valley Hospital — 503-623-8301
• Victim Assistance Program-Polk Co. District Attorney’s
Office — 503-623-9268 x1444
• Willamette Valley Hospice — 503-588-3600
• WIMPEG Community Access Television — 503-837-0163
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Continued from page 8A
—
TUESDAY, JULY 18
• Independence Riverview Market — 1 to 6 p.m., riverview
park and Amphitheater, 50 C st., independence. 503-910-8193.
• Dallas Wingdingers RC Flying Club — 7 p.m., 1833 se
Miller Ave., Dallas. 503-623-7288.
• Polk County Coin Club — 7 p.m., Monmouth senior Cen-
ter, 180 Warren st. s., Monmouth. 503-362-9123.
• Overeaters Anonymous — Noon to 1 p.m., salem health
West Valley, 525 se Washington st., Dallas. support group
meets in the quiet room/chapel immediately inside the emer-
gency entrance on Clay street. Dee Ann White, 971-718-6444.
—
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19
• 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.
• Day-2-Day Diabetes Support Group — 3 to 4 p.m., salem
health West Valley (main conference room inside main en-
trance), 525 se Washington st., Dallas. 503-623-7323.
• Pickleball — 9 a.m. to noon, roger Jordan Community
park. Meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m.
to noon and sundays and Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Karen Freeman,
503-871-4172.