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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
Polk County Social Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 20, 2017 9A Seize some seed from your garden As the gardening season winds down and you pick the season’s last vegetables let some plants go to seed and harvest them for plant- ing next year. “Saving seed can be really fun and is a great way to learn about plants,” said We- ston Miller, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “If you choose the right types of vegetables, you can keep them going year after year without buying them again.” The key to saving seed is selecting open-pollinated or heirloom plants, which pro- duce offspring with the same traits. Hybrids are bred from two different varieties for characteristics like dis- ease resistance or higher yield and won’t come “true to type” in the next genera- tion. Check seed packets or catalog information so that you know which you are buying. The easiest crops for sav- ing seed are annual plants that self-pollinate like let- tuce, beans, peas, peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. Collect seed from the healthiest plants and allow them to dry. Harvest lettuce seed when the seed coat turns hard and dark in color. Peas and beans are ready for harvest when the pod dries on the plant. Pepper seeds are ready when the fruit is fully mature and starts to K YM P OKORNY 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. Your Garden wrinkle. Tomatoes are a smidgen more complicated. Allow the fruit to fully ripen and scoop the seeds along with the gel that surrounds them and place in a jar of water. Allow this mixture to fer- ment for up to five days until the seeds sink to the bottom. Then dry seeds on a paper towel. Seeds from annual herbs like cilantro (coriander), arugula, and calendula are also easy to save. In fact, these annual plants will often self-seed, so if you let the seeds mature on the plants and fall to the ground new plants will start next year. Many broccoli family crops (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cab- bage, collards, kale, mustard greens) are all part of the same species and are polli- nated by insects. Though it is relatively easy to save seeds from these biennial crops, they tend to cross pollinate easily and you might end up with new (and sometimes tasty) traits. It is more difficult to save seed from other crops, par- https://flic.kr/p/e9U1Ww Saving seeds allows you to keep plants going from year to year. ticularly in a garden set- ting. For example, beets and Swiss chard are wind polli- nated and cross with each other. These plants require at least 3,200 feet of isola- tion to prevent cross polli- nation. Similarly, corn is pollinated by wind, making it difficult to isolate without special screening. Carrots are insect polli- nated and cross with Queen Anne’s lace, a common weed. Summer and winter squash flowers are also in- sect pollinated and require isolation to maintain true varieties. The fruit grown from cross-pollinated squash seeds are often bitter tasting, according to Miller. Store seeds in tightly- sealed glass containers in a cool and dark location. Make sure that you label seeds with the type of seed and the date. A small packet of silica desiccant or powdered milk in the jar can help to remove moisture and keep the seeds dry. The refrigerator or freezer is also a good place for storing seeds that you collect and also seeds that you buy. Put small seeds in envelopes and label them. Place the envelopes in sealable freezer bags. MI TOWN Miss Autumn has defi- nitely arrived right on schedule, with cooler morn- ings, sunrises arriving a few minutes later each morning and the return of college students to MI Town. Our streets are full of U-Haul trucks, family vans and SUVs on their way to cam- pus dorms, apartments and houses where students will settle in for another aca- demic year. It’s always fun to see young men and women bring optimism and enthu- siasm to our communities. — Monmouth Public Library will host a Family Fun Night on Friday. Singer-songwriter Okaidja Afroso, from Ghana, West Africa, will share music and stories about faraway places. The fun begins at 6:30 p.m., everyone is invit- ed to an evening of fun and activities, and it’s all free. P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist — It’s been said over and over by politicians and gov- ernment officials that small businesses are the backbone of America. In MI Town, most of us do our best to put our money where our towns are and purchase goods and services without driving to larger cities. We get to know the owners and managers as friends and neighbors and wish these small businesses the very best. With all of that in mind, it’s good to know that Matthew Lind, who purchased an old gas station and rebranded it as Mecani- co, has received an exten- sion on his real estate trans- action with the city of Inde- pendence. Ray Walter’s In- dePit Barbecue will contin- ue at the Mecanico location, and it’s good that our com- munities will support local investment and business ventures. — There’s still time to pur- chase tickets for our first Western Oregon University home football game of the new season — scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., when the Wolves host the Humboldt State University Lumber- jacks. We’ll be there, antici- pating the opening kickoff and looking forward to a great afternoon of football. Humboldt State fans are al- ways enthusiastic and friendly, so this is our oppor- tunity to share our hospitali- ty and enthusiasm, and enjoy a wonderful day. — Mark your calendars for Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m., where we’ll celebrate our friend, Mark Fancey’s retire- ment with a reception at the amphitheater in Main Street Park in Monmouth. This is a bittersweet day for many of us who have seen all the good and positive things that have been accom- plished under his leader- ship, but we want to wish Mark all the best in his well- earned and deserved retire- ment. Mark has been com- munity development direc- tor for the city of Monmouth for many years and has spent countless days and weeks shepherding so many projects for the benefit of all of us. Best wishes and God- speed to our friend as he be- gins yet another chapter in his life. A RLENE K OVASH Columnist and Steve Diehl is the prin- ciple, as well as a teacher. The kids are having a car wash on Saturday at the Bridgeport Campus, so help them out while having your car washed. — Dave and Suzanne have been spending time in Red- mond for several weekends, helping son Derek and his wife Ashley prepare their 12- acre home site for building. They were hoping to get their house built this fall, but dig- ging through rock to get elec- tricity and water in is slowing down the process. Derek is in his third year of teaching agriculture and Ashley is a rep for Ariat, who sells west- ern clothing and boots. — Pedee Church is sponsor- • 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 PEDEE NEWS The Pedee campus of the Luckiamute Valley Charter School is getting a facelift. New siding was put on this summer, plus a number of other upgrades were made, including adding insulation and new furnaces. While the school is waiting to get its final coat of paint, white with black trim, it is looking pretty with a gold primer. Teacher Daniel Shimek said that this year there are close to 60 5th-8th graders. Christy Wilkins is the execu- tive director of the school VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ing a 4-H club this year for grade schoolers, and had the first meeting on September 10. The kids will have a wide choice of projects to choose from, including raising ani- mals, learning to sew and cook, and doing art, archery, and photography. The group does need help from knowl- edgeable adults on these subjects, so if you can help in any way, they would ap- preciate it. Their next meet- ing will be at the church on Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. It’s never too late to join. Continued from page 8A — WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27 • 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. • Painting, Canvas and Cocktails — 7 p.m., The Boondocks, 318 N. Main St. Fall City. All supplies, paint, canvas and instruc- tion provided. No experience necessary. $30, snack and cocktail included. 503-787-2700. (Every Wednesday through 2015, have to check again for January) • Pickleball — 9 a.m. to noon, Roger Jordan Community Park. Meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Karen Freeman, 503-871-4172. Fall 2017 Senior Living 1/8 page 4.917” x 2.5” ................$95 1/4 page 4.917” x 5.083” ..........$155 1/2 page 10” x 5.083” (H)..........$245 1/2 page 4.917” x 10.292” (V)...$245 Full page 10” x 10.292” ...........$435 Price includes FREE color! DEADLINE to Reserve: Sept. 21 PUBLISHES: Oct. 4 LAST ! E C N CHA Call Heidi ext. 115, Rachel ext. 110, or Karen ext. 118, at 503-623-2373 Itemizer-Observer 147 SE Court St, Dallas • www.polkio.com Celebrating 5 Years! And N OW TUESDAYS! 2PM - 7PM Especially for our neighbors and community with user friendly hours. to Close Home! Hazelnuts, Fresh Produce, Artisans Hadley Radio Bakery, & other vendors Independence Riverview Park Tuesdays 2-7pm Saturday 9am -2pm
