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The INDEPENDENT, September 16, 2004
Can You Dig It?
By Schann Nelson
Did fall come early this year? It sure does
look more like November outside than Sep-
tember, though it’s still plenty warm. There-
in lies the problem. Cool, moist conditions
are ideal for most fungal pathogens, mean-
ing we live in The Mold Capital of the World
with our (hopefully infrequent) damp fall
weather and lo-o-ong, wet springs. Gener-
ally, gardeners must develop at least a few
strategies for dealing with damp conditions.
There is, of course, the annual building
of the tomato coverings. I won’t talk about my blue tarp method
again this year ‘cause I haven’t done a darn thing in my veggie
garden and I don’t know if I’m going to get a chance to (Ah! The
joys of home ownership when it’s time to paint the house!). Some
folks build fairly elaborate structures to keep their tomatoes warm
and dry. It can be tricky to keep plants warm enough without get-
ting too hot. Remove lower leaves and ALL flowers, water at
ground level, and consider spraying with neem oil or copper fun-
gicide. Be aware that copper fungicide, while considered organic
(meaning that it can be used by organic farmers), is highly toxic.
Speaking of toxicity, I’d like to spend just a minute or two talk-
ing about an insecticide that appears in many homes along with
the beginning of school. Lindane is commonly prescribed for the
treatment of head lice. Be aware that this is a Level Two insecti-
cide. Toxicity is determined by the amount of chemical ingested
that is needed to kill 50 percent of the animals (usually rats or rab-
bits) used in experiments. Extrapolating from the experimental
data, a 150-pound human would have to swallow only about 1/3
cup of Lindane for a lethal reaction. Obviously, the amount that a
small child would have to swallow would be proportionally small-
er. Lindane is in the same insecticide class as DDT and neem. Un-
fortunately for head lice, it takes ten times as much product to be
lethal when absorbed through the skin, and it is a very effective
treatment. Use caution with this product, and make sure you com-
plete the rest of the head lice removal regimen, paying special at-
tention to picking nits (they won’t let your kids back in school until
they’re GONE) and to laundering, freezing, or otherwise getting
head lice off of and out of hiding places like the seats of your car.
Remember, the bugs can, and do, arrive to visit almost every
home at least once and, like all unwanted guests, are difficult, but
not impossible, to get rid of.
Now is the time of year to begin cleaning up. Sanitation is one
of the most important factors in limiting the size of pathogen pop-
ulations, whether they are insect, bacterial or fungal. Spading un-
der, composting or destroying plant refuse eliminates many of the
places that diseases and organisms can overwinter. Fallen leaves
should be completely decomposed within a month or removed.
Taking advantage of the weak point in the life cycle of a plant
disease means that control is both easier and more effective. For
instance, apple scab overwinters on fallen leaves and enters the
following year’s crop in the spring where it can continue to repro-
duce on the fruit causing unsightly and untasty lesions, and also
set up housekeeping in the leaves to begin the following year’s cy-
cle. Cleaning up these fallen leaves interrupts the cycle.
During the Quilt Fair, Community Yard Sale,
Salmon Festival, or even just
because you deserve a treat,
Invites you to come
in and try our Daily Specials.
Open Daily – 831 Bridge St. Vernonia 503-429-0214
6am - 6pm Mon-Fri, 6:30am - 4pm Sat, 8am - 3pm Sun
There’s still time to plant multiplier onions, radishes, chard, fava
beans and corn salad. It’s a great time of year to purchase dis-
counted nursery stock and get new shrubs and trees. Try to
record, for next year, where crops were grown in order to be sure
to practice a good crop rotation. A four-year rotation plan would be
as follows: Year 1; Leaf seed and fruit crops, Year 2; Legume
crops, Year 3; Cabbage family crops Year 4; Root crops. This can
be hard to accomplish in a small garden but, along with choosing
disease resistant varieties and good sanitation, it will result in bet-
ter garden health.
Me? I’ll be out trying to get all of the trim painted before it gets
too cold and too wet. I wish I had just seeded the entire garden
with a summer cover crop so that I didn’t feel so guilty about not
getting to it. Even my containers have moved out to the farm, both
to get them off the porches and to add to the décor for my daugh-
ter’s wedding next month. I’ve cut a struggling rhodie down to a
six-inch stub, removed all of the foliage from the sword ferns, and
cut the climbing rose back to the ground. The honeysuckle will
have to be cut way back too. Only the climbing hydrangea and the
clematis have escaped severe pruning. Extreme sanitation!
Maybe I’ll be able to control the whiteflies and black spot next
year!
P.E.O. resumes
fall schedule
Following a summer hiatus,
Chapter BS, P.E.O. will resume
its twice monthly meetings un-
der the leadership of President
Carolyn Keasey, Vice Presi-
dent Mary Tolonen and Secre-
tary Audeen Wagner. The first
session of the fall is scheduled
for the evening of October 12,
at the home of Darlene
McLeod.
P.E.O. is an international
women’s organization, whose
primary focus is the education
of women. The group owns
Cottey College, a woman’s col-
lege in Nevada, Missouri, and
also provides numerous schol-
arships and loans to women
who are interested in obtaining
more education and advanced
degrees.
Each year, Chapter BS
awards a scholarship to a
graduating Vernonia High
School woman. Holly Hillyer
was the 2004 recipient.
Local women who have re-
ceived scholarships in recent
years are Julie Budge, Nikki
Gwin, Lisa Hardwick, Erin Da-
vis, Christine Hein, Jaki King,
Kim Morrison, Molly Skidmore,
Kirsten Hyde, Kayla Hen-
nessey, Jamie Stacklie, Debbie
Taylor, Ashley Weller, Jessica
Stacklie, Casey Weller, and
Karen Roberts.
Church Directory
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
Grant Williams, Pastor
957 State Avenue
Vernonia, 503 429-6790
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
*B.L.A.S.T. w/Nursery 10:00 a.m.
*Bible Learning and Scripture Training
Wednesday
Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Gary Taylor, Pastor
Grant & North Streets
Vernonia, 503 429-5378
Sunday School 10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Nursery available
Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m.
Kevin Reiner, Pastor, 543-2254
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St.
Vernonia, 503 429-8301
Sabbath School 9:15 a.m.
Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m.
Prayer Meeting, Wed. 7:00 p.m.
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS
Jeff Cheney, Branch President
1350 E. Knott Street
Vernonia, 503 429-7151
Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m.
Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m.
Relief Society, Priesthood and
Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m.
F IRST B APTIST C HURCH
John Cahill, Pastor
359 “A” Street
Vernonia, 503 429-1161
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Evening Worship
Saturday, 6:00 p.m.
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
Pastoral Associate Juanita Dennis
960 Missouri Avenue
Vernonia, 503 429-8841
Mass Schedule
Sunday 12:00 Noon
Religious Education
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
Sam Hough, Evangelist
410 North Street
Vernonia, 503 429-6522
Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Every Wednesday:
Ladies' Bible Study 9:30 a.m.
Ladies’ Worship 10:00 a.m.
Children’s Choir 3:00 p.m.
Family Bible Study 6:30 p.m.
S T . A UGUSTINE (C ANTERBURY )
E PISCOPAL C HURCH
375 North St. (Vernonia Grange Hall)
Vernonia, 503 795-2173
Sunday Services 10:00 a.m.
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
850 Madison Avenue
Vernonia, 503 429-1103
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Sunday School
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
Darwin Harvey, Pastor
662 Jefferson
Vernonia, 503 429-4615
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Evening Worship 6:00 p.m.
Bible Study, Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Youth & Kids , Thursday 7:00 p.m.