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The INDEPENDENT, September 15, 2005
Can You Dig It?
By Schann Nelson
OSU Master Gardener
son similar to that of 1995-96. Remember that it was the combination of snow in the
hills and the pineapple express that caused the flooding. Are you ready? Recent
events should remind us all of the importance of planning and preparation. The first
three days to two weeks, depending on the severity of the incident, you are on your
own!
I’ve read several books on growing perennials and building perennial beds. They
insist that the ground be well prepared and weed free. Well I’m here to tell you that,
while it may be slower, you can build a nice perennial bed without killing everything
first and investing a huge amount of time and money in soil amendments. I have
two nice beds now and both are the result of deciding where I wanted them to be,
adding plants (sometimes directly into what was previously mowed weeds since I
certainly couldn’t call it lawn) and mulching heavily around them. While these beds
took about three years to fill in, they are now quite pretty, low maintenance and I
haven’t had to divide anything yet. I think if you started a bed in good soil with a lot
of plants, sure it would fill in and look good the first year, but you’d be digging the
stupid thing up to divide everything way too soon. Besides, it’s fun to make
soil.
Speaking of digging up and dividing I’ve been considering how my yard
has changed over time, particularly as related to my level of age and level
of fitness. When we first moved in over twenty years
ago, one of the first things we did was rake the
leaves into a row that became our first garden bed.
In addition to trying to feed a family, I always tried to
have some flowers too. As the garden got more es-
tablished, I started adding more flowers and have de-
veloped several perennial beds and a small orchard – in spite
of complaints about making the mowing more difficult. Since
all of the kids have left home now, I’ve started to consider longer-
lived species that don’t have to be dug up and divided, and have
been buying shrubs. I’ve also planted a few landscape trees, in-
cluding a golden chain tree that was given to me at a plant trade
at less than a foot tall. Now it’s about fifteen feet tall and becom-
ing part of the hedge.
Enjoy the remaining days of summer.
By the time you read this we will, according to the weath-
erman, have had some colder weather and rain. Though the
forecast does not predict freezing, I wouldn’t be surprised if
tender vegetables were bitten by the frost bug. Definitely time
to cover the tomatoes! Keep them safe from rain and cold!
While you’re out, prune off excess vegetation, including
small green tomatoes. This is in hopes of directing more en-
ergy of the plant to ripening fruit. Covering helps with this too
by concentrating the gases released by the plant, like putting
fruit in a bag. Other methods of ripening tomatoes include
hanging the whole vine in a garage (or someplace big
enough and dry) but this can get messy. More time consuming is to pick green fruit,
wrap them in newspaper and store in a cool dry place. Be sure you wrap only un-
blemished fruit. Though they need to be checked often to remove rotten ones, this
seems to be reliable, especially for long season tomatoes.
This year, even when the sun finally did come out (however briefly it stayed
with us), the air appears to have retained enough moisture to provide all
of our lovely green plants with an ample coating of
mold, blight and other kinds of doom. If, like me, you
didn’t get out and spray your tomatoes (and pota-
toes) with a copper fungicide now is the time.
It’s also time to apply lime to the soil. Soils in our
area are generally very acid, which is great for our
big trees, rhododendrons, and berries but not so
good for most landscape plants and vegetable
gardens. Your soil can, and probably does, have
all kinds of nutrients (with the exception of seleni-
um and magnesium) but plants can absorb them
only in a very narrow pH range. Lime is cheap, does-
n’t have to be precisely spread and can make a big dif-
ference. The extension service says that the standard
application for this area is about 10 – 12 pounds per 100
square feet of garden. This is an area 10’ x 10’ square, or more likely a 20’ x 5’ gar-
den bed. They also recommend tilling the lime in, but since I don’t till, I depend on
“I know of nothing so pleasant as to sit there on a summer afternoon, with the
my healthy colony of worms to distribute amendments, along with a little spading in western sun flickering through the great elder-tree, and lighting up our gay parter-
the spring.
res, where flowers and flowering shrubs are set as thick as grass in a field, a wild-
Judicious application of a glyphosate product, such as Roundup, works well ness of blossom, interwoven, intertwined, wreathy, garlandy, profuse beyond all
when the weeds are the only things green. This product moves through the plant to profusion.” —Mary Mitford
the root with plant sugars produced in the leaves by photosynthesis. Therefore, it
is more effective if applied when plant sugars are moving into
roots to prepare for winter. This type of spot application of herbi-
cide is very effective, and costs less because you don’t need as
much product. Reports of this timing working on tough weeds like
S T . A UGUSTINE (C ANTERBURY )
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
blackberries and morning glory have been heard. If you don’t
E
PISCOPAL
C
HURCH
OF
L
ATTER
D
AY
S
AINTS
want to use herbicide, you can achieve effective removal by me-
Gary Taylor, Pastor
chanical means (with a hoe for instance) but every time you dis-
Grant & North Streets
375 North St. (Vernonia Grange Hall)
Jeff Cheney, Branch President
Vernonia, 503 429-5378
turb the soil, you get more seeds. Hoeing your entire yard every
Vernonia, 503 705-2173
1350 E. Knott Street
Sunday
School 10:00 a.m.
Please
call
for
service
schedule.
Vernonia,
503
429-7151
couple of weeks could keep your waist under control though! Re-
Morning
Worship
11:00 a.m.
Sacrament
Meeting,
Sunday
10
a.m.
peated mowing can also be effective, even on knotweed, but you
Nursery
available
Sunday
School
&
Primary
11:20
a.m.
V
ERNONIA
C
OMMUNITY
C
HURCH
apparently have to be religious about it for several years.
Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m.
Relief Society, Priesthood and
Now is THE time to plant or renovate lawns. One of the rea-
Grant Williams, Pastor
Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m.
sons we can grow sod and ship it all over the country is that we
957 State Avenue
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
Vernonia, 503 429-6790
can plant in the fall. The goal is to get seed well established be-
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
850 Madison Avenue
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
fore the hard rain and cold of winter. You need to get seed in the
Vernonia,
503 429-1103
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
Pastoral Associate Juanita Dennis
ground NOW, and keep it evenly moist by regular irrigation. Next
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
*B.L.A.S.T. w/Nursery 10:00 a.m.
960 Missouri Avenue
spring, you should have a lovely lawn.
Children’s Sunday School
*Bible Learning and Scripture Training
Vernonia, 503 429-8841
I heard that the Oregon climatologist has predicted a rainy sea-
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Mass Schedule
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
Church Directory
Camelot Care Center
Skilled Nursing and Long Term Care
Deficiency Free Survey 2005
Private and Semi-Private Suites Available
Dedicated And Caring Staff
3900 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove • 503-359-0449
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
Sam Hough, Evangelist
410 North Street
Vernonia, 503 429-6522
Sunday School 9:45 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 7:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 Noon
Religious Education
Sunday 10:30 a.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.
662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia,
503 556-1961 for Information
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
John Aitken II, Pastor, 396-1856
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St.
Vernonia, 503 429-8301
Morning Worship, 9:15 a.m.
Bible Study 10:30 a.m.