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The INDEPENDENT, October 20, 2005
Can You Dig It?
By Schann Nelson
OSU Master Gardener
growth and small yellow spots (that later develop into disease) have stopped get-
ting bigger.
It’s time for another spray, before the leaves drop to prevent diseases from over-
wintering on fallen leaves in the lawn. I hope to use both a copper based fungicide
and to apply an oil spray this fall. The plan is also to use dormant oil spray in the
winter. One of the keys to controlling disease in our wet climate is to start early, be-
fore the leaves fall to get good coverage and protection. Winter sprays are prima-
rily directed at overwintering insect eggs that seem to be less of a problem than the
molds and blights.
If you haven’t noticed already, I’m being very lazy and not looking up specific
names for stuff. At one time I did identify several disease and insect problems so
I’m comfortable treating them. I’m not just spraying everything willy-nilly. Please
don’t spray just because you think you need to. You should always identify what you
are spraying for and follow package directions.
I’ve already gotten catalogues from both Jackson & Perkins (who sends them
about every two months) and Thompson & Morgan. Visions of starting seeds for
next year swim through the pages, enticing me to order, order, order. Since I don’t
have a controlled environment, such as a green house, I have to
restrain myself, but I can spend hours reading descriptions and
dreaming.
Finally, the tomatoes. I did get a few ripe tomatoes eventually.
Sun Gold (cherry) remains the most reliable. The Isis Candy cheery
tomatoes didn’t have many ripe fruits but they were sweet as candy. First
in the Field and Peron , both had small yields and are worth trying again. I
was not impressed with the Moskovitz or the Aunt Ruby’s German Green .
I have yet to find an heirloom variety that is worth the trouble to grow for
the number and flavor of tomatoes.
If you are planning a garden next year, start preparing your soil. It’s time to
lime if you haven’t in the last three years. If you cover the area where you want to
garden with leaves or straw or other organic mulch the worms will work your soil for
you throughout the winter without you doing anything else. You will also have about
a million slugs to deal with in the spring unless you are religious about organic
methods of control (beer, hand picking, etc.) or consistent about baiting. Once is not
enough, even rain resistant baits needs to be reapplied regularly. Ducks LOVE
slugs (and worms) but they can compact the soil.
Fall has arrived, in true Oregon style, with lots of rain. Un-
like the last several years when we have had lots of sun well
into October, the rains came on time, we even had significant
rainfall in August. For those of you who recently moved here
and thought the dry autumn was great, the weather this fall if
more typical.
Time to take stock and put the garden to bed for the win-
ter. My biggest success this year is that, unlike almost every-
one I’ve talked to, I’ve got apples. Of my five trees, one died
right after trying to grow this spring from a severe attack of
disease, and two of the older trees have just a few apples on them, here and there.
The big news is that two newer trees, one purchased last year, have as many
apples on them as they can have, given their size. The newest tree, called
Freedom, not only had a couple of apples last year, but has about
eight apples on it this year. Quite an accomplishment
for a tiny, little tree with only a few branches and so
slender it has to be stacked to keep from falling over un-
der its own weight (not including the weight of the ap-
ples.
The other tree with apples is several years old and
I think it’s a Jonagold. Like most of the trees in my
yard it has a lot of scab and another disease that
causes the bark to crack and die, leading to whole sec-
tions (or even the whole tree) dying in the spring. This
year, I pruned off about two third of the tree to get rid of
the diseased portions, leaving a single unaffected branch. I
also took out much of the mint that I had planted around it that was threatening to
completely overwhelm the poor thing. Well, lo and behold, when I go out and look
through the remaining mint (which, having gone to seed in my neglected yard is
taller then the tree) there are so many apples that I should have thinned them. Even
though there are only about a dozen, I would have gotten larger apples if, early in
the season, I had pinched off one of the apples where there are three or four on a
single stem.
I attribute these good results to the wide variety of pollinators I cultivate. I have
at least three varieties of bees that I can identify (honey, bumble, and mason) there
are also lots of other pollinators, including a wide variety of small wasps (NOT yel-
lowjackets or hornets), moths and butterflies. My (mostly) organic practice, benign
neglect, and consistently working at increasing the biodiversity has paid off and al-
lowed them to survive.
Elsewhere in the garden:
The beans I planted so late (In mid JULY for crying out loud)
actually did manage to make a few beans. The variety, Jack and
S T . A UGUSTINE (C ANTERBURY )
the beanstalk, quickly covered the makeshift frame and started
E PISCOPAL C HURCH
making flowers of surprising beauty, a soft butter-yellow opening
to white. This runner-type bean has a stronger taste and tougher
375 North St. (Vernonia Grange Hall)
pods than the highly cultivated Blue Lake pole beans. Even if you
Vernonia, 503 705-2173
Please call for service schedule.
don’t eat them, they would be great for covering an unsightly view.
I think it would be quite pretty, especially if planted with Scarlet
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH
Runners , red and yellow flowers!
I bought way too many lemon cucumbers by accident, thinking
Grant Williams, Pastor
they were pickling cukes. If I ever want to make pickles again, and
957 State Avenue
Vernonia, 503 429-6790
the kids say they want me to, I’ll have to be more careful. Maybe
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
I’ll get ambitious and start my own plants indoors!
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
A single 3x5 tray of commercially purchase mixed salad greens
*B.L.A.S.T. w/Nursery 10:00 a.m.
was a huge success. It would have been better for the lettuces to
*Bible Learning and Scripture Training
have more room, but careful thinning provided a long season of
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
greens. I planted it in June and there are two kales left in that plot
still producing. Wow!
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
Late potatoes did quite well. Not too much scab or too many
Sam Hough, Evangelist
potatoes but the ones that are there are BIG.
410 North Street
Actually managed to remove spent canes from raspberries.
Vernonia, 503 429-6522
Don’t have to worry about them till next summer. Yay!
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
The year of spraying has started. My first spray was of Neem
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
oil and I sprayed everything, including the lawn. Neem is an all
Every Wednesday:
Ladies' Bible Study 9:30 a.m.
purpose, organic spray that is supposed to help control molds,
Ladies’ Worship 10:00 a.m.
mildews, mites and blights. Since every single thing in the yard
Children’s Choir 3:00 p.m.
had at least some powdery mildew, I sprayed everything with my
Family Bible Study 7:00 p.m.
hose end sprayer. So far, nothing has died, I don’t see any mold
I have a garden of my own
But so with roses overgrown
And lilies, that would it guess
To be a little wilderness.
—Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)
Church Directory
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.
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.
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.
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
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.
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
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.