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The INDEPENDENT, August 21, 2008
Can You Dig It?
The Independent’s garden columnist, Schann Nelson, can tackle almost any problem fac-
ing gardeners in Northwest Oregon, but computer problems aren’t included in Master Gar-
dener training. In the absence of her column, we have turned to the Oregon State Universi-
ty Extension Service for this month’s gardening information.
Troubleshooting less-than-perfect garden veggies
By: Carol Savonen
During the height of summer, many home gardeners have concerns about why
they have less-than-perfect vegetables. They call or visit the nearest Master Gar-
dener help desk at the local county office of the Oregon State University Extension
Service with questions galore.
OSU vegetable breeder Jim Myers offers troubleshooting strategies for growing
carrots, cabbage and tomatoes. Plus, he gives advice on how to grow these veg-
etables better next time.
Carrots: Gardeners are often dismayed when they harvest hairy or misshapen
carrots. Imperfect carrots, or carrots with multiple roots – many of them twisted
around each other – may come from several causes, including spacing, soil type,
fertility, pests and disease.
Your carrots could be overcrowded. Next time, try thinning them to an inch apart
after the leaves reach about three inches high. Did you plant them in clay soil? If
you have heavy clay soil, the clay sometimes forces the roots to grow crooked.
Amend clay soil in next year’s carrot patch with well-broken down leaves, well-rot-
ted compost. Carrots do well in light (sandy), fluffy soil that is not too full of amend-
ments.
Root-knot nematodes may cause deformed carrots. You can either verify this
with a soil test, then you might have to solarize (treat soil with the sun’s heat using
plastic sheeting in the summer), or rotate your carrots to another area next time.
Did you fertilize right before you planted your carrots? Excess nitrogen (over fer-
tilization) can cause carrots to form multiple roots or get “hairy.” If you add manure-
laden compost to your soil, do so in the fall, then let it overwinter before planting
carrots in the spring. Carrot roots will also become hairy in waterlogged ground.
Did you leave carrots in the ground too long? Carrots are biennials. The first
growing season, they grow a taproot. Next they put out secondary roots off the tap-
root, and then put up the flowering stem the second year. If you planted your car-
rots last fall, then overwintered them in the ground, they might be sending out
whitish secondary roots by now and maybe a stem. Some varieties are more prone
to bolting than others.
Cabbage: Growing good cabbage with nice heads seems to be a challenge for
many home gardeners. Some complain that their cabbage doesn’t set heads at all.
Others say the cabbage heads set, but they crack open.
Are you watering your cabbage too much? Excess irrigation after a period of
Witt urges family forestland owners to
attend bi-state storm recovery program
Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatska-
nie) would like constituents and
others with an interest in forest
management, to know about
an Extension Service program
that will focus on recovery from
last winter’s windstorm and
flooding damage. The day-long
event is being co-sponsored by
Oregon State University and
Washington State University
“This workshop should be
very helpful to the many family
forest landowners in Columbia
and Clatsop Counties who
were severely impacted by the
December storms,” said Witt.
It will be held Saturday, Au-
gust 23, near Naselle, Wash-
ington, not far from Astoria. In-
structors from across the re-
gion will cover more than 20
topics, including salvaging
blow down, managing a timber
sale, maintaining and repairing
forest roads, reforestation, for-
est health, thinning and prun-
ing, and much more.
Gates open at 8:00 a.m. and
presentations start at 9:00 a.m.
Registration on the day of the
event is $30 per person and
$40 for two or more.
Interested parties may con-
tact the OSU Extension Ser-
vice in Clatsop County at 503-
325-8578 or email Glen.ahrens
@oregonstate.edu.
“I hope that as many people
as possible will participate in
this worthwhile program. The
OSU Extension Service is
known for its broad variety of
community-based educational
programs, and its ability to help
Oregonians find solutions. This
event is particularly timely and
appropriate,” said Witt.
drought (little or no watering) can cause the heads to swell until they crack. Cab-
bages also crack when they are mature. Try watering them less and harvesting
them earlier.
If your cabbage plants don’t set a head at all, it may be caused by several fac-
tors, including overcrowding. Thin your plants early in the season to at least 18
inches apart.
Is your soil too dry? Are you watering deeply enough? Long infrequent watering
is better than shorter surface watering for veggies like cabbage. Hot weather
thwarts the formation of cabbage heads, causing them to be stunted or misshapen.
Adequate watering may overcome some of the effects of heat.
Disease may also play a role in stunting cabbage growth. Pull up one of your
stunted plants and examine the roots. Do they look “clubby” with large swellings,
different than normal healthy roots should look? You may have club root fungal in-
fection. If so, don’t plant any of the brassica family in that spot again for seven
years. Root rot is another infection that thrives in clay soil. It can kill much of a
plant’s root system. Rotate this area of the garden to another type of plant.
Tomatoes: Some of the problems you might encounter with your tomato plants
while waiting for those juicy red fruits to develop include:
Blossom drop may be caused by dry soil and dry winds, but also by a sudden
cold spell, heavy rains or too much nitrogen. Usually not all blossoms will fall off, so
just be patient for the next set of flowers.
Blossom end rot, when the end of the fruit furthest away from the stem gets
black, is caused by irregular watering and calcium deficiency. Water deeply and
regularly. Add lime to soil in fall to increase calcium level in the soil for next year’s
crop. Most common in western Oregon.
Leaf rolling is most often the result of heavy pruning or root injury. Plants may
lose leaves but will recover.
Sun scald: Green tomatoes can get sunburned, especially those plants with leaf
spot diseases or those recently pruned.
Early and late blight are fungal diseases. Look for water-soaked looking spots on
lower leaves and stems. If you see these, pick them off. Avoid overhead watering
and monitor and remove diseased leaves.
The OSU Extension Service offers several resources online to learn more about
making and using compost:
GROWING YOUR OWN—Recycle with Compost Pile
Gardening with Composts, Mulches and Row Covers
Improving Soils with Organic Matter
To see photos of vegetables with various diseases, visit the OSU Extension Ser-
vice Online Guide to Plant Disease Control then type in the vegetable you want to
know about. The OSU Master Gardeners Gardening Questions website is:
http://extension.oregonstate. edu/
Church Directory
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
F IRST B APTIST 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.
Gary S. Walter, Pastor
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia
503 429-8301
Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m.
Sabbath School 9:30 a.m.
359 “A” Street, Vernonia
503 429-5190
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
Wayne and Maureene Marr
662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia,
503 429-0373
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m
Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator
960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-8841
Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon
Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m.
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY 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.
Grant Williams, Pastor
957 State Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-6790
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
Children and Nursery 10:00 a.m.
Youth Group 6:00 p.m.
Preschool Mon. & Wed. 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer 6:00 p.m.
Tues. & Fri. Adult Volleyball 7:00 p.m.
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
Carl Pense, Pastor
850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-1103
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Sunday School
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS
Marc Farmer, 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.