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The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2009
Food for Thought
By Schann Nelson
OSU Master Gardener
Be sure to ‘harden off’ transplants which means allowing them a gradual transition
to the outdoors. Robert Hammond has another good article in Country Living – the
free extension publication – on the history and culture of brassicas. I really enjoyed
his article last month on sweet potatoes and this article is equally good. Planting
frost hardy crops (brassicas, spinach, some lettuces, radishes, parsnips, etc.) is
possible in mid-March.
Other news you can use in the newsletter: An essay “The challenge of distance”
presenting topics for discussion in rural communities faced with delivering infra-
structure and energy in low population areas; nature deficit; garden journaling; live-
stock stuff; and announcement of a new extension website designed to help fami-
lies cope with sudden economic collapse: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ emer-
gency/tough_times.php
I’m pleased to see in the February list of stuff to do: Prune clematis, Virginia
creeper and other vining ornamentals. I have yet to be able to get the blooming pe-
riod of my clematis, which are two of the three different types of clematis, to align
with the descriptions of when to prune based on flowering time. Our weather is just
so all-encompassing and different from other places. It seems it’s safe to disregard
this obsession with which type of clematis and just prune them to shape in the dead
of winter, hopefully before they start to grow. This means NOW! The clematis will
start to grow at the tip of last year’s growth as soon as they get any sun warmth, at
least some of them are susceptible to sun scald. I would resist pruning to within 1-
foot of the ground as recommended for some types of clematis. I’m sure this would
mean the death of my Jackmani (a common dark purple clematis) even though it is
in the group that ‘should’ be drastically pruned. Maybe someday, but the move from
the sunny front to the shady back set the poor thing way back. After three years,
and subtle pruning, it’s finally growing enough to reach the sun it needs. It’s still not
bushy but it blooms all summer.
Perhaps I’d be a bit cheerier if I hadn’t been so disciplined in disposing of most
of the plant porn (those glossy winter plant catalogues) directly after removing them
from the mail box. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more accurate description to con-
veys the passionate gardener’s response to these catalogues. I can drool over
them for hours and I know I’m not alone. Now, there’s an unexplored area of eroti-
cism for the remaining long winter months!
Enjoy your plant porn!
I’ve vowed to spend as little as possible this year and to resist any major addi-
tions. I need rock for ‘paving’ and one side of the yard fence needs badly to be re-
placed. It will be a struggle to make those purchases. Bur I will make it to the Mas-
ter Gardeners’ plant sale. Mark it on your calendar!
Dreary, dreary, dreary…siighhh…it’s still Winter. This win-
ter seems very long, perhaps we were all just a bit busy last
year making last winter speed by. Less occupied this year,
the continued freezing every day, rocks on the road, snow in
the hills, cold white stuff that falls and melts making every-
thing slippery and treacherous is wearing. Fog and ice are
winter’s stealth weapons, intermittently and unexpectedly
coating the road with an invisible tractionless surface impos-
sible to keep your car on. I know it is the absolute truth that
Hwy. 47 will grab your car and slide it off the road complete-
ly outside of any control you may have thought you had. Your only hope is to be go-
ing SLOWLY enough that nobody gets hurt! Really folks, studded tires and 4-wheel
drive do NOT make it safe to drive 47 at the posted speed much of the time, espe-
cially at dusk and dawn.
Now, with my traffic rant out of the way, perhaps I can be a bit more positive. Few
things are as wondrous: The winter morning sun refracting from each tiny ice crys-
tal coating every needle, branch, twig and seed; grasses’ spectacular sculpture
across the land. The north side of hills and buildings remains frozen where the sun
cannot reach. It’s a great time of year to bundle up the little ones and explore the
wonders of nature. Water is such strange stuff! Its unique chemistry and structure
creates many of the wonders of the world around us. Late winter is when I can find
one of my favorite tiny wonders, what I call ice worms.
Now, I made up this name twenty-some years ago, long before such a thing as
an ice worm was actually discovered living on/in glaciers in some remote place dis-
covered by National Geographic. As a loyal PBS watcher, I have seen the little
black worms living on the surface of glacial ice and these nearly microscopic (but
real) worms are not what I am talking about.
MY ice worms resemble miniature white basalt columns emerging from the
earth. Apparently, when the ground is saturated (a common winter condition here)
there is not enough space for the expansion of water as it freezes. As a result per-
fect hexagonal columns are pushed up out of the ground, sometimes as long as an
inch-and-a-half. ‘Ice worms’ don’t occur over large areas, can be hidden by detritus
on the surface and melt away at the first touch of sun or rain. I usually find them on
the top of mole hills, side hills and other places where soil has been disturbed but
is relatively loose. There was a remarkable batch under the ‘patio’ fireplace. When
you walk over the ‘worms’ and knock them all aside, the ground looks like it’s cov-
COLUMBIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
ered in glass shards that melt like snow flakes as soon as you touch them.
It’s depressing walking around the yard now and seeing the damage. Contem-
plating the amount of work to repair and clean up seems overwhelming. I swear
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009 • 9 AM – 4PM • ST. HELENS HIGH SCHOOL
every time I walk the yard, I notice something else that will require work before
spring arrives. More contributions for the giant burn pile. Thank-
fully, I’m also seeing daffodils beginning to peek out, and tulips I
planted in pots are on their way to providing color soon.
Now is also the time to tune up the lawnmower, sharpen your
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
F IRST B APTIST C HURCH
tools, and not just the mower blade. A sharp hoe or shovel with a
Gary Taylor, Pastor
Gary S. Walter, Pastor
359 “A” Street, Vernonia
smooth, well-polished handle will amaze you with how much eas-
Grant & North Streets, Vernonia
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia
503 429-4027
ier the work becomes. The coolest tool I’ve found for sharpening
503 429-5378
503 429-8301
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
garden tools is a small, flat sharpening stone with an attached
Sunday School 10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m.
Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
plastic handle. It fits in a pocket and was designed by the Good
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Sabbath School 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Cook people to sharpen kitchen knives. Like all good gardeners,
Nursery available
I see garden applications for all kinds up stuff and all kinds of
Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m.
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
places. Tools larger than pruners should be sharpened with a
Wayne and Maureene Marr
Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator
more hefty, flat file to get an edge, but you can retouch as you
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia,
960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia
work with the pocket file.
503 429-0373
503 429-8841
Carl Pense, Pastor
New and young trees should be protected from sun scald by
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon
850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia
wrapping their trunks with several layers of newspaper. Sun scald
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m
Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m.
503 429-1103
is the result of the low winter sun warming tree bark just enough
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
to wake up the cambium layer and start the flow of sap. Unfortu-
Children’s Sunday School
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
nately, when the nights are as cold as they have been, this flow
Grant Williams, Pastor
Sam Hough, Evangelist
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
freezes and causes the bark to separate from the tree. On a small
957 State Avenue, Vernonia
410 North Street, Vernonia
OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS
tree the damage can be enough to kill the tree by itself, as well as
503 429-6790
503 429-6522
creating a weak spot for bugs and diseases to access the heart of
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Marc Farmer, Branch President
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
the tree and wreak additional havoc.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
1350 E. Knott Street, Vernonia
Children and Nursery 10:00 a.m.
Every Wednesday:
If I bundle up, I can start working, there’s plenty to do. Finish
503 429-7151
Youth Group 6:00 p.m.
Ladies' Bible Study 9:30 a.m.
Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m.
pruning, start the biweekly spraying regimen to control fungi, plant
Preschool Mon. & Wed. 9:00 a.m.
Ladies’ Worship 10:00 a.m.
Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m.
bare root trees and shrubs, move others around, start cole crops
Wednesday Prayer 6:00 p.m.
Children’s Choir 3:00 p.m.
Relief Society, Priesthood and
(broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc.) indoors to
Tues. & Fri. Adult Volleyball 7:00 p.m.
Young
Women,
Sunday
12:10
p.m.
Family
Bible
Study
7:00
p.m.
set out in the garden in 4 – 6 weeks with a little protection at night.
PLANT SALE
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