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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2010)
Page 6 The INDEPENDENT, July 15, 2010 Can You Dig It? By Schann Nelson Columbia County Master Gardener Finally we’ve broken through the mystic summer barrier! The sun is here and, mostly, hopefully, is here to stay until fall. Now’s the time to prepare for efficient irrigation and lazy summer days. Corn is amazing! When everything works right, you re- ally can watch it grow before your very eyes. My five-year-old grandson knows ex- actly the status of ‘his’ pink popcorn and bean tepee. So it was with some trepidation that I approached two necessary tasks: Thin the corn and move some of the beans. The corn was a snap. I thinned in the morning and by the same afternoon it was virtually unnotice- able! Corn is the only plant in my experience that grows that fast! The lesson from the corn: Allow NO competition for either light or water between plants, any overlap requires more thin- ning. The trick is to stop thin- ning when each plant barely touches the one next to it, shading the ground under- neath but giving each plant maximum available sun min- utes (a more accurate measure than sun hours in parts of my garden). The beans are more disappointing than the corn, though the slugs have had a feast. Some beans tried to come up but were eaten to the nubbin, so I applied a layer of Sluggo Plus in a wide band around the edges of all the places I’ve planted beans, which ap- pears to have increased bean seedling survival and re- covery. The front generally gets way less slug treat- ment than the veggie garden, and has been treated to reduce moss. There is a lot of dead moss and the grass is coming up valiantly, but it’s also a better slug environment so it’s no surprise that they were vora- cious. Maybe beans do better in the garden than as part of the landscape. The future (corn/bean) tepee required emergency surgery. A late application of manure and a too early application of straw allowed this circle of the front yard to stay wet longer than it should have. Though beans in another place were so devastated that they’ve pret- ty much disappeared. I think only about half the seeds survived, but most of the survivors should start climbing soon. However, there was a break in the circle of beans AND three or four stunted beans came up all in one clump. The clump came out of the ground dry as stone – they would have started dying if not for my rescue – and went into a small dish of water for a couple of hours. Meantime, I’ve readjusted the straw and carefully ex- cavated nice holes in the still quite cool earth to bask in the sun for a bit. When the bean clump had fallen apart and the plants, still with cotyledons attached, were fully hydrat- ed I carefully teased them apart and set one in each of my three prepared holes. Did I imagine the fourth? Be- cause the plants were so small and the roots so wet, I wasn’t able to get the roots of transplants to spread. I was, however, able to get the entire length of root neat- ly tucked into rich moist soil and watered them in. I left the straw mulch pulled back but shaded these babies from the sun for the first two days because, of course, they were the two hottest days last week. Hooray – all three have survived and look better now than they did! The goal of transplanting achieved: Your babies con- tinue to look better and better from the moment you move them from one location to another, more suit- able, location. Stealth transplanting! Transplant Shock? I’d like to call transplant shock a myth, but it is a too well known phenomenon. What you see is that the ca- Learn how to can vegetables, meat Have you thought about learning to can vegetables, or fish or game this summer? Are you an experienced canner who would like an update on the latest USDA recommenda- tions? Then plan to attend one or more of the canning classes offered by the Columbia Coun- ty Extension Service. Classes will be held at the First Lutheran Church, 360 Wyeth St., St. Helens (on the corner of N. 4th St. and Wyeth St.). Each class will cost $20.00. A small number of scholarships are available. Payment must be made in ad- vance to hold your spot. Class size is limited: • Tuesday, August 10, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Pressure Canning Vegetables & Meats. • Tuesday, August 31, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Canning Tomatoes and Salsa. For more information and to register for classes, call 503- 397-3462 or visit the OSU Ex- tension Service office at 505 N. Columbia River Highway, St. Helens. pacity of the plant to recover has been exceeded. The ability to tolerate this extreme stress varies widely, but several general principles enhance your chances of stealth transplanting. Make sure the soil are you are transplanting to is pre- pared first. Mix any amendments thoroughly into the soil in an area at least twice as large as the hole your plant will need. Oops, there goes another popular myth! The reason to amend a larger area is to ensure that you do not create an interface be- tween soil types. The flow of water slows at interfaces due to differences in the surface tension of water be- tween soil types. Thus the rocks we all used to put in the bottom of our pots actually reduced drainage as water collected at the interface between the soil and the rocks. For the next couple of months giving your plants enough water is going to be a primary chore. Our sup- ply has always been limited, so I try to conserve every drop of water that I can from this point on. Up to now we’ve had enough rain to keep everything alive and growing, but it will be increasingly necessary to water and to remove excess and invading vegetation. Simple, Effective Watering You can spend a lot of money on drip irrigation and get automatic controls and fertilizing and misting and who knows what else, but effective irrigation doesn’t have to be expensive. Overhead watering covers a lot of area in a relatively short time, but also creates that wet, clammy environment so great for molds, blights and rusts that we just emerged from. If you MUST overhead water, be sure to do so in the morning so the garden has plenty of time to dry. As you know, I mulch extensively with straw. Wanting the ground to be well- Please see page 22 Church Directory V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH P IONEER B APTIST F ELLOWSHIP Carl Pense, Pastor 850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-1103 Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m. Children’s Sunday School Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator 960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-8841 Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m. John Cahill, Pastor 939 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-1161 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Prayer 7:00 p.m. S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH Larry Gibson, Pastor 2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia 503 429-8301 Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m. Sabbath School 9:30 a.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. A SSEMBLY OF G OD Wayne and Maureene Marr 662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia, 503 429-0373 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m F IRST B APTIST C HURCH 359 “A” Street, Vernonia 503 429-4027 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m. V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH Sam Hough, Minister 410 North Street, Vernonia 503 429-6522 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m. (meets in Youth & Family Center) Home Group Meeting throughout the week at various locations N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS 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. 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.