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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2011)
Page 6 The INDEPENDENT, June 16, 2011 Fertilize and keep garlic weedfree By Judy Scott, OSU Extension Fertilize garlic in the spring if you want a large and healthy crop of bulbs by summer, advis- es Chip Bubl, garlic expert and agricultural agent at the Colum- bia County office of the Oregon State University Extension Ser- vice in St. Helens. If you planted garlic in the fall, by springtime it will be ready for either a side dressing of fertilizer or a broadcast appli- cation over the entire bed. (Oc- tober is the best month to plant garlic in most places in Ore- gon.) "High-nitrogen organic fertilizers such as bloodmeal or a synthetic source of nitrogen are best," Bubl said. Fertilize garlic again just be- fore the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening day- light (usually mid-May). Keep garlic well weeded, as it cannot stand much competi- tion. As the spring weather dries out, water garlic to a depth of two feet every eight to 10 days if needed. Many years, there is enough soil moisture from spring rains that no water- ing is needed. Very sandy soils are the most likely candidates for watering. As mid-June ap- proaches, taper off on the wa- tering. "Don't wait for garlic leaves to start to die back to check for maturity," Bubl said. "Some- times the bulbs will be ready to harvest when the leaves are still green." The best way to know if gar- lic is ready to pull from the ground is to pull one up and cut it open cross-wise. Then look for well-developed cloves and three or fewer outer "skins" or covering layers over the bulb. Or dig a representative bulb, pull the cloves apart and count the skins as you go. Start checking for mature cloves about late June, Bubl suggested. Harvest garlic when the head is divided into plump cloves and the skin covering the outside of the bulbs is thick, dry and papery. "If left in the ground too long, the bulbs sometimes split apart and become difficult to harvest as intact heads," Bubl said. "The skin may also split, expos- ing the cloves, which will cause them not to store well. In addi- tion, unseasonable rains or irri- gation in late June or July can aggravate some garlic dis- eases." Dig, and then dry the mature bulbs in a shady, warm, dry and well-ventilated area for a few days or longer. Garlic dried without shade can sunburn, leading to inedible cloves. Then remove the tops and roots. Brush dirt off the bulbs. To braid garlic together, harvest it a bit earlier while leaves are green and supple. Avoid bruising the garlic, as it will not store well. Store bulbs in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place. Protect from high humidity and freez- ing. The refrigerator is not the place to store garlic. Cool tem- peratures stimulate sprouting. The publication "Garlic for the Home Garden," FS 138, is available free online, or order a printed copy for $1 plus ship- ping and handling by calling 800-561-6719. By Schann Nelson Columbia County Master Gardener All around us the world continues its varia- tions on producing green – with the occasional ac- cent by concentration or quick attention. Four square feet of spinach, from one six-pack, is an exercise in heavy picking (leaving the tougher stems between plants as mulch), speedy pro- cessing (two to four half-pints frozen), and stand- ing back to watch it grow so you can do it again next week. The peas have also loved this wet weather. So have the slugs, snails and mush- rooms. It has also been great weather for getting houseplants outside with a minimum of sunburn or shock. Some things that fly there be, – Birds, hours, the bumble-bee: Of these no elegy. Some things that stay there be, – Grief, hills, eternity: Nor this behooveth me. There are, that resting, rise. Can I expound the skies? How still the riddle lies! — XIV, Emily Dickinson I’m having a hard time writing this month so I’ll admit (again) to deliberately drawing your atten- tion to the wealth of information provided by the OSU Extension Service Columbia County exten- sion.oregonstate.ed u/Columbia in their publica- tion Country Living. You can call them at 503- 397-3462 to get on the mailing list. Food preser- vation classes begin in St. Helens August 2 (Jams & Jellies), August 9 (Fruit & Pie Fillings), August 16 (Pressure Canning Vegetables & Meats), August 23 (Tomatoes & Salsas). Call the extension office to hold your spot for a single class at $20, or the entire series for $70. Included in this month’s Country Living is the calendar for Saturday seminars at Joy Creek Nursery, plus an extensive list of plants poison- ous to livestock; and interesting data showing nearly two times a power of ten in increased har- vest if carrots, beets, cabbage, and onions are weeded in the first four weeks after planting. It also included a horrifying article about a new species of yellow jacket wasp in Columbia Coun- ty that enters through an outside hole and chews through sheetrock to build giant nests inside. The extension service recommends professional treatment of these bees. Even our local yellow jackets have been known to come boiling out of a wall if their exterior hole is blocked before they are all dead. May the life around you bring you blessing. I’ll end with another favorite, by Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the falling snow. I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush Of beautiful birds circling in flight, I am the starshine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I do not die. Church Directory V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH F IRST B APTIST 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 Pastor John D. Murray 359 “A” Street, Vernonia 503 860-3860 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m. John Cahill, Pastor 939 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-1161 www.pbfalive.com Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Thursday Prayer 7:00 p.m. S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST Larry Gibson, Pastor 2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia 503 429-8301 Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m. Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. “Main Street” is where it happens “Join us on Main Street! Where Jesus makes a differ- ence every day!” is the theme of this year’s Vernonia Christian Church Vaca- tion Bible School. The Vacation Bible School will be held June 20- Can You Dig It? 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., at the church, 410 North St. Join us on Main Street! is open to children in fourth through sixth grades. Register by calling Susan at 503-429- 0181, or online at vacation bibleschool.com/vernoniavbs . 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 S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH 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 OMMUNITY C HURCH Ralph Young, Pastor 957 State Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-6790 Sunday Bible Classes 9:00 a.m. Family Praise & Worship 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Prayer 6:30 p.m. Thursday Laadies Study 7:00 p.m. Nursery 10:15 a.m. Vernonia Community Preschool 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 C HRISTIAN C HURCH C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS 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) Various Home Group Meetings 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.
