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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.