Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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In spring garden centers stock a tempting variety of brightly colored tuberous begonias that are hard to resist. Gardeners have a tremendous choice of flower color in shades of orange, pink, yellow, white, and bi-colored. But these lush plants don’t grow over winter and must be protected. The tubers can be saved and planted again the next spring for another year of showy color. The tuberous begonias should not be confused with the low-growing wax begonias often called annual bedding begonias tha...
Reaching for a pesticide – even an organic one – should be a thoughtful act. Nothing used to kill pests is risk-free. First, decide if you need pesticides at all by practicing Integrated Pest Management or IPM, said Kaci Buhl, Statewide Pesticide Safety Education Program coordinator for Oregon State University Extension Service. Buhl defines IPM as a way of thinking about pest management that values: * Using knowledge about the pest’s habits, life cycle, needs and dislikes; * Using the least...
Lawns languish in the heat of summer unless showered with the water they require to thrive. But not to worry, the grass isn’t dead. Come fall when the rains start again, grass greens up quickly, said Alec Kowalewski, turf specialist for Oregon State University’s Extension Service. While letting your lawn go dormant in summer isn’t a bad thing — especially with concern about water shortages — lack of irrigation does allow weeds to gain a foothold, he said. And regular wear and tear can cause com...
Anticipation of ripe pears and apples peaks in fall as fruits hang heavily from branches and begin their gravity-aided trip to the ground. But how do you know when it’s prime picking time? According to Steve Castagnoli, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service, the signs are different for apples and pears. “It’s much easier to recognize ripeness in apples,” he said. “Pears typically won’t ripen to eating quality on the tree so you can’t go out and taste one.” Still, th...
While the practice of no-till gardening is not new, information has traditionally centered on agricultural field crops. Now, home gardeners are catching on. “The concept of no-till has been around for a couple of decades, but research has been very focused on field crops like wheat and corn, things largely grown in the Midwest,” said Erica Chernoh, Oregon State University Extension Service horticulturist. “There’s not much on vegetable production or fruit. There’s a lot to learn, and research...
For most gardeners it’s been a normal or above-average year for the country’s most popular vegetable. “It was a fairly decent season for tomatoes,” said Brooke Edmunds, horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “We got warm enough and didn’t have any early cold spells. If you were irrigating, you probably had a pretty good year.” Some things – like weather – you can’t control. Tomatoes, which are actually a fruit, thrive at ambient temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees and...
Controlling pests outdoors is a common summer activity for gardeners, but it’s also important to know how to safely and effectively protect against an insect that feeds indoors and can ruin clothing. Mothballs, one of the most common methods to control clothes moths, need to be recognized as a pesticide that can be harmful to humans or animals when misused, according to Tim Stock, Extension integrated pest management education specialist and director of the OSU Extension School IPM Program. ...
The Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener Program and the nonprofit Oregon Master Gardener Association have recognized five Oregon gardeners with statewide awards that reflect their dedication and commitment to the practice. Lynn Kunstman of Jackson County and Marilyn Berti of Washington County shared the 2023 Statewide Master Gardener of the Year award. Dennis Brown of Multnomah County was honored with the inaugural Growing and Belonging Award. The statewide Behind the Scenes...
In the year since the emerald ash bud borer was detected in Oregon, questions have been pouring in about what to do if an ash tree becomes infested. Currently, the emerald ash borer has been found in trees only in Washington County, where a quarantine prohibits moving ash (Fraxinus) or fringe tree (Chionanthus) wood in or out of the area. Dave Shaw, a forest health specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, encourages homeowners to not take down their ash trees before they ar...
Drawing a line around the house with fire-resistant landscapes can mean the difference between a home consumed by flames and one left standing. “Fire specialists often show pictures of houses where people took adequate precautions,” said Brad Withrow-Robinson, a forester with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “I’ve seen lots of photos of land charred all around and a house left standing in the middle because the owners created a fire-resistant space next to it. Not always, but often...
Reality can get skewed when there are so many sources of information - books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and, most of all, the internet and social media open up lots of room for contradiction. So, how do you find the right answer to gardening questions? Experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions. For additional questions, call the OSU Extension master...
The most consumed drink in the world has more benefits than just keeping us awake. Spent coffee grounds can be used as a soil amendment and compost ingredient, while liquid coffee acts as an effective slug killer. According to various sources, between 400 billion to 1 trillion cups of coffee are consumed around the world every year. No matter the number, that’s a lot of coffee, which means a lot of spent coffee grounds. Using coffee grounds in the garden keeps them out of the waste stream and g...
Summer has arrived and so have the weeds to take over our gardens and make us tear our hair out in frustration. Ed Peachey, Oregon State University Extension Service weed specialist, can relate. He sees weeds everywhere and has plenty of advice to share. The first line of defense is identification. “If you don’t know what you have, you don’t know what to do,” he said. “Each species has unique characteristics and vary in how they are controlled.” Even those who subscribe to the philosophy...
As water runs down roofs, over driveways and patios, and off other impervious surfaces, it might pick up pollutants as it flows directly into streams, wetlands, lakes, and groundwater aquifers. Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces has been routed directly to streams through stormwater pipes and ditches with little infiltration or treatment, according to Derek Godwin, Oregon State University Extension Service water management and conservation specialist. That’s because municipalities f...
Gardening is one of the more therapeutic things a person can do – emotionally, mentally, and physically – but for some, it seems out of reach. Good design and practices can make gardening accessible for everyone. “We all have challenges if we live long enough,” said Corinne Thomas-Kersting, a retired speech-language pathologist and nine-year Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener. “We have different challenges. Even when you’re young and healthy there are things to do to pr...
With a swish of his cape, Count Dracula ruined the reputation of bats forevermore. Maybe. In the 125 years since Dracula came on the scene and spooked us into believing bats are bad, we’re beginning to get a grasp on the truth: Their voracious appetite for insects turns them into a living pesticide that saves farmers billions of dollars a year and helps rid our backyards of insects like mosquitoes, moths, grasshoppers, flies, and beetles. Some species are critically important pollinators for c...
David Coon is on a mission. Not exactly a Mission Impossible save-the-world mission; more of a quest. He’s out to educate others about the potential for unusual vegetables in the garden and the kitchen. Coon, an Oregon State University Extension Service master gardener, knew he was on to something when he’d be stopped in the grocery store by shoppers fascinated by the produce he was sending through the check stand. “For instance, a few years ago when I could finally find fennel in the store...
In 2011 Jim Myers did something no one had done before. The Oregon State University vegetable breeder released the first purple tomato containing the same healthy compound found in blueberries. The Indigo Rose tomato, which took Myers, a professor in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences, and his team 10 years to develop, took the market – and other breeders – by storm. People liked the tomato’s novelty but the benefits from the anthocyanins in the skin were the draw. Interest in antho...
Ezequiel Lopez-Reyes will never forget the taste of fresh fruit and vegetables brought straight from his father’s farm field when he was a child in Mexico. In honor of that memory, he established a plot of his own in Oregon. Lopez-Reyes, Oregon State University Extension Service Open Campus and Juntos student success coordinator, has been growing his home garden for five years. It’s full of peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, epazote and cilantro. He grows so many pepper plants, they often overflow i...
Weeks of cold temperatures and rain have unsettled the gardening season. You may be raring to get your garden – but hold. Sowing seeds or planting seedlings at the wrong time will bring nothing but heartache. “One of the biggest mistakes people make is to plant too early,” said Weston Miller, a former horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. “They get excited when it’s sunny for a few days, put plants in the ground, and think they will grow. But the seeds either ro...
The expansive lawns in Europe and the invention of golf in the late 1900s launched America's obsession with a perfect plot of grass. The invention of the rotary mower and the development of climate-adapted grass varieties made a landscape of turfgrass more accessible for homeowners. As time went by, homeowners relegated the vegetables and herbs typically grown in the front of the house to the backyard, and monocultures of grass were installed in the front. A healthy green lawn - the bigger the...
Learning to recognize 400,000 species of plants is more than daunting; it’s impossible. But making a start by learning how to identify family characteristics can help you manage a healthier garden. “It’s important for gardeners to be aware of how to ID plants,” said Karen Pleasant, Oregon State University Extension Service master gardener coordinator in Josephine County. “It will tell you what the correct cultural needs are, and what kind of problems they may have. Knowing which plants yo...
Gardeners hear it often enough: right plant, right place. It’s a fundamental rule of gardening, said Heather Stoven, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service, and one that applies to houseplants just as much as outdoor ones. “Make sure you buy for location,” she said. “That will help solve many problems that can come down the road.” Plants can go downhill in a hurry when placed in unsuitable sites. Environmental stress sets a plant up for aggravation from pests and disease...
If conifer tree planting is on your late winter or early spring to-do list, there are some things you can do to improve your success. When it comes to planting conifers, timing is everything, according to John Punches, Oregon State University Extension Service forester and associate professor in the OSU College of Forestry. Punches recommends planting when the upper 10 inches of soil is moist, the soil is not frozen more than a half-inch deep, the snow cover is less than two inches and the air...
The calendar doesn’t say spring, but gardeners are ready to go. Turning vegetable seeds into plants helps satisfy the urge to put your hands in the soil. It’s best to seed cool-season crops such as lettuce, cabbage, kale, and broccoli in flats in late February to early March in western Oregon, said Weston Miller, a horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. Warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant should be sown in late March to early April. Eastern Ore...
