The Brambles Curry County Master Gardeners

PO Box 107,

Gold Beach, OR 97444

541-698-0300 or 1-800-356-3986

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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First of all, our best to those who

are threatened by the current fire

conditions.

You are in our thoughts and

prayers.

“Rambles from MG Central”…or…”What really happens at those state hort working group meetings?” OR, “What the heck is a hort working group anyway?”

As some of you may know, I just made the crazy one + day Corvallis visit in mid-August with the point of working with my colleagues to help us all move forward in new, old, and positive ways. So, because I want you to be ‘in the know’, some ideas that evolved:

*plan plant problem walks as ways to help public deal with and to become better acquainted with common plant issues (If these were regarding tree problems, we might be able to work with the non-profit, “OR Community Trees”.).

*possible volunteer hours thru ‘what works or doesn’t’ (e.g. growing various crops or how effective is weed barrier in keeping grass out of a raised bed or wire mesh for keeping gophers out) in our school or community gardens? The suggestion of this being moderated by a mentor was made…this could be a creative way of earning education volunteer hours.

*to get trainees moving toward more comfort in public speaking and education, have them make 5 minute talks on a topic in small groups as part of our yearly MG training.

*Lincoln Co., our neighbor to the north had an entire “MG Week” proclamation created thru the county commissioners with a different event each day of the week (This just occurred there.).

*There was much talk of creating a ‘flipped classroom’, a way to present a topic with online training in the morning and practical exercises the 2nd half of the day. There was also more emphasis on hands-on learning and much discussion of what that might look like. There will be many exercises shared in ‘BOX’, our state-wide resource repository. We are also to be part of a ‘working plan’ and this is the area that I thought would be most useful to be involved.

We also discussed:

*online resources available including the new guidelines about becoming a Master Gardener and its upcoming availability as an online module (which I plan on using snippets of for our 2018 training).

*the importance of using demo gardens for educational purposes—not just for the placing of educational signage

*should we offer our same MG training to landscapers at a higher rate (same time as usual course)?

Finally, there is the ongoing development of the “SolvePestProblems.org” website that seems like it would be a GREAT and very usable (esp. as an app) website that I would encourage you to explore more and to possibly support. The main issue is that there is so much involved in this coming to fruition. IF you might have any feedback, please provide that thru ‘show your support’ or ‘development plan’ tabs on this site. Wes Miller has achieved a huge $$$ amount of financial support in helping this site get legs and really needs our help!

FINALLY (ONE MORE TIME), don’t forget the Plant ID class on Saturday, Sept 9 _ you may register at:

h t t p : / / b i t . l y / C u r r y P l a n t I D W k s h p

~Scott Thiemann

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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ANNUAL PLANT SALE

Carol Hobbs, 541-251-2422, Mailhobbs@yahoo.com Questions? Give me a call or text

We are off to a great start for the May 2018 Annual Plant Sale. We currently have over 100 different plants that we have made cuttings of in the last month. About 1/3 of these plant varieties will be new to our offering this coming spring. Photo below is one of our trays of cuttings.

In addition, we will be able to offer more mature plants in gallon / large pots next year. We have been fertilizing and watering many varieties of shrubs and plants to achieve more income.

Succulents are also being propagated. Terry Olin's greenhouse is a busy spot as is the high school greenhouse. Below is a picture of succulent leaves, just the beginning of a new plant.

We continue to meet every Tuesday afternoon. Anyone interested in helping out or just checking out what we are doing, is invited to stop by GBHS greenhouse. If you have a plant(s) that you think would be good to propagate for the sale, please let me know.

Thank you, Carol Hobbs

RILEY CREEK GARDEN ~ Mary Jacobs

Summer is winding down. Our pumpkins are turning orange. Cherry tomatoes are abundant and beans are prolific. Thanks to having the garden on the MG tour and Debbie Richter’s diligence, the greenhouse is clean and organized. And thanks to Jeff Richter for keeping the grass cut.

We managed to have enough lettuce to have a constant supply to the cafeteria as long as the summer lunch program lasted. We also brought them potatoes, cucumbers, peas, and strawberries.

School starts early this year—the 28th of August. Alison, from last year’s master gardening program, will be this year’s food corps volunteer. Cathy Boden, Alison, and I have met to discuss garden plans and times. We will bring kids out for garden tours and produce tastings on the first week of September. We will also try to have the kindergarten kids harvest potatoes during that time.

Alison will be working with the fifth grade class throughout the year. I will be coordinating MG volunteers to assist her with outdoor projects with the fifth grade.

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain so yellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a young and a callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow--follow, oh-oh."

Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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Flynn Thomas's crazy critters

Loading fair entries in Deb Richter's truck

Woofers, Alexxis and Sean helping with fair entries

Curry County Master Gardeners' Association

Membership Meeting Minutes No August 2017 meeting was held; next meeting will be Wednesday, September 20 at 10 am, SWOCC, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Brookings, Meeting room at the front of building, on far right side

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Contact Pam Leslie, find us on Facebook: Curry County Master Gardeners-OSU Extension THE BRAMBLES NEWSLETTER, EDITOR, Cathe Barter @

umpqua.bart@gmail.com; emailed to active members and on

www: http/extension.oregonstate.edu.curry

BOARD MEETINGS monthly 3rd Wednesday ,10 am to noon {No Meetings in August or December}

We alternate cities, as listed here: SWOCC (Brookings) January, March, May, July, September, November 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Meeting room far right side in front of building

OSU Extension (Gold Beach) February, April, June, October; 2930 Ellensburg Avenue, meeting room

Visit these sites to volunteer:

GOLD BEACH HIGH SCHOOL GREENHOUSE 29316 Ellensburg (back of school); *Annual Plant Sale Project* spoken here Contact Carol Hobbs, 541-251-2422

RILEY CREEK GARDEN 94350 6th Street, Gold Beach

Contact Mary Jacobs at 541-698-7703 jacomary@gmail.com

ABC PRESCHOOL 543 Hemlock St, Brookings Contact Barb Carey barbcary15696@gmail.com

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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GIVE BEES A CHANCE BY KNOWING THEIR NEEDS

By Kym Pokorny Source: Andy Melathopoulos CORVALLIS, Ore. –Melathopoulos is out to bust some myths about the 500 species of bees living in Oregon, most notably that most don’t sting.

“I’ve been covered in 30,000 honey bees and didn’t get stung and I’m nobody special,” said Melathopoulos, a bee expert with Oregon State University Extension Service. “The key message is that most bees don’t sting.”

Honey bees do, but only if their hive is disturbed or they’re approached aggressively. Of course, people with allergies should rightly be concerned and stay away from hives.

Wasps and yellow jackets, which sting without provocation, can be controlled with a variety of traps available at garden centers and home supply stores. The most effective traps use a synthetic attractant to lure yellow jackets into a trap. Fruit juice or meat can be used as attractants as well.

But there are hundreds of native bees that live in the ground and aren’t even recognized as bees. These solitary insects come out to pollinate and return to their nests so quickly most people never see them.

“There are a lot of bees in the city that are solitary,” Melathopoulos said. “They have radically different lifestyles than honey bees. I’m struck by people who want to save the bees who don’t know this. They’ll see an insect that looks like a fly and not realize it needs your help, too.”

Melathopoulos calls out bumble bees – one of the largest-sized bees in the country – as a group to be concerned about. Not as much research has been done compared to honey bees, but there is evidence of decline of some species, and one bumblebee in the Midwest has been relegated to the endangered list.

“We have about 500 species of bees in Oregon and we know that, of 30 or so bumble bee species, a handful are experiencing declines,” he said. “But that may just be the tip of the iceberg since we have even poorer information on the remaining 470 or so species.”

There’s good news, though. Home gardeners, whether they know it or not, provide pollen and nectar for pollinators simply by planting a mixture of flowering plants. In fact, it’s been shown that cities provide better forage than bordering agricultural land that tends to be planted in large, one-crop fields that may attract only one or a few types of bees.

“If you have diversity as in many cities,” Melathopoulos said, “there’s an opportunity to feed many mouths. You lay out a smorgasbord for everyone. So, the more things you plant, the better.”

There are three general principals to attracting bees to the garden.

Choose plants attractive to bees. Walk through the neighborhood to see what they’re visiting. Many nurseries have areas where they display pollinator-friendly plants. Check the many lists available, including this one by OSU Extension, and this one by the Xerces Society, as well as in newspaper and magazine articles. Keep in mind, not all flowers provide food for bees. Some plants have been bred that don’t provide nectar or pollen. The rule of thumb is that natives tend to be better sources, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t exotic plants that offer food, also. Rosemary or cherry laurel, both bee magnets, are good examples.

Plant in swaths. Planting something is better than nothing, but you’ll notice that a single plant rarely has pollinators visiting. “Bees are economical,” Melathopoulos said. “They want to go to a big box store. No mom-and-pop stores for them.”

Have plants that bloom at different times of year. In spring in the Willamette Valley, there’s a big burst of cherries, maples, Oregon grape and then ceanothus and lupine come on, but after that there are gaps. Pay attention and fill in those lulls with flowers.

Even if all you do is plant a patch of pollinator plants, you’re giving a hand to the honey bees and native bees living in your neighborhood. And, as Melathopoulos points out: “A lot of people want a different aesthetic,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with planting plants that don’t attract bees if you have a good percentage of bee-attractive plants in among them. That can be a stunning success.

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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TIPS AND TRICKS TO SAVE WATER DURING A HOT SUMMER

By Kym Pokorny, Source: Amy Jo Detweiler - CORVALLIS, Ore. – As the heat ratchets up so does water use, costing homeowners money and doing no favors for the environment.

Homeowners can learn to save water and money, however, with help from Oregon WaterWise Gardening, a statewide program of the Oregon State University Extension Service. Its website includes profiles of water-efficient plants.

Amy Jo Detweiler, a horticulturist with OSU Extension, compiled the following tips to help you conserve water and save on summer water bills:

1. When you're selecting new plants, look for plants that use less water such as native globe mallow, black-eyed Susan, sedums, blanket flower, lavender and coneflower. Once established, these plants require minimal irrigation. Group plants together based on their water use for maximum water conservation.

2. If you like colorful bedding annuals such as zinnias, marigolds, impatiens and petunias, consider putting them in pots or hanging baskets where you can provide water directly, rather than watering the entire garden.

3. Closely manage your watering. Hand watering and automatic irrigation can be adequate if you are an efficient water manager. Monitor how much water is used and adjust it throughout the season for warmer and cooler periods. Water in morning or late evening to mitigate evaporation.

4. If using automatic irrigation, consider drip emitters in clay type soils and microsprays in sandy soils. Be sure to provide adequate moisture to the entire root zone of the plant.

5. Soaker hoses are an alternative. Hook them to an automatic timer so you don’t forget to turn off the water. This works for vegetable and ornamental gardens.

6. In western Oregon you can let your lawn go dormant for the summer. It will green up when winter rains begin.

7. In central and eastern Oregon, select more drought-resistant types of turf grass such as tall fescue or blended mixes and place turf only where needed. You will need to continue watering throughout the summer to prevent your lawn from dying.

8. You can find profiles and pictures of water-efficient plants for Oregon's high desert in a 56-page publication authored by Detweiler, much of which is relevant in other areas of Oregon. Also available are Conserving Water in the Garden, and three infographics: Keys to Water-efficient Landscapes, It Pays to Water Wisely and Landscape Maintenance to Conserve Water.

9. For all of your landscape plants, encourage deep rooted plants by watering deeper less often. You can look for clues to water stress, such as slight wilting or a dull, transparent look of the leaves and adjust your watering accordingly.

10. When you plant new shrubs and trees, provide a long soak from a hose to saturate the soil deeply in the immediate area. You should repeat this process several times, especially during dry periods, to give your new shrubs and trees the resources to grow strong and deep roots that will require less water in the future.

September 2017 ~ The Brambles

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SEPTEMBER GARDEN TIPS

Maintenance and Clean Up

Harvest winter squash when the "ground spot" changes from white to a cream or gold color.

Pick and store winter squash; mulch carrot, parsnip, and beets for winter harvesting.

Protect tomatoes and/or pick green tomatoes and ripen indoors if frost threatens.

Reduce water on trees, shrubs, and vines east of Cascades to harden them for winter.

Stake tall flowers to keep them from blowing over in fall winds.

Dig, clean, and store tuberous begonias if frost threatens.

Harvest potatoes when the tops die down. Store them in a dark location.

Optimal time for establishing a new lawn is August through mid-September.

Aerate lawns.

Early-September: Apply 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet to lawns. Reduce risks of run-off into local waterways by not fertilizing just prior to rain, and not over-irrigating so that water runs off of lawn and onto sidewalk or street.

Willamette Valley: Stop irrigating your lawn after Labor Day to suppress European crane fly populations.

Recycle disease-free plant material and kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps into compost. Don't compost diseased plants unless you are using the "hot compost" method (120 degrees to 150 degrees F.

Planting/Propagation

Divide peonies and iris.

Plant or transplant woody ornamentals and mature herbaceous perennials. Fall planting of trees, shrubs and perennials can encourage healthy root growth over the winter.

Plant daffodils, tulips, and crocus for spring bloom. Work calcium and phosphorus into the soil below the bulbs at planting time. Remember when purchasing bulbs, the size of the bulb is directly correlated to the size of the flower yet to come in spring.

Western Oregon: Plant winter cover of annual rye or winter peas in vegetable garden.

Pest Monitoring and Management

Apply parasitic nematodes to moist soil beneath rhododendrons and azaleas that show root weevil damage (notched leaves).

Control slugs as necessary. Least toxic management options for slugs include barriers and traps. Baits are also available for slug control; use caution around pets. Read and follow all label directions prior to using baits, or any other chemical control.

Monitor trailing berries for leaf and cane spot. Treat if necessary.

As necessary, apply copper spray for peach and cherry trees.

Spray for juniper twig blight, as necessary, after pruning away dead and infected twigs.

Continue monitoring late-season soft fruits and berries for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD). If SWD are present, use an integrated and least toxic approach to manage the pests. Learn how to monitor for SWD flies and larval infestations in fruit.

Coastal and Western Valleys: Spray susceptible varieties of potatoes and tomatoes for early and late blight.

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FROM ‘THE WEEK’ MAGAZINE - Will someone take the credit for the submission? …Carol Hobbs did not come across this an online:

Best apps for gardening:

*GrowSquared is a planning tool that lets you set the dimensions of a virtual garden bed, then drag and drop different plants into it. The app also helps with scheduling planting and harvesting. (Free, iOS only

*Garden Plan Pro is another garden design app, and it "does a little bit of everything." One useful feature: lessons on how to rotate crops. ($8, iOS only)

*GrowIt! offers information on thousands of species. There's also a social-networking aspect, letting you show off your garden and rate others'. (Free, iOS and Android)

*Landscaper's Companion resembles a coffee table book, with 21,000 pictures of trees, shrubs, perennials, and more. Its library of information offers more than you'll ever need. ($10, iPad)

Source: PasteMagazine.com, The Week

SAND, SILT OR CLAY? TEXTURE SAYS A LOT ABOUT SOIL

By Kym Pokorny; Source: James Cassidy CORVALLIS, Ore. – It’s a simple equation: If you want to grow better plants, you first need to understand the soil.

"The texture of a soil is its proportion of sand, silt and clay," said James Cassidy, a soils instructor at Oregon State University. “Texture determines all kinds of things like drainage, aeration, the amount of water the soil can hold, erosion potential and even the amount of nutrients that can be stored.”

To become better acquainted with your soil texture, he recommends using the "hand method." Dig beneath the top layer of organic matter down to the mineral soil, about 6 to 8 inches depending on how much mulch you use. Scoop out a handful of moist soil and knead it into a ball. Add water if necessary. If it can be worked into a ribbon, you have high clay content. The clay content is roughly equivalent to the length to which you can work the ribbon. Each inch of ribbon is the equivalent to less than 10 percent of clay.

If you have a four-inch ribbon, the soil could be comprised of up to 40 percent clay. After wetting it excessively, if the soil feels gritty in the palm of your hand, you have sandy soil. The silt content is left.

When people rave about "nice loam," it's the soil texture to which they are referring, Cassidy said. "Loam means you have roughly equal portions of sand, silt and clay," he said. "If you have sandy loam, it has a little more sand in it. Silt loam has a little more silt in it. Clay loam has more clay in it."

Soil needs to be able to hold some water, but plant roots need to breathe. A loam achieves that balance.

Clay gets a bad rap because too much of it means it holds lots of water and so the soil stays wetter, colder and is difficult to work. But don't be so quick to judge clay harshly.

"In defense of clay, clay is where the nutrients in soil are stored," Cassidy said. "Sand and silt don't store nutrients; they're just rocks."

Many Willamette Valley gardeners, though, must overcome the annual challenge of soils that are high with clay.

"The answer is to add organic matter," Cassidy said.

A key way to do this is to plant cover crops from mid-August to mid-September. Plant a mix of grasses such as annual rye grass or winter wheat and legumes such as Austrian field peas or fava beans. Cut cover crops down before they go to seed in the springtime, just as they start to flower. Let the remnants rot back into the ground, and later incorporate it back into the soil.

When preparing your plot for the first time, till it lightly with a garden fork. Cassidy advises against using rototillers in a garden. Rototilling can break up large pores in the soil structure, which are key to water infiltration and drainage.

"Think minimum tillage," he said. "If the soil is a little lumpy-bumpy, just spread a layer of high quality compost over it and it will be fine."

But if tilling seems to be the only option then do it when the soil is ready, not when it is convenient for you, Cassidy advised. Wait until the soil has the right amount of moisture. If you squeeze a handful of soil and it's too hard to break, it's too dry to till. If it ruptures in the hand when squeezed, it's good to till.

Add organic matter every year and in about five years, you will build up healthy soil with improved drainage – even with a clay heavy soil.

"There are literally a billion microorganisms in a single pinch of soil and they all need to eat," said Cassidy, who teaches in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences. "They don't photosynthesize like plants do, but they need energy and that comes from organic matter. They consume energy best in well-drained soils with organic matter."

w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / O S U E x t C u r r y M G

Curry County Master Gardeners Association meetings September 20 at 10 am at SWOCC, 96082 Lone Ranch Pkwy, Brookings

October 18 at 10 am in Gold Beach

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 ~ T h e B r a m b l e s

Have you seen the Curry County Master Gardeners website? Extension.oregonstate.edu/curry/mg The Brambles is usually posted there by the second of the month.

The last Monday of the month is the cut-off date for submitting articles for the Brambles. Email them to Cathe Barter umpqua.bart@gmail.com

This is your newsletter, if you have something to share please send it in. We will make every effort to include it.

Thanks to all of you who generously contributed to this edition of the Brambles. All submissions are gladly considered.

CCMGA Officers President …………. Pam Leslie

Vice President……… Vacant

Secretary……………. Lana Larsen

Treasurer……………. Janet Janowicz

State Rep……………. Debbie Carroll

Newsletter Editor…... Cathe Barter

Historian……………. Cathe Barter

Past President………. Debbie Carroll

OSU Program Asst… Scott Thiemann 1- 800-356-3986

To contact officers, leave a message at the Extension

office 1-800-356-3986

Curry County Master Gardeners Association PO Box 107

Gold Beach, OR 97444

Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State University

Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.