by Guest | Mar 2, 2024 | Being Well, Featured, Move Well, Uncategorized
As spring approaches, a sense of excitement fills the air among local gardeners as they prepare to kickstart their seeds and condition their gardens for the upcoming abundance of fruit and vegetable starts. It’s also a great time to involve children in the excitement of planning and starting a gardening!
Being surrounded by the temptations of technology, encouraging kids to get outside and engage with nature can be a challenge. Gardening is a valuable tool to captivate their interest, offering a hands-on approach to exploring their outdoor world.
As kids dig into the soil, sow the seeds, and tend to the plants, they develop a sense of ownership and responsibility. The act of caring for the seeds instills the concept of delayed gratification, offering a reward that comes from consistently caring for something over time. In our fast-paced “microwave society,” it can be an advantage for our children to understand that things require time and patience to grow.
Let’s explore some entertaining and budget-friendly ways to introduce kids to the joy of gardening!
• Craft environmentally-friendly seed pots using recycled newspapers. This engaging activity not only prepares for planting but also serves as an excellent rainy day project.
• Utilize everyday items like recycled yogurt or cottage cheese containers, and even milk jugs that are cut in half. Remember to poke a few small holes in the bottom for proper drainage.
• Use eco-friendly items like eggshells, egg cartons, or orange peels as planting containers. These can be directly planted in the garden, where they will biodegrade.
• If space is limited, sow seeds directly into a large pot or bucket, creating a compact and manageable container garden. This is ideal for patios or areas with minimal space.
• Capture your child’s interest by aligning the garden with their passions. Consider a pizza garden with basil, oregano, tomatoes, and onions. Or create a fairy garden, allowing them to plant flowers or succulents and add them to the container with fun trinkets.
• Foster excitement by planting something that grows taller than your child. Dill, with its tall and frilly leaves, or classic sunflowers, make for excellent choices.
• Opt for fast-growing options like radishes, lettuce, and some bean varieties, providing a sense of accomplishment as your little ones get to harvest their crops in no time.
By adding in creative and budget-friendly ideas, you’re helping cultivate a love for gardening and sparking the imagination of the young green thumbs in your life!
For more information on starting and growing a garden, visit: https://foodhero.org/gardening
For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Mar 9, 2022 | Eat Well
Spring is just around the corner! You may be using this time to clean out last year’s garden beds, or to collect seeds for this summer’s harvest. But many of us lack the space or flexibility around our homes to enjoy the process of growing our own vegetables. This is where container gardening comes in – many plants can actually grow well in containers placed on a porch or patio, a method that also allows you to extend the growing season. You can start your garden indoors in the spring, move the containers outside during the summer, and then shift them back indoors in the fall to protect them from frost.
So how can you get started with a container garden? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Choosing a Container: It’s important that your containers have holes in the bottom so that water can drain out. Most vegetables will do best in containers that hold 2 to 5 gallons of soil and are at least 12 inches deep. You can use a variety of things as a container: barrels, flowerpots, milk jugs, bleach bottles, window boxes, baskets, tile pipes, cider blocks, etc.
- Adding Soil: It is recommended to use commercial potting soil for container gardening, but this may be too lightweight to provide adequate support for plant roots. You can try adding soil from the ground or compost to provide bulk and weight to your potting soil.
- Planting Your Seeds: Carefully clean out the container and fill it with your soil, leaving a ½ inch at the top with a slightly dampened soil. Plant your seeds and water gently, taking care not to wash out the seeds.
- Keeping Your Plants Healthy & Happy: Check your seed packets to see how much sun and space your plants need, and make sure to water your containers whenever the soil feels dry. Container plants tend to dry out and lose nutrients faster than plants in the ground so it is important to keep up with watering and fertilizer. Try using a water-soluble fertilizer every 2 to 3 weeks.
There are some vegetables that grow particularly well in containers. Oregon State University in partnership with their Food Hero program has collected a list of these vegetables, along with some growing tips:
- Beans and peas: Plant one sprouted seed or seedling in a 5-gallon container for best results. Provide a pole or trellis for pole beans and peas.
- Beets: Choose a container at least 12 inches deep.
- Carrots: Choose a shorter carrot variety and plant in a container at least 12 inches deep.
- Cucumbers and summer squash: For best results, choose a bush variety rather than a vine variety. A pole or trellis in the pot will help support the plant and allow air to flow around the leaves.
- Herbs: Many herbs grow well in containers, including basil, chives, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, sage and thyme.
- Peppers: All peppers like to have support, but it is especially important for varieties that produce large peppers. Use a stake or tomato cage to keep them upright
- Potatoes: Containers should be at least 18 inches wide and 3 feet deep to allow the most potatoes to grow. Look for varieties of certified seed potatoes that mature in 70 to 90 days.
- Radishes: Containers 4 to 6 inches deep work well for this cool-season vegetable that grows quickly.
- Salad greens: These cool-weather vegetables can be grown from spring to fall but may need shade during the heat of the summer. Cut the outside leaves when young and they will grow back for another harvest.
- Tomatoes: For best results, plant varieties designed for containers. They may have the word dwarf or patio in their name. Provide extra support with a stake or tomato cage.
It could end up feeling a little overwhelming to have dozens of pots on your front porch, but you might find that you enjoy having one or two vegetables in easily accessible containers. There’s a simple joy in being able to pick a few cherry tomatoes from your front porch the next time you’re putting together lunch.
Sources:
“Growing Your Own: A Practical Guide Gardening in Oregon” by Gail Langellotto, OSU Extension
“Growing Plants in Containers” by Food Hero and Oregon State University
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Jun 10, 2021 | Move Well
Gardening has become one of the most popular activities during the pandemic as people spent more time at home, embraced “grow your own” and enjoyed the win-win-win: fresh air and activity, fresh veggies, berries, fruits and beautiful landscape.
As a Master Gardener, friends and family make regular inquiries (texts with “what’s this plant/flower? Bug? What’s wrong with my plant?” etc. etc.) It’s one of the many joys of being a Master Gardener, helping folks have a positive experience. From year to year, a common question, “Is this a ‘normal’ year?” We all know that normal left the scene some time ago … especially this year, my answer is “no, this is not a normal growing year.” I was watering in APRIL! What?!? And, our garden was “in” by early May. During a “normal” year, we’d be lucky to have the ground dry out enough to plant by Memorial Day. That’s right – planting by Memorial Day, early June is the usual …
The best tips I can provide this year would focus on WATERING, and make plans to make your landscape and gardens “water-friendly.” Consider xeriscaping (low/no water) and native plants are also the best option, but even native plants are going to need supplemental water this year. If you have “new” (planted within the last three to five years) landscape trees, bushes and plants, be sure to regularly water them. New residents (and even long time residents) don’t realize that it can take several years for plants and trees to become established, so during the dry season – yes, we have a dry season on the Oregon Coast, supplemental water is a must.
This is an excellent resource with timely advice on garden chores, fertilizing, pest control, and more from OSU Extension. When in doubt, contact the Tillamook OSU Extension Office for information from local Master Gardeners, https://extension.oregonstate.edu/tillamook
OSU Extension – June Garden Calendar
Oregon State University Extension Service encourages sustainable gardening practices.
Practice preventive pest management rather than reactive pest control. Identify and monitor problems before acting, and opt for the least toxic approach. Conserve biological control agents such as predators and the parasitoids that feed on insect pests.
Maintenance and cleanup
- Prune lilacs, forsythia, rhododendrons and azaleas after bloom.
- Fertilize vegetable garden one month after plants emerge by applying a side dressing alongside rows.
- Harvest thinnings from new plantings of lettuce, onion and chard.
- Pick ripe strawberries regularly to avoid fruit-rotting diseases.
- Use organic mulches to conserve soil moisture in ornamental beds. An inch or two of sawdust, bark dust or composted leaves will minimize loss of water through evaporation.
- After normal fruit drop of apples, pears and peaches in June, consider thinning the remainder to produce a crop of larger fruit.
- Make sure raised beds receive enough water for plants to avoid drought stress.
- Mid-June: If green lawns are being maintained through the summer, apply 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet to lawns.
- If you want a green lawn, water frequently during periods of heat and drought stress. Irrigate 0.25 inches four to six times per week from June through August. Measure your water use by placing an empty tuna can where your irrigation water lands.
Planting and propagation
- Plant dahlias and gladioli.
Pest monitoring and management
Use chemical controls only when necessary and only after thoroughly reading the pesticide label. First consider cultural, then physical and biological controls. Choose the least-toxic options, and use them judiciously. Some examples include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, botanical insecticides, and organic and synthetic pesticides.
- First week: Spray cherry trees for cherry fruit fly, as necessary, if fruit is ripening.
- First week: Spray for codling moth in apple and pear trees, as necessary. Continue use of pheromone traps for insect pest detection.
- Learn to identify beneficial insects and plant some insectary plants, — such as alyssum, Phacelia, coriander, candytuft, sunflower, yarrow and dill — to attract them to your garden. Check with local nurseries for best selections. For more information, see Encouraging Beneficial Insects in Your Garden.
- Blossoms on squash and cucumbers begin to drop; this is nothing to worry about. Cherries may also drop fruit; this is not a major concern.
- Monitor azaleas, primroses and other broadleaf ornamentals for adult root weevils. Look for fresh evidence of feeding (notching at leaf edges). Try sticky trap products on plant trunks to trap adult weevils. Protect against damaging the bark by applying the sticky material on a 4-inch wide band of poly sheeting or burlap wrapped around the trunk. Mark plants now and manage root weevils with beneficial nematodes when soil temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If root weevils are a consistent problem, consider removing plants and choosing resistant varieties.
- Control garden weeds by pulling, hoeing or mulching.
- Control aphids on vegetables as needed by hosing off with water or by using insecticidal soap or a registered insecticide.
- Watch for 12-spotted beetles on beans, cucumbers and squash and cabbage worms or flea beetles in cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts). Remove the pests by hand or treat with registered pesticides.
- Birch trees dripping a sticky fluid from their leaves means that aphids are present. Control as needed.
- Use yellow sticky traps to monitor for cherry fruit fly. About 1 week after the first fly is caught, spray cherries at appropriate intervals.
- Last week: Second spray for codling moth in apple and pear trees, as necessary.
- Continue monitoring blueberry, strawberry, cherry and other plants that produce soft fruits and berries for spotted wing drosophila. If these pests are present, use an integrated and least toxic approach to manage the pests. To learn how to monitor and manage spotted wing drosophila.
Trade-name products and services are mentioned as illustrations only. This does not mean that the Oregon State University Extension Service endorses these products and services or intends to discriminate against products and services not mentioned.
Monthly Garden Calendars
AUTHOR: Laura Swanson, Master Gardener since 2004
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
by Guest | Sep 3, 2020 | Move Well
Gardening is a way to take direct control of your access to fresh foods — you are able to provide for yourself, your family, and your neighbors. And you’re also able to make decisions about what it is that you want to eat, and let’s face it, homegrown foods just taste better! My garden has provided even more respite this year. The “chore” of watering is my zen time.
Gardening feeds more than your stomach, it nurtures and fulfills the soul. Growing something is such a wonderful recreational and therapeutic activity for many folks across generations to take part in. According to OSU Master Gardeners there has been a nearly 1,000% increase in questions and class participation in gardening this year in Oregon.
If you are interested in preserving any of your bounty, you might have also encountered a “shortage” of canning jars and supplies. Don’t worry! There are other ways to preserve your veggies and fruit. Consider drying and/or freezing – OSU Extension has several great publications available, including Freezing Fruits & Vegetables and Drying Fruits & Vegetables.
Freezing and drying work well when you just have a few servings to preserve, and especially if your family will be eating it within the next year. While you are harvesting and storing the bounty, remember that we can garden almost year-round here on the temperate (most of the time) Oregon Coast. And there are tips and ideas for “extending the season” – such as cloches and raised beds, the best varieties to grow and now’s the time.
Extend vegetable crop through fall and winter by planting now
You can plant vegetables in late summer/early fall after you harvest crops and as space is available; and in many years you can have a year-round garden. Some of the best vegetables are produced during the warm days and cold nights of fall. Light frost adds sugar to sweet corn and crispness to carrots. Parsnips, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts and Jerusalem artichokes also improve with a touch of frost.
Certain vegetables are better suited to Fall and Winter harvest than others. A complete list of recommended varieties and how to grow them can be found in the eight-page guide Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest.
A key to successful fall or winter gardening is location of your garden. Choose the warmest spot you have that is not prone to early frost, avoid the bottom of a hill or an area with lots of bushes and trees. A south-facing slope is best for winter sun. Be sure to restore nutrients removed by spring and summer crops with a light layer of compost or aged manure or a small application of fertilizer. Do not over-fertilize with nitrogen.
During the rainy season, good well-drained soils are essential. Raised beds are best and amend it with organic matter such as compost.
Timely planting is another key to success. Crops need time to become well-established before cold weather and short days curtail growth, but if you plant too early, the young plants can wilt in the heat or mature too soon. Choose the fastest-maturing varieties and pay attention to the average date of the first killing frost in our area, which can vary from mid-October to late November, depending on location. Near the beaches, there might not even be a frost, while up our river valleys there can be several hard frosts in October. Again, raised beds and containers, location, location, location, with cloches or row covers, and you can grow year-round. You can give seeds a head-start in containers or a nursery bed, or buy starts from a garden center.
Brassicas or cole crops such as – brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages, will overwinter and continue to produce well into November or December.
Early fall is the time to plant garlic for harvest in late spring next year.
Plant shallots or onions to overwinter and for early crops.
Leafy greens, lettuce, spinach and kale are all “winter regulars” in my deck planters. We really enjoy “microgreens” planted right outside our kitchen to add crunch to sandwiches and salads. We re-grow and re-plant these; another popular microgreen are pea-shoots.
Select your favorite herbs (most are perennials) and plant in containers near your kitchen to be able to add freshness to dishes year-round. Some easy to grow favorites are oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary.
A crop that fails one year because of an unusually early freeze or abnormally cold winter may thrive in a milder year. Be willing to experiment, and don’t give up if your results are less than stellar. Every year is a learning experience – this year it was the chipmunks that kept eating our lettuce seeds (sometimes before they sprouted). Replanting ensued and covers added to prevent critter invasions, and viola! Lettuce rejoice!
For answers to your gardening questions, Tillamook County Master Gardeners are available via phone at 503-842-3433 or email tillamookmastergardener@gmail.com.
The Tillamook County Pioneer has teamed up with Tillamook County Master Gardeners to provide virtual garden tours in 2020. The links for the virtual tours can be found here and here (with more to come).
AUTHOR: Laura Swanson, Master Gardener (Class of 2004)
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
