Events:
April 27 The Columbia County Master Gardeners™ Spring Fair will be Saturday, April 27 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. There will 3,000+ tomato plants, 700+ pepper plants, and garden related items from other vendors including Means Nursery! It will be at the Fairgrounds again this year.
May 2 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. Master Beekeeper Charlie VanDenHeuvel will be the speaker He will be talking about the blackberry nectar flow and late Spring bee-keeping management. All are welcome to attend. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the zoom link or you are welcome to attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens.
How to use organic nitrogen fertilizers
Many gardeners prefer to use organic fertilizer in their vegetable garden. This will work but, depending on the fertilizer you have, may require much more fertilizer applied to give your vegetable plants what they need. This is mainly an issue with nitrogen (N) which is in most fertilizers. Almost all the nitrogen still in the soil in the fall has been washed away by the time spring rolls around. The only other element this is true for is sulfur. Raised beds are even more prone to this winter nitrogen/sulfur loss.
You will need about 4 pounds of “actual” nitrogen per 1000 square feet. That said, some crops like corn, cabbage family plants, onions, and other “root” crops are very heavy feeders while green beans and tomatoes need about half the N as the other crops.
The first number on the fertilizer bag (with organic or non-organic fertilizer types) is the percent “actual” nitrogen in the bag. If the first number is 16, there is 16% or .16 x 10 = 1.6 pounds of N in a ten-pound bag. Two common organic sources for N are blood meal (~12) and chicken feather meal (~7). A ten pound bag of the bloodmeal has 1.2 pounds of N and that of the chicken product is .07x10 = .07 pounds of N, a little more than half what the bloodmeal has. Blood meal is pretty expensive but may be close to equal in cost per area used since you need less.
The other thing to remember about organic fertilizers is that they are slow to release nitrogen to your crop. So, plan ahead. If you know where you are going to plant the heavy user crops, work it into the ground (if possible) several weeks or more before you intend to seed or transplant. This is especially useful for raised bed gardening.
Yellow jacket prediction
We haven’t had a big yellow jacket year for 4 or more years. We are due. I have seen more over-wintering females looking for nesting places than I have seen for a long time. Perhaps retirement has gotten me outside more, but I think there is more to it. We have had some nice dry weather stretches recently. And the long-range NOAA prediction is for a dry May. These queenies love the dry weather and I think they are getting started for a big summer of yellow jacket production. We shall see.
Getting small seeds to germinate in “crusty” soil
Most of us garden in soils that have substantial amounts of clay. While these soils can produce great crops, some seeds find germination to be a challenge if the soil “crusts” over. Carrots, parsnips, beets, green beans, some lettuce, and others easily trapped by the rather thin crusts. They push up but don’t have the “umph” to break through the crust. So, what options do you have?
The easiest option is to make your seed furrow, drop in the seeds, but then cover the seeds with a light potting mix rather than soil. Another option is to cover the seeds with soil but then cover the planted area with row cover. The row cover tends to screen the soil from the direct sun and when you water, water lightly on top of the row cover and the crop will be slowly irrigated. Our ancestors used burlap sacks to accomplish the same thing. You need to keep looking under the covers to see when they need to be removed, which is best done in early evening so that the emerged seedlings aren’t facing sun right away. Some gardeners plant carrots with radishes since they can break crusts. Corn also goes right through unless the crust is quite thick.
Hold the peppers- they like it hot!
Sweet and hot peppers do very well in most of Columbia County. But don’t put them in the ground too early. Peppers love and thrive in heat. We certainly haven’t seen much of that yet. Cool soils stop their growth and cause them to look positively pathetic. When evening temperatures stay above 55°, peppers start to grow. That is not in the cards for the next couple of weeks.
If you are anxious, you can provide them with additional heat by using mini-greenhouses called cloches made of plastic and wire hoops. Be careful to open them during the day so that the plants won’t roast.
Many Extension publications available online
Are you putting up salsa, saving seeds, or thinking about planting kiwis? OSU has a large number of its publications available for free download. Just go to https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/. Click on publications and start exploring.
Got food safety or food preservation questions?
Food Preservation recipes and fact sheets can be accessed online at: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation
Important notes
• Donate extra garden produce and/or money to the food bank, senior centers, or community meals programs. It always is greatly appreciated.
• The Extension Service offers its programs and materials equally to all people.
• The OSU Extension Office is fully open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Resource information
Oregon State University Extension Service – Columbia County
505 N. Columbia River Highway
St. Helens, OR 97051
503-397-3462
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