Go for it #2

Another great day to do some outside work.

It made it to 45 degres. Pick up fallen branches. If it stays dry, mow up the leaves on the lawn or rack into the flower beds.

Prune all tree fruits and berries.

Go for it!

While the weather lasts and we have some time off..... do the tree fruit pruning, prune the blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

Continue with the garden clean up. Pull old plant materials, then cover with as mulch much materials as possible.

Go skiing, take a short trip, go to the beach!!!!

Plant and pipe alert!

The temps have dropped below 32 again. Be aware of plant and pipe freezing.

Mulch tender plants, congregate potted plants together and mulch.

Turn on water and let the faucets drip. So much for the recovering cabbage and cole crops. :)

Merry Pre Christmas and Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays

During the next few days, take time to spent time with your family near and far away.

Give thanks for the bountious gardens which we had this year.

Enjoy the weather, family and friends.

Clean up garden space

If the weather holds, get out and do the final garden clean up.
Pull old plants, put plant materials into compost piles.
Do one last roto-tilling.
cover garden with leaf mulch, compost or clean straw.

Chilling again? Watch for Freezing Pipes Again!

Chilling again? Watch for Freezing Pipes Again!

Friday December 18

Showers over the front half of the weekend, with a more organized storm moving in by late Sunday into Monday. BREEZY.

Colder air to swing in behind the system that arrives late Sunday. -> Snow levels will drop rapidly, approaching sea level IF the push of Arctic air shifts just a tad more to the west. However, per usual, cold front may not carry much moisture. Looks very chilly, but drier, for Tues into Christmas Eve for the PNW. Not as cold as last event, but still WELL BELOW freezing at night as Christmas approaches. Freezing fog possible in places.

By Christmas, it should be dry in the PNW, as the action will have shifted to the mid-west and, unfortunately for them (and travelers), the storm coming out of the west / Rockies on Monday could really mess up pre-Christmas travel.

http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

Water Needed

Yes, plants that are under the eave of the house, right about now will need watering. In the next few days, water the plants under the eaves. Due to the cold water, a lot of leaf moisture was removed due to wind and freeze drying.

Then drain the hoses and store.

Gardens and wetness

Some of the cole crops and cabbage are STILL coming back. The Romanesco burned bad. Most of the leafy veges are gone.

Garlic still looks OK.

Now watch for TOO wet of soil. Dig small ditches to keep the water moving, if needed.

Garden - what now?

As the weather changes back to normal (?), in the next days few check out the potential damage in the garden. Within a couple of days after the temps rise above 32, we will be able to see if any of the cole crops have survived.

Two choices, let the plants try and regrow or if they are frozen, put them into a compost pile.

Yesterday, I actualy saw the centers of a chard and cabbage plant, still NOT frozen.

Broken pipes

Water pipes are braking all over Lane County tonight (12/10). Turn on faucets ASAP.

Cold for two more days

Weather report cold temps for two more days, then icey rain.

If you have any veges that are still edible, cover with plastic or tarp for some protection from the ice.

Plants going to suffer

With temps dropping to 8 degrees, most of the plants outside are going to suffer and get freeze burn--too cold. Most veges in the winter garden will probably freeze but time will tell. Again mulch and leaves are great protectors.

If not already done, mulch around roses, blueberries, and strawberries. The ground has frozen 1 inch and each day it is below 32, the ground will freeze more. Cover the ground around plants with as much leaves or straw as possible.

Pots that are outside have ALREADY frozen solid, event the 2-5 gallons pots. Place in a warmer area, protected, garage, greeenhouse or mulch and over with a tarp.

Make sure the house vents are covered, at least until the weather warms above 32. To prevent pipes in the house, near the well or in greenhouses, let the faucet do a "slow" drip. As long as water is flowing, the pipes won't freeze. Let the faucet furtherest from the water source drip.

Colder weather coming

Cold weather is coming. Next week will have temps as low as 17 degrees. Get hoses that are rolled empty of water. Cover air vents of the house for the next week to keep the pipes warmer. Make sure all water pipes are protected, especially faucets outside.

Put lots of leaves around roses and plants that are more sensitive to cold weather. Fortunately the real cold, below 20 is only a few days.

Leafy veges will usually suffer from the temps around 17. Harvest them and then cover with leaves or straw.

Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower should be OK but they can be harvested and stored in a dry, cool area.

Temps

Last night is was down between 27-24 degrees.

Better cover the leafy vegetables, but it may be too late.

Covering plants with Remay or even plastic does offer some protection.

The gardening season may be cut short this winter.

What now?

With just a few weeks until the new year, here are a few things to consider:

Finish raking the leaves now that most of the leaves are off the trees.
Mulch leaves on the lawn, with a lawn mower which returns nutrients to the lawn and keeps the grass mowed.
If the need more leaves contact your neighbors, look for bagged leaves on Springfield streets or call the City of Eugene.

Poinsettias

When buying poinsettias, look for plants that have the bracts (flower parts). If the plants don't have bracts, the poinsettia has gone thru significant heat and cold changes. Keep the plant at a constant temp of around 67 degrees. Avoid heat vents, wood or oil stoves and/or fireplaces.

Thanksgiving

Let us be thankful for all of the blessings we have.

After traveling to international destinations on different humanitarian projects, I have learned we live in a great land with many freedoms. Today, let's not forget.

Weather

Time to focus on holiday travel, family and, of course, food. The PNW will see on-and-off again light rain and showers over the next week, with a few chilly, dry days as well. Wed, Sat, Sun should be the driest days. FROST possible during the upcoming weekend, behind the cold front which will pass Thanksgiving Day / Fri.. Right now, homeward bound travelers on Sunday should not have major.problems. The PNW will likely experience DRY days from Nov 28 until around Dec 3 or 4.

FAMILY

During this holiday season, enjoy your family and friends.

Share any winter squash, cabbage and apples that are still around with those who may be in need.

Collect leaves than have been put into the plastic bags long side the curb side.

Holiday Time

As the holiay season approaches, the blog additons MAY be fewer.

The weather is predicted to be colder and wetter, althought it has been pretty wet for the last two weeks.

If you have a winter garden, continue to use it for the holiday season meals.

The winter squash should be perfect for the pumpkin pies and the winter apple for apple pies. Ummmmmmmmmm.

Reminder

Hoses in and drained.
Outside water supply protected and drained.
ALL tools put away, yes go look again and find them all. (I found two more I missed!)
Cabbage and brussels sprouts are still doing fine.
Start to control the weeds. If the weed is mouse ear chickweed, let it grow. It is a great winter cover crop.

Leaves and lawn

Yesterday was the perfect day to mow the taller lawn grass around the yard, plus mulch the dried leaves that had fallen. If we can get one more dry day within the next week, most of the leaves can be mulched.

Voles or field mice

I had a gardener say that their winter squash had a lot of chew marks on it. Typically this is the vole or field mouse. I am hearing more damage coming from voles this fall. Place the squash up off the ground or off the garage floor.

Get a few cats for a while.

Set snap traps, live traps, sticky boards or place Decon type baits along walls. Keep the baits out of the way of dogs and/or cats.

Leaves

With the amount of leaves falling, you have several choices:

Rack then into the flower beds.
Use the lawn mower and mulch the leaves back into the lawn, or use the lawn catcher and place leaves in the flower bed or onto the garden.
Rake into a wheel barrow and then place leaves in the garden, around the berries, cover the rooted veges or place into a compost pile.
Most yards can use MOST of the leavwes that fall each winter.
Keep the compost pile covered to prevent the rain from getting the pile TOO soggy.

Weather Report

Friday November 6

The first notable storm front for November has passed, with a load of cold air pouring in from the NW that will begin the winter snow pack in earnest. Another fast moving, WET, BREEZY front will pass late Sunday / Monday, with additional below pass level snow in the mountains on into Tuesday. HEAVY SHOWERS. Sunday may not be too bad a day for leaf collection.

Next week should yield 2 or 3 "scattered showers to mostly dry" days in between storm systems.

-> HEAVY RAIN possible with a strong series of storms modeled for Nov 17-20. That period may also include the first significant WIND EVENT of the season (last night was a teaser).

http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

Protect Garden

Protect veges in the garden. Mulch with leaves, straw or compost to protect:
potatoes, carrots, kohlrobi,or other roots crops as the temps drop below 32.

32 degrees - Burrrr!

I went out to get wood and the temp was 32 degrees - clear sky. I quickly covered the faucets with the styro foam protectors. I still have some hoses out but I disconnected the hoses from the bibs and after the hoses warm up tomorrow, I will remove all of the water. I lay the hoses flat so water DOESN'T collect in them. Often wrapping the hsoes in a circle keeps water in the hoses and the hoses will split when the temps drop and ice in the hoses freeze.

If you have an exterior watering system...it is time to shut it down and drain the system. If you can't drain the system in the next day or two, place buckets, straw or tarps over the faucets until the system can be properly drained.

If it gets really cold, letting the faucet drip keeps the pipes from freezing but the facuet must continue to drip.

Garden Cleaning

It seems that the last few nights must have gotten colder than expected, as all of my warm season plants have vanished. Start the winter clean up. Remove the pumpkin, cucumber. tomato, pepper plants; as most of the plant material is pretty diseased. I have a clean compost pile and dirty compost pile. The dirty pile is way off in a corner. This is where I put the disased plant materials. The only other disposal method is to put the plants into garbage bags and then into the landfill, but we are trying hard not to do that.

If you a have big enough area, burying the diseased material can be done but the diseased pieces can be viable for many years.

Cabbage, Romanesco, celery are still doing very well.

Rain

Get all of your garden equipment out of the rain. (I found several tools still out inthe elements!)

Store roto tillers and tools in a dry area. Remove all of the dirt so they doesn't rust the tools.

If you have veges in the garden (like tomatoes, squash or pumpkins) you may think of putting plastic or tarp over them to shed the water so they dry out. If it rains too much, the veges will start to rot.

Be Aware

The spiders are moving into houses as the weather turns colder. Claulk holes and put up sealing around doors. Traps and put back outdoors.

Time to set out Decon or mouse or field mouse snap traps, as the mice move into the garages to find warmers space.

Keep the leaves mulched and/or raked.

Store squash and pumpkins in a dry, dark area.

Blog viewers

Dear Blog views,

It seems that many of those who view this BLog may be going to the Facebook site. There are around 1-2 people per day viewing this site.

IF you have access to Facebook, would it be easier to go to Facebook? Is there a need to keep this site open also?

If you DO NOT have Facebook, please comment in the COMMENT section and I will keep this site open.

IF you have Facebook, would it be easier to just go to Facebook for this information. Again, please comment in the COMMENT section.

Much appreciated.

Ross

Winter chores

Wait for a dry day and mulch the leaves that have fallen on the lawn or bag the leaves and put them on the flower beds and/or garden areas.

Moss is starting to grow on the sidewalks and roof. Apply a moss killer to prevent the moss from growing.

Start picking up all of the tools that have been left around the yard...they soon get forgotten.

Gardens are still producing food. Use or share with the needy.

Winter prep

Time to start thinking about putting come of the garden tools away.

Clean dirt off of tools, sharpen the edges with a file and oil any wood and metal parts.

Store in a dry area, out of the rain.

Collect hoses and drain them of ALL water, then store.

Lawns

Give the lawn one more mowing. Just mulch the clipping back onto the lawn as a slow release fertilizer.

IF you apply any fertilizer, use very littl; the more you fertilize, the more you have to mow.

Now is the time to lime the flower beds, the lawn and the garden.

Begin thinking about putting hoses and sprinklers away. Drain the hoses so there is no water in the hoses.

Clean up sprays

As the trees and berries begin to loose their leaves, it is a good time to give the plants a good spray of copper or organic wettable sulfur. This will clean a lot of the fungus and bacterial problenms that are on the plants. The longer the spray is on the plants the better is will stick and control the problems. Also use a spreader sticker or fish oil.

Cover crops

Plant vetch, fava beans, buckwheat or oats for a good cover crop.

This weekend would be good time to over seed a weak lawn with lawn seed of around 2 pounds per 1000 sq feet, especially with the rain.

Pumpkins and winter squash

Time to harvest winter squash. Make sure that the skin is tough enough to resist your fingernail or leave outside to mature longer and the stem should be tan and schrunkem a bit.

Weekly weather

Weather

Monday October 12

For the PNW, as the storm approaches, OR will slowly warm and see an increase in cloudiness and the beginning of our own WET CYCLE for several days. Expect RAIN to pick up late Tuesday, becoming moderate Wednesday and Thursday. BREEZY. The outlook looks WET through Oct 25 or 26. Warmer in all locations by mid-to-late week.

http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

Flour and grain beetles

A question about a beetle in pancake flour - -- I believe that they talking about a grain or flour beetle. Type the word grain beetle or flour beetle on Google and a pix will come up. Correct ID is important and where the bug comes from.

Grain and flour beetles are found in flour, dog or cat food or any high protein mixes. The boxes are infested in huge store houses back east and are shipped all over the country-- to mainly places like any big box store. People then discover the beetles. So the beetles may be in the already infested flour OR in the area that you store the flour, dog food, pizza mix, cereal, and/or flour in your apartment or house. Everyone gets this problem.

Solution: place flour products in the freezer for two days and clean the area that had the flour very well.

Leaves and compost

As the leaves start to drop, have the lawn mower ready to grind them up and then place the leaf mulch on the garden or in the flower beds.

By spring the worms will have the leaves decomposed.

Apples

If your apples had brown sucken spots, this is a condition called bitter pit and is caused by a lack of calcium or too hard of pruning.

The easiest way to solve this issue is to add lime, 80# per 1000 sq feet ASAP. By spring the winter rain will have dissolved the lime and moved it into the soil around the roots.

Be aware that several of the late or winter apples are getting water core or the collection of apple juice in the center of the apple. This is natural. Many varieties get water core. Solution: make apple cider.

Weather

Some nice weather and then some colder and wetter weather.

Tomatoes still hanging in there. Be aware of frost pockets around the county. If frosty, put blannket over tomatoes.

Braeburn apples

If you have Braeburn appels, go out and check the centers as they seem to have really bad water core this year.

Tomatoes

With this rain, it willl crack ripe tomatoes. ASAP get the ripe tomatoes of the vines. Yellow or green tomatoes should still be OK.

Or put up plastic over the tomato plants for the next month.

Rain

Rain is good for the soil.

Be aware that the increased rain brings on slugs and snails.
Rain can cause the ripe grapes to crack so watch the grapes. IF they begin to crack, process them ASAP.

Aphid problem

Having been out in the garden today, the aphids on the cauliflower and broccoli were unbelievable. You can use a strong stream of water or get some insecticidal soap. They are not harming anything but the heads are full of aphids, so cleaning is needed before eating.

Weeds are really coming on strong so keep the hoe handy.

Enjoy the wild blackberries and the fall golden raspberries.

Fruit and grapes

Dry apples and plums.
Time to juice the grapes.
Control the moles and gophers - concussion or hitting the ground near the dirt mound with a shovel around 7:00 am works well. If all else fails, use traps.
Cole crops are still doing very well.
Tomatoes are still ripening--go sunshine :)

To Does

Start removing old plant debris and putting it into your compost pile.

Continue harvesting. If you have cut cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower heads, thin out the many heads that have started to grow so you only have 1-2 larger heads.

As you remove plants, weeds will move in. Cover the soil with cardboard, newspaper, compost or sawdust to keeps weeds under control.

Compost

When the rain starts, cover the compost pile.

Mix in green materials, dry leaves, straw, some dirt and a little water.

Mix every few weeks.

Post summer and pre winter garden

The cauliflower, brocolli, celery, cabbage are coming on really nicely.
Still time to plant transplants of brocolli, cauliflower and chard.
Plant garlic.

Hazelnuts are falling. Roast at 105 degrees for 24 hours.

Keep the weeds under control.

Lime the lawn, 80 pounds per 1000 sq feet if you have moss on sections of lawn.

Weather

Be aware that the high temps can cause some burning of plants if the temps are above 90 degrees.

On line again

As a new Blogger, the spam started to appear so I had to shut down the previous site. Hopefully what I have learned will keep that from happening.

Hints: Be wary of he cool weather and watch the temps to protect green tomatoes. Anything below 40 degrees will need covering.

Plums and apples are ripe now and dry very nicely and quite quickly.

Please spread the word that the site has changed to:

http://osuextensionlanecounty.blogspot.com

- and I will do my best to keep it spam free.

Ross

Back again

Sorry for the mess. I still am not sure the why, but I will try again. I may need to go to a different site but will see for a while.