General info

Garden spiders had a big hatch.
Codling moth emerged north of Salem.
Blueberries and apples in full bloom.

Spotted Wing Drosophola

New information on the Spotted Wing Drosophila.

Go to: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/farms

Look at the Spotted Wing Drosophila information and web sites

The way it is

This year has had some really long pollination periods. In general, the longer the pollination period, the less viable the fruit, and the shorter the pollination time, the greater the chance for good fruit. Time will tell.

Weather

Monday April 26 - The PNW is in for absolutely delightful weather, but we must be patient for another few days. Cool moving into the west coast region. Pattern will favor some rain, showers, breezy conditions.

Ag patrons: it's quite possible that DRY, WARM conditions will impact the region for over 14 days. Plan ahead for irrigation needs. Bloom period for many should be favorable into mid-May.

Projecting a nice weekend for May 1, 2. Sunday could turn out some 70+ temps for many in the PNW. Week of May 3-7 will bring on the warmest temps. Should help strawberries 'sweeten up'. PNW temps will climb into the upper 70s and low 80s.
-Rufus http://www.ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

4-24-2010

Apples - full bloom.
Aphids hitting the maples trees. Good ladybird populations.
Quince - has a yellow rust problem.
Time to mow the grass again!

Weather

Friday April 23 - Next two or three weeks will not be too bad. A weak system that could bring some Saturday showers in the Seattle area & north, the weekend should remain decent. A cold, damp system remains on track to impact the PNW beginning late Monday. RAIN likely, if not heavy showers. Hail possible. Overall pattern should begin to dry out and shift to a more spring-like pattern by late next week. Expect dry and mild conditions to continue into early May, with warmer 75 - 85 F temps arriving for all in the May 6 - 10 period. -Rufus

Great Plant Sale!

Master Gardener Plant Sale will be held at the OSU Extension Service, Lane County, 950 W 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR on Saturday, April 24, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Come early for best selection. Enjoy great plants, baked goods and coffee, garden art, informational booths, used book sale, and silent auction. All proceeds will go to support the Master Gardener program in Lane County.

Critters

The spotted winged drosophila was catch across from Hood River. So it is coming.

http://swd.hort.oregonstate.edu/

Lots of cutworms in the soil

Lawns are full of crane flies, some with over 100 per square foot!

OM, fertilizer and transplant

Time to add lots of organic matter (OM). Add 2-4 inches and rototill in. Fertilzer everything if you haven't. 1 lbs actural N per 1000 sq feet of lawn. Begin transplanting flowers, bushes and trees.

Weather and Insects

Weather Update - Monday April 19 As the current system arrived overnight with some moisture possible for the PNW. The PNW will clear out by Wednesday, with another set of dry days going into the weekend. Overall, the next real threat for moisture shows up next Tuesday, mirroring today's pattern. A mild and DRY period looks to be ahead for the April 29 - May 4. Weekend of May 1-2 continues to look delightful. Enjoy the relatively dry run for the next 2 weeks.

http://www.ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

In the near future I will be communicating as insects start to emerge.

Time to plant cole crops

If this weather remains, we will be able to till the soil and get the cole crops into the ground.

Pear blister mite

Pears

Some pears are getting some insect damage called "pear blister mite". This is a small mite that gets between the tissue and causes red blisters. It doesn't have any negative affect on the leaves or fruit.

For more info: http://uspest.org/pnw/insects?21TFRT15.dat

see pix

Raspberries

Our first sample came into the Extension office with raspberry root rot. Root rot is caused by wet soils and clay soils. The raspberry will leaf out but as the weather warms, the plant will collapse. The roots have been rotted by too much water (Oct-April) or too clay of soil or mulch being added around the plant base. Solution: Remove mulch, have loamy raised beds, build loamy berms or replanting every three-five years.

The raspberries also had Dec. 2009 winter freeze burn on the canes from ground level to six inches up on the stems.

Soil and garden journals

Use a soil thermometer to check soil temp. If 50+, plant cole crops: cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli. If soil is 60+, plant warm season veges.
Review your garden journal to see what worked, what didn't work and changes you want to make this year.

Mosquitoes

Check all buckets, old tires, small swimming pools, and anything that will hold water. I checked several buckets and they were teaming with mosquitoes, some of which will be adults in 2-4 days. Empty containers or use DUNKS in larger water troughs or standing water.

Brown rot

More brown rot blossom blight on cherry trees out on our experiment farm (in Corvallis) than I have ever seen in 22 years. Trees have anywhere from 50 to 90% of the blossoms blighted where there has been no fungicide application. I suspect you might start getting calls about it today if you have not gotten any yet.

Jay Pscheidt -OSU

http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/disease.cfm?RecordID=272

Gardening

Good day to get garden "sore", i.e.-worked outside tooo much.
Soil still pretty wet.
Spittle bugs and lots of snails showing up.
Discovered that my blackberry patch was 95% dead. The 4'X20' area is now level.

Time Too..

Prune forsythia bushes and other spring bloomers when they are done blooming.
Fertilize blueberry, gooseberry, currents, and trailing berries.
Fertilize asparagus and rhubarb.
Dethatch and demoss lawns now that they are growing.

Helping Crops

With the cold and then warm weather, the use of a row cover called REMAY helps to keep the soil warmer for transplants and seeds.
Weekend is suppose to be colder and rainy.
When the sun IS out, bees are pollinating.

What's up?

Peas, Rhubarb, Garlic
Raspberries - full leaf; blueberries - near bloom; blackberries - full leaf
Peaches - near done bloom; pears - cherries - full bloom but bad pollination; early apples - showing pink.

Tree fruits

Pears and cherries are heading to full bloom.
Early apples showing pink and white blooms.
Soil - saturated again.
Early planted peas - up and growing - slowly.

Weather

Monday April 5 Cold, upper level air will continue to periodically push down over the Gulf of Alaska, opening the door for stormy, damp, CHILLY weather pattern. As each 'cold finger' of air passes over the PNW, expect rain/showers and chilly late-winter like temperatures. Mountain snow will continue to pile up. Biggest issue could be the COLD TEMPS Saturday morning. Sub-freezing temps, on both sides of Cascades, if sky clears /no wind. Ag patrons be alert.

Rufus http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

:)

Life is good. Even thought we are in rough times, we need to be thankful for all we have. Easter is a time to celebrate.
Enjoy the day, life and the great opportunities that we have!

Weather!!

Friday 4/2 The much advertised system is on track. While the entire area west side of the Cascades may not experience sustained winds > 40 mph, some places could. WIND GUSTS likely to top 70 mph at the coast; 55-60 mph inland. There will be power outages in many locations, esp with the water-logged soils. BE PREPARED. Patrons: might be prudent to have some water stored. Higher elevations likely to have stronger winds. More HEAVY RAIN and over 2.5 ft of SNOW above the passes; snow at very low levels around the region with heavy showers. Foot hills; coast range – rain and snow. For report, go to: http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

Two "be awares"

Variegated cut worms in the soil are going after strawberry plants or anything green in the garden. The cut worm is an inch long and black stripping on its back.

High wind warning from the coast to the cascades. Heavy snow predicted for the cascades.