Weagther forecast

For the next two weeks the low is Nov. 3-5 with 35 
degrees, so frost depends on clear skies. Average 
evening temps 47 degrees and highs of 64 but average 
temps 58. The next week looks wet and one week of 
partial sun. The Indian summer continues.

10-29-2015

Little bits of ag going on but most ag producers
are slowing down for the season.

Lots of pumpkins and hay rides for the next few days.

Things to look for:
apples, some pears, carrots, beets, potatoes,
hazelnuts and walnuts.

Many farm stands are starting to slow down or close
so call before venturing out and call to see what each
farm stand has for sale.

Weather looks mild but damp around the state, but
check your local weather forecasters.

Now what

Sunday October 25

 Last week of the month will bring a favorable addition to

 rain gauges throughout the PNW.   The next system due 

into the PNW arrives Wed, along with a small, tight system. 

Breezy and damp well into the week.  Thursday with some 

moisture on tap for eastern basins, as well. Short pre-Halloween 

break, then swish, another wet system dampens the trick or 

treat activity. The storm may hold off enough to keep southern 

OR dry until near midnight Saturday, but everyone north should 

see rain by the afternoon or early evening. Cooler air support 

will generate a secondary front on Sunday for an added punch 

of moderate-to-heavy rain. Snow will coat the higher Cascade 

elevations.      -Rufus

Central Or - the temps will be higher in the beginning of the week 

and get cooler near the end of this week and early next week. 

Beginning 61F - 39F at the beginning and 47F and 28F at the 

end of the week.   Any warm veggies will be damaged if not 

already.  Protective mulching should be applied ASAP.

What's next

The next week shows a lot of clouds, with three days  of rain. 
Not much sun for the next week.

The highs range 58 to 66 and the lows at 42-51, so not much
 temperature variation this week.

Hazelnuts, walnuts, apples,winter pears, pumpkins in big demand.

Gardens still harvesting wine grapes, tomatoes and peppers. 
Many cole crops still doing quite well.

Mulch garden.  Do final lawn mowing.  Control winter annual
weeds and black berries.  Hold off on putting the irrigation
away, not quite yet.

Prune out the dead raspberry stocks.

This week

Some hazelnuts and walnuts being harvested.  The good
weather allowed growers to harvest quickly.  Various yield
numbers, some had a bigger yield, but sounded like most
had a lower yield.

Apples and pears - nearing the end of harvest.

A lot of the farm stands slow down after Halloween and
the pumpkin demand decreases.  Call to see what they
have available.

Peppers and tomatoes - still ripening.  Evening temps show
a low of around 38 and highs in the 60-70's.  Not the best
growing weather but not the usual cool, wet fall weather.

We skated on bad apple scab, not too bad on apple maggot and
codling moth.  Filbertworm - up and down this year.  The brown
mormorated stink bug had huge numbers in the south valley.

The biggest disappointment, somewhat caused by the two years
 of heat stress on older trees, eastern filbert blight has exploded.

Bangladesh

Here are some sightings while I was in Bangladesh, helping 

farmers grow more food for their families.

Sights that make the Heart Sad

(Be aware – some graphic descriptions)

There was a man we drove past.  He was crawling in the 

gravel trying to cross a very busy rode.  He was very crippled 

and feet were misshapen but he had fortitude.

There are a lot of welding shops in the small villages, most 

do NOT have any eye protection.

We drove paste a small boy brushing his teeth, but the foam 

around his mouth was not white as normal, it was brown-ish.  

 from the brown water he was using.

Young boys were in 12 inches of mud looking for mud fish.  

 If they can find 5, they earn 1 Taka or Bangladesh dollar.  

 The ratio is 79 Takar to 1 USD.

The Caritis NGO and the local Catholic Church had great

 posters showing how to wash hands properly and filter water, 

and what to do after going to the bathroom.

An older fellow bathing but the water color….water was 

very green since the pond was home to 20 ducks.

Tools – what tools!

One farm was planting garlic and it was splitting before harvest.  

 The splitting was caused by watering too much.  However, each 

garlic head had 21, yes very small cloves.  They have planted

 the garlic, saved a clove, replanted the clove; then replanted, 

on and on – 8 times.   They need new garlic.

Weather by Rufus

Rufus at the WxCafe® gives us a stormy ending with some

bold alerts. Robin

Friday October 16

 Curious sky watchers want to know when rain will return to the
west coast. Well, the long-range outlook continues to look
favorable for the curious.

 An elongating front is currently moving slowing west. This system

originally looked to bring a good shot of weekend rain to the PNW;

however, most of the precip will fall in southern OR and northern CA.

A secondary system could bring showers into NW WA Monday; maybe

 a few over northern OR, as well. Another weak system remains in the

works for mid-week. Not a lot of precip, but definitely a chance for the

ground to get wet across much of the west side of the Cascades. Yep,

you're right, not as wet as hoped for a few days ago. Drat.

 -Rufus

Bangladesh experience

I am in Bangladesh for a few more days teaching organic vegetable production.

Boy was it hot and humid today.  Walking we ALL were sweating, even the locals, so that is hot.

Today I diagnosed problems with bananas, now that was bit edgy.  I know nothing about bananas other than I eat them and they taste good.

We visit farms and then go out into the field to look at potential problems.  The farmer goes straight to his banana field.  There were 20 people standing around.  Oh crap, I am on the spot, what do I do.

The assignment was organic vegetables.  Banana trees are a LONG way from vegetables. 

So I do my, plant diagnostic thing and just looking at the tree and start cutting and looking at tissue.

The whole interior of the tree was dying and had a black cambium layer.  We then cut down the whole tree.  Yes, the whole tree.  We dug up the root system.  The roots were brown ---dead, and the base of the banana tree was rotting.  The tree had a bacterial root rot.  Now they can send a sample to the Bangladesh Ag University  (BAU) plant path department and they can ID the pathogen.

Wah hoo, we figured it out.

Add banana tree to my resume.

We looked at ginger, taro, cumerin, cassava, turmeric, eggplant bushes that are 5 foot tall, and lot of mango.  I have taught two mango pruning classes. Oh right, this is an organic vegetable assignment, not.

People ask a lot of questions when we show up.  They get excited when they learn they can DOUBLE their production of most crops.

Compost - for fertility has been huge.  The farmers don't know how to compost, they just put the manure out in the field and all of the good nut walking - a lot of nutrients just go away in the sun.

Traffic, all they do is honk their horns.  On a two lane road, you people, motor cycles, rick shaws, cars, and trucks and buses going one way and that many things on the other side.

Wild times.

Ross

Insect Info

Carrot fly
Web site:  http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/vegnet-regional-pest-trends-week-october-5th-2015

Fall

A nice Indian summer continues for us.

The lower temps are 47 to 51 F, so the warm season veggies are
still fine.  These temps will slow their growth but not harm them. 
The highers are 64-75F.  Near perfect outdoor weather.

Some more moisture coming.  After last weekend, the soil should be
good for a week, but dig around plants to make sure.

Lawns are growing so mowing may be needed.  Mulch any
cold sensitive berry or tree fruit.  Voles or field mice are out
 in numbers so paint young trees with exterior white latex paint. 
Use bark protectors -plastic, metal, heavy card board to slow
down the voles.

Control the winter annual weeds.

Add mulch to the garden area.

Start your compost pile as leaves are falling.

What's happening

Mild weather for the next 10 days.  Kind of low temps - 47-53 F.,
and highs of 66-7F, so pretty mild.  Small rain showers, if any.

Tomatoes and peppers still ripening.

My apple crop is done, eaten or juiced.  The juice was very good.

Grapes - another excellent year for table grapes.  I hear the wine
grapes have been picked with few problems.

Hazelnuts - upper valley is having lower than expected yields.
 Lower valley - higher than expected.  Good size but quite a few
 blanks due to the very hot summer weather.

The Eastern Filbert Blight seems to have raised its very ugly head.
 For years growers have been doing a good job of at least trying to
maintain the orchards.  The last two years the blight has
seemed to have just exploded.  Even in very well managed
orchards that have sprayed for EFB  4 times, the blight has shown
 up very heavily.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

No tomato blight or potato blight and it is October.  Smile.

Watch irrigation - plants are still using a lot of water.  Do NOT
heavily fertilize this fall.  The plants need to start to go dormant,
not grow.  Don't winterize the irrigation systems yet.  We are OK
for the next 10 days with no expected freezing weather.  If you
have fertilized, hope for no very cold weather for three
more weeks.

Weather

Today, Monday Oct. 5th will be warm and sunny.  The next
weeks forecast is cloudy;  temps in the the highs of 69-83, and
 the lows in 49-56 degrees F.  If you still have warm season
veggies outside, it looks like they will be fine.

Watch the evening temps.  If the temps drop to 33 degrees, cover
or bring the warm season veggies inside.

It looks like rain next weekend, with wet weather Sunday,
Monday and Wednesday.

Insects

Insects

Increased bertha army worms and
cabbage butterfly moths

Website: http://aptgroup.hort.oregonstate.edu/content/vegnet-regional-pest-trends-week-september-28th-2015

This week in ag

Good grape year.
Good fall weather for grapes, winter pears
and hazelnuts.

Tomatoes and peppers still ripening.  This year a wide
variety of micro climates and how the warm season
plants ripened or didn't ripen.

Fall raspberries - doing quite well.
Apples - doing well.
Pumpkins and squash - heavy powdery mildew.

Brown mormorated stink bug -  high numbers in Lebanon
and Eugene areas.

For the latest info:  http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/group/brown-marmorated-stink-bug-oregon

Good hazelnut harvest.  A bit dusty but better than mud.

Lots of pumpkins at the local farms stores, ready for the
youngsters/adults to come and pick a favorite.