Category Archives: Gardening Tips

Planting for Birds

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Variety is the key to encouraging birds of all kinds. Providing a mixture of large trees, (deciduous and conifer); clumps of berry-laden shrubs; fruit trees; many kinds of flowers and grasses; weeds allowed to seed; insects to forage; fresh water; and a well stocked feeder will please a great variety of birds. (P.S. Remember, easy on the chemical sprays.)

Conifers

 Warning: Conifers are high risk for wild fire Conifers are “Prohibited Trees” in Ashland Oregon

Douglas Fir

Western Hemlock

Junipers

Pines

Spruce

Yews

Perennials

Aster

Bee Balm

Coreopsis

Columbine

Crocosmia Lucifer

Cardinal Flower

Bleeding Heart

Delphiniums

Sages/Salvias

Comfrey

Pensemons

Butterfly Bush

Garden Phlox

Globe Thistle

Goldenrod

Foxglove

Ornamental Grasses

Red Hot Poker

Coral Bells

Dianthus

Lupine

Cornflower

Yucca

Deciduous Trees

Birch

Dogwoods

Madrone

Russian Olive

Mountain Ash

Cherry

Filbert

Maples

Crabapple

Hawthorn

Sassafras

Oaks

Hickory

Walnut

Annuals

Marigolds

Calendula

Cosmos

Sunflowers

Zinnias

Petunias

Salvia

Phlox

Impatiens

Nicotiana

Fushias

Shrubs

Holly

Pyracantha

Viburnums

Lilac

Weigela

Blackberry

Mulberry

Snowberry

Oregon Grape

Wild Current

Honeysuckle

Cotoneaster

Sumac

Serviceberry

Flowering Quince

Barberry

Raspberry

Hackberry

Elderberry

Manzanita

Gooseberry

Buckbrush

Vines

Trumpet Honeysuckle

Virginia Creeper

Scarlet Runner Bean

Morning Glory

Trumpet Vine

Ground Covers

Kinnikinnik

Wintergreen

Partridgeberry

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Article from: Rogue Valley Grange Coop

Photo by: Carlotta Lucas

Tomatoes

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Coax Tomatoes & Peppers to Maturity
CORVALLIS, Ore. – There’s probably nothing more exasperating than working hard in the vegetable garden all summer, only to end up with hard green tomatoes, unripe melons, and sweet peppers the size of robin’s eggs.
Oregon ‘s cool springs and cool summer nights can prevent tomatoes and peppers from flowering and setting fruit early enough to grow to a decent size before the frosts of fall arrive.
Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, recommends using plastic sheeting to warm the soil. The sheeting comes in various colors including black, green and even red. Black seems to be the most popular color with vegetable gardeners.
“Lay sheets of black plastic on the soil where those heat-loving vegetables will be growing,” Penhallegon said. “The plastic absorbs heat during the day and keeps the soil warm during the night.”
Black polyethylene film in rolls three or four feet wide and 1 to 1.5 mils thick works fine, but Penhallegon recommends using thicker plastic if you want to use it for more than one season. If you want something that will decompose by the end of the year, look for black paper mulch.
Before planting peppers, melons and tomatoes, lay the plastic on the ground where the plants will grow. Cut six-inch holes in the plastic every two feet. If you use drip irrigation in your garden, put drip lines under the plastic.
If you use sprinklers to water, dampen the soil before you lay the plastic down and cut the holes larger to ensure that enough moisture enters the ground from the sprinklers.
Dig a hole for each transplant where there is a hole in the plastic. Then plant your plants. Be sure there’s enough plastic on all sides to cover a mature root system.
After everything’s planted, take a pitchfork and punch some holes in the plastic so water will soak through, but avoid the drip hose. Then weigh down the edges of the plastic with a few mounds of soil.
By Judy Scott, Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon Oregon State University Horticulturist

Bigroot Geranium

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Bigroot Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)

Geranium macrorrhizum is a hardy perennial that blooms prolifically in the spring. Some varieties also present outstanding leaf color in the fall.Bigroot Geranium is deer- resistant, so “typically” deer leave it alone. Plant your geranium in full sun or partial shade. It’s not too picky about growing conditions, except it doesn’t like wet boggy areas, so plant in well-draining soil. It grows 1 to 3 feet high and 2 to 3 feet wide. Geranium makes a good groundcover at the base of trees, shrubs and taller perennials. Geranium macrorrhizum varieties include: Album which produces white flowers, Ingwersen flowers in pink, and Variegatum, with white-variegated leaves, which produce purple & pink blossoms. Note: Variegatum likes richer soil and keep it out of full sun. USDA Hardiness Zone: Zones 4-8

Bulbs for all-year color

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Plant bulbs this spring and summer for all-year color
By Judy Scott,
Oregon State University Extension Service

CORVALLIS, Ore. – After the spring show of crocus, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips, flower gardeners may be at a loss on how to top the early vibrant color.

If you plant summer-flowering bulbs, corms and tubers in the spring, you’ll carry color through the summer, said Ross Penhallegon, horticulturalist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

montbretia
A wide variety of ililies, dahlias, gladiolus and tuberous begonias are available from catalogs and garden shops. If you love bolder flower gardens, plant more out-of-the-ordinary bulbs, including summer hyacinths, Peruvian-daffodils, fragrant tuberoses, shell flowers and montbretia for striking summer garden accents.

sternbergia candida

For stunning color all the way through the growing season, plant fall-blooming bulbs in late summer and early autumn. Later-flowering species that bloom in the fall include colchicums, autumn flowering crocus, magic lilies of Japan, sternbergia and fairy lilies, to name a few. These are available in summer to early fall at nurseries and from bulb catalogs.

When it’s time to plant, Penhallegon recommends planting each bulb as deep as the diameter of the bulb; if the diameter is one inch, plant the bulb one inch deep. “The soil needs to be well-drained and mulchy, with lots of organic materials,” he said. “Apply a small amount of general purpose fertilizer, organic or conventional, after the bulb emerges from the soil.”
Don’t forget to check with your local nurseries. Each year they offer a new array of plant varieties.

This article is also online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening1564
Judy Scott, Public Service Comm Specialist , Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon, Ag, Horticulture , Oregon State University Extension Service