Category Archives: How to…

Monarchs and Meadows: Creating Butterfly Gardens

Posted on by
Butterfly Nectar Plants:
Joe Pye Weed

Joe Pye Weed

Asters, Milkweeds, Joe Pye Weed, Lantana, Coreopsis, Daisies, Black-eyed Susan, Rue, Marigolds, Zinnias, parsley, Fennel, Purple Coneflower, Verbena, Thistle, Sunflowers, Heliotrope, Lavenders, Sedum, Yarrow, Thyme, Liatris, Cosmos, Galardia, Mallows, Bee Balms,  Marjoram, Oregano.

Butterfly Host Plants (For Caterpillars)

Milkweed, Pearly Everlasting Fennel, Willow Trees, Popular Trees, Mallows, Violets, Pea Family, Cottonwood Trees, Thistle, Goldenrod, Asters, Grasses, Parsley/Carrot Family.

Web Sites:

www.nababutterfly.com ( North American Butterfly Association)
On this site you can certify your butterfly garden, rate plants as nectar sources or hots plants, and learn about all aspects of butterfly gardening.

www.learnaboutmonarchs.com
You can learn about raising monarchs and treating their diseases.

www.MonarchWatch.org
You can certify your butterfly habitat as an official Monarch Way Station. Starter kits, appropriate for you region for both nectar sources and host plants, can be purchased.

By Janet Rodkey

How to Attract Wild Birds to Your Yard this Winter

Posted on by
Oregon_Junco_

Oregon Junco

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Wild birds can sometimes use a little help from us to thrive in winter.

“In the springtime we focus on providing nesting sites and food for migratory birds, whereas in winter our winter residents and migratory birds still need food, shelter and water,” said Dana Sanchez, wildlife specialist for the Oregon State University Extension Service.

“These things are not found so easily in winter.”

Lesser gold finches, robins, juncos, chickadees, varied thrush and other species call Oregon home during the winter. They’re scrambling for what little there is to eat in the cold days – namely, insects, seeds, and berries.

“In addition to winter residents we get some altitudinal migrants,” Sanchez said. “When it’s warmer in the Willamette Valley than the higher elevations, we have birds that come down to the lower elevations to try to root arthropods out of the moss on tree branches and visit feeders. Some birds also eat the fruits of hawthorns and snowberries.”

During these frigid months, it is more important than ever for birds to conserve energy, Sanchez said. As humans keep a financial budget during leaner times, birds must maintain an “energy budget,” she said. Birds are limited in their ability to store excess fat because of their biological need to fly.

Oregonians can help birds by providing dense shrubbery or evergreens to serve as shelter from the weather and other challenges. Small birds, especially songbirds, need to find shelter quickly from raptors and other predators, Sanchez said. They also need shelter in close proximity to food so they don’t have to expend as much energy flying to find sustenance.

“Consider native plants because they are more adapted to conditions we have here in Oregon in the winter, and many are adapted to resist heavy deer damage,” Sanchez advised. “Choose shrubs that offer a perching structure.” Oregon grape is one good choice. Birds also look for insects to eat in leaf litter and under the moss and lichen that grows on shrubs.

Below are some additional tips to attract wild birds to your yard and to help them survive the long winter.

  • When choosing shrubs for your yard, include wildlife-related questions in your research. Some non-native shrubs produce berries and fruits that are acceptable to wildlife, but have fruits or berries that are toxic. For example, although long hailed as a wildlife-friendly landscaping shrub, berries of the Nandina species contain toxins that can harm birds or other animals.
  • Prevent water in birdbaths, hummingbird feeders and other dishes from freezing by rotating with fresh water throughout the day or covering it lightly.
  • Be sure to clean bird feeders regularly to prevent disease.
  • If you add a water feature such as a pond, “realize that other things could use that water, like raccoons and bullfrogs,” Sanchez said. “Providing habitat for native wildlife is really important but be careful about what comes uninvited.”
  • Offer a variety of feeders positioned at different heights and locations around your yard. Also provide a variety of feeds. The diversity will attract a variety of birds with different feeding habits.
  • Consider providing suet, a high-energy food for birds. Other good choices include specially designed feeders that offer black oil sunflower seeds or Nyjer thistle seed. Other birds will enjoy a standard style feeder that supplies a mix of seed types. Finally, some Anna’s hummingbirds now remain in the valley through winter. Feed them the standard mixture of dissolved sugar – four parts water to one part sugar. But keep an eye on nighttime temperatures. It might be necessary to bring your feeders in at night and set them out again each morning so that your hummers will have liquid food available.

For more information about wild birds, see the OSU Extension guides below.

About Gardening News From the OSU Extension Service:
The Extension Service provides a variety of gardening information on its website at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/community/gardening. Resources include gardening tips, videos, podcasts, monthly calendars of outdoor chores, how-to publications, information about the Master Gardener program, and a monthly emailed newsletter.

By Denise Ruttan, denise.ruttan@oregonstate.edu, on Twitter at @OregonStateExt
Source: Dana Sanchez,  Dana.Sanchez@oregonstate.edu
This story is also online at http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening2314

Horticulture Report: November 2013

Posted on by

CalendulaPlants for Fall Color:
to name a few!

Click to view…

Report By Carlotta Lucas

USDA: Web Soil Survey

Posted on by

“The Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world.”  USDA  Natural Resources Conversation Service

To find your soils on the web soil survey go to:  http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

 

2013 Fire Season – It’s Over!!

Posted on by

Greetings,
Thanks to our recent rain, Tuesday September 17th was the last day of the 2013 fire season. We made it through one of the hottest, driest and smokiest summers on record! The heavy smoke we experienced this summer from wildfires to our north is a timely reminder that we live in a region impacted by wildfire. Since beginning the Firewise Communities program in Ashland 3 years ago, not one home in Ashland has been lost to wildfire. This result is no accident. It is the result of many people and groups working together to make Firewise choices.
Thank you for  all of your efforts in being prepared for wildfire: creating defensible space around your homes, following the recommended Firewise landscaping guidelines and observing equipment use restrictions. These are all meaningful and effective ways to keep your home and community safe from wildfire.

As we enter the fall and winter months, please remember to tackle those Firewise projects you didn’t get to this year, utilize fire resistant landscaping plants and building materials whenever possible, and continue to talk to your neighbors about creating and maintaining a Firewise Community. Fire season will be back for sure next year, and you can find out what you need to do to stay prepared at www.ashlandfirewise.org

Thank you for all you did this year to keep our  community safe and prepared for wildfire.
Have a safe and happy autumn,

Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
Ashland Fire & Rescue
541-552-2231 www.ashlandfirewise.org

Winter Gardening: Cold-Hardy Vegetables

Posted on by

CORVALLIS, Ore. –  Not ready to hang up your gloves and spade just yet?

The fearless gardener still has a chance to plant some cold-hardy vegetables to harvest next spring, said Jim Myers, plant breeder and researcher at Oregon State University. But don’t dawdle.

“Winter gardening is a risky business,” Myers said. “It may work one year with a mild winter but not another when the weather is more severe. If you plant some cold-hardy vegetables from mid-August to early October – depending on the crop – there’s a good likelihood you will produce something on the other end in the spring. They say farming is a gamble…some years more than others.”

Cold weather doesn’t kill these hardy plants; it simply slows their growth rate. For every rise of 18 degrees, growth rate doubles, but that guideline is only applicable for an air temperature range of 40 to 98 degrees, Myers said. If you plant cold-hardy vegetables from mid-August to early October, there is a chance they can mature by next spring if they survive in a vegetative state through the winter without reproducing.

According to Myers, the hardiest vegetables that can withstand heavy frost of air temperatures below 28 include: spinach, Walla Walla sweet onion, garlic, leeks, rhubarb, rutabaga, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale, cabbage, chicory, Brussels sprouts, corn salad, arugula, fava beans, radish, mustard, Austrian winter pea and turnip.

Semi-hardy vegetables that can withstand light frost of air temperatures in the range of 28 to 32 degrees include: beets, spring market carrots, parsnip, lettuce, chard, pea, Chinese cabbage, endive, radicchio, cauliflower, parsley and celery. For beets, spring market carrots and parsnips, the tops will die but the roots will tolerate lower temperatures.

Vegetables that contain the pigment anthocyanin, which gives them a vibrant red or purple color, are more resistant to rots caused by winter rains, Myers said. They include: purple-sprouting broccoli, Rosalind broccoli and purple kale.

If you live in an area of the state that gets prolonged snow cover, the fluffy white stuff acts as insulating mulch and warms the soil for these tough plants, Myers said.

No matter where you live in Oregon, “some of the worst problems we have in the winter are with rain rather than temperature, so protecting plants from the rain is quite helpful,” Myers said.

He recommends covering vegetables with high or low tunnels made from metal hoops and clear plastic, available from greenhouse supply companies. To protect plants, you can also use row covers or cloches. To warm the soil use mulch made from yard debris, cardboard or newspaper.

Cross your fingers and by next March you could be feasting on shelled, succulent fava beans seasoned with salt and lemon juice.

For more information on extending the gardening season, see the OSU Extension guides “Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest” at http://bit.ly/OSU_FallGarden, “How to build your own raised bed cloche” at http://bit.ly/OSU_Cloche and “Garlic for the Home Garden” at http://bit.ly/OSU_Garlic. For an interactive map of Oregon’s first frost dates, go to the United States Department of Agriculture’s website at http://bit.ly/USDA_FirstFrostOR.

By Denise Ruttan denise.ruttan@oregonstate.edu

Source: Jim Myers  myersja@hort.oregonstate.edu

This story is online at http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening2293