Ashland Garden Club hosted the Siskiyou District spring meeting yesterday and it was a success!
Kudos to Jeanne Aargo, Viki Ashford, Carlotta Lucas, Gena Goddard, Joanie Kitchener, Melody Jones, Darlene, Fenwick, Marilyn love and Susan Zane for all their hard work towards making this event a wonderful gathering for the six garden clubs in the district.
AGC President Susan Zane
Before the Crowd Arrives
Floor Arrangement
Photo Contest
Country Store
CORVALLIS, Ore. – As you pore over seed catalogs in these cold winter months, you’ll likely include tomatoes in your vegetable garden dreams.
Oregon State University’s vegetable breeding program has developed several varieties over the past 40 years that are now mainstays in many Pacific Northwest gardens. Perhaps you know of Indigo Rose, the novelty purple tomato that OSU debuted in 2012. But did you know about the other varieties that the program has created?
In the past, the whole idea behind the breeding program has been to breed seedless types that are adapted to the cooler springs we have in Oregon and tomatoes with determinate growth so that they bloom earlier and set fruit under cooler conditions,” said Jim Myers, OSU’s vegetable breeder.
Under Myers’s leadership, the program has focused on two areas in recent years – developing varieties with late blight resistance and increasing phytonutrient potential.
“We try to build on the material previously developed in the vegetable breeding program,” Myers said.
Myers suggested the following OSU varieties, many of which were developed by his predecessor, Jim Baggett.
Find these tomatoes in the seed catalogs from Territorial Seed Co., Victory Seed Co., Ed Hume Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Nichols Garden Nursery.
Except for Indigo Rose, these tomatoes are determinate types, meaning that they are bushy in form and have fruit that sets on the bud at the tip of the stem, Myers said. They continue growth from side branches. All tomatoes from determinate type plants ripen in a concentrated period of time. Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, will grow vigorously to heights of up to 12 feet and produce fruit until frost kills them.
If you’re overwhelmed by all the tomato choices and only have limited space, Myers has some advice.
“Find a few tomato varieties that work really well for you and use them as standbys, but reserve some space every year for experimental types that you want to try,” said Myers, the Baggett-Frazier Professor of Vegetable Breeding in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
By Denise Ruttan, denise.ruttan@oregonstate.edu, on Twitter at @OregonStateExt
Source: Jim Myers, myersja@hort.oregonstate.edu
This story is online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening2324
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.
It’s time to get your greenhouse ready for planting! 
Start with cleaning the shelves using 1 part bleach mixed with 9 parts water.
Read eHow for tips on cleaning a small greenhouse:
http://www.ehow.com/small-greenhouse_care.html
Sterilize your trays & pots with this same bleach solution. Purchase or make your seedling mix (which is a soil-less mix), gather your plant labels & permanent markers and you’re ready to plant.
Read how to make your own soil-less seedling mix Organic Gardening website: http://organicgardening.about./seedstartingmix.htm
To calculate greenhouse planting start dates, check each seed packet and plant according to the instructions. Count back the weeks needed for seeds to grow and when you want them really for the garden club’s plant sale or to plant in your garden after the last frost. Seeds typically need 8-12 weeks to grow. For example: AGC’s plant sale is May 11 2013, 12 weeks back from May 11th is February 16th, 8 weeks back is March 16th . Check your seed packets for start dates.
Below is a list of flowers you can start in your greenhouse in February: Petunias, Impatiens, Lobelia, Lupine, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Salvia, Lavender, Scabies, Delphinium, Pansies, Shasta daisy, Forget-me-nots, Gaillardias, and Nasturtiums.
You can also start: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Beets, Lettuce, Cilantro and Spinach seeds. It is recommended for larger vegetable seeds, like beets, to soak them 12 to 24 hours before planting.
To begin: fill your sterilized trays with seedling mix, water the seedling mix thoroughly, and then let them sit until the next day to warm up. On day two, plant your seeds, mark your trays/pots, then water them in.
Seeds need warmth to germinate. Check out Heirloom Seeds’ website showing seed germination/soil temperatures:
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/germination.html
You can provide warmth with heating mats (available at garden supply stores) which sit under your seed trays or you can warm your greenhouse with a portable heater.
Some seeds also need light to germinate, so place trays a few inches below a grow light or a florescent light, and keep the lights on 24 hours a day.
After the plants have developed several sets of true leaves, transplant them into sterilized pots with a good garden variety potting soil. To avoid transplant shock water them in with a B1 solution; B1 is available at garden stores. Once plants are established in their new pots, fertilize them once a week with a 1/4-strength water-soluble fertilizer. During the rest of the time use plain water; keep the seedlings moist, but not wet. Keep plants under the lights, keep them warm and watch them grow!
By: Carlotta Lucas & Melody Jones
These photos were submitted to the City of Ashland for the time-capsule being buried in the plaza.
by: Carlotta Lucas