Columbia County Master Gardener Association

We are sure missing our Master Gardeners here in Columbia County! Our statewide program coordinator, Gail Langellotto, says it best when she describes the incredible work that our “Master Gardener volunteers do across the state of Oregon: 52.5 tons of food donated to food pantries and food banks; support of 29 school gardens, 46 community gardens, and 23 educational gardens; over 200,000 hours volunteered and over 139,000 Oregonians served!”

Let’s hope that we can participate this summer in our local Farmers Markets, at the fair, in the Demonstration Garden, and join in so many community events that we love… But until then we will stay safe at home, gardening and growing food to share with our friends and neighbors! 🏵️

Happy National Volunteer Week! You are ALL so appreciated! 🧡

Do you find yourself observing the signs that Spring is here… maybe even more than ever before? Are you noticing trees blooming and shrubs leafing out in your yard, or maybe taking walks in your neighborhood and seeing daily changes in the landscape?

Even though Master Gardeners are not engaged in face-to-face volunteer activities right now, there are plenty of opportunities to earn credit for indirect volunteer hours!

A great way to contribute to a much needed data set on climate change can be done through Citizen Science projects. Master Gardeners may count hours as the actual time spent collecting and submitting data.

Since 2007, project “Budburst” has brought together researchers, educators, gardeners, and citizen scientists on a shared journey to uncover the stories of plants and animals affected by human impacts on the environment.

As a Budburst citizen scientist, you may invest as much or as little time as you like. You may observe and report on one or more plants over one season or over many years, or report on one plant observed for one day. All data contributions are valuable.

Bonus: If you have a student at home who may enjoy some extra time enjoying nature while making observations and contributing to a great science cause, this could be a neat activity to do together!

Tip: This native Oregon grape (also Oregon’s state flower) is one of the hundreds of plants to collect data on for project Budburst!

Register to help with this project here: https://budburst.org/

Rhubarb! An easy care, early spring, perennial vegetable must-have! Read all about how to grow this healthy plant (and some recipe ideas, too!) HERE.

From the Oregonian, April 9th, 2020: “Long before there were stay-at-home orders and stress about food shortages due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ian Wilson was helping city dwellers turn unused patches of their yard into fertile plots to grow their own organic vegetables, herbs, berries and fruit. Since 2013, when he founded his company, Portland Edible Gardens, Wilson has served as a consultant for home gardeners, with all levels of green-thumb skills, who want to pour their energy into improving the place they live and their access to fresh food.

“I believe our gardens will carry us through this difficult time,” Wilson wrote. “We plant seeds in times of abundance and in times of scarcity. Our garden’s gifts are too many to name and more generous than we could ever know.”

What’s growing right now in his family garden?

• From seed: Carrots, radishes, sugar snap peas, turnips
• From starts: Arugula, broccoli, kale, lettuce, onions, spinach

Read the full article HERE.

“One silver lining of the coronavirus lockdown is that it comes at the start of the growing season. Between now and the fall, folks have the chance to coax food from the soil while also feeding the soul.

This year, a vegetable garden may also provide one thing we seem to be lacking at the moment: control over our lives. It includes the satisfaction of raising nutritious and delicious food, exercising outdoors while socially distancing, relieving pressure on the nation’s food supply system, passing essential knowledge on to your children and growing extra to share with others. At the very least, it’s a constructive distraction in a confined environment.”

Read the full article from the Washington Post HERE.

Read the complete article in the Capital Press online HERE.

“Across the U.S., gardening is booming as people anxious about food shortages are eager to grow their own vegetables during the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the Cooperative Gardens Commission, people across the nation are planting “victory gardens,” modeled after World War I and II plots planted during wartime scarcity.

When Oregon State University’s Master Gardener program offered a free online gardening class, the Facebook announcement was shared more than 24,000 times.

And garden suppliers are reporting record sales.

“I’ve been through this a few times,” said Tom Johns, president of Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove, Ore. “The recession, stock market crashes, high fuel prices, Y2K. But this is the most concerned public we’ve ever seen.”

The gardening boom has impacted a patchwork of related industries disproportionately. Garden supply chains report high sales of fertilizer and other goods, and nurseries that sell vegetable plants are riding high.” Read more online…. HERE

In the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Kym Pokorny writes a gardening column and this one is especially relevant right now. Kym is a public service communications specialist with the OSU Extension Service.

“Gardening grants us solace — research bears that out. Digging in the soil is good for our mental health and we need that more than ever as we follow Gov. Kate Brown’s order to “stay home, save lives.” Even weeding helps keep anxiety at bay, said Brooke Edmunds, OSU Extension Service horticulturist. A bonus: This time of year, the moist soil makes weeds easy to pull.”

Read the full article online HERE.

Webinar presented by Dr. Rory McDonnell, Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University. Recording from 1/30/2018. Watch this fun, engaging presentation for 1 hour of continuing education credit!

Participants will learn the basics of identification of slug and snail species in home landscapes. Dr. McDonnell will cover current IPM strategies and also share his recent research findings on novel management methods.

Resources shared in the presentation:  Oregon Department of Agricultures “Slugs and Snails in Oregon” identification guide. 

Image credit: Oregon State University, https://flic.kr/p/9JGhUH

Guest Speaker: Glen Andresen presents his talk, “How I grow 40 fruit trees, raspberries, marionberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes & currants on my 60-by-100 foot city lot!”

Join us for this presentation at 6:30 p.m. at the OSU Extension Service in Columbia County: 505 N. Columbia River Hwy, St. Helens, OR 97051. We will also be celebrating the graduation of our recent Master Gardeners Trainees who have completed their classes and volunteer hours!

(Text and image courtesy of bridgetownbees.com)

Glen Andresen’s life changed in unimagined ways when an old-time beekeeper introduced him to the art, craft and science of keeping bees…and so began a lifetime fascination with the wonder and magic of honey bees. Glen has been keeping bees in his own backyard in Portland, Oregon since 1992 and in other people’s backyards since 2002. Last year, his city bees produced more than 3,600 pounds of honey.

He teaches backyard organic beekeeping classes through Portland Community College, Garden Fever nursery in Northeast Portland, and others.

Glen Andresen is the host of the long-running hour-long edible gardening show, “The Dirt Bag,” heard the second Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m. on community radio station KBOO, at 90.7 FM in Portland. Since 1994, Glen Andresen has been Metro/OSU’s lead natural gardening educator. The program offers presentations and information on how to have healthy yards and gardens without the use of pesticides. And Glen has been a Master Gardener since 1991.

He has degrees in economics and music but still would rather play with his bees.

Photo of Glen Andresen by Kirk Crippens