Thank you for coming out to the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture!

Here’s some notes and recap from our tour on 5/28. The guest speakers were Al Shay and Cody Buckman. They shared gardening philosophy and on the ‘Urban Garden Row ‘which contains dense urban plantings, a central American inspired garden and a mini-meadow installation. We also saw several different irrigation systems and discussed the pros & cons for gardens. Drip, misters, hand watering, sprinklers, microspray systems-what’s your preference?

Here’s a video on how to burn perfect circles into weed barrier. Note: not an OSU video & the video quality is little shaky but shows the method well!

We learned about the ~9-10 year old hedge row installation that incorporates natives and cultivated varieties. This planting provides dense habitat for birds and pollinators. Learn more in the OSU Extension publication, ‘A Guide to Hedgerows: Plantings that Enhance Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Functionality.’ Fun fact: over 86 bird species have been identified at OCCUH.

Al & Cody touched on Amy Garrett’s dry farming demonstration (just planted with tomatoes, zucchini, and buckwheat cover crop. Learn more on her Small Farms Dry Farming website. Also check in with the Benton County Demonstration Garden. They hosted a small plot and may have insights on using this technique in gardens.

We wrapped up the tour with a glimpse at the Organic Growers Club CSA packing shed. The 2021 shares are sold out but you can still get a cool SOIL t-shirt or make a donation to support the students.

And here’s some tips on enjoying Cody’s favorite veggie: Kohlrabi!