About Brooke Edmunds

My focus is on meeting the community horticulture needs in Linn & Benton counties. In this role, I oversee the Master Gardener programs in each county. I also coordinate research-based educational programs in community food systems and IPM. Veggies are my passion!

Here are the resources shared during the garden lab presentation:

OSU references

Building Materials

Accessibility

Thrive (UK organization): https://www.thrive.org.uk/get-gardening

Thank you for filling out an evaluation of my teaching 🙂

Here are the links and references shared during the talk ‘Adapting Your Yard and Garden for Climate Change’. Feel free to reach out with questions.

Climate Change Resources

Oregon Climate Assessments

NW Pollinators and Climate Change (USDA)

Wildfire Resources

How do Wildfires Affect Bees? (OSU Extension)

Wildfire Ash in Garden (OSU Extension)

Soil

Carbon Sequestration

Harvesting peat moss contributes to climate change, Oregon State scientist says

Plant Selection

OregonFlora’s Gardening with Native Plants site

Enhancing Urban and Suburban Landscapes to Protect Pollinators (OSU Extension)

OSU Garden Ecology Lab

Managing Stormwater

Rain Garden webinar

Oregon Rain Garden Guide

Top Tips to Help Fight Climate Change

OSU Programs to Follow

Nackley Lab at NWREC

Climate Ready Landscape Plants (YouTube video) (Oregon State University and others)

Oregon Season Tracker

OSU Garden Ecology Lab

Climate Change & Mental Health

Mental health and Climate Change: Policy Brief from the World Health Organization

What is ecoanxiety and how can mindfulness help?

Good Grief Network (resources page has good info)

Other interesting reads or listens

Pacific Horticulture’s Podcast: What Climate is This? A Garden Futurist Special (Part 1) (Part 2)

Pacific Horticulture: Readily Available Low-Water Plants for a Warming Climate (Featuring OSU research projects)

Here are the links and references shared during the talk ‘Practical Tips for Gardeners to Combat Climate Change’. Feel free to reach out with questions.

Climate Change & Mental Health

Mental health and Climate Change: Policy Brief from the World Health Organization

What is ecoanxiety and how can mindfulness help?

Good Grief Network (resources page has good info)

Climate overview

How to Determine Your Microclimate (WSU)

Climate Change in Oregon

Oregon Climate Assessments

Soil

Carbon Sequestration

Harvesting peat moss contributes to climate change, Oregon State scientist says

Lawns and Climate Change

Soil Carbon Accumulation in Turfgrass: A Meta-Analysis

Summary: Through thoughtful practices, lawns can be climate-friendly

Other Tips

Fire Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes

Top Tips to Help Fight Climate Change

Sharewaste (food waste prevention)

OSU Programs to Follow

Dry Farming Collaborative

Nackley Lab at NWREC

Oregon Season Tracker

Here’s the links shared during the presentation:

OSU references

Materials

Accessibility

Thrive (UK organization): https://www.thrive.org.uk/get-gardening

PDF version of the slides will be added after the presentation

Thanks for joining the last Garden Walk for June at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture!

Our guest speaker was Charlotte Epps with the Intercultural Learning Garden or ILC. Charlotte shared the backstory on the garden and successes from their first year. Can’t wait to see how the sweetpotato trial turns out and to watch this student-run garden grow.

Master Gardener volunteers and Charlotte Epps inside a hoophouse looking over sweetpotatoes planted into plastic covered bed.
Charlotte Epps in the back sharing on her sweetpotato research project.

We finished up the garden walk with a few plant problems and questions similar to what may come through a Master Gardener plant clinic.

First up was aphids on lupine. Two biocontrols were present (lady beetles and parasitic wasps-check out those cool aphid mummies!) Did you know that there are even parasites of the aphid parasites??? Check out this fact sheet on hyperparasites of aphid parasitic wasps. I’m not sure if these hyperparasites are present in Oregon but will update when I find out.

Next up was a plant ID. This is Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ commonly known as Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick or contorted hazelnut. The genetic twisting of the stems also extends to the leaves giving them an uneven appearance. (The first time I thought this was a plant ‘problem’ not knowing that this was this cultivars normal appearance!)

Then we were wowed by the large, soft leaves and impressive floral display of the catalpa (I think this is Catalpa speciosa, what do you think? What additional pictures and info would you need to determine which Catalpa species this is?).

AND the bee-eating skunk was spotted before we left!

Thanks for coming out to the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture!

On 6/2 we had a tour hosted by Jen and Steph both students with the OSU Organic Growers Club. We ran into Amy Garrett (OSU Extension Small Farms) and Katherine (volunteer gardener) who kindly shared about their plots, too. Here’s info on tomato grafting from a previous MG webinar.


On 6/7 our guest speakers were Gail Langellotto (Dept. of Horticulture) and Jen Hayes (graduate student) with the OSU Garden Ecology Lab. Here’s more details on the gophers & camas story that Jen shared. Jen and other students from the Garden Ecology Lab shared their research projects in a virtual field day last year.

Thanks also to Nick C. with the annual flowers trial. We caught him out watering in plants and he shared a little about the set up of the Proven Winners trial that he’s running. Learn more in his short video from last year’s virtual field day.

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?

Al Shay & Cody Buckman sharing on irrigation strategies.

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.

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) in the hedgerow installation

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.

False Lupine (Thermopsis rhombifolia); easy to grow from seed but also spreads easily. Bumble bees loved it!

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!

If you missed the live class offered by Pat Breen (retired OSU Horticulture), there is still time to participate and build your plant ID skills!

  1. Watch the recording of Class #1: https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/1_kjs0sojl
  2. Go out and try your hand at identifying the trees & shrubs on the list: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/woody-plant-id-master-gardener-training-2020 All are located on the OSU campus around the LaSells Stewart Center and the Alumni Center. Use the appropriate woody plant search: https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/node/2163
  3. THEN watch the recording of Class #2 to find out the answers: https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/1_pvtpkbij

This activity counts for Continuing Education: Add up the time you spent watching the recording plus your time spent on the ID process. This will vary by person.







Check your answers here:

  1. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/ceanothus-gloriosus
  2. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/carpinus-betulus-fastigiata
  3. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/myrica-californica
  4. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/weigela-florida
  5. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cornus-sericea-flaviramea
  6. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/taxodium-distichum-var-imbricarium
  7. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/viburnum-plicatum-var-tomentosum
  8. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/prunus-lusitanica
  9. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/pinus-nigra
  10. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/punica-granatum-var-nana
  11. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/tilia-tomentosa
  12. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cornus-kousa
  13. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cladrastis-kentukea
  14. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/kerria-japonica-pleniflora
  15. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/pachysandra-terminalis
  16. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/acer-circinatum

Please send your suggestions for other classes that might work in this format!

Thank you for attending the session at the 2020 Insights Into Gardening conference! Here are links to the resources mentioned during the presentation:

View the presentation slides here: https://oregonstate.box.com/s/bvw3c82gnc7lo0ypyk8k0az0q2nbjw7l

Your favorite flavorful varieties (crowd sourced during the presentation):

Harry’s Tasty Tomato Page (Univ. of Florida): https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/public/kleeweb/index.html

Organizing a taste test:
Seed Savers has good tips: http://blog.seedsavers.org/blog/how-to-set-up-a-tomato-tasting

University of Florida tomato breeding program:
https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/public/kleeweb/
Garden Gem

Dry Farming/Gardening:
OSU Master Gardener webinar from 2019: https://youtu.be/3hR8poPhlzY
OPB story: www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-state-university-climate-change-dry-farming-willamette-valley/