GET OUTDOORS AND PRUNE YOUR TREES
It’s February and time to prune
A 16-page illustrated guide from the OSU Extension Service explains the basic principles of training and pruning apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut, filbert apricot, and sweet and sour cherry trees. It’s called “Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard” (PNW 400).
Fertilize and prune early to help cane berries produce more fruit
It’s not too early in the year to begin doing a few simple chores to help raspberries and blackberries stay healthy and bear more fruit.
How to prune blueberries for more fruit
If you prune your highbush blueberries every year, it can make the difference between a mediocre and a bumper crop and help produce consistently high-quality fruit.
For more specific pruning information, the 22-minute OSU Extension videotape “A Grower’s Guide to Pruning Highbush Blueberries,” (DVD 2) is for gardeners and commercial growers. Cost is $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Order online or call 800-561-6719.
ADVENTURES IN THE COOL AND DAMP
Mushrooms can mean healthy soil
Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and may indicate healthy soil for trees and other plants.
Got moss in your lawn? Try these tips
Whether you live on the wet or dry side of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, moss can infest your lawn. To discourage its growth, OSU Extension turfgrass specialist Rob Golembiewski suggests asking yourself several questions.
Tips for growing vegetables in Oregon’s colder regions
Although summer vegetables can be a challenge to grow in these short-season areas, many fearless gardeners enjoy bountiful harvests just the same. OSU Extension horticulturist Janice Cowan shows how to do it.
WHAT’S NEW
Oregon’s agricultural sales rebound 3.8 percent in 2010 after dismal 2009
Oregon’s farmers and ranchers grossed $4.3 billion in sales last year, a 3.8 percent rebound from a dismal 2009, according to estimates in an Oregon State University report.
OSU study finds optimal treatment for fast, healthy putting greens
Researchers at Oregon State University believe they’ve come up with a winning formula for making putting greens fast and healthy – and they have the numbers to prove it.
Gift from founders of Bob’s Red Mill will launch new OSU center
A $5 million gift from one of the world’s most prominent advocates for whole grains and healthy eating will launch a new research and outreach center at OSU focused on nutrition of whole grain foods.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/enews/
