"Winterizing your Garden" &

No. 6, Vol. 2014
Inside This Issue
Winterizing Your Garden ............ 1
MG Coordinator Letter….…..…....2
Master Gardeners Notices .......... 3
Current Events ............................ 4
Article:
Be on the Lookout for Symptoms of
Tomato Late Blight………………..….5
CCMGA’s What We’ve Done &
What’s Next ................................ 6
Clatsop County Master Gardener
Demonstration Garden ............... 7
Article:
Start Soon to Fool Poinsettias into
Color and Bloom this
Winter……………………… ….………8-9
Master Gardener Graduation and
Potluck…………………………………...10
October Garden Hints….….…11-12
Grow the Coast 2014………………13
Diggin’ The Dirt ......................... 14
Save the Date……….………………..14
http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/clatsop/gardening
Deadline for submissions for the
October issue is October 20th.
Send articles to
[email protected]
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/clatsop/gardening
October 2014
"Winterizing your Garden"
&
Plant Sale
Sat., October 18, 2014
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
This event is a Free and Open to the Public!
The Master Gardeners ill provide education in preparing the garden for
winter.
(We don’t even really want to think about that rain!)
There will be demonstrations on garden tool care, dividing plants, soil
pH testing clinic, and of course, the Master Gardeners will be available
to answer garden questions. It will be held indoors at the Fairgrounds
main bldg.
Special Guest Speakers
Phil Allen – Recreational Foraging Mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest
Chuck Meyers – Worm Bin Composting and Demonstration on Cleaning,
Sharpening, and Storing your Garden Tools for Winter
For more information contact: OSU Extension – Clatsop County Office, 2001 Marine
Drive, Rm 210, Astoria OR, 503-325-8573, or email [email protected]
Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or
expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State University Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity
Employer. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. Please call (503) 325-8573 for information.
OSU Extension programs will provide reasonable accommodation to persons with physical or mental disabilities. Contact the Clatsop County Extension Office at 503-3258573 to request reasonable accommodation.
Happy Autumn!
I just wanted to include a quick note with some reminders for everyone…
It is reporting time for Volunteer Service Hours! If you have not yet entered your hours
into the OSU Volunteer Reporting System (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/vrs/),
please do so before October 31st. If you need help, please bring your hours into the
Extension office where I can help you. Remember, new students need a total of 60
hours for certification, and Veterans need 20 hours for re-certification. If you feel you
may not have enough hours, it’s not too late! Please contact me so that we can work
on a plan to get you certified!!
Also, Jane Donnelly would like to remind those of you who have not yet paid your
CCMGA dues, that it isn’t too late to do so. Remember, if you want to maintain an
active status in the association, you must stay current with yearly dues.
I hope everyone is excited about the upcoming Winterizing Your Garden event. I know
that Joanie Chapel and Nancy Leonard have put a lot of time and effort into planning
this wonderful end of season event for our community, and I can’t wait to attend this
year.
Sincerely,
Stacey Hall
Master Gardener Program Coordinator
[email protected]
Like us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/ClatsopCoMGA
2
Master Gardeners:
If you have plants to donate to the Winterizing Your
Garden event, bring them to the Fairgrounds Friday,
October 17, 12:00 to 2:00 pm with plant name & care
instructions.
This is a great opportunity for our trainees to get in
their end‐of‐the‐season volunteer service hours.
Call Nancy Leonard or Joanie Chapel to Sign-Up!
Master Gardener Information Hotline
Scheduling: Carole Birney
(503)338-8709
Oct. 7th – VMG Needed, Karen Burke
Oct. 14th – John & Marion Sefren, Karen Burke
Oct. 21st – Carole Birney, Trudy Enke
Oct. 28th – Nova Sue Harrison, Roberta Muehlberg
3
Demo Garden
Workdays
Hours
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Every Thursday
Clatsop County
Fairgrounds
Current Events
October
15 CCMGA Board Meeting
Location and Time TBA
Contact:
Walt John
(503) 325-7429
Marlene House
(503) 325-4423
18 Winterizing Your Garden Event
& Plant Sale
Clatsop County Fairgrounds Main Bldg.
22 CCMGA Membership Meeting
CCC Columbia Hall RM 219, 5:30 PM
2014 CCMGA Board
Co-Presidents
Ann Goldeen &
Marlene House
Vice President
Pam Holen
Secretary
November
1 Grow the Coast 2014
Seaside Convention Center, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Karen Reintzell
Treasurer
Jane Donnelly
Co-Historians
Trudy Enke &
Randy Pappas
State Rep
Pam Holen
Alt State Rep
Chris Bennett
12 CCMGA Board Meeting
Location and Time TBA
21 Master Gardener Graduation
Duncan Law Consumer Center, Coho Room, 6:00 pm
4
Be on the Lookout for Symptoms of Tomato Late Blight
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure for late blight in tomatoes.
(Photo by Lynn Ketchum.)
Last Updated: September 5, 2014
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Late blight, a fungal disease that infects
tomatoes, usually shows up in Oregon gardens as weather turns wet
and humid, and it’s dispersed by the wind and rain.
This devastating disease kills tomato and potato plants, as well as peppers and eggplant, and usually
does not arrive until mid-August or September. According to Ross Penhallegon, Oregon State
University Extension horticulturist in Lane County, the disease is holding off because of the current
warm weather. Once it turns wet and cool, start looking for late blight, Penhallegon advises.
Gardeners can take steps to keep late blight from spreading, and prevention is the best cure.
Penhallegon recommends watering tomatoes around the base and not from above to avoid prolonged
wetting of leaves. Make sure to give plants space. Stake and prune to keep air circulating and plants dry.
The fungus that causes late blight is the same one that caused the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. It
can be brought to gardens with purchased tomato starts, or it can come from volunteer potato or
transplanted tomato plants, or even from spores that blow in from infected gardens, Penhallegon said.
“Fortunately, there is an OSU variety that is resistant to the blight: Legend,” said Penhallegon.
You'll recognize the disease on tomato plants that have irregular, greenish water-soaked spots on the
leaves and stems. Under cool, moist conditions, the spots rapidly enlarge to form purplish black lesions.
The lesions girdle the stems and leaves, killing the foliage.
Penhallegon's advice is to destroy volunteer tomato and potato plants as well as plants that are
obviously diseased. Put them in a plastic bag and into the trash. Do not compost them.
Good garden sanitization is critical to combat late blight. Clean your gardening and pruning tools with
alcohol or a 10-percent bleach solution. Do not prune your tomatoes without sanitizing the equipment.
"Several years ago an entire greenhouse was contaminated when the pruners were not sanitized,
spreading the disease to the rest of the greenhouse plants," Penhallegon said.
For more information, call or drop by your local county office of the OSU Extension Service. Author:
Daniel Robison Source: Ross Penhallegon
5
CCMGA’s
What We’ve Done & What’s Next!
August’s Membership Meeting & Garden Party
Thank you to MG Cheryl Gramson Capellen and her husband Jim for an enjoyable afternoon
at their beautiful home on Walluski Loop Road. It was a beautiful day to wander through
their gardens, visit with the chickens, and have a delicious potluck lunch.
MG Pam Holen gave a demo on how to prepare "fresh from the garden" appetizers using peas,
zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots. She was asked to share the pea hummus recipe.
PEA HUMMUS
Combine in food processor:
 1 cup shelled English peas
 3 garlic cloves
 juice of one lemon.

Blend until smooth. Then, drizzle approximately 1/4 cup of combined olive oil and sesame
oil into food processor while running. Season with Chef Daddy Savory Blend seasoning salt
(chefdaddybrands.com).
Congratulations to Barry Sears who won the duo package of Chef Daddy salts!
October’s Membership Meeting
October's membership meeting (Wednesday, October 22nd at 5:30 pm) will be highlighting
one of our CCMGA projects from this summer. Master Gardener Barbara Hassan and Trudy
Enke assisted the Youth Center with a gardening summer camp at the Sunny Pool
community Gardens in Seaside. Weekly themed lessons on gardening and nutrition were
established with the assistance of MG Mary Blake. The energy level of the kids was high so
Ilene Bailey, another Master Gardener, came to the rescue. The program was a smashing
success.
Want to learn more about their program and the food grown for kids and families? Come to
the membership meeting and see how we can make a difference in our communities.
~ Pam Holen, Vice President
6
Clatsop County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
Our Demonstration Garden is a constantly evolving space just as your gardens are at home. In
order to keep up with this evolution we need you as members to volunteer some time here and
there so that we can maintain the garden to its fullest potential. We are currently working in the
garden every Thursday evening from 5:30 to 7:30. And remember that the volunteer year will end
on October 31st so here is a great opportunity to fulfill your required hours to graduate or in the
case of the veterans, to re-certify.
So that's one reason to come out and work. Another is that you will learn so much about what
plants grow well in this area, what their growing habits are and also you learn pruning
techniques as well as other gardening techniques. Ok, and let's not forget that you will learn
rather quickly (!) which plants are weeds and which plants are to continue growing in the
garden.
For October and November (new volunteer year begins on November 1st) we will be working on
Fall clean up and will begin to dig and divide plants for our April Spring Garden Seminar Plant
Sale. Our Seminar relies heavily on the plants that we obtain from the garden as does the
Winterizing Your Garden event (October 18th 10am-2pm). So that is another great reason to
come on out and do some work.
I have given you many reasons to work in the Demonstration Garden, and I have one more for
you. How about camaraderie??!! When you work at any of the Master Gardener venues you do
get to know your fellow members and working in the garden is a good way to make some new
friends.
If the weather is questionable on a given work day please contact Walt John at 503-325-7429 to
see if we are working.
Thank you,
Debbie Haugsten
7
Start Soon to Fool Poinsettias into Color and Bloom this Winter
Poinsettias that spent the summer outdoors should be back indoors by late September.
(Photo by RedTail_Panther/ Flickr)
Last Updated: September 19, 2014
CORVALLIS - Late September is the time to start thinking about coaxing potted poinsettia plants back
into color and bloom for December.
If your poinsettias spent the summer outdoors, they should be back indoors by late September or early
October, according to Ross Penhallegon, horticulture agent with the Oregon State University Extension
Service.
Sensitive to day length, the poinsettia needs a certain minimum amount of darkness each 24-hour
period to stimulate blooming in the winter. With the shorter fall and winter days in Oregon, the
poinsettia has a natural tendency to want to bloom in the fall, when there are about equal amounts of
dark and light.
However, if the plants are exposed to lights inside and around the home, the plants won't receive
enough darkness to start blooming and could stay vegetative through the winter.
To make a poinsettia bloom in the early winter, indoor gardeners simply need to adjust the amount of
light and darkness to "fool" the plant, said Penhallegon.
Start in mid- to late October. Place your poinsettias in a completely dark area from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.
daily, until red color starts to develop on the top leaves or "bracts."
"This can take quite a while," warned Penhallegon. "People often forget to cover the plant one or two
nights. Interrupting the darkness by even a few minutes may cause failure of bloom."
Bring the plant to ordinary light after the bracts show color. Poinsettia growers may have better luck if
the bracts are almost fully expanded before bringing the plant out. Once the plant has large, colored
bracts, the artificial light inside a house will not inhibit a poinsettia's blooms.
8
Start soon to fool poinsettias into color and bloom this winter – Cont’d
Penhallegon offered a general time line for "coloring" the poinsettia:





Mid- to late October - Begin giving poinsettias long nights (darkness from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.).
Mid-November - Color should be showing in the bracts.
Early December - Bract color should be almost complete. Plant can be brought out into ordinary light.
December until February - During this "forced" bloom, keep the temperature between 60 and 70 degrees.
Let the plant receive as much sunlight as possible during the day. Water regularly and thoroughly.
Throughout the winter, fertilize once a week with a light, complete water-soluble fertilizer. Overfertilization will cause the leaves to drop. Keep hot or cold drafts away from the plant. The leaves may
wilt if the plant is too dry, too wet or exposed to a draft. Never allow a plant to stand in water. Yellowing
of foliage may indicate insufficient light, over-watering or lack of nitrogen. Generally, a slight correction
of the environment will correct any of the above symptoms.
After blooming, the plant matures in early spring. Bracts and leaves will begin to fall naturally.
Discontinue fertilizing and reduce watering. Cut the plant back to six inches and store in a cool dark
area. Water only enough to prevent the stem from shriveling. In the spring, the plant can once again be
set outdoors or maintained as a houseplant. Water it regularly and fertilize monthly. If grown outdoors,
be sure to check for insect pests and treat if needed. Next autumn, start the cycle again.
Author: Daniel Robison Source: Ross Penhallegon
9
CLATSOP COUNTY MASTER GARDENER GRADUATION
Our Graduation event is just around the corner so make sure you submit your hours
to the office by October 31st.
Graduation will take place on November 21st at 6pm at the Duncan Law Consumer
Center, CMH Columbia Center, Coho Room, located at
2021 Marine Drive in Astoria, next to the OSU Seafood Lab building.
There are stairs to the second floor and also an elevator. Watch for signs.
Veteran Master Gardeners will provide a potluck dinner for all.
This is a very fun event and this year we have added a RAFFLE!!
And don't forget...
Master Gardeners throw the best potlucks so you are in for a treat.
~Graduation Co-Chairs Pam Holen and Debbie Haugsten~
10
October 2014 Gardening Hints
Planning
• If needed, improve soil drainage needs of lawns
before rain begins.
• Begin the process to train as a Master Gardener
volunteer with OSU Extension, register with your
local Extension office. For additional information,
visit: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg
Maintenance and Clean Up
• Drain or blow out your irrigation system, insulate
valve mechanisms, in preparation of winter.
• Recycle disease-free plant material and kitchen
vegetable and fruit scraps into compost. Don’t
compost diseased plants unless you are using
the “hot compost” method (120 degrees to 150
degrees Farenheit).
• Use newspaper or cardboard covered by mulch
to discourage winter and spring annual weeds or
remove a lawn area for conversion to garden
beds. For conversion, work in the paper and
mulch as
organic matter once the lawn grass has died.
• Clean and paint greenhouses and cold frames
for plant storage and winter growth.
• Harvest sunflower heads; use seed for birdseed
or roast for personal use.
• Dig and store potatoes; keep in darkness,
moderate humidity, temperature about 40
degrees Farenheit. Discard unused potatoes if
they sprout. Don’t use as seed potatoes for next
year.
• Harvest and immediately dry filberts and
walnuts; dry at 95 degrees to 100 degrees
Farenheit.
• Ripen green tomatoes indoors. Check often and
discard rotting fruit.
• Harvest and store apples; keep at about 40
degrees Farenheit, moderate humidity.
• Place mulch over roots of roses, azaleas,
rhododendrons and berries for winter protection.
• Trim or stake bushy herbaceous perennials to
prevent wind damage.
• To suppress future pest problems, clean up
annual flower beds by removing diseased plant
materials, overwintering areas for insect pests;
mulch with manure or garden compost to feed
the soil and suppress weeds.
• Cover asparagus and rhubarb beds with a
mulchof manure or compost.
• Clean, sharpen and oil tools and equipment
before storing for winter.
• Store garden supplies and fertilizers in a safe,
dry place out of reach of children.
• Prune out dead fruiting canes in raspberries.
• Western Oregon: Harvest squash and
pumpkins; keep in dry area at 55 degrees to 60
degrees Farenheit.
• Western Oregon: Spade organic material and
lime into garden soil, as indicated by soil test
results (if necessary and the weather permits).
Planting/Propagation
• Dig and divide rhubarb. (Should be done about
every four years.)
• Plant garlic for harvesting next summer.
• Propagate chrysanthemums, fuchsias, and
geraniums by stem cuttings.
• Save seeds from the vegetable and flower
garden. Dry, date, label, and store in a cool and
dry location.
• Plant ground covers and shrubs.
• Dig and store geraniums, tuberous begonias,
dahlias and gladiolas.
• Pot and store tulips and daffodils to force into
early bloom, indoors, in December and January.
11
Gardening Hints Continued
Pest Monitoring and Management
• Monitor landscape plants for problems. Don’t
treat unless a problem is identified.
• Remove and dispose of windfall apples that
might be harboring apple maggot or codling moth
larvae.
• Rake and destroy diseased leaves (apple,
cherry, rose, etc.) or hot compost diseased
leaves.
• Spray apple and stone fruit trees at leaf fall to
prevent various fungal and bacterial diseases.
For more information, see Managing Diseases
and Insects in Home Orchards (PDF - EC 631).
• If moles and gophers are a problem, consider
traps.
• Western Oregon: Control fall-germinating lawn
weeds while they are small. Hand weeding and
weeding tools are particularly effective at this
stage.
Houseplants and Indoor Gardening
• Early October: reduce water, place in cool area
(50-550F) and increase time in shade or darkness
(12-14 hours) to force Christmas cactus to bloom
in late December.
• Place hanging pots of fuchsias where they won’t
freeze. Don’t cut back until spring.
• Western Oregon: Check/treat houseplants for
disease and insects before bringing indoors.
12
13

SAVE THIS DATE
Master Gardeners Holiday
Party Potluck
At the home of
Debbie & Dave Haugsten
Long Beach Peninsula
Saturday, December 13th,
1 P.M.
More info in December

Oregon State University
Clatsop County Extension
2001 Marine Drive, Rm 210
Astoria OR 97103
14