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Articles by Chip Bubl
Gardening with Chip
Digital access for 99¢ your first month. Then $2.99/month. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now Skip to content Winterizing the garden The following is a list of steps to take to help winterize your garden: Cover rose bushes with a sawdust mulch above the graft union and up several inches to protect the plant in the event of very cold weather. Dig your dahlias (if you still can), and put them in the coolest space you have that will stay above freezing. Dust the cut stems with sulfur, and put in sawdust or…
Gardening with Chip
Digital access for 99¢ your first month. Then $2.99/month. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now Skip to content Fall and the edible garden Once we escaped spring’s “March” months, summer has been quite nice in the vegetable garden. All the heat-loving crops flourished, and even the more heat-sensitive crops like lettuce handled the upper 80s temperatures better than I expected. Peppers are fantastic! Winter squash harvest should start with the most mature (as judged by color) ones soon.
Proposed rule could reduce Head Start services
Lower Columbia College (LCC) Head Start, Early Head Start, and ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) is alerting Cowlitz County families and community members to a proposed federal rule that could significantly change how Head Start programs serve young children and families as soon as next school year. The public has until Tuesday, Oct. 6, to comment on the proposal. In August, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a proposed rule, “Reducing…
Gardening with Chip
Planting for slope stability Many Wahkiakum and Columbia County properties have sections of exposed slopes. Depending on their location, soil type, size, and drop, the exposed slopes can threaten houses or roads. At a minimum, they can be a source of erosion and mud. Many of these slopes were created when home sites were prepared or roads installed. There is a lot of interest in using plants to stabilize slopes. A word of caution: you… Previous Post Sheriff's report
Gardening with Chip
Fall has arrived and the following is a list of things you could do this time of year: Protect your tomatoes from tomato late blight with copper fungicides if the weather last week didn’t do them in. Treat for slugs. We have some monsters out there now. They have reproduction on their minds. Perish the thought. Get busy! Keep watering blueberries and any newly planted landscape materials. While we have gotten some rain, the soil…
Gardening with Chip
Composting your way to a happy garden and landscape Making compost is not a mysterious process, and well-made compost is a great thing for your garden or landscape. It is straightforward; collect your vegetable and fruit kitchen scraps and mix them together with some landscape trimmings. This will create an environment for them to decompose (rot) into wonderful, crumbly, finished compost. Your plants will love the stuff, either worked into the soil or used as…
Weed of the Week
Eggleaf Spurge Eggleaf spurge, also known as oblong spurge or Balkan spurge, is a Class A weed. This weed is native to Turkey and Southeast Europe and is toxic to humans. It is on the Washington State quarantine list. Eggleaf spurge was first introduced as a garden ornamental and escaped cultivation. It’s closely related to and exhibits invasive and competitive strategies like leafy spurge, which is listed as a Washington State Class B noxious weed.
Gardening with Chip
Fall cricket songs The fall cricket in northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) can be found almost anywhere in the United States. They are quite “meaty” as insects go and have a significant fan club waiting for their first fall chirping performance. That usually starts between Aug. 6 and Aug. 10. The sound is comforting to many people; though, probably less so now, as we hide from evening heat in air-conditioned spaces. Fall crickets…
Weed of the Week
Purple loosestrife, an invasive Class B noxious weed, produces dense spikes of bright magenta flowers but can rapidly overtake wetlands, crowding out native vegetation and degrading wildlife habitat. Courtesy Photo. Purple Loosestrife Purple Loosestrife is a class B weed native to Europe, Asia, Australia and Northern Africa. This plant is on the Washington State quarantine list. It is not known to be toxic.
Gardening with Chip
Weeds for dinner Pacific northwest vegetable gardens usually have a large collection of annual weeds. These plants germinate in the spring to early summer and die in the fall or sooner. The seeds from these plants can often live in the soil for 15 to 40 years or more. When you till soil, you bring old seeds to the surface. They will germinate and compete with your vegetable seeds that are germinating as well. Generally,…
Gardening with Chip
Fertilizing some vegetables mid-summer gives them a boost Most vegetable gardeners begin the vegetable gardening season by applying a balanced fertilizer (organic and/or conventional) worked into the soil prior to planting. For light-feeding crops, this may be sufficient to carry them through to maturity. Nitrogen is the nutrient most often re-applied after crops are up and growing. There are several reasons to do this.
Wahkiakum 4-H presents Blalock with scholarship
Wahkiakum 4-H is proud to award Ruth Blalock a scholarship in the amount of $1,500 to continue “making the best better” in the world. Ruth has been a 4-H member for 13 years. She has been active in multiple project areas over the years, including creative arts, poultry, food and nutrition, gardening, needle arts, sheep, sewing, poetry, and robotics.
Gardening with Chip
Summer pruning helps keep apple trees compact while allowing more sunlight to reach developing fruit, improving both color and sweetness. Summer fruit tree pruning Any shrub or tree can be pruned safely in the summer. It is an especially appropriate time to prune if the main reason for doing so is to keep down the size of the plant. Unlike winter and early spring pruning, which tends to stimulate an enormous amount of very vigorous growth, summer pruning has a dwarfing effect.
Gardening with Chip
Bumblebees to the rescue I suspect that most of you have noticed how few honeybees are out and about. Bee colonies, both wild and domestic, are under attack from two parasitic mites. Local beekeepers have reported losses of 70 percent of their colonies. In some areas, feral honeybees have just about disappeared. So how did our crops get pollinated this spring?
Gardening with Chip
Harvesting potatoes Early potatoes could be ready by late June. When vines have died, potatoes are ready for harvest. Dig carefully to avoid bruising or cutting the skins. Potatoes can be brushed off or washed to remove dirt. They should be dried completely before they are put into storage. Potatoes should not be exposed to light. If they develop extensive “greening,” they should be discarded.
Garden Plots: News, a new Extension Agent, and garden guidance
Events: October 3 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The speaker will be Bill Holmes, past President of the Cowlitz Beekeepers will talk on “Winter carbohydrates and the Bees.” Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the Zoom link or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. Newspapers are so important I have always loved newspapers and felt it important to subscribe to them.
Column: Invasive plants and your garden
Invasive plants pose a threat to farming, gardening, and important natural areas. While a few of the most noxious woody invaders got here by chance, the bitter lesson is that most were brought to North America as landscape or agricultural plants. Scotch broom was brought to Vancouver Island and has spread up and down the West Coast.
Garden Plots: Invasive plants and your garden
Invasive plants pose a threat to farming, gardening, and important natural areas. While a few of the most noxious woody invaders got here by chance, the bitter lesson is that most were brought to North America as landscape or agricultural plants. Scotch broom was brought to Vancouver Island and has spread up and down the West Coast.
The weather and your garden
Events: September 5 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, September 5, at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Tom Cinquini from Sowers Apiaries will be our speaker. Tom is a very fun speaker. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the Zoom link, or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. Weather topics This past week, we had quite a bit of rain. Most came in showers that passed through without dumping a lot of water.
Garden Plots: Tomato season off to a strong start
Events: September 5 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, September 5, at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Tom Cinquini from Sowers Apiaries will be our speaker. Tom is a very fun speaker. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the zoom link, or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. Tomato season to date We had great tomato weather from mid- June, July and into August. Most gardeners have started picking some ripe tomatoes.
Column: What the summer heat means for plants, trees
It has really been hot There are all sorts of weather records being broken by this extended heat cycle. We have had no days where the daily high temperature was less than 80 degrees F or above. This isn’t the Western Oregon I grew up in. For some vegetables, like peppers and squash, it is just dandy. It’s a little marginal for tomatoes since they don’t set fruit well on days above the mid 90s. Gardeners have been focused on watering.
Garden Plots: Gardening in different environments
Events: August 1: Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting Thursday, August 1, at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The speaker will be Ryan Williamson of Sourwood Farms, gotakeawalk@yahoo.com. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the Zoom link, or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. August 8: Saving Seeds This talk will be held at the St. Helens Library on 375 South 18th Street on Tuesday, August 8, from 5:30 to 6:30.
Garden Plots: What the summer heat means for plants and trees
July 17 – 21: Columbia County Fair. August 1: Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, August 1st, at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The speaker will be Ryan Williamson of Sourwood Farms, gotakeawalk@yahoo.com. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the Zoom link or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. August 8: Saving Vegetable Seeds program. Chip Bubl, St. Helens Library, 5:30 p.m. Free and open to all.
Column: Controlling summer bugs
Vegetable gardening has moved in fits and starts this year. Some gardeners, depending on your location, might consider planting short-season corn like “Sugar Buns.” These take about 70 days to maturity corn. You don’t have to do that this year if you get the corn in the ground this week. Longer season corn should be alright. Here’s what to remember: • Plant enough seed in the rows so you can thin down to 8 to 10 inches between corn plants.
Column: Summer is finally busting out... I think
Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting has been cancelled for July since it would have been on July 4th. The seedcorn maggot can be a real problem with bean, corn, and squash family seeds. By the time the gardener realizes that something is wrong and looks in the seed furrow, the damage is already done. The maggot and seed alike may have disappeared. That happened to me this year with a planting of winter squash.
Garden Plots: Corn crops and controlling summer bugs
The Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting has been canceled for July since it would have been on July 4. It’s not too late to plant corn Vegetable gardening has moved in fits and starts this year. Some gardeners, depending on your location, might consider planting short-season corn like “Sugar Buns.” These take about 70 days to maturity corn. You don’t have to do that this year if you get the corn in the ground this week. Longer season corn should be alright.
Garden Plots: Spring time soil and planting
Events: June 6 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting Thursday, June 6 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Dr. Dewey Caron will give a report about the PNW Honeybee Survey. Linda Zahl will also talk about the blackberry nectar flow. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the zoom link or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. Root-bound transplants Our unpredictable spring weather is a nightmare for nurseries that grow bedding plants.
Garden Plots: Garlic and gardening this summer season
Events: June 6 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, June 6 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Dr. Dewey Caron will give a report about the PNW Honeybee Survey. Linda Zahl will also talk about the blackberry nectar flow. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the zoom link or you can attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. Prime time for garlic Garlic planted last fall is now in the home stretch.
Garden Plots: Transplanting and direct seeding vegetables
Warmer temperatures for the next week or more give hope that this might be a good spring for vegetable growing. In many gardens, soils may be a little too wet to till. To know if your soil is ready, dig some and form it into a ball. If it remains crumbly when squeezed, it is ready. After you till, cover the soil with black plastic until you are ready to plant. That keeps soil moisture manageable and will stop weed growth, at least for a while.
Garden Plots: Using fertilizers, germinating soil, and pepper preparation
Events: April 27 The Columbia County Master Gardeners™ Spring Fair will be Saturday, April 27 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. There will 3,000+ tomato plants, 700+ pepper plants, and garden related items from other vendors including Means Nursery! It will be at the Fairgrounds again this year. May 2 Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting.
Transition from winter into spring
Most tree roots start to take up nutrients a long time before we see new shoot growth. Evergreens (and this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, arborvitae, Pieris, etc.) tend to get a light-green washed out look over the winter. This can be corrected by giving them a fertilizer containing slow release nitrogen. Ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) would be a good choice as would an organic material like blood meal.
Column: When will we have the last frost?
Events: April 13 Scappoose Bay Watershed Council’s (CSBWC) Native Plant Sale. Join the Watershed Council at their Spring Native Plant Sale on Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the SBWC nursery, located at Scappoose High School. Look for signs – go east on SE High School Way and turn into the parking lot between the high school and the school ball field areas. This is their semi-annual event to get you ready for spring and summer planting.
Garden Plots: Early spring green season
Events: April 4, Columbia County Beekeepers Monthly meeting. Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Contact Linda Zahl at ColumbiaCountyOregonBeekeepers@gmail.com for the March program. Also, contact Linda for the Zoom link, or you are welcome to attend in person at the OSU Extension Office in St. Helens. April 13, Scappoose Bay Watershed Council’s Native Plant Sale.
Column: Poison oak, a plant to avoid
Events: Online Bee School Columbia County Oregon Beekeepers will join Tualatin Valley Beekeepers Association for their online Bee School March 18, 19, and 21. Then we will have our own Field Day on April 6th or 15th depending on the weather in Trenholm. For registration contact Linda Zahl Columbiacountyoregonbeekeepers@gmail.com. A plant to avoid: Poison oak Poison oak (we don’t have poison ivy) is more common than people realize in South Columbia County.
Column: Poison oak, a plant to avoid
Events: Online Bee School Columbia County Oregon Beekeepers will join Tualatin Valley Beekeepers Association for their online Bee School March 18, 19, and 21. Then we will have our own Field Day on April 6th or 15th depending on the weather in Trenholm. For registration contact Linda Zahl Columbiacountyoregonbeekeepers@gmail.com. A plant to avoid: Poison oak Poison oak (we don’t have poison ivy) is more common than people realize in South Columbia County.
Column: Seed starting tips Original
Events: March 2 Columbia County Small Woodlands Tree Sale New date and place. The Columbia County Small Woodlands Association has an annual tree sale in St. Helens. You can purchase a variety of trees in very small quantities. The sale this year will be on Saturday, March 2 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in St. Helens from 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. They sell both forest tree seedlings, some native shrubs, and some ornamental trees. Get there early for the best selection. It is very well attended.
Column: Seed starting tips
Events: March 2 Columbia County Small Woodlands Tree Sale New date and place. The Columbia County Small Woodlands Association has an annual tree sale in St. Helens. You can purchase a variety of trees in very small quantities. The sale this year will be on Saturday, March 2 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in St. Helens from 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. They sell both forest tree seedlings, some native shrubs, and some ornamental trees. Get there early for the best selection. It is very well attended.
Column: Winter upkeep tips
Fertilize evergreen shrubs this month Most tree roots start to take up nutrients a long time before we see new shoot growth. Evergreens (and this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, arborvitae, Pieris, etc.) tend to get a light-green washed out look over the winter. This can be corrected by giving them a fertilizer containing slow release nitrogen. Applications made now will give much improved color by late March.
Column: Cold weather complications
The climate in Western Oregon is a plant-lovers dream. Cool winters and mild, dry summers allow the gardener to build a landscape with a great diversity of plant types and species. This may get us into trouble. We get complacent and then an arctic express descends. Plants that are marginally hardy (a product of their evolutionary genetics) do not survive without additional protection.
Column: Cold weather complications
The climate in Western Oregon is a plant-lovers dream. Cool winters and mild, dry summers allow the gardener to build a landscape with a great diversity of plant types and species. This may get us into trouble. We get complacent and then an arctic express descends. Plants that are marginally hardy (a product of their evolutionary genetics) do not survive without additional protection.
Column: Cold weather complications
The climate in Western Oregon is a plant-lovers dream. Cool winters and mild, dry summers allow the gardener to build a landscape with a great diversity of plant types and species. This may get us into trouble. We get complacent and then an arctic express descends. Plants that are marginally hardy (a product of their evolutionary genetics) do not survive without additional protection.
Gardening resolutions for the New Year
Gardens are all about change Plants that you once loved have grown too big for their space and/or are self-seeding their offspring everywhere. Fruit trees that fail to set fruit, or die on their own, need to be removed. New vegetables come along that demand space where space is limited. What won’t you plant to make way for them? Compost, shovels, sweat, loppers, chain saws, and our energy and imagination will create the 2024 version of our gardens. Garden resolutions should be attainable.
Column: Planning and planting for spring Original
I recently had a question from someone looking to do succession planting for, probably, vegetables. They wanted to know the average dates for the last spring frost and for the first fall frost. For years, I have used April 15th as the average last spring 32-degree F frost and October 31 for the first fall frost. Of course, those numbers are not absolute. Rather, they represent the point where it is increasingly less likely to frost after that spring date and more likely to frost after the fall date.
Column: Gardening resolutions for the New Year Original
Gardens are all about change. Plants that you once loved have grown too big for their space and/or are self-seeding their offspring everywhere. Fruit trees that fail to set fruit, or die on their own, need to be removed. New vegetables come along that demand space where space is limited. What won’t you plant to make way for them? Compost, shovels, sweat, loppers, chain saws, and our energy and imagination will create the 2024 version of our gardens. Garden resolutions should be attainable.
Column: Gardening resolutions for the New Year
Gardening resolutions for the New Year Gardens are all about change. Plants that you once loved have grown too big for their space and/or are self-seeding their offspring everywhere. Fruit trees that fail to set fruit (or die on their own) need to be removed. New vegetables come along that demand space where space is limited. What won’t you plant to make way for them? Compost, shovels, sweat, loppers, chain saws, and our energy and imagination will create the 2024 version of our gardens.
Column: Keeping your Christmas Tree Fresh
If you buy a tree directly from any of our great local Christmas tree growers or purchase one from a lot, the care you give the tree when you get it home is very important to the quality and safety of your tree. Cut trees can be left outside in a shady, moist spot for a number of days prior to bringing them into homes. If freshly cut, immersing the base in a 5-gallon bucket of water is a good idea.
Column: Keeping your Christmas tree fresh
If you buy a tree directly from any of our great local Christmas tree growers or purchase one from a lot, the care you give the tree when you get it home is very important to the quality and safety of your tree. Cut trees can be left outside in a shady, moist spot for a number of days prior to bringing them into homes. If freshly cut, immersing the base in a 5-gallon bucket of water is a good idea.
Column: A gardener Christmas holiday wish list
I know this is pushing the calendar, but I thought it made sense to have some gardening Christmas gift ideas in this column. • Nice gardening gloves, especially those flexible kinds that rose thorns don't penetrate or nice-fitting leather gloves. • Knee pads or knee benches for gardeners to make close work less of a pain. • A well-made spading fork or shovel. • Cast aluminum hand tools or specially designed "ergonomic" tools for less muscle strain. This is increasingly important as one gets older.
Column: A gardener Christmas holiday wish list
I know this is pushing the calendar, but I thought it made sense to have some gardening Christmas gift ideas in this column. • Nice gardening gloves, especially those flexible kinds that rose thorns don’t penetrate or nice-fitting leather gloves. • Knee pads ors knee benches for gardeners to make close work less of a pain. • A well-made spading fork or shovel. • Cast aluminum hand tools or specially designed “ergonomic” tools for less muscle strain. This is increasingly important as one gets older.
Column: Drought effects linger after the rain has begun
Most of Columbia County had no real rain for about 90 days this summer. For many gardeners, the long warm season allowed tomatoes to ripen and Concord grapes to actually get sweet. That was all good. But there is a strong chance that the long dry spell will continue to affect trees and shrubs. Much of the damage will not show up until next spring or even for several years. Newly planted trees and shrubs are most at risk.
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