Gardening with Chip Bubl

Herbs should have a place in your garden

Herbs are, for the most part, easy to grow. Their needs are simple: plentiful sun, well drained soil, and periodic watering. Many of our herbs come from Mediterranean gardens and can handle heat and some lack of moisture. The aromatic oils in many of them were the plants’ way of storing energy when they shut down photosynthesis to conserve water on very hot days.

Thyme, lavender, bay leaves, sage, and rosemary are woody plants that go semi-dormant in the winter, but don’t lose their foliage. They do very well here with lots of sun and modest pruning. Their leaves can be harvested and either dried or used fresh. Sage benefits from fairly heavy late winter pruning to keep it vigorous.

Tarragon, oregano, and marjoram are herbaceous perennials that die back in the fall and push up shoots the next spring. We make tarragon flavored vinegar. It is as simple as possible. Cut a fair amount of leafy tarragon stems during summer and push them into wine bottles. Heat your vinegar of choice near boiling and add it to the bottle. Then cork the bottle and you are done.

Annual herbs that should have a place in your garden are basil, cilantro (coriander), dill, possibly fennel, and parsley. Parsley is easy to get started. It will overwinter unless it is really cold and will flower and set seed the following spring or early summer. You get a new crop every year. Same with the parsley relatives of dill (re-seeds sort of) and fennel (can become a pest). Basil is much more tender. It doesn’t like soil temperatures below 60 degrees. Fall temperatures near or below 37 degrees send basil into a woeful state. Harvest what is left because it will soon be gone.

While deer generally ignore most of the herbs above, they love both basil and parsley. Those herbs must be protected. Finally, herb flowers attract and support an amazing number of pollinators, so what’s not to like?

Why are raspberries so challenging?

While both western Oregon and Washington grow great raspberry crops, home gardeners often experience July-bearing raspberry plantings that start to die after three to five years (or earlier). The cause is a fungal disease called Phytophthora root rot. This insidious disease is native to our landscape; it invades the roots, turning the large root flesh orange red. Those roots are no longer functional. The raspberry plant will send up new shoots with new roots and, for a year, they look great; but, by the time they should bear fruit the following year, they are dying.

There really isn’t any homeowner control for the disease. Dampish, heavy soil stimulates the root rot. Very well-drained soil will slow or prevent the disease. Most Washington and Oregon commercial raspberry ground is on very deep, well-drained soil and often 20-40 feet deep. I call it “wonder” ground, and few of us have it.

The best option is to not use commercial raspberries bred for the PNW but to look to the raspberry varieties that are “primocane” raspberries that will be on the new cane in the fall. The top of the cane dies back, but below will produce a smaller crop on the same cane next July and then die (normally). These varieties that often were bred on the east coast seem to be better equipped for root rot, but no guarantees. They are some good berries from which to choose.

The other option is to build very high (at least three feet) raised beds if you are determined to grow our raspberry varieties, but no guarantees. I have seen them fail but also some that succeeded.

Large ant mounds

I had lots of calls in my Extension career about the large ant mounds created by the western thatching ant. The mounds are created from plant debris consisting in our area mainly of grass stems, fir needles, and small twigs. In my experience, most of the mounds are constructed on the edge of a forest/hedgerow and pasture. Sometimes, they can be found deep in a forest, but that is less common. The western thatching ant (formica obscuripes) is responsible for all the work. The mounds start small, as all great construction must, but can rise to significant stature. We had one mound on the edge of our forest that was about five feet tall and at least four feet across. That colony was at least 15 years old when, as will happen, it was abandoned.

The queen is kept deeply hidden in the structure. As the weather warms, the worker ants go into high gear, collecting juicy bits from any stray caterpillar or dead mouse in the vicinity. They are also aphid ranchers, tending “their” aphids as they suck the sugars from plants like Canada thistle and a variety of trees and shrubs. In turn, the ants protect the aphids from lady beetles and wasps that want to eat them. The ants eat very small amounts of fresh plant material.

The black-bodied, red-headed ants will bite when provoked. Their strong mandibles deliver a formic-acid-laced bite that can be quite painful, but that response generally happens only if you mess with the nest. Otherwise, these clever ants are considered the garbage detail of the forest. They consume pests, recycle small carcasses, and capture termite queens in August. There are hints, though no definitive research, that thatching ants compete with carpenter ants for the same food sources and may reduce the carpenter ant colonies where they overlap with theirs.

Thatching ants do not invade your house and chew wood like carpenter ants. They are beneficial and, unless they make the mistake of putting their nest in a very inappropriate place (like in the middle of your garden), they should be left alone. In parts of Europe, you are specifically asked not to kill the colonies since they are so important to forest health.

Final notes

Take excess produce to the food bank, senior centers, or community meals programs. Cash donations to buy food for the food banks are also greatly appreciated. Very helpful information sources are your local Extension offices: Columbia County Extension 503 397-3462; Clatsop County Extension 503 325-8573; Wahkiakum County Extension 360 795-3278; and Cowlitz County Extension. 360 577-3014. The Extension Service offices offer their programs and materials equally to all people. Advice on future garden topics are welcome by emailing Chip Bubl at chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu.