Gardening with Chip Bubl

Very high fruit load

Last year was a very low fruit year. This year, the fruit load on apples, pears, plums, and cherries is very high. It is high enough on many apple trees I have seen to break limbs as the fruit matures. You can still thin. Remove the largest undamaged fruit in each cluster and space each fruit saved about a hand width apart. This will produce nice quality fruit and reduce the fruit load. Alternatively, plan to have some supports in place for some tree limbs to keep them from breaking.

Watering vegetables

Most vegetables are annual plants that start from seed and die before winter. They produce root systems with variable depth and branching. Vegetable root growth and vigor depends on genetics, soil type and depth, temperatures, leaf growth (to make carbohydrates that the roots are made of), nutrients, and soil moisture.

Gardeners influence some of these factors by amending soil to improve drainage, using raised beds (also for drainage), and using fertilizers (organic and/or conventional).

Some notably shallow rooted vegetables are lettuce, radish, cilantro, parsley, and spinach. The deepest rooting vegetables include winter squash, pumpkins, indeterminant tomatoes, and parsnips. The other vegetables are in the middle, with lots of cabbage family members along with potatoes, chard, onions, and quite a few others. Cabbage family vegetables develop extensive root systems very quickly.

Uniform watering is very important for all crops as they are just getting started. As their root systems develop they can gather water from deeper and wider portions of the soil. Coarse mulches will keep soil from “crusting” and allow water to penetrate the soil. Over time, added organic matter will also reduce crusting. But some of our clay/silt soil types can be hard to get “fully non-crusty”.

Ideal irrigation will cover both the soil close to the crop row and the space in between crops where the roots most likely are as well. You want moisture consistently available in the first six inches of soil. It is generally best to water in the very early morning. Watering at night can leave enough moisture on leaves that fungal and/or bacterial diseases can be made worse. Uniform watering is best done with sprinklers or good drip setups. For sprinklers, set up tuna cans to measure how much you have applied.

Onions are uniquely sensitive to water shortage once they have started to “bulb.” They will often stop growing completely and won’t start again no matter how much water you use to get them restarted. Another surprise with onions is that they need almost nine inches of water applied each month from mid-June through to full growth in early September.

A 100-year-old publication on root development in vegetables from which this onion root system drawing was used can be found by visiting soilandhealth.org. It is a very interesting book with great drawings of the different vegetable root systems.

The delightful chaos of our rain forests

Small woodland owners in the lower Columbia region manage their forests for multiple objectives. The continuum can range from high intensity timber production to forests with smaller income streams but significant natural habitat protection and enhancement.

Biologists note that in the highly productive landscapes of western Oregon and Washington forest lands, there is a great deal of solar energy captured in verdant growth and ultimate decay. This energizes a food web that supports a huge range of plants, animals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects, and fungi/bacteria in communities of complex and extended relationships.

Some years ago, an Habitat Conservation biologist gave a talk to the Columbia County Small Woodlands Association. She focused on some steps landowners could take to improve the “wild” productivity of their forests without significant loss of harvest returns.

Her guiding principles were summarized in the CCSWA’s newsletter:

Rule #1: Chaos!! A chaotic mess is what you should strive for in creating habitat for wildlife. Animals and plants evolved with natural processes and the variability that accompanies those processes. Diversity in habitat = increase in the variety of species supported. This is why highly invasive plants are so bad. They create a monoculture and obliterate diversity.

Rule #2: There is no such thing as garbage/waste/trash in forests. Everything is utilized, if not directly by species higher in the food web, then by the soil community (bacteria, fungi, insects, mollusks, etc.).

Rule #3: Aim to reduce short term impacts/disruptions. Less mobile species are in rapid decline and are most affected by even short-term loss of critical habitat. Be aware of the value of seeps, springs, and riparian areas and protect them. Time your harvest and other activities to do the least harm.

Rule #4: Think like an animal (or plant or fungus). What would particular species need? Compare that to what your land already provides and figure out what it lacks. If you can “build” it, they will come.

Fallen wood has great virtues as do snags of all sizes, particularly large ones. Leave dead trees standing unless they pose a hazard to your buildings.

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 resources are your local Extension offices. The Columbia County Extension is 503 397-3462, and the Wahkiakum County Extension is 360-795-3278. The Extension Service offices offer their programs and materials equally to all people.

Advice on future garden topics is welcome by emailing me at chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu.