Gardening with Chip

Gardening projects you could do

Protect your tomatoes from tomato late blight with copper fungicides (considered "organic"). Watch forecasts for a rainy weather pattern developing. Apply spray before it starts to rain. It won't save all varieties but will save many. Good air flow to dry off the plants helps.

Be ready to treat for slugs. The summer heat has pushed them into hiding, but that can't last. You know that they will have reproduction on their minds, so be prepared.

Keep watering blueberries and any newly planted landscape materials. The soil profile is very dry. Blueberries need the water for their new growth. Landscape plants put in this year probably have not grown new roots much yet and, as a result, are quite vulnerable to drying out.

Lime your garden soils if you till them this fall (this assumes that you haven't done so for three or more years). It takes about six months for the lime to react with the soil and raise the soil pH. A standard application for this area is 100 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet. Dolomite lime is generally preferred because it provides both calcium and magnesium to our soil where "ag lime" has only calcium.

Whitewash the trunks of your young fruit trees with exterior white latex paint, diluted by half with water. This will protect them from sunburn when the weather is hot and when winter weather is very cold. If the tree gets late winter afternoon sun when it is very cold and clear, the bark warms and then the temperatures dip fast, causing internal cellular rupture. Young trees are the most susceptible to these two kinds of sunburn.

Harvest winter squash before fall rains start in earnest, usually in early to mid-October. Once the rains start, most squash growth stops and the fruits can rot before harvest or start rotting and continue once you have brought them in. Clip the fruit attachments, leaving little handles. Wash the squash. Some gardeners rinse the surface with a chlorine bleach solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. Then dry the squash thoroughly. Leave the squash in a warm place for about two weeks to develop a nice hard skin. Then store in a cool and dry place. Hubbard and butternut squash store the best. Acorn squash should be used sooner.

European earwigs are complicated

Earwigs tend to gradually increase in well-managed gardens. They like the variety in a cultivated landscape. Earwigs are opportunists, feeding on mold, decaying vegetation, dying leaves or healthy leaves and flowers. They can cut holes into leaves. I had a question this year about fig leaves with scattered holes. The perps were earwigs. They also eat other insects like aphids, so they have some value for the gardener. Earwigs seek refuge in any tight dark place during the day and come out to feed at night. For that reason, they are often found in flowers such as dahlias. When they drop from the floral vase onto the table, they aren't much appreciated.

The following is an interesting (and very slightly edited) piece by Jessica Greene, an excellent IPM entomologist at OSU:

Earwigs: good, bad or just ugly?

Numbers were high last year - perhaps because of the drought - but have continued to be high this year as well. Damage can occur on all above-ground plant parts. On succulent leaves, look for irregularly shaped holes like the picture of a rhubarb leaf damaged by earwig feeding. However, earwigs are important predators and decomposers, so how should they be categorized?

We know they're "ugly," but this is one curious group that is not easily classified as good or bad. Earwigs can be considered either pests or beneficial, depending on the situation. They are omnivorous, which means they eat anything. The common Earwigs serve as predators to help control aphids, caterpillars, and eggs of other insects. They are also scavengers and work as 'clean-up crew' to consume dead insects and plant debris. However, they are seen as pests when they congregate in homes or feed on live plant tissue, including seedlings, flowers, and fruits.

Did you know?

Earwigs are the only insect known to demonstrate maternal care of their young. Adult females will rotate their eggs and meticulously clean them to rid or prevent fungi from developing. Damage can occur if earwig populations are higher than normal. Earwigs feed on developing seedlings, leaves, soft fruits, ornamental flowers, and corn silk (which reduces pollination). A lack of 'slime' helps distinguish earwig feeding from slugs or snails.

If you are experiencing more earwigs than you're comfortable with, try the following tips: Scout at night to make sure it is earwigs that are causing damage. Keep piles of plant debris away from structures, gardens, and nursery stock. Remove thick vegetation from around homes. Reducing excessive moisture on the soil surface may help. Earwigs tend to seek out damp, dark hiding places. Trapping can be useful to reduce populations. To trap, fill an empty tuna or cat food can or other shallow dish with about 1/4 inch of oil (tuna oil or vegetable oil with bacon grease, etc.). They are attracted to the smell, so the 'stinkier' the better. Another way to trap is bury a can so that it is even with the soil surface. Earwigs will walk into it and be captured. Place traps wherever you are concerned about high activity. Additionally, rolled up newspaper or corrugated cardboard placed over moist soil can be attractive as hiding places. However, they will need to be checked and disposed of each morning. Adults will be hiding there, so gather, place into a sealed bag and dispose. Note, earwigs don't crawl into your ear to eat your brain.

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. This is especially true now, as many of the federal food funds that helped the food banks have been cut hard.

Very helpful information sources are your local Extension offices. The Columbia County Extension can be reached by calling 503-397-3462. The Wahkiakum County Extension can be reached by calling 360-795-3278. The Extension Service offices offer their programs and materials equally to all people. They will all know where you can get your pressure gauge tested.

Advice on future garden topics welcome by emailing me at chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu.Those of you in Columbia County should get to know my replacement, Janhvi Pandey, a very nice and talented person.