Gardening with Chip

Planting asparagus

Asparagus is a great vegetable that grows well here. The newer “male” varieties like Jersey Giant produce large numbers of stalks once the plants are fully established.

The trick with asparagus, if you have heavy, clay soils, is not to plant the crowns in a trench like many books recommend. If you, like many of us, have clay soils, you are condemning these plants to waterlogging for six to eight months out of the year. They don’t like that and usually die.

Put the crowns in at soil level, or a couple of inches below grade, and build and fill a raised bed over them. Keep them weeded and remember to irrigate during the summer. Don’t pick shoots the first year, and pick sparingly the second. After that, you can harvest more intensely. Put compost or manure on the beds in the fall, and your plants will be fed and protected from the cold.

Light, sandier soils are fine for trenching asparagus. There are asparagus beetles, which sometimes show up in the summer. If you have them, call the Extension office for possible solutions.

What can we do about lawn moss?

Let’s first talk about what we know about moss. First, moss thrives in Western Washington and Oregon. We live in a temperate rain forest, and there isn’t anything moss loves better.

Second, moss will grow almost anywhere there isn’t something else growing. Where turf vigor is not up to snuff, moss will occupy open spaces in the lawns. Once there, it creeps out to occupy more and more space. Is your lawn a little weak this winter? Moss will expand rapidly. Drenching rain cycles reduce air space and weaken grass roots. Low-light intensities are a big problem for sun-loving grass. Check to see if your lawn area is getting shadier as your trees grow. Additionally, if you forgot a fall lawn-fertilizer application, the turf may be short on available nutrients, especially nitrogen. Finally, our acidic soils may favor moss and reduce grass growth.

What can you do? First, evaluate your yard for sun. If you are trying to grow grass in dense shade, you and the grass will have an uphill battle. You might try to grow a bed of shade-loving ornamental plants in those areas. You might also consider landscaping the shady sites with moss, which is esteemed in Japan and other locations.

Second, fertilize your lawn with a lawn fertilizer with an added moss-control chemical (usually ferrous ammonium sulfate). This will feed your lawn and kill much of the moss. Rake or thatch the dead moss out of your lawn and, if there are a lot of open spaces, plan to over-seed those areas with new grass seed as the weather warms. If you haven’t put lime on a while, take care of that as well. Some apply moss control after de-thatching to control residual pieces.

Third, if you let your lawns go brown in the summer, over-seed in the fall as the rains start. Turf that goes dormant in the summer might not reawaken fast enough to out-compete the moss. Lots of new grass seedlings make it harder for the moss to spread.

Don’t cut branch collars

For years, the standard pruning advice was to make your cuts flush with the trunk of a tree. However, we know a lot more about tree physiology now. You should not cut so close. Instead, look for the raised tissue at the base of limbs where they join the trunk. This is called the branch collar or shoulder.

The branch collar contains rapidly dividing cells that will ultimately close the wound caused by pruning. If the branch collar is removed, the tree will be much slower closing the injury and more likely to develop disease or insect problems at that point. In addition, the branch collar contains cells that put out disease-resisting compounds in response to wounds.

These physical and chemical characteristics of collars compartmentalize the damage to the benefit of the whole tree. How do you identify a branch collar? On many trees, it is ¼ to ½ inch wide, though it can be larger or, oftentimes, smaller. A little observation in the garden will clarify where cuts should be made. The first cut is small on the underside of the limb. This is to stop the “big cut 2” from tearing off the branch collar as it falls. The second is just out from cut 1 to remove most of the wood, and the third cut is just outside the branch collar. Happy pruning.

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, since many of the federal food funds that helped the food banks have been cut hard. Sign up for gardener training in either county.

Very helpful information sources are your local Extension offices. The Columbia County Extension is 503-397-3462, the Wahkiakum County Extension is 360-795-3278, and the Cowlitz County Extension is 360-577-3014. The Extension Service offices offer their programs and materials equally to all people.

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