Sunday, May 24, 2020

Beautiful Bulbouts

            

page1image20976928page1image20980672What’s a bulbout?




You’ve seen them all over Corvallis, but the name may be new to you. Bulbouts act as traffic calming devices, they improve pedestrian safety, and they provide an opportunity to increase downtown green space.
Many of the bulbouts in Corvallis are managed by Parks & Recreation staff and volunteers. They handle seasonal maintenance such as pruning, weeding, irrigation, and other routine tasks. And now, through the work of CBUF volunteers, many of our bulbouts are in line for major improvements like the ones you see in the above photo of the bulbout at 2nd and Washington. Over the next few years you can expect to see more great upgrades to these valuable community assets.
You can help too, by volunteering for planting days, or by becoming a Bulbout Buddy – helping to care for existing bulbout plantings (the hard-working staff at Parks & Recreation can always use a helping hand).
For more information, please contact: Parks Operation Division 541-766-6435

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Want to Grow your own Vegetables?


Here’s Some Local Online Resources to Help You

During this time of Staying Home, Staying Healthy, the posting last week from the Master Gardeners had a lot of good advice on how to get started gardening at home.  This week’s posting from the Food Action Team provides local online resources to help you garden while staying home.

First is the booklet from our Team that has loads of information about local sources for your garden.  If you don’t already have a copy of it, you can access it online.  The link is
It will help you gather knowledge about growing your own food, getting what you need for your garden, even where you can find a place to grow fruits and vegetables, what to do with your bounty once you’ve harvested it, raising ducks and chickens in your backyard and even how to keep bees. 

Second are three nurseries around Corvallis:

Garland Nursery  5460 NE Hwy. 20 – 541-753-6601

Shonnard’s Nursery  6600 SW Philomath Blvd.  
541-929-3524  www.shonnards.com

Home Grown Gardens   4845 SE 3rd Street 

Third are the resources of a world-class university and its online resources
for gardeners such as the following book for beginning gardeners: 

Growing Your Own
as well as other publications in the OSU Extension Catalog. 


Food Action Team – Edible Garden Group

Monday, May 4, 2020

~ What to Do in the Garden in May ~



Planting
  • May is the time to plant snap and lima beans, Brussels sprouts, slicing and pickling cucumbers, dill, kale, onions and potatoes.  Use a soil thermometer and plant tomatoes, squash, melons, peppers and eggplant when the soil is consistently above 70 degrees .
  • Plant dahlias, gladioli, and tuberous begonias in mid-May.
  • Plant chrysanthemums for fall color.


Gardening Resources
  • The OSU extension service has number of publications on a variety of gardening topics:   https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening.
  • OSU Extension Master Gardeners are available to answer your gardening questions. In Benton County: call (541) 713-5000 or email: bentonmg@oregonstate.edu In Linn County: (541) 967-3871 or email: linn.mg@oregonstate.edu
  • The Master Gardener Programs of Linn and Benton County have a fabulous Facebook page.
  • Finally, don’t forget to check our blog for lots of helpful information and all of the links mentioned here:  npkpost.blogspot.com
Pests
  • Monitor aphids on strawberries and ornamentals. If present, wash them off with water or pick them off with your hands.
  • Spittle bugs may appear on the stems of ornamental plants.  They look like foam or spit. They are generally harmless and can be  washed off with water from a hose.



  • Control slugs with iron phosphate bait or traps and by removing or mowing vegetation near garden plots.  In fairly recent study done at OSU, raw bread dough was found to attract slugs more than anything else.  Cucumber was #2.  Dough and cucumbers are only good bait, so you need something else to kill them.