Upcoming Events
This presentation will explain how a few small (and large) changes to your landscape can reduce time devoted to its maintenance, reduce expenses, and provide a friendly environment for the other creatures with which we share it.
When: Thursday, Oct 17th at 6pm
Where: The Sandy Library Hoyt Community Room
A Shroom of One's Own: At Home Edible Mushroom Production
by OSU's Extension Service
If you like growing your own food, then perhaps culinary mushroom cultivation is next on the menu for you. With a focus on Shiitake mushrooms, OSU Extension agent Alicia Christiansen will cover preferred growing media, inoculation methods, caring for your logs, money-saving tips, harvesting and more.
When: Tuesday, Oct 8th from 12-1pm
Where: Free Online - Register Here
How Does Fire Affect Wild Bees & Other Pollinators?
Bee City USA Action Group is hosting Dr. Graham Frank, a forest ecologist, to discuss the effects of wildfires on the biodiversity in our local ecosystem.
When: Thursday, Oct 10th from 6-7pm
Where: Sandy Community Center (38348 Pioneer Blvd, Sandy)
Recap: Preserving Tomatoes
Buffy, with OSU Extension Service, Family and Community Health, is a wonderful resource and put on an excellent class. One of their goals is to share research-based information with the community about how to safely preserve food.
Rule #1 for food safety is to always use research tested instructions when it comes to preserving. The reason for this is because you cannot see, taste, or smell botulism and it can be deadly.
Links to some of the handouts provided at the program:
Preserving Vegetables: Tomatoes
OSU Home Food Preservation Resources
Additionally, it is also important to use the right equipment when pressure canning (an Instant Pot is not a safe appliance to use in this instance). Buffy really only recommends the Presto Pressure Canner, and you are able to check it out from our Library of Things collection, for free!
Recap: Fall & Winter Gardening
Fall is often a good time to harvest seeds from your favorite plants, and who knows, if you have enough to share you may consider bringing them by our annual seed swap!
Kris LaMar gave us another great class. She started off by reminding us that gardening starts and ends with our soil. Keeping a garden diary is a good way to keep track of soil health as you note what plants are where, how they did, and to be sure to practice crop rotation.
Some key takeaways:
- Knowing the pH of your soil is important, and also the nutrient content. Nitrogen is important for foliage, phosphorus is for root development, and potassium is good for the development of flowers, fruits, seeds and nuts.
- No wood mulches in the veggie garden: compost or cover crops only.
- Leave the Leaves! Can be used as mulch and doubles as winter habitat for plants and critters alike.
- Now is the time to plant perennials as they will have enough moisture and time to develop an adequate root system.
- Now is also the time to plant garlic!
- Preen is an excellent way to reduce weeds in your garden as it is a hormone that prevents seed germination.
- Finally, as you bring plants indoors for the winter, note that energy efficient windows do not allow enough light rays to come through to allow growth.
Article from OSU Extension Service:
These Cold-Hardy Vegetables May Stick It Out Through Winter
Articles from Clackamas County Master Gardeners' Association:
Sowing Native Flower Seeds in Fall & Winter
Planting Spring Flowering Bulbs in Fall
What I've Been Reading: The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
Margaret offers her observations on the natural world in her very backyard. Like a lot of us, her approach to gardening has changed throughout her years. I really appreciated the attention she gave to the variety of life she observed around her. She talks about it all: from the insects and how she opted for a pollinator garden over a vegetable garden to provide more habitat for them in her neighborhood, to expressing joy at the sight of snakes even though their presence might be the reason her beloved frogs are not using the water habitat she built them.
An excerpt from the chapter: How to Rake Leaves on a Windy Day
Don't let the wind become a frustration to you. In a forest, fallen leaves compost themselves to feed the trees. The leaves you let sit today will molder and rot through the winter, generating their own heat and protecting large trees and small creatures alike. Think of your desultory raking as a way to feed the trees, as an investment in the urban forest.
To join the Seed Library mailing list, email Brianna Chase: bchase@ci.sandy.or.us
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