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OSU Extension Service Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Hwy, St. Helens OR 97051 Phone: 503.397.3462 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Closed until further notice To visit links to external articles, please view this newsletter online at our Website: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/columbia/

May 2020 Programs for you . . .

Listen to the Gardening Spot on KOHI (1600 am) radio - Every Saturday, 8:05 to 8:15 a.m.

Columbia County Beekeepers Virtual Meeting May 7th at 6pm. Steve Gomes will present on “Queen rearing during the nectar flow.” Email for login information: [email protected]

th Home Lawn Live Q & A May 12 at 1pm. Get your home lawn questions answered by the OSU BeaverTurf Team! Bring your questions about irrigation, maintenance, fertilizer, weed control, pest management, mowing, and planting lawns. Register for this FREE event HERE. See also:

Managing Moss in Lawns in Western Oregon: This video demonstrates how to identify and eliminate moss from your lawn. It is a companion to OSU Extension publication EM 9175.

Practical Lawn Care for Western Oregon: Describes options for different levels of lawn care, from keeping a lawn lush and green year-round to allowing it to go partially dormant in summer.

Fertilizing Lawns: Explains how to optimize a fertilization program for a home lawn. Includes how to select and use fertilizers, and the roles of various elements in lawns.

OSU resources & publications: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/

Chip Bubl, OSU Extension Faculty, Agriculture Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Family and CommunityIn the Health, garden 4-H Youth, Forestry & Natural Resources, and Extension Sea Grant programs. Oregon State University, United States Department of Agriculture, and Columbia County cooperating. The Extension Service offers its programs and materials equally to all people.

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In the garden eat a large tunnel to the core and from whence, after filling up, they exit to pupate for next year. Egg laying starts about a In cloche and personal month after full bloom. My estimate is that full bloom was about April 20th in the St. Several weeks ago, I received a call from a Helens/Scappoose area so any codling moth gardener who was losing controls need to start around May 20th. The transplants in her greenhouse. She described best home garden control methods are leaves that were partially eaten or just cut applying products that contain spinosad as off and gone. I suggested the obvious the active ingredient. This is a compound suspect, slugs. But she baited to no effect. I produced by a microbiological organism and also mentioned deer mice and chipmunks many formulations are considered organic. but she didn’t think she had any of those. As Three to four applications, stretched about the got bigger, the damage decreased. 2-3 weeks apart, will be needed to give decent, albeit not perfect, control. There is Fast forward to my own garden and a cloche an argument that heavy years, like this frame draped with a row cover that one might be, dilutes the codling moth protected spinach transplants. Same issue. damage because there are so many choices Small leaves and the smallest plants were for where the females lay their eggs. We being eaten. I slug baited but also put out a will see. mouse trap. First night, no slugs at all but one plump deer mouse in the trap! Lured by The second insect of concern is the apple peanut butter. As this is being written, the maggot. This pest fly is a late riser and egg trap is still there. We will see if it was one laying on fruit doesn’t generally start until lone deer mouse or an extended family. Deer late June. Apple maggot damage is more mice, unlike field mice, are intrepid climbers sporadic than the codling moth with some but also use mole runways or make their bad years (last year was one) and some own shallow tunnels under the ground. when they are almost non-existent. The Fortunately, they aren’t hard to trap. small maggots chew tiny tunnels in the flesh but don’t make big, obvious holes. A badly “Worms” in apples infested apple can turn to mush! This pest got to Columbia County in the From the looks of it, we are early 1980s from the east coast. going to have a heavy tree It will also be controlled by fruit set this year. Apples spinosad applications that may were less productive last need to go later. summer and are rebounding this year. Pollination Spinosad products are a bit weather has been good hard to find but have been enough but honeybee stocked locally both at Bi-Mart numbers are down. Mason and bumble bees in Scappoose and Linnton Feed and Seed are very active. under the “Captain Jack” trade name. Look on the label for the active ingredient There are two significant insect pests of “spinosad”. As with any crop protection apples. The codling moth is generally the product, always read the label instructions worst. The female codling moth lays eggs before you buy and follow the instructions that become burrowing caterpillars, which when you use them.

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Intensive vegetable planting From Garden to Table:

Vegetable gardens grown in beds, raised or The Case of the Curious Asian not, lead gardeners to more Cucurbits intensively. This practice can yield more produce per square foot and can help in the 4:00 a.m. After a restless night I sit and battle against weeds by shading them out. review the data thus far collected. The stage is set. The necessary cultural information However, lettuce seedlings or lies before me but something essential is transplants can stunt each other missing. Suddenly a light comes on. Aha! I if each plant is not given need a defense. What problems might I sufficient room to grow. The encounter in my endeavors to grow any of rule in the plant kingdom is the these illustrious Cucurbits? plant that gets more light, wins. That “winner” plant will be able to grow As Cucurbits are subject to several wilts, deeper roots and more leaves of viral and fungal diseases, bacterial wilt and larger size. A leaf lettuce bed powdery mildew are common problems. planted at a 4” x 4” spacing will not Most can be controlled with good soil yield anywhere near as much leaf to eat as management, proper rotation, garden the same square footage planted at 6” x 6”. sanitation, and avoiding overhead watering methods. Insects such as beetles, Gardeners should aim for mature plants that vine borers, and squash bugs can be just touch when they reach their mature size. worrisome. Planting with this precise spacing is easy with transplants, less easy when you direct Cucumber beetles infect plants with seed. But it is possible. You must seed devastating bacterial wilt disease. Insect enough (all seeds will not make it) and then pests, especially cucumber beetles, can be thin aggressively to get the right spacing. controlled with insecticides or using floating The following table gives some spacing row covers (removed when the plants are guidelines for intensive plantings: blooming), and keeping garden borders mowed.

Beans (bush) 6x6” Now that a defense plan has been Beets 4x4” established, it’s time to profile those curious Broccoli 18x18” Asian Cucurbits. The lineup of suspects Carrots 2x2” begins: Chard 9x9”

Corn 9x28” Oriental Cucumber ( sativus) Lettuce (leaf) 6x6” 65 days Lettuce (head) 12x12”

Onions 3x3” A prolific producer, this long slender Asian Peppers 12x12” variety is equivalent to the western Potatoes 9x9” cucumber and has a thin skin, a small seed Tomatoes (staked) 24x24” cavity and tender, sweet, burpless flesh.

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Use it like any western cucumber (although Some research indicates this small round, not a good candidate for pickling) or in a apple-sized belongs to the lanatus variety of Japanese, Chinese, Indian or Thai species, the same one occupied by recipes where it is popular in soups, cool and . It is used in yoghurt raitas, or stir-fried dishes. its young, immature state like summer are a natural coolant to the squash in curries or combined with other palate during the hot summer. Trellis the like potatoes, eggplants or peas. five foot vines to obtain the straightest fruit. Kabocha Squash ( maxima and Armenian Cucumber (, Cucurbita moshata, and some hybrids Flexuosus group), between the two) a.k.a.: Japanese pumpkin, a.k.a.: snake melon Kuri Kabocha. 100-110 days 60 days Kabocha, a Japanese variety of winter Not a cucumber but a squash, has come to mean simply winter melon originating in the squash to many English speaking growers Middle East, this and buyers. Highly muskmelon cousin prized in Japan develops slightly (some cultures ribbed, spineless consider it an cucumber shaped fruit aphrodisiac), this that grows 2-3 feet long two to three pound and 2 inches in squash is similar to diameter. These light green delicacies are buttercup squash but best eaten when 12-15 inches long, and are without the bitter-free and burpless to boot. Use like characteristic cup on the blossom end. Oriental cucumbers. Trellis the vines. Photo Sweeter than a butternut squash, the moist, from Renee’s Garden Seeds fluffy texture is often likened to a roasted chestnut. Photo: Warner Farm Oriental Pickling Melon (Cucumis melo, Conomon group) a.k.a.: pickling melon, When first harvested, Kabocha will be dry oriental melon, yue gua, bai gua 70 days and bland-tasting. In order to transform it into the smooth, sweet and succulent squash This vigorous grower also looks like a for which it is revered, it needs to be ripened cucumber but belongs to the melon species. in a warm place (77° F) for about 13 days so Considerably larger than the western some of the starch content converts to sugar. cucumber, young are used mainly Then it should be transferred to a cool place for pickling but can be eaten raw or added to (50° F) and stored for about a month to salads. More typically they are stuffed with complete the transformation. A fully ripe meats, pork, chicken or vegetables and Kabocha will have a reddish yellow flesh, a braised or added to stir-fried dishes. hard skin and a dry corky stem, reaching its peak of ripeness 1.5-3 months after harvest. Tinda Squash ( vulgaris var. Although pumpkins are most often fistulosis) a.k.a.: tinda melon, tinda gourd, associated with sweet dishes, the Kabocha is apple gourd, akra tinda, baby delectable in savory dishes as well. As a pumpkin. 60 days vegetable braise in soy sauce, rice wine and

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garlic or use for tempura, stuffing, side solidify into a tough crust. That makes it dishes, soups, curries, bean stews, or grain hard for those carrot seeds to break through porridges (Kasha). before they have used up all their stored energy. One gardening trick is to cover Oriental Melons (Cucumis melo and carrot seed with potting soil, not garden soil. Citrullus lanatus) 40 to 65 days after fruit Our grandparents had other solutions. They set placed cut-open burlap bags over the carrot beds. That kept the seed evenly moist and With names like Ginkaku, Ichiba, reduced the “baking” of the clay. Once the Himekansen and Hakacho there’s more to carrots germinated, the bags were removed. the melon family than , honeydews and watermelons. Developed in A modern technique is to use floating row and for the Asian market, these fragrant, covers instead of burlap. It gives the same sweet tasting aromatic melons are a sensory crust reduction, seems to encourage faster delight. With colors of juicy flesh ranging germination, and the emerged seedlings from red to salmon-orange to pale yellow respond to the heat and sun bathed and white, these melons have been bred for environment under the covers. Of course, crispness and sugar content with brix over weeds flourish as well, so be warned. 16%. Peter Chan, a famous Portland gardener, My list thus far appears to be rather used to plant carrots in 2-inch containers, unassuming, but is quite interesting four seeds to a container. When the plants nonetheless. My inquisitiveness is not yet were about two inches in size, he satisfied. There isn’t enough information; transplanted the “plug” from the container the list isn’t complete; there must be more! with the four carrots as one unit. He spaced As new information is discovered, more the plugs about four inches apart within the exotic varieties are unveiled. row and with rows about six inches apart. He didn’t thin and all the carrots, given the ~ Robert Hammond, Columbia County Master space between the plugs, seemed to do very Gardener™ and Thom now live in North well. Of course, he had rich and deeply Carolina, Robert’s home. They are great worked ground that he planted into. That is friends and great gardeners. another carrot secret.

Crusts crush carrots (and beets, dill, etc.)

Carrot seeds are kind of wimpy. They don’t burst through the ground like radishes. Rather, they stumble to the surface over 7- 14 days. Or they don’t. If they don’t make it to the sunlight, you have no carrots. What’s going on?

Most of us try to garden on clay-based soils. When we roto-till the garden plot and plant carrot seeds, surface clay particles tend to

5 ~ MAY ~

Garden hints from your OSU Extension Agent

Oregon State University Extension Service encourages sustainable gardening practices. Always identify and monitor problems before acting. First, consider cultural controls; then physical, biological, and chemical controls (which include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, botanical insecticides, organic and synthetic pesticides). Always consider the least toxic approach first. All recommendations in this calendar are not necessarily applicable to all areas of Oregon. For more information, contact your local office of the OSU Extension Service.

Planning . Prepare and prime irrigation system for summer. . Use a soil thermometer to help you know when to plant vegetables. Wait until the soil is consistently above 700F to plant tomatoes, squash, melons, peppers and eggplant. . Place pheromone traps in apple trees to detect presence of codling moth. Plan a control program of sprays, baits, or predators when moths are found. Maintenance and Clean Up . If needed, fertilize rhododendrons and azaleas with acid-type fertilizer. If established and healthy, their nutrient needs should be minimal. Remove spent blossoms. . When selecting new roses, choose plants labeled for resistance to diseases. Fertilize roses and control rose diseases such as mildew with a registered fungicide. Planting/Propagation . Plant dahlias, gladioli, and tuberous begonias in mid-May. . Plant chrysanthemums for fall color. . Plant these vegetables (dates vary locally; check with local gardeners): . Mid-May, transplant tomato and pepper seedlings. . Snap and lima beans, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupes, slicing and pickling cucumbers, dill, eggplant, kale, peppers, pumpkins, summer and winter squash, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, . Pest Monitoring and Management . Monitor blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and other plants that produce soft and berries for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD). Learn how to monitor for SWD flies and larval infestations in fruit: https://spottedwing.org/ . Manage weeds while they are small and actively growing with light cultivation or herbicides. Once the weed has gone to bud, herbicides are less effective. . Trap moles and gophers as new mounds appear. . Leaf-rolling worms may affect apples and blueberries. Prune off and destroy affected leaves. . Monitor aphids on strawberries and ornamentals. If present, control options include washing off with water, hand removal, or using registered insecticides labeled for the problem plant. Read and follow all label directions prior to or using insecticides. Promoting natural enemies (predators and parasitoids that eat or kill insects) is a longer-term solution for insect control in gardens. . Spittle bugs may appear on ornamental plants as foam on stems. In most cases, they don’t require management. If desired, wash off with water or use insecticidal soap as a contact spray. Read and follow label directions when using insecticides, including insecticidal soap. . Control cabbage worms in cabbage and cauliflower, 12-spotted cucumber beetle in beans and lettuce, maggot in radishes. Control can involve hand removal, placing barrier screen over newly planted rows, or spraying or dusting w/registered pesticides, labeled for use on the problem plant. Read & follow label directions when using insecticides. . Tiny holes in foliage and shiny, black beetles on tomato, beets, radishes, and potato indicate flea beetle attack. Treat with Neem, Bt-s, or use nematodes for larvae. Read and follow label directions when using insecticides. . Prevent root maggots when planting cabbage family, onions, and carrots, by covering with row covers or screens, or by applying appropriate insecticides. . Monitor rhododendrons, azaleas & primroses for adult root weevils. Look for evidence of feeding (notching at leaf edges). Try sticky trap products on plant trunks to trap adult weevils. Protect against damaging the bark by applying the sticky material on a 4-inch wide band of poly sheeting or burlap wrapped around the trunk. Mark plants now & manage with beneficial nematodes when soil temperatures are above 55°F. . Control slugs with bait or traps and by removing or mowing6 vegetation near garden plots.

Coyotes eyesight, hearing, and smell) bring them in conflict with farmers and homeowners. Sheep, European settlement of North America changed goat, and poultry producers devote a lot of time the coyote’s life for the better. Pre-settlement, to protecting their animals from coyotes (and coyotes were mainly grassland species roaming domestic dogs). Farmers do shoot and concentrated in the Great Plains region from our sometimes trap coyotes. Without that lethal northern border with Canada down into Mexico. deterrent, it would be impossible to raise sheep or Wolves dominated more forested areas. European goats here. Coyotes do learn and remember, at aversion to large carnivores led to the near least for a while. Non-lethal management extinction of wolves throughout most of what techniques include the use of guard animals became the United States. But as wolves (certain dog breeds, llamas, and mules) and declined, coyotes expanded into the Northeastern predator deterrent electric fences. All these states, the Southeast, and increased in all areas of techniques (lethal and non-lethal) are not the West. They breed quickly and consistently successful and all are are basically omnivores, capable of fairly expensive and time-consuming to subsisting on insects (especially use. Coyotes (and stray dogs) are very grasshoppers), fruit, small rodents, smart and adaptable. amphibians, as well as deer and other meat that they find available. Coyotes are in all our towns and Those were admirable traits for suburbs. For the most part, they eat surviving in unfamiliar landscapes. squirrels, mice and rats. But if they find lots of cats, small dogs, or poultry Northeastern coyotes are available when they are out hunting, exceptionally large, weighing ~40+ they have no qualms about catching pounds versus the 20 pounds of Wikipedia: Rebecca Richardson them. As you might expect, it is the Great Plains populations. almost impossible to control coyotes Recent DNA work has confirmed that within city limits. They can’t be trapped or coyote/wolf interbreeding in that region. As wolf shot. Coyote populations are cyclic and numbers declined, male wolves would breed eventually drop due to diseases (distemper and coyote females. Similar populations exist in other others) and a decline in readily available food. parts of our northern border regions. But after a period of time, they may recover as well. My best advice to city and rural Coyotes are found throughout Columbia County. homeowners alike is to keep your animals They are more common in the forested areas inside, especially during the night and early where they feed on deer, brush rabbits, and voles morning hours when coyote foraging activity (field mice) as well as seasonally available peaks. berries and grasshoppers when they can get them. Grasshoppers, birds, and voles are species on Coyotes have an impact on deer populations which the young pups hone their hunting skills. but that has been accelerated by a complex of They love the logging roads and the mix of diseases and parasites that have weakened the vegetation types (clearcut, reprod, and mature black tail deer herds. Cougar are also forest) found in the Coast range. increasing in Columbia County and that will change coyote behavior patterns and food base. As they move into more settled areas, all the And wolves will probably be back in Columbia skills that make them good hunters (exceptional County within ten to fifteen years.

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Farm and livestock notes Once their target customers disappeared, they couldn’t easily switch out their packing lines to

reach other markets. How fragile is our food infrastructure? Meat supplies have been affected by the rolling The COVID pandemic has profoundly affected COVID-illness shut-down of packing plants food production and distribution. I expected that throughout the United States. They re-open but the commodity grains like wheat, oats, and with reduced capacity. As meat packing slowed, barley wouldn’t be seriously affected since they cattle prices to ranchers tanked because the take relatively modest amounts of labor to grow, processing pipeline was full. Cattle in feedlots harvest, store, and distribute to the grocery kept getting fed and got heavier. This made stores. After panic buying of flour stopped, that them more expensive to process since excess fat seems to be the case. has to be cut away and the cost of feeding them per pound of recoverable meat increased. The I knew fresh produce would be an issue. It packing house doesn’t want to pay for that requires a lot of labor to grow and get to the end increased feed cost. There were also issues with consumers. At least some crops (leafy greens, enough refrigerated storage for meat as demand berries, etc.) are extremely perishable. The decreased since, I suppose, it requires cooking crops that aren’t as fragile still need massive at home. amounts of refrigerated storage to keep them in good conditions (onions, carrots, beets, Milk prices tanked because so much milk was potatoes, etc.). Right now, those facilities are consumed in schools and then they closed. packed full with nowhere to ship. When the kids were home all the time, apparently milk wasn’t part of the family menu, The distribution channels for fresh produce are at least not nearly as much. Did they get very sensitive to changes in consumption flavored, carbonated water that so many adults patterns. If a certain portion of the market dries seem to favor? Probably. up (in this case, restaurants, schools, and other big institutional purchasers) stuff piles up fast in Finally, the finances of a number of companies cold storage. As a result, we have seen huge were much shakier than anyone imagined. It amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables either didn’t take much of a hiccup for distribution tossed into landfills because their quality had systems to crumble when the weakest link was deteriorated with too long in storage or plowed broken. For large companies, some have taken into the ground since there wasn’t the market to on huge debt loads (through leveraged buyouts even pay for picking. This demand breakdown and some of the other grim dark sides of our has been devastating. As a side note, people financial infrastructure) and were quickly bled aren’t consuming the fruits and vegetables at dry when the demand challenge hit. There may home that they used to get away from home in be a lot of “zombie” companies out there. We restaurants, schools, etc. The hottest items at the just don’t know yet. The challenges of stores are frozen pizzas, booze, and ice cream. resurrecting the bankrupt portions of the food That is telling. infrastructure are not insignificant. The equipment is there, the farmers can grow the Another issue not limited to fresh fruit and food, the demand will rebound, the shipping vegetables was that packing plants were set up capacity is in place, and labor will return. We to provide certain types of packaging (boxes, have to keep this system going but perhaps, bulk crates, etc.) to fit their customers’ needs. rethink the level of concentration of key Some packing houses were very specialized.

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infrastructure that has evolved over the last 30 Get your hay equipment in shape: Great hay years. It might be too concentrated to be a comes from fields harvested in late May or early reliable food distribution system in challenging June. It is more digestible and has a higher times. protein content. With luck, the weather will break nicely. Don’t be sitting when you should Now is the time to …. be baling. Local hay prices should be good.

Keep cow nutrition at a peak: Calving is just Work on Canada thistle, tansy ragwort, and ending and breeding season is beginning. To blackberries: We are getting close to losing the keep milk flow high for today’s calf and to get opportunity to get good control of tansy ragwort the reproductive tract in shape for next year’s with herbicides. On average, control drops off calf, the cow needs the best feed of the year. If fast after May 15th. Since it has been a cooler the grass is still limping along, make sure she spring, there may be a little extra time, but don’t has all the energy she needs and at least 9% delay. protein. Pay attention to calcium, phosphorous, On the other hand, the window is just opening and selenium. Close attention to these items can for Canada thistle and the two common pay off in more pounds of calf this year and blackberry species. There are some good thistle more calves next year. herbicides that work before the bud stage Control internal and external parasites: (clopyralid materials and others) that are worth These insidious creatures can degrade the health trying. Note that they will damage clover if and productivity of your herd. Be alert to boom sprayed. As a spot spray, damage would problems and discuss with your veterinarian be less significant. Talk to your agchem how to take fecal supplier. Triclopyr products samples, when to (Crossbow and others) work sample, and then how to well on blackberries from implement a set of early-mid June on and will not control strategies. damage grass. Be careful to not Coccidia are often a spray when it is very windy or problem for animals in going to be hot (80 degrees or close grazing and barn more even six hours after occupancy. Lice can spraying) as this chemical can also blow up fast. So can the usual (and move off the leaves in the heat and travel to sometimes, unusual) internal parasites. your garden or neighbors’ gardens. Glyphosate Knowledge through sampling always pays (Roundup and others) won’t work well until dividends. Your vet can also counsel you on September/October and will kill grass but isn’t how to avoid building up parasite resistance in volatile. Always read and follow all label your herd. It is an increasing concern. instructions.

Plan to manage pinkeye: This is a disease best Keep magnesium blocks in front of managed through good cow/calf nutrition, your herd to avoid grass tetany deaths. mineral mixes, fly control (since face flies Talk to your vet about tetany spread it) through ear tags and breaking up prevention programs! manure patties, and vaccinations as appropriate. Talk to your veterinarian about actions that best fit your situation.

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505 N Columbia River Hwy St Helens OR 97051

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How to Get Help in Columbia County: The OSU Extension Service office wants to make sure that you and your family have current and accurate information about accessing assistance programs in Columbia County during the Coronavirus outbreak. We have all been impacted by this crisis and we encourage you to reach out if you need help. Even though our office is currently closed, we are still working and are here for you! This resource list has been compiled by Jenny Rudolph: [email protected]

 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): https://oregonhunger.org/apply-for-snap/  Free School Meals: https://www.summerfoodoregon.org/map/  Local Food Pantries - Columbia Pacific Food Bank has posted a list of pantries: http://cpfoodbank.org/pantry/  Find Quick, Easy Recipes: FoodHero.org  Oregon Health Plan (OHP): ONE.Oregon.gov  IRS Coronavirus Economic Impact Payments (Stimulus Checks): www.irs.gov/coronavirus  Scam Alerts and Price Gouging: https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/  Food Safety and Preservation Questions: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-expert  Research-based food preservation & canning resources: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation

And if you are in a position to GIVE during these difficult times, please visit: http://unitedwayofcolumbiacounty.com/ We are all in this together. Until otherwise directed, please continue to stay home, stay safe, and stay well!

Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State University Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer. OSU Extension programs will provide reasonable accommodation to persons with physical or mental disabilities. Contact the Columbia County Extension office at 503-397-3462 to request reasonable accommodation. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request.