It feels like spring and our thoughts are turning to gardening. Turn to Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State University’s Extension Service. OSU Extension faculty and Master Gardeners reply to queries within two business days, usually less. To ask a question, simply go to the OSU Extension website and type in a question and the county where you live. Here are some questions asked by other gardeners. What’s yours?
Q: I have a cultivated native wildflower patch. I do not recognize this clump of seedlings that is growing in the area and am wondering if it’s a weed? I can recognize most weeds in my yard but this one I have never seen. – Multnomah County
A: The plants in your native wildflower patch look like bittercress (Cardamine hursuta). It is one of several weeds from the mustard family that grow very well in our early spring, having germinated last fall, slept over the winter, and with warmer moist temperatures is ready to go. The plant is very happy in the moist cool conditions of our early springs. It's edible. The leaves are quite tasty. Try it on an open-faced sandwich. This article gives additional information, Weed of the Month: Hairy Bittercress
Bittercress isn't a bad weed, and as the weather warms and dries out, it isn't much of a problem. However, unfortunately, bittercress reseeds itself enthusiastically. When mature, the seedpods explode scattering seeds 3 feet away. Fortunately, because of its shallow fibrous roots, it's easy to pull.
There are several mustard family weeds that appear during our springs. They all develop from rosettes and all have four-petaled flowers. Some are small and have small star-like flowers. It’s nice to see them after a gray wet winter. – Anne Schmidt, OSU Extension Master Gardener
Mason bee box
Q: I just bought a mason bee house. When reading the directions, I noticed that they're recommending alternating two houses in order to fight potential diseases. Is this really necessary or can one simply clean the house out seasonally and put it back in service? – Washington County
A: You should take apart the mason bee house each fall to clean it and examine the cocoons for pests and disease. However, you may certainly use it again the following spring. This publication from OSU Extension, Nurturing Mason Bees in Your Backyard in Western Oregon will give you full details on caring for your new mason bee house. – Anna Ashby, OSU Extension Master Beekeeper
Q: We recently had some Douglas fir and redwood trees pruned and have chips available to cover our blueberry bushes. Will chips suffice instead of sawdust? – Washington County
A: Sawdust is recommended to be used as a mulch in blueberries, but there shouldn’t be any issues with using chips as your mulch. Hopefully, the size is not too big or the weeds will be able to come through. – Javier Fernandez-Salvador
Q: The OSU publication, Fertilizing Fruit Trees is helpful, but I have a few questions.
1. Reference the following paragraph "Another way to gauge if your fertilization is adequate is to measure the amount of new wood your tree is making each year. If your apple or pear tree is under 8 years old and is making less than 12 inches of new shoot growth each year, you should apply more nitrogen. If your tree is making between 12 and 18 inches of new growth per year, you are fertilizing correctly." Does this refer to all new growth, including water spouts? I have both pear and apple espalier trees. They are now 4 years old. Although both trees blossom profusely in the spring, I harvested less than 10 pears on the pear tree, but last year got about 50 nice big apples on the apple tree. Both had numerous water spouts up to 2 feet or more in length, but the ends of the laterals have grown only inches in four years on both trees. I have fertilized both with Down to Earth Fruit tree fertilizer at the recommended rate.
2. I've read somewhere that a more reliable way to determine fertilizer needs than a soil test is a leaf analysis. Is this worth doing and if so where can I get it done? – Coos County
A: The nature of pulling branches down to a horizontal position to train them for an espalier will cause those laterals to slow their growth dramatically. Any shoots arising from the horizontal branches and growing straight up will be much more vigorous, but you are probably snipping those off during the growing season. So, the growth parameters I have given in the article are not relevant to an espalier tree. The suckers or shoots growing out from the head of the tree would indicate the amount of vigor more accurately. If the suckers are reaching 2 feet in length that does indicate that the tree is doing pretty well.
If you want to have a tissue analysis done you can collect leaves from the tree in August and send them to the OSU Central Analytical Lab in Corvallis. Give them a call for pricing: 541-737-2187. These tests are expensive so ask for just the plant nutrient analysis. – Steve Renquist, OSU Extension horticulturist
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