Oregon Outdoor, 2021

Humanrob said:

That makes sense around moving them. We have a whole "edible garden" thing going on in our yard, we still have some cherries in trees, young figs, lots of blueberries, it's all spread out and there is no way we can cover it. We'll cover the young vegetable garden part, and I'll cover the girls, and from there we'll hope for the best.

Back in 2009 I took several classes in system science that were designed to explain the fundamental causes and interactions which precipitate climate change, in a way non-scientists could understand. That this is happening is not a mystery, that most people didn't want to believe it, I suppose is understandable. Humans fucked things up, we should own that. Or not, it's happening regardless.

In the mean time, we'll watch what it does to our plants. So far the best thing I've done was to wrap the pots in reflective insulation, when I reach in and touch the outside of the pots they are cool even in full sun.

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Yes man has messed things up. Climate change is cyclical and has been happening forever. But these recent rapid changes in the ocean temperature and other indicators are not normal and are tied directly to man.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to grow mangoes in a few years right here in Portland.

My tayberries have experienced about a 10% waste factor from berries that were too exposed to the sun. They're basically cooked. All mushy and worthless but not ripe enough to pull off the vine. Lots of crops traditionally grown in this region are not happy with the climate we've been having.

It's probably too early to pull the trigger but changing agricultural crops to warmer climate crops could be a gamble that pays off for those that take the risk. If my Okra thrives it would not be good news for those growing the traditional crops for this region. I worry about the apple and pear orchards in places like Hood River that don't like growing in desert conditions. Fortunately Oregon has a good amount of water and we have the Columbia River so irrigating in some areas isn't as dire as some places across the SW and California.

All I know is that the Weather Channel is nonstop talking about the heat coming to Portland and they never mention this part of the country because our weather is so temperate and mild so it's obviously going to be bad.

I have the window air conditioners and a portable I might need to use as additional relief. We'll be living in one room of the house for a few days.

xtsho said:

Yes man has messed things up. Climate change is cyclical and has been happening forever. But these recent rapid changes in the ocean temperature and other indicators are not normal and are tied directly to man.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to grow mangoes in a few years right here in Portland.

My tayberries have experienced about a 10% waste factor from berries that were too exposed to the sun. They're basically cooked. All mushy and worthless but not ripe enough to pull off the vine. Lots of crops traditionally grown in this region are not happy with the climate we've been having.

It's probably too early to pull the trigger but changing agricultural crops to warmer climate crops could be a gamble that pays off for those that take the risk. If my Okra thrives it would not be good news for those growing the traditional crops for this region. I worry about the apple and pear orchards in places like Hood River that don't like growing in desert conditions. Fortunately Oregon has a good amount of water and we have the Columbia River so irrigating in some areas isn't as dire as some places across the SW and California.

All I know is that the Weather Channel is nonstop talking about the heat coming to Portland and they never mention this part of the country because our weather is so temperate and mild so it's obviously going to be bad.

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I'm not sure if it's still active, but a decade ago when I lived in Eugene I went to a couple of WV Bean and Grain meetings. It was a group that was trying to convert the Willamette Valley from growing grass seed back to growing (sustainable) edible crops, especially ones that when combined made 'perfect proteins'. They were talking back then about how hard it is to test new crops because every season is so different. You end out having to grow several different ones in smaller batches and averaging out what fails and what succeeds.

Modularity, redundancy, and diversity -- the keys to ecological perseverance.

xtsho said:

I have the window air conditioners and a portable I might need to use as additional relief. We'll be living in one room of the house for a few days.

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Same here, just the one portable I bought for growing pot in the garage, it's coming into the house.

Doing good so far , this is green crack

Prepping for the heat... the first picture without the shade/cover is morning light coming through trees, so it doesn't really show how bright it gets in full sun, but that's when I'm usually in there so that's the pic I had. The second one is full mid-day sun coming through the shade. I'm not that good at estimating, but I'd say it's cutting around 60% of the light. Once the outside temps get back below 95º I can go back to one layer of shade, and if they go back down into the 80's, I can take it off altogether.

With my limited knowledge, my understanding is that when it's hotter the plants metabolism speeds up and it can process more light (and proportionally utilizes more nutes). What I'm going to find out in the next week or so is what happens when you raise the heat and reduce the amount of light. I imagine it won't be an optimal situation, but I'm hoping it won't damage them.

Man I’m glad I didn’t plant a garden this year. Or an outdoor grow.
I have one plant in a container on my front steps. More as an ornamental than for harvest.
It’s not happy.
And Summer’s just beginning.
I have an empty tent available but I don’t want to bring in any outdoor pests.
Good luck to you guys.

drsaltzman said:

Man I’m glad I didn’t plant a garden this year. Or an outdoor grow.
I have one plant in a container on my front steps. More as an ornamental than for harvest.
It’s not happy.
And Summer’s just beginning.
I have an empty tent available but I don’t want to bring in any outdoor pests.
Good luck to you guys.

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I've been running the sprinkler around my fruit trees to get the ground good and wet. I'm rigging up some frames to drape some sheets over to keep the sun off my blueberries. I'm going to shade the tomatoes as well. I'll also be moving all my container plants into the shade for most of the day for at least the next week. It's going to suck. Some people apparently like the kind of heat coming up. I'm not one of them.

This song seems fitting.

My blueberries are in 15gal pots so I can move 'em around

100 gallon fabric pots dry out on the perimeter, I’m soaking the perimeter daily this week to prevent a full hydrophobic condition causing channeling when I water. So far it’s working, the pots are retaining enough moisture to prevent excessive runoff.

My one Oregon Diesel clone is in a 3gal pot of Happy Frog (rocks included at no extra cost ) and I've been giving it some NFTG nutes as well, and it's vegging along nicely.

We had a hot spell in 2015 too, which was the first year Oregonians could grow legally without any permits or legal encumbrance

xtsho said:

I've been running the sprinkler around my fruit trees to get the ground good and wet. I'm rigging up some frames to drape some sheets over to keep the sun off my blueberries. I'm going to shade the tomatoes as well. I'll also be moving all my container plants into the shade for most of the day for at least the next week. It's going to suck. Some people apparently like the kind of heat coming up. I'm not one of them.

This song seems fitting.

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RIP Tony Thompson. The drums in that song are beastly.
RIP Robert Palmer for that matter as well.

I do have one tomato this year, in a half wine barrel. A fig and apple tree also. I expect them all to be fine.
It’s the raised beds I didn’t bother with as I have an ash tree whose roots have infiltrated tafter 10 years.
It’s a big job I won’t be taking on until Fall.

My roses loved this Spring. We’ll see what they think of Summer.

Thankfully my 4x4 is stuffed. So even though I’ll be hitting the produce stands, I won’t be hitting the dispensaries.

xtsho said:

I've been running the sprinkler around my fruit trees to get the ground good and wet. I'm rigging up some frames to drape some sheets over to keep the sun off my blueberries. I'm going to shade the tomatoes as well. I'll also be moving all my container plants into the shade for most of the day for at least the next week. It's going to suck. Some people apparently like the kind of heat coming up. I'm not one of them.

This song seems fitting.

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My wife moved all of her potted plants onto the porch and other shade areas,

I hope you're all prepared for the incoming hell heat in the area. I got all my stuff set up this morning.

BlazinDucks said:

I hope you're all prepared for the incoming hell heat in the area. I got all my stuff set up this morning.

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I covered all the small stuff except for the peppers and tomatoes, but you think the tomatoes should be covered too? I guess because they are sometimes "hot house" grown, I thought maybe they can take the heat? The rest of my yard will either make it or it won't, mostly fruit trees/bushes/plants. Most of them are established, so I imagine the fruit might be lost but the plants will survive.

And the cannabis, I have no idea about how they'll do. While getting used to the new structure they had a couple of 105º afternoons and mostly did OK with that, so we'll see if they can handle more.

Humanrob said:

I covered all the small stuff except for the peppers and tomatoes, but you think the tomatoes should be covered too? I guess because they are sometimes "hot house" grown, I thought maybe they can take the heat? The rest of my yard will either make it or it won't, mostly fruit trees/bushes/plants. Most of them are established, so I imagine the fruit might be lost but the plants will survive.

And the cannabis, I have no idea about how they'll do. While getting used to the new structure they had a couple of 105º afternoons and mostly did OK with that, so we'll see if they can handle more.

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I'd rather be safe than sorry. I had plenty of cloth so I just covered all my main beds. I can't imagine that many plants in this area can comfortably survive this type of heat for that many days in a row.

BlazinDucks said:

I'd rather be safe than sorry. I had plenty of cloth so I just covered all my main beds. I can't imagine that many plants in this area can comfortably survive this type of heat for that many days in a row.

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I hear you, I found one more roll and went out and covered them. All I have on hand is that open weave garden burlap, but I think it will help.

Mine are just hanging out in the sunshine , they have passed into the shade by this time , I drove home and looked at them around 4 in the afternoon , all of them were praying at the sun gods

So far so good, everything has loved being well hydrated in the heat. Cannabis and veggies are taking off. Probably should get a compost tea going after the brutal heat is done

I covered the blueberries and tomatoes yesterday. I took the sheets down after the sun wasn't beating on them. I'm going to put them back up when the temp gets about 95° as I want them to get as much full sun as possible but they'll get cooked if they are not covered. I moved my cannabis into the sunny areas early this morning and will put them in the shade when it gets too hot.



Some Tayberry casualties. Fortunately it's just the very top of the hedge that gets sun all day long. Lower down where most of the berries are is fine. This is the result of yesterday's heat. Cooked on the vine. I wonder if I could just use them as is for a pie.

xtsho said:

I covered the blueberries and tomatoes yesterday. I took the sheets down after the sun wasn't beating on them. I'm going to put them back up when the temp gets about 95° as I want them to get as much full sun as possible but they'll get cooked if they are not covered. I moved my cannabis into the sunny areas early this morning and will put them in the shade when it gets too hot.

Some Tayberry casualties. Fortunately it's just the very top of the hedge that gets sun all day long. Lower down where most of the berries are is fine. This is the result of yesterday's heat. Cooked on the vine. I wonder if I could just use them as is for a pie.

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Amazing looking garden