Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

SBI Software launches Analytics for growers

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  SBI Software, a Portland-based software company that designs programs and mobile apps for wholesale nurseries and retail centers, created a new technology tool so business owners see an analytical report of their enterprise. The Analytics software allows growers to filter through their own data and research their past business activities. Users can render their orders, […]

April 2018 — The Greenhouse Issue

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The Greenhouse Issue From growing under the seasonally gray sky of the Pacific Northwest, to matching up perennials and grasses for compact urban landscapes, the Greenhouse Issue will bring you up to speed on how Oregon prepares for spring. In this issue: Small, tall and packed together: The trend toward smaller spaces drives intensive use of perennials […]

Flora at your fingertips

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Revised, rebranded OregonFlora has new and expanded plant information Looking for an online resource with information about the native and naturalized plants of Oregon? The Oregon Flora Project’s newly expanded website, OregonFlora, will meet the need. Rich with details about more than 4,670 unique species of ferns, conifers, herbs, grasses, and trees, it presents information […]

An illuminating trend

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LEDs are helping nurseries gain all kinds of new efficiencies A mid-January morning in Hillsboro, Oregon: It’s gray, it’s drizzly and, most depressingly, it’s dark. Dark enough that 10:30 in the morning feels like dusk, which at this time of year comes far too early for most; dark enough that the region would be lucky to […]

Small, tall and packed together

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The trend toward smaller spaces drives intensive use of perennials and grasses The midcentury ranch house with the huge yard is a thing of the past. Replacing it is the tall house with a small yard — and that’s changing the shape of home landscaping. Everywhere across the country, homebuilders are squeezing as many new homes […]

Don’t overlook these late bloomers

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Don’t overlook these late bloomers During the busy spring months, when customers are buying nearly everything that is in bloom, they might overlook plants that don’t show off their color until late summer. I have many plants in my garden that are just coming into peak flower in August and September. Whenever we open our […]

H-2A for nurseries

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The guest worker program offers a labor option, but has its challenges Oregon nurseries are facing pressing labor shortages. Several have turned to mechanization, but the industry still needs human hands. In recent years, those hands have not been adequately available. Many nurseries are considering the H-2A temporary agricultural worker visa program as a potential […]

This should be our month

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What is the true meaning of Earth Day? And what about Arbor Day? The answers really depend on one’s personal perspective. I think of parades with causes on big poster boards, and a mix of environmental advocates, students, and parents with baby strollers. I asked my daughter and her two friends, all sophomores in high […]

Skagit Horticulture hires regional account manager

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Tom Contrisciano joins the staff of Skagit Horticulture as a regional account manager in the liner division and will contribute his expertise to the GrowProTeam™. Contrisciano has more than three decades of industry experience in ornamental horticulture.  He recently transitioned to Skagit Horticulture from Fluence Bioengineering, a manufacturer of LED horticultural lighting.  He has also […]