Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Hear about rhododendrons from an expert

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If you want to hear about rhododendrons from an expert grower, Monday’s your chance. Mike Stewart, co-owner of Dover Nursery and grower of more than 1,000 varieties, will give a one-hour talk at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 (2011) at the Milwaukie Center (directions). It is part of the regular lecture series put on by […]

Christmas tree marketing fee delayed

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Just one day after it was announced, USDA officials have decided to delay implementation of a 15-cents-per-tree marketing fee to pay for the promotion of natural grown Christmas trees. Growers in favor of the plan hope to launch a campaign to promote a preference for natural over artificial trees. Such an effort could be similar […]

Voters recall author of Arizona immigration law

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Voters in his Phoenix-area district have recalled Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa, Ariz.), the Arizona senate president who wrote and successfully passed Senate Bill 1070. The state law made unauthorized immigration a criminal offense at the state level, allowing police to stop people suspected of being an illegal immigrant, and demand proof of their legal status. […]

A gazebo made of trees

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A Canadian farmer, Nelson Henderson, once said, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” How about a gazebo made of living trees — one that takes 60 years to grow? A Swedish architecture firm, Visiondivision, designed such a structure for Politecnico de Milano, a […]

Study: Climate change reshaping Northwest forests

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As you drive around the Pacific Northwest or other regions, have you ever noticed that the makeup of the forest changes when you drive from region to region, gain or lose elevation, or cross over a mountain pass? This phenomenon is real, and it happens due to microclimates. Scientists at three Northwest universities took this […]

Read about roses in the November Digger

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The November issue of Digger is now online and — if you’re a subscriber — in your mailbox. As we explained last month, there are now two ways to view the magazine online. One way is our new flipbook format — just load the magazine on your screen and flip the pages with your mouse. Click here […]

Webinar series teaches all about irrigation

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The Water Education Alliance for Horticulture is offering an upcoming series of nine free, 45-minute webinars on various irrigation-related topics. The webinars begin Nov. 29, and run every Tuesday at 9 a.m. Pacific time (noon Eastern) through Feb. 7, 2012. Several experts at universities and companies will give presentations on topics to help growers conserve, […]

Watch where you’re mowing

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Landscapers, watch where you’re mowing. A maintenance worker at a North Akron, Ohio school learned this lesson the hard way when he ran over a softball-sized rock. The stone was sent flying, richocheted off a wall, crashed through a classroom window, flew over the heads of numerous students, and struck a fourth-grade girl in the […]

USDA offers webinar on specialty crop grants

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The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will hold a free webinar Thursday, Dec. 15 on the agency’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. It will take place 11 a.m.–noon PST. Guest speaker Trista Etzig, manager of the grant program, will give an introduction to the program and explain how to apply. The grants are given to […]

Why Christmas trees were caught in the crossfire

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Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read, international trade reporter at The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.), takes a look at the possible causes and the impact of the recently resolved U.S.-Mexico trucking dispute, which resulted in high tariffs on U.S.-grown Christmas trees and other products. According to Read, politics may explain why Christmas trees and certain other goods […]