Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Giant African land snails invade Miami area

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What they lack in speed, they make up in ability to eat and procreate. Giant African land snails — and by giant, we mean up to a foot long — have proliferated in several neighborhoods in Miami, Fla. Like all slugs and snails, these ghastly gastropods do eat plants, but these are also a threat […]

Ag inspections suffered in wake of 9/11

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If you fly on an airplane, then you have experienced firsthand how U.S. security priorities changed following 9/11. A huge new agency, the Department of Homeland Security, was created and given broad powers to stop terrorist threats. Passengers were treated to body imaging, patdowns and a thicket of regulations governing what they can and can’t […]

Stuck in the husks after dusk

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If your rural garden center, pumpkin patch or other agri-tourism business includes a corn maze, you might find this worth a chuckle. A Massachusetts family called 911 after failing to navigate their way out of a corn maze before dusk. “We thought this would be fun — instead, it was a nightmare,” the mother told the […]

Pesticide and waste collection event coming Oct. 22

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A free collection event for agricultural wastes, pesticides and empty containers will be held from 8 a.m.–noon Saturday, Oct. 22 at Clean Harbors Environmental Services, 12402 S.E. Jennifer St., Clackamas, Ore. An event flier can be downloaded here. The event is being sponsored by Clackamas River Water Providers, Clackamas River Basin Council, the Clackamas Soil […]

State of Perfection Nursery #1: Youngblood Nursery, Salem, Ore.

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Every year, one of the most anticipated issues of Digger — at least for me — is the annual State of Perfection issue, published in January. You get the opportunity to go inside some of Oregon’s finest wholesale nurseries. Our yearly State of Perfection articles and videos allow you to meet the people whose vision helps […]

Urban trees boost price of rental housing

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Homeowners value trees. That much has been shown in studies performed by researchers at the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. But now it turns out that renters value trees, as well. A new study by Geoffrey H. Donovan and David T. Butry concluded that the presence of a lot tree raised the rental […]

Oregon nursery sales down 9 percent

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During 2010, Oregon nursery and greenhouse growers had less money coming in for the third consecutive year, according to statistics newly released by the USDA-Natural Agricultural Statistics Service, Oregon Field Office. The numbers are added up from a survey that is sent to every nursery and greenhouse grower in the state. For 2010, the results […]

Plant patent holder delivers a knock out blow

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We’ve been talking about plant patents a bit recently, and the coming changes to the patent system. In light of that discussion, it’s helpful to realize that plant patents don’t enforce themselves. The holder of the patent must take enforment action if they discover a violation. Conard-Pyle recently did exactly that, forcing a New Jersey […]

OSU publishes gardener’s guide to invasives

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Oregon State University has published a new guide aimed at helping gardeners prevent the introduction of invasive plants. “Invasive Species: What Gardeners Need to Know” is a free, downloadable PDF. “Biologists estimate that between 30 and 80 percent of invasive plant species introduced to the United States originated as garden plants,” said Linda McMahan, one […]