Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

It’s the greatest pumpkin!

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Our friends at Bauman Farms in Woodburn, Ore. held their pumpkin weigh-off on Saturday, and here are the results. (Jeff Gustin and GardenTime produced an excellent slow-motion video of the pumpkin drop, embedded above. Or view it on YouTube.)

Ginkgo stinko

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The Associated Press has an article on Ginkgo biloba trees (a.k.a. maidenhair trees), and the fact that some cities are removing them due to odor problems. Landscapers normally prevent this problem by planting only male trees – that’s right, there are male and female ginkgos, and it’s the females who drop the sticky, stinky seed […]

A convention-al view?

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Should your marketing change depending on whether the targeted customers are Baby Boomers or Gen X’ers? Robert Hendrickson of The Garden Center Group gave his answer in a presentation at the Oregon Association of Nurseries Convention, and what he said may surprise you.

Green industry seminars coming up

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Early registration is now open for the seventh annual Willamette Valley Green Industry Seminars, presented by several partners including the Oregon Association of Nurseries. These afternoon workshops take place every Tuesday from Nov. 3-Dec. 15 at the Natural Resource Education Center, The Oregon Garden, Silverton, Ore. Topics are listed on the series brochure, which can […]

Nursery sales down 17 percent

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Nurseries reported decreased year-to-year sales between 2007 and 2008, according to numbers just released by the Oregon office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an agency of USDA. Ball and burlap growers were particularly hard hit due to the housing slowdown.

Join the fight against invasives

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The Oregon Invasive Species Council is accepting nominations for four positions on the council that are coming open at the end of the year. The appointing authorities are looking for individuals with expertise in various areas, one of which is nursery production. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has one of the six permanent seats, but […]

Suitable for work?

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If you’re at all involved in growing, marketing or selling flowers, then this week’s Doonesbury strips have been hilarious. (The link sends you to Wednesday, then clicking “next” will bring up Thursday and then Friday.)

Getting ready for H1N1

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Flu season is almost here. The typical flu season kills 36,000 Americans, hospitalizes 200,000 and costs U.S. businesses $10 billion in lost productivity. With the potentially deadly H1N1 strain in the mix, public officials fear this year’s impacts could be far worse. How can companies and individuals minimize risk? “It’s Not Flu as Usual: An […]

Rotten in Denmark indeed

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Evidently the Christmas tree association in Denmark was caught setting tree price guidelines in an attempt to stop members from undercutting each other – a huge no-no under most countries’ anti-trust guidelines. Authorities there have issued a 400,000 kroner fine — in our dollars, that’s about $79,470, or quite a few trees’ worth.