Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Oregon Garden Foundation reclaims management role

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The Oregon Garden Foundation (OGF) has resumed management of the 80-acre Oregon Garden property after 12 years of outsourcing those responsibilities, according to a release from the foundation. Moonstone Garden Management previously managed the garden under contract. The California-based company defaulted on its financial obligations to The Oregon Garden, and the agreement was terminated. The […]

The Transportation Issue — November 2020

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The shipping season was immediately threatened by government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but quick thinking by nursery growers found a solution to move products and keep their products on the road. Our three-part story features conversations with shipping managers and transportation brokers about the overnight shift in many nursery loading docks’ policies and procedures. […]

Disaster loans available for drought-stricken nurseries

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Nurseries in Baker, Grant, Harney, and Malheur counties are eligible for the Small Business Administration (SBA) economic injury disaster loans (EIDL) due to the declaration of a drought since August 11, 2020, according to a release from the agency. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2021. Certain businesses are eligible for a maximum loan […]

Dümmen Orange introduces Ditto series of VitaMum

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Dümmen Orange has introduced a new line of white rust-resistant mums, called the Ditto series. As part of the VitaMum collection, the perennials come in five colors: Ditto Lemon, Ditto Dark Orange, Ditto Dark Pink, Ditto Pink and Ditto White.   The series is the first commercial product of the company’s INTRISA™ breeding program. White rust […]

Fall Creek transitions leadership positions

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Oscar Verges has been promoted to co-CEO of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc. and Amelie Brazelton Aust has been named executive vice chair of the board of directors, according to a release from the blueberry breeding company. Cort Brazelton will share the CEO role with Oscar, and Amelie will continue to work with them […]

Managing epidemics

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Whether dealing with plant pathogens or COVID-19, common principles apply The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it, threatening human health, causing disruption to our society, and resulting in economic challenges. While impacts of plant pests and diseases may pale in importance compared to COVID-19, they still cause large-scale ecological and economic damage […]

Plants on the move: Freight with uncertainty

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COVID-19 threw nursery shipping for a loop, but things settled and stayed strong Gary “Bert” Bertleson used to have it pretty good in the summer. The head of nursery over-the-road sales for Integrity Logistics, a freight shipping and trucking broker in Wilsonville, Bertleson would regularly take an entire month off in the summer. He was […]

Plants on the move: Making room for safety

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On nursery loading docks, COVID-19 changed everything Uncertainty and panic about the COVID-19 pathogen quickly took hold of shipping companies and nursery loading docks across the United States earlier this year. “It was the third week of March — that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,” said Matt Frederick, logistic coordinator and operations manager of K&M Distribution Inc. […]

Plants on the move: An oasis for the road

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Nurseries provide hospitality for drivers cut off from usual resources The open road has been lonely for truckers in 2020. That’s according to Matt Frederick, operations manager for of K&M Distribution Inc. (Rogue River, Oregon), which serves the nursery industry. When moving a nursery stock shipment in a refrigerated truck, a driver headed to the […]