Digger magazine

A pause of appreciation

By Jeff Stone — Posted March 23, 2021

This is my 126th column as your executive director, and a lot has happened in the last 10½ years. As a history nerd, I went back to find the oldest version of Digger I could. I was able to locate Issue #2 (ever), from June 1956. The Oregon Association of Nurserymen, as it was known […]

Brighter days ahead

By Kyle Fessler — Posted March 23, 2021

This past month marked the one-year anniversary of our lives getting flipped upside down by COVID-19. What began as a passing phrase on the news ticker quickly turned into what some expected could be the Great Recession 2.0. Uncertainty became the norm. Expectations changed by the day. We were all in need of direction, and […]

McHutchison and Vaughan’s hire sales representatives

By Bill Goloski — Posted March 22, 2021

Allison Pennell has been hired as a sales representative for McHutchison in Oregon. She joins the company with several years of industry experience and has certified expertise in the horticulture field. Pennell was most recently a writer for Everbearing Services’ horticulture accounts, as well as a contributing garden writer for Plant Something Oregon. She previously […]

March 2020

By Bill Goloski — Posted March 3, 2021

From meeting the needs of a whole new fleet of gardeners to providing nearly one-fifth of the nation’s flowering trees, Oregon growers and retailers are set to impress this spring. This issue also explores the effects of cold storage on trees, and Peoria Gardens President Ben Verhoeven shares his story in a Meet the Leader […]

Booth spaces still available for Nursery Guide LIVE March 17–18

By Curt Kipp — Posted March 3, 2021

What do you grow? What do you sell? And what do you do? If you’re connected in any way with the nursery and greenhouse industry, you can showcase your answers to those questions at Nursery Guide LIVE, the virtual marketplace for green industry professionals. Virtual booth spaces remain available for the inaugural event, taking place […]

The cold shoulder season

By Lloyd Nackley — Posted February 25, 2021

Nursery growers effectively use cold storage to support sales of deciduous trees Plants in the Pacific Northwest experience a wide range of temperatures, from hot, dry summers to cold, wet winters. Deciduous plants grow when conditions are favorable. They enter dormancy when environmental conditions are too cold, dark, or otherwise unsuitable for growth. Deciduous trees, […]

Flowering cherry trees then and now

By Tracy Ilene Miller — Posted February 25, 2021

Flowering cherry trees remain popular, from old mainstays to new selections, with more on the way It’s March, and soon showy displays of Japanese flowering cherry trees will trumpet their annual announcement that spring has arrived. Thus, consumers will be prompted to head to garden centers with hopes of adding the ephemeral beauty of these […]

Cultivating the curious

By Kym Pokorny — Posted February 25, 2021

How retailers can engage with a flourishing generation of new gardeners As the pandemic gripped the world in early spring 2020, toilet paper, yeast and canning supplies weren’t the only products disappearing off shelves. Plants flew out of many garden centers at an unprecedented, or at least unexpected, pace. All of a sudden, everyone in […]

Meet the Leader: Ben Verhoeven

By Bill Goloski — Posted February 25, 2021

PresidentPeoria Gardens Inc.OAN member since 2012 OAN roles/positions:• OAN Board of Directors Executive Committee – member at large Tell us about yourself As a second-generation nursery owner, I grew up on a farm my father, Tom Verhoeven, started in 1983. My first job was filling flats for pocket change. Agriculture was just one my interests […]

Making every step count

By Kyle Fessler — Posted February 25, 2021

Every family has traditions. In the Fessler family, we have one time-honored tradition that dates back long before my time. Each winter — typically on a cold, wet winter Saturday — our extended family gathers in Grandpa’s shop to make sausage. It’s taken decades of practice, but the process has evolved over the years into […]