Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Puget Sound Plants hires lead buyer, sales

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Justin Parker has been hired as the lead buyer for Puget Sound Plants, according to a release from the company. He has 20 years of nursery industry experience. In addition to providing production strategies for their business partners, he will be purchasing nursery stock for the Maltby and Olympia sales yards. Aaron Bernhard has been […]

May 2021 – Growing minds: A special issue

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The nursery and greenhouse industry has a critical relationship with colleges and universities, including the programs that train future leaders, the researchers who drive change and improvement, and the scholarship programs that help students finance their education. This three-part issue dives into the fruits of those labors, as well as lessons from a nostoc control […]

Nixing nostoc

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Researchers ‘go to the mats’ to test various control products By Marcelo L Moretti and David King Nostoc are cyanobacteria colonies that can grow where abundant moisture is available. These bacteria form continuous colonies that resemble mats covering gravel, plastic, concrete, or flat surfaces. Nostoc grow during the spring and summer and create a slippery […]

The grassroots of research

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The nursery industry plays an important role funding and vetting beneficial research projects Universities and colleges, in Oregon and elsewhere, don’t merely provide nurseries and greenhouses with well-trained, knowledgeable and conversant employees. They also provide research-proven knowledge and best practices, so growers can produce a better crop and run a more profitable business. These institutions […]

The framework of the future

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Growing minds: Part 2 Industry-funded scholarships provide essential support for tomorrow’s leaders It might not seem like much, but for Justin Schulze, plant breeder for Bailey Innovations, a division of Bailey Nurseries, the money he was able to cobble together through college scholarships was critical to launching his career. “Those scholarships can allow us to […]

The foundation of learning

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Growing minds: Part 1 Oregon’s higher horticulture education programs feed the pipeline of nursery talent When Ryan Contreras, associate professor at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon, talks to students with an interest in plants and the horticulture program, one point inevitably rises to the top. “I can guarantee you a job in the […]

APHIS testing new portal to find import requirements

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The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is developing a new online portal to make it easier to locate and display import requirements, according to a release from the agency. The Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements (ACIR) is currently in beta-testing, and it has started with Plants and Plant Products Not for Propagation. The […]

Fruit scientist, hydrologist join ARS Science Hall of Fame

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Two scientists have been inducted into the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Science Hall of Fame. ARS has been honoring senior agency researchers for outstanding, lifelong achievements in agricultural science and technology in the Hall of Fame since 1986. Plant geneticist Chad E. Finn has been posthumously recognized for his outstanding work with small-fruits crop research […]

Lessons of the pandemic

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Every business sector has had to adapt to the pandemic. The various trade associations representing these sectors also had to navigate the same challenging environment, but they had a double responsibility. They had to steer their industry through the pandemic, as well. Nurseries did fairly well after an uncertain start to the pandemic. Other economic […]