Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

The Peters Company launches Lean foundations course

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The Peters Company has released an online course, “Lean Foundations,” for industry professionals seeking to reduce waste and improve productivity. The project is the company’s first on-demand training course and is available on https://learn.petersco.net for individual subscribers. The interactive course introduces the critical principles of the Toyota Production System — or Lean — which has […]

Terra Nova helps revitalize Southwest China mountains

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Canby, Oregon-based Terra Nova Nurseries has been helping their licensee Chongqing Tianmu Agriculture combat the degradation of the Damu Flower Valley in the Wuling Mountain range of Southwest China. According to a release from the company, Terra Nova Begonia, Echinacea, Heuchera, Heucherella, and Kniphofia varieties were chosen to revitalize the plant life in the area […]

Adapt8 moves greenhouse louver production stateside

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Adapt8 will now manufacture their own louvers due to the international production delays the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, according to a release from the company. The louvers are used in the company’s commercial and small-scale greenhouse kits, sheds, and other outbuildings. Adapt8 developed a Lean manufacturing process to make the horizontal slates from left-over Solexx […]

J. Frank Schmidt creates anniversary special virtual tour

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According to a release from the company, J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. has not been able to host as many tours as usual during the pandemic. However, 2021 will mark the 75th anniversary of the world-renowned tree grower and breeder. So, they have created a 23-minute “Growing New Ideas” video of the history, cultural […]

Philadelphia Flower Show schedules outdoor June event

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The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) has reimagined its Philadelphia Flower Show as an outdoor event, according to a release from the company. The show will take place outside June 5–13, 2021 at the historic Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park (FDR Park) in South Philadelphia, adjacent to South Philadelphia’s Sports Complex area. The show previously took place […]

December 2020

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In this issue, growers share some advice for confronting the plant shortages coming in 2021.  Our writers also explore honeylocust as a fast-growing crop that adapts to extreme conditions; Mike Darcy shares the resilience of home gardeners who lost everything in the Oregon wildfires; and OSU researchers look at silicon as a soil amendment to […]

Silicon: the non-essential beneficial nutrient for plant defense?

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Rhododendrons and azaleas are the backbone of many ornamental landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, since 2016, a beautiful little insect has been plaguing the genus Rhododendron, causing aesthetic and physiological damage, which may lead to plant death if left unchecked (Figure 1). Preliminary studies suggest that cultivars vary in their tolerance to azalea lace […]

Tough, tall and reliable

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Honeylocust provides abundant shade, grows quickly and adapts well to extreme conditions Acer (maple) and Quercus (oak) may monopolize spotlights on shade trees, but Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (honeylocust) holds its own as a major crop and it’s an important addition to the catalog of reliable tall trees. Oregon nurseries grow more honeylocust than any […]

A demand ‘renaissance’ for nurseries

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Growers advise flexibility as they anticipate shortages, substitutions and sustained demand for 2021 In 2020, North American nurseries experienced a rollercoaster ride of escalating dread, stomach-churning twists and unexpected thrills. There was uncertainty in the early spring due to COVID-related shutdowns in the U.S. and Canada, but nurseries were allowed to stay open, resulting in […]