Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

You are here: Home / Archives for Digger

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

By — Posted

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 […]

A gardener’s optimism has no limits

By — Posted

Resilient is a good word to use to describe Diana and Colby Lamb. Resilience is defined as spirit, hardiness, toughness, strength, buoyancy, and resistance. On September 8 at 12:15 a.m., there was a banging on the door of their Gates, Oregon house. It was a Marion County sheriff’s deputy telling them that there had been […]

Leading with a purpose

By — Posted

The Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) remains, by its very definition and mission, a member-driven, service- and advocacy-oriented green industry force. It seems like a decade ago back in March 2020 when the industry and country were tossed into the abyss of COVID-19. Now that the last chapter of 2020 is being written, we should […]

Managing epidemics

By — Posted

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

By — Posted

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

By — Posted

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

By — Posted

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 […]

Meet the leader: Jesse Nelson

By — Posted

General ManagerHans Nelson & Sons Nursery Inc. OAN member since: 2002 OAN roles/positions: Board of Directors – Field and Bare Root Tell us about yourself: I grew up doing different little jobs around our family farm in Boring, Oregon, for as long as I can remember. My grandfather started Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery in […]

Strength and wisdom

By — Posted

An adage says ‘behind every great man is a great woman,’ but it seems archaic to bring up these days with the budding ascension of so many women as national leaders. My two politically-active and college-aged daughters have watched Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris of California become a viable national force in real […]