Digger magazine

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Using your inputs efficiently

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Although labor is the largest expense for many nurseries, it isn’t the only expense. Inputs such as water, fertilizer, growing media and even artificial light also impose significant costs for the grower. Entire books could be written on saving water and electricity in a nursery. The Oregon Association of Nurseries and the Oregon Environmental Council […]

Arranging the workspace

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In the nursery world, there’s a fine line between having too much space and not enough. Ben Verhoeven, president and general manager of Peoria Gardens, has found the secret to walking that line. “Lots of sleepless nights and coffee,” he said. “Deep breaths. Colorful language.” In all seriousness, though, utilizing a nursery’s space in the […]

Finding common ground on immigration

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The immigration system has been broken for more than three decades. Building an immigration reform package in a vitriolic political environment remains a huge challenge. Oregon’s agricultural industry is united in seeking a solution to the perpetual labor crisis. Getting from there will demand that we reconsider what a solution could look like. Washington, D.C. […]

April 2018 — The Greenhouse Issue

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The Greenhouse Issue From growing under the seasonally gray sky of the Pacific Northwest, to matching up perennials and grasses for compact urban landscapes, the Greenhouse Issue will bring you up to speed on how Oregon prepares for spring. In this issue: Small, tall and packed together: The trend toward smaller spaces drives intensive use of perennials […]

An illuminating trend

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LEDs are helping nurseries gain all kinds of new efficiencies A mid-January morning in Hillsboro, Oregon: It’s gray, it’s drizzly and, most depressingly, it’s dark. Dark enough that 10:30 in the morning feels like dusk, which at this time of year comes far too early for most; dark enough that the region would be lucky to […]

Small, tall and packed together

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The trend toward smaller spaces drives intensive use of perennials and grasses The midcentury ranch house with the huge yard is a thing of the past. Replacing it is the tall house with a small yard — and that’s changing the shape of home landscaping. Everywhere across the country, homebuilders are squeezing as many new homes […]

Don’t overlook these late bloomers

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Don’t overlook these late bloomers During the busy spring months, when customers are buying nearly everything that is in bloom, they might overlook plants that don’t show off their color until late summer. I have many plants in my garden that are just coming into peak flower in August and September. Whenever we open our […]

H-2A for nurseries

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The guest worker program offers a labor option, but has its challenges Oregon nurseries are facing pressing labor shortages. Several have turned to mechanization, but the industry still needs human hands. In recent years, those hands have not been adequately available. Many nurseries are considering the H-2A temporary agricultural worker visa program as a potential […]