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Energy incentives available for nursery, greenhouse owners

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New business energy tax credits (often known as BETC) are available for nursery and greenhouse owners based in Oregon. The incentives are part of the Oregon Department of Energy’s new Simple Premium Projects program, which has $1.7 million in funding. According to officials, the paperwork is much simpler than past BETC programs. Business owners may […]

OAN announces 2012 NW Ag Show seminars

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The Oregon Association of Nurseries will present three hours of grower seminars from noon–3:10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the NW Ag Show. The show runs Jan. 24–26 at the Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive, Portland, Ore. Your paid seminar registration includes admission to the expo floor. The seminars are as follows: Noon–1:10 […]

Urban trees boost price of rental housing

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Homeowners value trees. That much has been shown in studies performed by researchers at the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. But now it turns out that renters value trees, as well. A new study by Geoffrey H. Donovan and David T. Butry concluded that the presence of a lot tree raised the rental […]

OAN Energy Pilot wins $80,000 USDA grant

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Less than a year ago, the Oregon Association of Nurseries announced an ambitious goal to reduce industry energy usage by 25 percent in 10 years as part of its Energy Pilot program (PDF). Last week, the program scored a major victory when USDA Rural Development awarded the OAN an $80,000 grant (see press release): Oregon […]

Greenhouse growers can save money, energy with cash incentives

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Greenhouse controllers are a great way to save both money and energy, but as with any improvement, there’s the upfront cost to consider. The Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people be energy efficient, announced last week that it is rolling out an incentive for greenhouse growers. This could go a long […]

Vegetable garden declared a nuisance

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Some communities welcome vegetable gardens in the front yard. Others don’t. It appears that Memphis, Tenn. fits in the latter category. As reported in the Memphis Flyer, an alternative newsweekly, homeowner Adam Guerrero has been cited into court and ordered to dismantle his home garden. Memphis city officials declared the garden to be a nuisance […]

Join our discussion on edible plants

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Commenter Joanne Rigutto of The Little Homestead (Mulino, Ore.) chimes in with a comment on edible plants and their potential to do double duty as ornamentals: Almost any plant we grow for row crops in food production has potential for ornamental landscaping. I think one of the problems is that we normally don’t think of […]

Vertical gardening supplies food for Manhattan eatery

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This is really cool: Bell, Book and Candle, a restaurant in Manhattan, grows all of its own vegetables and herbs under the personal supervision of owner and chef John Mooney. Each daily menu is crafted based on what’s fresh and ripe that morning. But that’s not all. Mooney grows the produce on the rooftop of […]