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Northwoods Nursery wins sustainability award

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Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Sustainability Board presented Northwoods Nursery and One Green World with a 2011 Oregon Sustainability Award yesterday. The wholesale and retail grower won in the small business category. It was one of just two businesses, and six organizations overall, to be so honored. The nursery, founded and owned by […]

Annual ANLD tour is set for June 18

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If you want to see some of the finest and most creative residential landscapes in the Portland area, then mark Saturday, June 18 on your calendar, and make plans to attend the eighth annual Behind-the-Scenes Garden Tour, presented by the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers (ANLD). The self-guided, multi-site tour will be held from 10 […]

Scotts removing phosphorous from most lawn foods

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The Scotts Miracle Gro Company announced today it is removing phosphorous from most of its lawn fertilizers by the end of 2012. The company has been reducing use of the compound in fertilizers since 2006. Excess phosphorous is considered bad for the environment because the unabsorbed amounts can run off into streams, waterways and eventually […]

Giving pests no quarter

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So you run a nursery and you’re dealing with an invasive pest that made its way over from Asia. What to do? This clever and funny video featuring PacMan (and a special surprise cameo from another legendary Namco video game) explains the concept of biological control. Thanks to Suzanne Wainwright and Robin Rosetta for passing […]

Researchers study turning poplar leaves into biodegradable plastic

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As noted in the upcoming April issue of Digger, various researchers have looked at such disparate ingredients as cow manure, bamboo, corn starch resins, recycled paper, feathers and coir fiber as the basis for constructing alternatives to the plastic nursery pot. Now one could add the leaves of hybrid poplar trees to the list. As […]

Plant disease handbook is now on Facebook

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Everybody’s doing it. It doesn’t matter if they’re a person, a company, an organization, a book or even a marketing concept — everybody’s getting onto Facebook. And as it turns out, the Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook is no exception. They’ve launched a Facebook fan page as well. Evidently, it will be used to […]

OAN energy conservation summit yields first steps

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Members of OAN and several partner groups took part in the nursery industry energy conservation summit Dec. 7 at the Oregon Garden Resort. They came away with notable progress toward the industrywide goal of becoming 25 percent more energy efficient over the next decade. The OAN Board of Directors officially adopted this goal back in […]

USDA awards $2.7 million for research into plant pathogens

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded group of colleges, led by Virginia Tech, a $2.7 million grant to conduct research on integrated management of zoosporic pathogens and irrigation water quality. Researchers will look for biological control methods for fighting Phythophthora, Pythium and other pathogens. Researchers will also “develop […]

OAN board sets industry-wide goal for energy efficiency

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Oregon’s nursery industry will work together over the next 10 years to improve energy efficiency by 25 percent, according to a goal adopted recently by the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) Board of Directors. The energy savings will be realized through OAN members’ participation in a voluntary energy efficiency program. The program will be organized […]

Portland: Where plants do the work

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Oregon once again has been selected to host a major green industry gathering. The International Phytotechnology Society will hold its eighth annual conference Sept. 13–16,2011 at the Doubletree in Portland, Ore., so mark your calendar. The conference is titled “Putting Plants to Work for Practical Ecology.” It is expected to bring together many people involved […]