Klamath Falls News - Locally owned news brand, reporting stories affecting citizens of the Klamath Basin.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – This year Klamath Falls is marking 20 years as a Tree City USA community. ODF administers the Tree City USA program in Oregon for the national Arbor Day Foundation. ODF Community Assistance Forester Brittany Oxford explains that cities and towns need to meet four criteria to become a Tree City USA:
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - As the crisp mornings of October greet our souls and the heat of summer fades away the Klamath Falls Farmers Market will soon wrap for the season. The market will celebrate its final weeks with an October fall harvest bounty.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A guided walk to explore oak woodlands on the Skillet Handle area of the Running Y Ranch Resort will be offered Saturday, May 28, by the Klamath Tree League.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Selecting trees that can withstand the effects of drought will be the subject of a presentation at 1:00 PM, Saturday, April 23, during a meeting of the Klamath District Garden Clubs.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Tips for using native plants in landscaping in the Klamath Basin will be presented in a workshop slated for Saturday, April 9. The naturescaping workshop will run from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM at the Klamath County Museum, and will include classroom instruction and hands-on activity.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Klamath Basin residents are invited to bring undecorated Christmas trees to the Klamath County Fairgrounds parking lot on Saturday, January 8, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, to be chipped by Absolute Tree Care Service in exchange for any donation to Friends of the Children - Klamath Basin.
Read MoreBrixner Junior High School teacher Kara Contreras has two classrooms – one inside and one outside. Over the past three years, Contreras and her ecology students created an outdoor classroom that attracts pollinators, provides habitat for the endangered monarch butterfly, and last spring was home to fledgling barn owls.
Read MoreHouseplants, like outdoor garden plants, respond to the rapidly shortening days of fall. Begonias and Christmas cactus are houseplants that respond to shortening days by blooming: other houseplants, like some orchids, go into a fall dormant period, needing less water and fertilizer than when days are longer.
Read MoreCurrent weather and smoke conditions are tough on people, plants, and pets. Woody plants grow slowly and drop leaves earlier in fall after prolonged smoke exposure. High temperatures cause tomato and pepper to abort their fruit. Time spent in the garden, usually enjoyable, becomes headache-inducing.
Read MoreMost plants grow best in temperature ranges 59-86F. When temperatures above 90F are sustained for long periods of time, plant growth is slowed, and some plants begin to show outward signs of stress. Above 104F, many plants will survive, but will show different signs of heat stress dependent on plant type, maturity of the plant, and factors that often come with high temperatures, such as drought or wind.
Read MoreSeveral significant fires have already occurred in Klamath County this summer, including the ongoing Cutoff Fire in which homes, animals, and personal property are at risk. An exceptionally dry year and early- starting fire season increase the risk for damage to homes and property, an ideal time to consider the ways home and landscape management practices can contribute to, or reduce, fire risk.
Read MoreTomatoes- the most popular of all home grown vegetables- are among the most challenging to successfully grow in the Klamath Basin. More than 80% of all home vegetable gardeners try tomatoes
Read MoreSince presence of Bronze birch borer (BBB) was confirmed in Klamath Falls in summer 2017, the destructive beetle continues to impact trees in the Klamath Basin. Birches, shallowly rooted trees suited to locations with ample moisture, are ill suited to our area. Drought increases birch tree susceptibility to BBB, and speeds tree death. Wood boring beetles are most attracted to stressed trees.
Read MoreNumerous recent inquiries to the Klamath Extension office have involved concerns with pine trees. Most often, some type of wood boring beetle is suspected. There are several potential beetle pests of pine in our region, including Mountain pine beetle, Western pine beetle, Pine engraver beetles, and, occasionally, the Red turpentine beetle.
Read MoreEarly in spring, before temperatures in the Klamath Basin warm to allow significant outdoor gardening, a prickly, yellow-flowered invader is infiltrating our lawns, pastures, and road edges. Soon after, calls to the Extension office begin: what is it? How can I get rid of it?
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Plants native to the Klamath Basin will be offered in a May 22 sale at the Klamath County Museum, 1451 Main St. The event is co-sponsored by the museum and the Klamath Basin Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon.
Read MoreEarly in May, an author of a weekly horticulture column in Klamath Falls was celebrating a birthday. Naturally, several friends shared plants as gifts, among them a stunning burning bush, Euonymus alatus. An excellent choice for the author’s South Suburban neighborhood where deer roam freely, sampling landscape offerings and holding up traffic at will, Burning bush is a shrub often included on lists of “deer resistant” plants.
Read MoreNumerous circumstances can make a small garden space more appropriate than a larger one: rented spaces, no yard, physical limitations, the need to bring plants indoors for cool nights. Small- space gardening can be every bit as rewarding as gardening in a larger, in-ground bed.
Read MoreWarmer weather brings emergence of all the insects that have overwintered in our gardens, yards, and homes. Insects can overwinter in a variety of ways, all dependent on the species and available resources: insects may spend the winter as eggs, pupae, or adults. Overwintering in the larval stage is less common.
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday [4/15/21], Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) introduced his first piece of legislation as a Member of Congress. His bill, H.R.2562, the Solving Our Shortages for Seedlings Act (SOS for Seedlings Act) addresses the national shortage of seedlings needed for reforestation efforts following wildfires across the United States. According to the House Natural Resources Committee, wildfires destroyed more than 68 million acres in the last decade and over 10 million acres in 2020 alone.
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