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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Former state senator's lodge threatened by fire Farmers market boosts incentives for Oregon Trail shoppers Medford hunter's exotic collection goes on sale Medford seeks volunteers for city boards 10 things to know for Tuesday Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Blaze south of Prospect tops 2,200 acres Fire torches vacant home under renovation Community blog: Volunteerism=Stuart Skeele Emergency Services Politics and Elections Just one seat will be contested for Central Point council Gold Hill mayor faces challenger; other races have one candidate each Medford proposes new rules for pawn shops to help nab thieves Lack of incumbents, pot issue draws 10 for Medford council races Council members in Gold Hill dodge voter recall Education Back-to-school shopping can add up RCC program helps prepare Latinos for college SOU launches leadership degree program Medford charter school opens with many changes, including its name Superintendent welcomes staff to a new school year Environment Medford hunter's exotic collection goes on sale Elusive owls get new home in Cascades Judge won't block release of water Ashland marchers won't give up on climate change message OR-7 could be recollared next month State news Nation - World Obituaries Pearl May Walker James (Jim) Michael Giancarlo Janie Sparks Georgia A. Lind Shirley Helen Beal Roberts Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Mike Barry caps off SOGC with thrilling conclusion Taormino captures SOGC junior/senior crown Dizzy in heat, Bouchard out of upset-heavy US Open Hamels, 3 Phils relievers combine to no-hit Braves Kirk rallies to win the Deutsche Bank Varsity 541 College Sports Ducks shift attention to Spartans Mariota, Oregon steamroll South Dakota SOU comes up short against Menlo 'It's about the win' for Oregon State SOU splits on final day of Merced tourney Pro Sports Mike Barry caps off SOGC with thrilling conclusion Taormino captures SOGC junior/senior crown Dizzy in heat, Bouchard out of upset-heavy US Open Hamels, 3 Phils relievers combine to no-hit Braves Kirk rallies to win the Deutsche Bank Community Sports Barry fires back into SOGC finals Super seniors strong at SOGC Crenshaw pulls off upset in SOGC Murphy claims victory in Stroke Play Championships South Korea downs Chicago for World Series title Business Latest Stories 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Earlier than normal pear harvest coming up short of expectations Blog: Who Loves Coffee? 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People in Business New Mercedes-Benz dealer is luxury car fan Real Estate News Median residential housing prices rise 10.7 percent, but may begin to level out People In Business Transportation Agriculture 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Earlier than normal pear harvest coming up short of expectations Weisinger's Winery has earliest crush on record Amy's Kitchen begins expansion in White City Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: Putin and Ukraine Tiny homes, big ideas, a scarcity of information Letters to the Editor, Sept. 1 Catherine Rampell: The one fight to have before your wedding Letters to the Editor, Aug. 31 Editorials Tiny homes, big ideas, a scarcity of information Charter schools prove to be option not obstacle Blistering lawsuit filed in Cover Oregon fiasco Other views: OLCC operates with little oversight Our View: A vote for common sense in Gold Hill Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Sept. 1 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 31 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 29 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 28 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 27 Guest Opinions Wilderness for Kalmiopsis has served us well The summer of my discontent: An open letter to Bill Rauch The power of local philanthropy Lifestyle Latest stories Mail Tribune 100 Backpacking is glorious in the "Oregon Alps" Hot tips for a cool (shade) garden 'Super-Agers' are coming fast Columnist for a Day: The collection-plate formula still works Food What does 'natural' really mean? 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NW Raw Kelly's Crepes Basil & Berries Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million ... 10 things to know for Tuesday ... Get Up & Go: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 ... 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million ... 10 things to know for Tuesday ... Get Up & Go: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 ... SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL Confessions of a not-very-masterful gardener By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News I have two spindly cherry tomato plants gasping out their days on the west side of my house, the only area where they get enough sun, and where my sprinklers don’t sprinkle. I hand water them every day. Someone may say, “For cherry tomatoes? Why bother?” I’ve harvested three so far. I attended weeks of classes and earned a Master Gardener badge from the OSU Extension in the '80s. It has since ceased to represent any aptitude on my part. I should turn it in as a matter of ethics. I descended from a family of farmers who still host gardens full of strapping plants — monster zucchini and lumbering squash and melon plants sprawl over their plots. Plant magic happens for them as a matter of course. My last painful gardening memory was about three years ago. A tractor man came, tilled my area and spread before me a blank canvas soon to sprout neat rows of all the colorful veggies I loved. I bought seeds and organic fertilizer. I bought a trowel and garden gloves. I would pick fresh vegetables and feel a little smug about it. I planned where everything would go. I poked seeds into the earth a couple inches apart and spooned in a little fertilizer. My irrigation pump started it. The thing refused to work. I had a ditch full with cheap irrigation water and a recalcitrant pump. Pumps are expensive to fix when you can get someone to look at them, but no one would come. They were all too busy fixing other people’s pumps who knew how to garden. My non-garden was low priority and somehow they knew it. So I hauled out the hoses and hand watered every day where I thought the seeds were. It was hot while I did this. I might have forgotten a few times. Each day I checked for signs of life, and one afternoon, tiny shoots appeared. I trusted they were radishes. Those radishes never grew. I waited the length of time the package with the bright, jolly radishes in the photo said to wait, and when I finally pulled them up, they looked like Red Hots with hair-like roots and none of the flavor. I tried one. For all there was, it could have been something my toothbrush missed. I turned to my favorite fruit, strawberries. My grandparents were strawberry farmers in Washington. Surely I had enough residual gene pool power to raise a decent crop. After interminable days of waiting, I began to see small green berries. But at the first fleck of changing hue, birds descended. I bought netting, but the berries said no go. They took their cue from the radishes and called it quits. I began wearing my Master Gardener badge in their presence. I put cages around scrawny tomato plants and remained optimistic there would be sumptuous red slicers one day. I’d planted corn, peppers and cantaloupe too, all kinds of potential food. Then came hungry deer. I’d lived in this house for over 20 years and had never seen hide nor tail of a deer in the neighborhood, let alone my backyard. How did they find out? These deer disturbed the netting and pushed a couple tomato cages at a tilt. I straightened everything, hand watered and began to have a sinking feeling that I was losing. Each day there would be more chaos, more chewed leaves, and no produce. By the time I gave in, it was as if the deer had put on combat boots and tromped around, making rude comments about my badge, smoking cigars, dragging the netting, and eating radish tops and strawberry leaves. The corn was afraid to show, evidently. I’m babying my two cherry tomatoes and yanking the lavender I planted between them. It’s dead — drowned — since it’s a semi-arid plant. Time to hit the farmer’s markets. I’ll definitely save money that way. Peggy Dover is a freelance writer who works from a 1900 farmhouse in Eagle Point. Reach her at [email protected].   By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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