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GET OUTDOORS AND PRUNE YOUR TREES

It’s February and time to prune
A 16-page illustrated guide from the OSU Extension Service explains the basic principles of training and pruning apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut, filbert apricot, and sweet and sour cherry trees. It’s called “Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard” (PNW 400).

Fertilize and prune early to help cane berries produce more fruit
It’s not too early in the year to begin doing a few simple chores to help raspberries and blackberries stay healthy and bear more fruit.

How to prune blueberries for more fruit
If you prune your highbush blueberries every year, it can make the difference between a mediocre and a bumper crop and help produce consistently high-quality fruit.

For more specific pruning information, the 22-minute OSU Extension videotape “A Grower’s Guide to Pruning Highbush Blueberries,” (DVD 2) is for gardeners and commercial growers. Cost is $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Order online or call 800-561-6719.

ADVENTURES IN THE COOL AND DAMP

Mushrooms can mean healthy soil
Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and may indicate healthy soil for trees and other plants.

Got moss in your lawn? Try these tips
Whether you live on the wet or dry side of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, moss can infest your lawn. To discourage its growth, OSU Extension turfgrass specialist Rob Golembiewski suggests asking yourself several questions.

Tips for growing vegetables in Oregon’s colder regions
Although summer vegetables can be a challenge to grow in these short-season areas, many fearless gardeners enjoy bountiful harvests just the same. OSU Extension horticulturist Janice Cowan shows how to do it.

WHAT’S NEW

Oregon’s agricultural sales rebound 3.8 percent in 2010 after dismal 2009
Oregon’s farmers and ranchers grossed $4.3 billion in sales last year, a 3.8 percent rebound from a dismal 2009, according to estimates in an Oregon State University report.

OSU study finds optimal treatment for fast, healthy putting greens
Researchers at Oregon State University believe they’ve come up with a winning formula for making putting greens fast and healthy – and they have the numbers to prove it.

Gift from founders of Bob’s Red Mill will launch new OSU center
A $5 million gift from one of the world’s most prominent advocates for whole grains and healthy eating will launch a new research and outreach center at OSU focused on nutrition of whole grain foods.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/enews/

Title: PROCESSING OF SPECIALTY FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTS SHORT COURSE
Date: MARCH 14-16, 2011
Time: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm March 14 & 15; 8:00 – 11:30 am March 16
Location: Wiegand Hall on the OSU Campus in Corvallis, Oregon

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=1066&storyType=garden

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Of all the habitat features that can attract wildlife to your yard, a pond can be one of the most rewarding. Planning a garden pond to build in the spring can be an interesting winter project.

“Besides drinking, animals use water for feeding, bathing, regulating body heat, resting and cover,” said Nancy Allen, a faculty member in the Oregon State University fisheries and wildlife department. “In the Pacific Northwest, some of the species most attracted to ponds are raccoons, deer, dragonflies, songbirds and waterfowl.”

A pond creates natural beauty, and the more natural features it has, the more attractive it is to wildlife. Ponds can be any shape or size. They can be still or have running water or fountains. Many species are attracted to moving water, which also discourages mosquitoes.

Adding fish to the pond to help control mosquitoes, however, can be a problem when the pond overflows. Allen suggests placing bird and bat boxes near the pond instead.

An Oregon State University publication (EC 1548) Create a Garden Pond for Wildlife describes how to build a simple pond to attract wildlife and how to keep it safe and healthy and is available online.

The first step is to check with local zoning or planning offices to be sure that the pond is safe and legal. Also, check with your insurance company for safety requirements.

“The pond should fit in with the natural landscape of the land and have a curved, irregular shape. For smaller yards, a pond that is three-by-five feet is a good size,” Allen said. “A larger yard could hold a pond five-by-eight feet or larger.”

The pond should be at least 20 inches deep at the deepest part. Shallow water around the edge or at one end should include plant shelves as habitat for wildlife. One side of your pond should have a gradual slope. A good slope is a drop of six inches for every three horizontal feet.

Consider all underground utilities, tree roots and other potential obstacles, Allen advises.

“Keep your pond above the water table to prevent damage to your liner,” she said. “You can check the high water line in winter. Dig a small hole the same depth as your proposed pond and observe it for 24 hours. If the hole fills with water on a day with no rain, your water table is high in this spot. Be sure your pond depth is above this level.”

Plan where your pond will drain when it overflows from rain or when you clean it. You can channel water to your yard or down a hill, or you can create a small wetland to collect the excess water.

To see how your pond will look in different locations, use a garden hose or string to make an outline. Make sure you can see it from the house or from wherever you want to view it.

“Most ponds, unless they are very shallow, should get at least five to six hours of sunlight per day,” Allen said. “This allows enough sunlight for plants to grow but enough shade to prevent excess growth of algae.” Don’t place your pond directly under trees or over-hanging shrubs. Leaves can make the water too acidic for aquatic life and, when decomposing, use the oxygen and cause odors.

Also, when considering location of the pond, remember that wildlife need a “travel corridor” of tall grass to move safely to your pond. If you need to fill and change the water, place your pond near a water supply. If you plan to have running water and/or a pump and filter, you need to place your pond close to a supply of electricity.

The Extension publication gives directions on buying pumps and filters and choosing and installing a liner. Other details include how to excavate the hole, fill the pond and add edging, sand or small rocks.

You’ll find information on what types of native plants to put in – submerged, floating and marginal – and how to care for them. You’ll also learn issues about native wildlife species and coexistence with humans.

By: Judy Scott
Source: Nancy Allen

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=705&storyType=news

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Smoked fish is unlike any other. As a salty finger food, it quickly disappears from the buffet table but can be plentiful any time of year if you have family members who love to fish.

Salt, smoke and heat are the essentials of making delicious hot-smoked fish at home, but unless you consider one more factor – safety – food-borne illness can be a major problem and even lethal.

Explicit directions on how to avoid harmful bacteria can be found in “Smoking Fish at Home – Safely,” (PNW238) a publication of the Pacific Northwest Extension offices at Oregon State University, Washington State University and the University of Idaho, available online.

The four-page pamphlet focuses on hot-smoked fish only, not cold-smoked fish, which are not pasteurized and must be handled with extreme caution to avoid illness from harmful bacteria.

The publication warns that smoke itself is not an effective preservative under most conditions.

In fact, three parameters need to be met to ensure that the fish will not support growth of harmful bacteria, according to Carolyn Raab, an OSU foods and nutrition specialist.

• Heat the fish until the internal temperature reaches at least 150 degrees (and preferably 160 degrees) and is maintained for at least 30 minutes.
• Salt or brine the fish long enough to ensure enough is present throughout the fish.
• Store under refrigeration at 38 degrees or less.

On the West Coast, ideal species for smoking are shad, sturgeon, smelt, herring, steelhead, salmon, mackerel, sablefish and tuna. Those with higher fat smoke faster and have better texture than lower-fat fish.

“You can smoke any fish without worrying about food-borne illness if you observe the basic principles explained in the publication about preparation, salting, smoking, cooking and storage,” Raab said.

The publication also includes a diagram illustrating the basic elements of a good smoker, and describes how to refrigerate and freeze the fish after smoking.

Only hardwoods are recommended for making smoke; maple, oak, alder, hickory, birch and fruit woods are all good. Wood from conifers, such as fir, spruce, pine or cedar, can leave an unpleasant taste on the fish.

A printed copy of the “Smoking Fish at Home – Safely” publication can be ordered for $1 plus shipping and handing by calling 800-561-6719, or order online.

By: Judy Scott
Source: Carolyn Raab

Clean bird feeders can prevent disease

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=1171&storyType=garden

CORVALLIS, Ore. – As birds crowd to feeders during the coming winter months they can spread disease. To keep the birds healthy, it’s important to clean their feeders regularly and take precautions as you feed them.

“You can spot sick birds in a crowd,” said Dana Sanchez, wildlife biologist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. “They are less alert and less active. They feed less and often cower on a feeder, reluctant to fly. Sick birds are more vulnerable to starvation, dehydration, predation and severe weather.”

“Sick birds show up at feeders and other birds get sick as a consequence,” Sanchez said. “But this does not mean that bird feeding should be stopped.”

To minimize the spread of disease at your feeder, Sanchez recommends following these steps:

• Give the birds enough space. If you have one feeder that is crowded, consider getting an additional feeder.
• Clean your feeder and the droppings on the perching area each time you fill your feeder.
• Disinfect the feeder once or twice a month with one part liquid chlorine household bleach in nine parts of warm water. If possible, immerse the feeder for two to three minutes and allow to air dry.
• Feed birds only high-quality food. Moldy seed or bread or spoiled leftovers don’t do them any good.
• Keep rodents out of the food. Mice can carry bird diseases.
• When you see sick birds huddled at the feeder, spread the word quickly in your neighborhood.
• Check your feeder for sharp edges, where birds might cut themselves. Small scratches or cuts allow bacteria and viruses to infect a bird more easily.

Keep in mind that if you practice all the procedures, you may still see a sick bird at your feeder. Salmonellosis is the most commonly spread disease at feeders and can kill birds quickly. Infected birds spread the bacteria in their droppings.

There are other diseases that affect birds typically using feeders.

Trichomoniasis is caused by a one-celled protozoan parasite. Mourning doves are particularly susceptible. The disease spreads when sick birds drop contaminated food or water at a feeder or watering area.

Aspergillosis is a mold that grows on damp feed and in the debris beneath feeders. Birds inhale the mold spores and infection spreads in the lungs, causing bronchitis and pneumonia.

Avian Pox is a virus that causes wartlike growths on featherless surfaces of a birds face, feet legs or wings. Virus spreads by direct contact, by insects or by viruses shed on food by infected birds.

Avian influenza, or the H5N1 virus, has been in the news. This disease has infected poultry and although one strain is known to infect humans, most strains do not.

“Remember, a sick bird is not necessarily your fault,” Sanchez said. “Birds die of natural causes all the time. We just tend to see them more when we feed them.”

By: Judy Scott
Source: Dana Sanchez