This publication is a technical and practical guide for soil acidification in commercial fields. It explains the soil chemistry involved, how to determine whether pH adjustment is feasible, and methods for acidifying soil. This guide is divided into five sections:
• Understanding soil pH
• The problem—iron chlorosis
• Causes...
Adults often find an aging parent needs support at a time when their own lives and responsibilities are the most complicated. You may feel pulled in several directions—raising your children, being supportive to a spouse, helping parents, and/or working outside the home—all at the
same time. It’s not unusual to...
It is imperative that residues of these compounds be eliminated in poultry and eggs or be within the tolerances established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when your flock is marketed or eggs are sold. Commercial chicken and turkey flocks are tested for...
The potato tuberworm, Phthorimaea operculella, is a pest of many solanaceous crops, including potatoes. Commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, potato tuberworm (PTW) is one of the most important constraints to potato production worldwide. Larvae of this species mine leaves, stems, and petioles and excavate tunnels...
Two factors have led to curtailment of some lethal methods of combating sheep predators and limit the use of others: changes in public attitudes and more restrictive state and federal regulations. Ranchers now use more nonlethal methods for reducing losses of sheep to predator attack. Electric fence tests in Oregon...
Coastal waters, lakes, and streams in the Pacific Northwest provide a variety of seafoods including salmon and many other fish, clams, oysters, shrimp, and crab. You can enjoy these delicacies throughout the year if you preserve them when supplies are abundant. Canning is a popular method for preserving seafood. Products...
While the objectives of pruning and tree training have changed little over the years, the need for attention to pruning and training has increased dramatically. Pacific Northwest cherry growers now compete in a world market, making fruit size and quality increasingly important. In addition, labor is less available and more...
Family members who play a major role in caring for elderly relatives frequently ignore their own needs. Some find themselves virtually homebound and consumed by caregiving tasks. When caregiving is prolonged over months and years, the self-sacrifice is particularly harmful. We have prepared this publication to help you maintain your...
Published January 2007. Reviewed July 2016. Please check for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
This publication isdesigned to help you:
❏ Understand depression and factors related to its onset in later life
❏ Recognize signs of depression and potential suicide
❏ Learn about treatments for depression
❏ Know what you can do if you suspect an older family member or friend is depressed or...
Designed to help ranchers recognize common rabbit diseases. Diseases are classified according to major cause-bacterial, viral, nutritional, hereditary, fungal, and miscellaneous (including poisoning, tumors, and vices). For each disease, the symptoms and treatment are described. Provides advice on packing and shipping specimens for laboratory diagnosis as well. Includes black-and-white photographs...
Las polillas pueden dañar la ropa y otros artículos. Hay dos especies comunes de polillas en el Noroeste del Pacífi co: la polilla tejedora (Tineola bisselliella) y la polilla del estuche, también conocida como polilla capullera (Tinea pellionella). Son las larvas las que hacen daño.
This publication highlights hand-scalping, mulch mats, and herbicides as weed management methods to improve conifer seedling survival and growth. The focus here is on grass dominated environments. All these methods are in use on small woodland properties. Other weed control methods, including grazing and manual brush removal, are discussed in...
With a little extra planning and care, you can enjoy fresh vegetables from your garden most of the year. Many cool-season crops produce well in the fall and, in mild-winter areas of the Pacific Northwest, hold through the winter if protected. You can plant these vegetables in mid- to late...
With the renewed interest in direct marketing activity, more and more farmers are asking, Is direct farm‑to‑consumer marketing the answer? This question can best be answered after assessing:
• Personal abilities and desire to sell directly to consumers
• The farming operation’s compatibility with direct marketing
The assessment should also...
Strategies for managing production and marketing costs ensure greater
profitability and stability, especially for direct marketers who decide to expand and diversify their operations. In developing these strategies, it is important to understand concepts such as fixed and variable costs, depreciation, and interest. These concepts can help you develop budgets...
A successful direct farm maketing business requires a knowledge and understanding of effective marketing and management practices. This publication discusses what services and choices to offer customers and how to price and promote items for sale.
Selecting a good location for a direct farm‑to‑consumer enterprise is of primary importance in direct marketing. Although roadside stands, U-pick operations, and farmers markets can and do operate in different locations and settings, certain key factors contribute to a satisfactory direct market location:
• Being on a well‑traveled road near...
Selecting the right people to meet and serve customers is an important
decision in establishing and operating a direct farm market outlet. When
selecting and training employees, remember that customers expect a cordial atmosphere and friendly service. You want employees who are alert for opportunities to be of service, who...
Biosolids are a by-product of municipal wastewater treatment. They contain organic matter and nutrients that are beneficial for soil, crop, and livestock productivity. Raw sewage solids must be processed to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards before they can be called biosolids. This publication focuses on how biosolids can...
In the Pacific Northwest, fires are a natural part of the changing landscape. As homeowners continue to build in the wildland-urban interface, they must take special precautions to protect their lives, homes, and property.
Tree vigor is important because more leaves mean more carbohydrate production and larger cherries. The production of high-quality cherries requires a gross canopy leaf area-to-fruit ratio of at least 200 cm2 of leaf area per fruit, which roughly translates to five leaves per fruit. Trees with a lower LA:F ratio...
Earlier editions of PNW 296 were published under the title Freezing Prepared Foods. This edition was revised by Carolyn Raab, Extension foods and nutrition specialist, and Nellie Oehler, Lane County Extension
family and community development educator, both of Oregon State University, in consultation with Val Hillers, Extension food specialist, Washington...
Freezing is one of the simplest and least time consuming methods of food preservation. For best quality, it is important to follow directions carefully. Color, flavor, and nutritive value can be affected by freshness of the produce selected, method of preparation and packaging, and conditions of freezing.
Christmas trees are an enduring holiday tradition. U.S. producers supply about 35 million trees annually. The past few decades have seen the Pacific Northwest’s rise to prominence as the leading Christmas-tree producing region in the United States. With a combined annual production estimated at more than 11 million trees, Oregon,...
This publication is designed to give family and professional caregivers a fuller understanding of dementia in later life and ways to cope more effectively with the changes resulting from it.
In addition to general care guidelines, the publication outlines approaches for handling specific problems —driving, wandering, money management, hiding items,...
Older people need various degrees of assistance with financial matters. Some need minimal help; for example, help with reading the fine print on bills and financial forms or preparing checks for signature. Others, who are homebound but able to direct their personal finances, may need someone to carry out their...
Despite the challenges, in-home help may be the best option even for a short time. However, deciding what help you need and selecting a worker is a sizable task that requires careful thought, planning, and research. This publication is a guide through
the maze of finding, screening, and hiring an...
Commercially managed honey bees pollinate a variety of crops in the Pacific Northwest, including tree fruits, berries, cucurbits, and crops grown for seed. This activity is economically significant. In 2004, the value of bee-pollinated crops in the region was approximately $1.7 billion. Nationally, the value of bee-pollinated crops in 2000...
Jointed goatgrass (Aegilops cylindrica Host.) is a winter annual grass weed that was introduced into the United States in the late 1800s. It is
found throughout the continental United States and is most common in the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production areas of the Pacific Northwest and central Great...
Keeping track of nutrient levels in dairy pastures has become an important part of farm management plans. The current recommendation is to fertilize pastures at a level to replace, in equal measure, the nutrients removed through grazing or cutting each year. The Confined Animal Feeding Operations Program (CAFO) run by...
Generally, surveying means gathering and processing information about the physical earth. It’s the science of determining relative positions of existing points on the earth’s surface or of establishing such points. Methods range from aerial and satellite systems to conventional ground methods. Survey professionals use a variety of methods to produce...
Lingonberries are in the genus Vaccinium and are closely related to highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and cranberries (V. macrocarpum L.).
Lingonberries are well suited to cooler climates and can be expected to do well in regions where blueberries and cranberries are productive. Lingonberries are native to
Scandinavia, Europe, Alaska,...
Although there are no easy answers to the nursing home decision, this publication gives some guidelines for making decisions, assessing family and community resources, selecting a quality care facility, and dealing with your feelings and those of your older relative. It also looks at ways to maintain positive contact with...
This publication focuses on using water analyses to choose appropriate water treatment and water management practices for irrigated agriculture. It will help determine:
• What tests are needed to characterize water quality
• How to collect water samples
• How to interpret analytical data from a laboratory
• How to...
Milk production can be increased by managing dairy cows’ exposure to light. Photo period is defined as the duration of light exposure within a 24-hour period. A long-day photo period (LDPP) means exposure to 16–18 hours of continuous light followed by 6–8 hours of continuous darkness. A short-day photoperiod (SDPP)...
Accumulation of excessive salt in irrigated soils can reduce crop yields, reduce the effectiveness of irrigation, ruin soil structure, and affect other soil properties. This publication is designed to help you evaluate the kind and amount of salts present in soils and to select management alternatives. This publication describes the...
Pacific Northwest vegetable and fruit growers always have faced changing markets. To many growers, these changes have seemed faster than usual in recent years, fueled by shifting consumer preferences, increasing production costs, and new market logistics. The number of processing plants in the region continues to decline. Typically, plant closures...
This publication focuses on how to design a soil nutrient monitoring strategy that fits today’s requirements for record keeping and increased accuracy in managing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and other nutrients. We advocate the use of management units or zones for soil testing and nutrient application. To measure a real...
In some homes, clothes moths can damage garments and other belongings. There are two common species of clothes moths in the Pacific Northwest: the webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella) and the casemaking clothes moth (Tinea pellionella). The larvae,
or immature form, of the moths are responsible for the damage done...
Paterson’s curse is a member of the borage family (Boraginaceae). It is native to Mediterranean Europe and North Africa but has spread to southern Africa, South and North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Outside of its native habitat, it is an aggressive, drought-tolerant plant that adapts to many soil moisture...
Pickling is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. The Chinese
were fermenting vegetables as early as the third century B.C. By the first century A.D., Romans also were pickling. Pickled products appeared in America, too. The pickle barrel was common during the colonial days. Pickles even became part...
Winegrape production in the Pacific Northwest has expanded into areas where low winter
temperatures periodically cause cane damage or death. In the Walla Walla Valley, for example, minimum temperatures plummeted to below -20°F for several days in 1996 and 2004, killing most exposed canes. Cane temperatures most certainly remained below...
Published October 2009. Reviewed December 2013. Please check for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Communities across the United States are becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse. Indeed, demographers predict that by 2030 most of America’s school-age children will be from a minority group and by 2050, so will most Americans. This increasing diversity changes the nature of the population served by volunteer-based organizations, and...
A bright sign of spring, Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) reminds us of its invasive presence each year as many acres of forests, pastures, and rights-of-way burst into golden bloom. Scotch broom is a native of Europe and North Africa, from Great Britain to the Ural Mountains, and from Sweden to...
Silver scurf is caused by a fungus, Helminthosporium solani, a relatively new problem related to potato production in North America. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that this fungus was identified as being a serious problem in the Pacific Northwest. This fungus produces a surface blemish on tubers, causing them...
In recent years, the number of fresh-market sweet cherry cultivars (varieties) produced in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) has grown from a few, dominated by one (Bing), to a dozen or more. Lapins was among the first new cultivars to gain significance in the mid-1990s, followed by Sweetheart, Chelan, Tieton, and...
As a homeowner in the Pacific Northwest, you have a unique opportunity to help maintain or improve the health of streams and riparian areas. A riparian area is the area of land adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland. Most healthy, natural riparian areas
have moist, fertile soils that support...