Country Living Newsletters

2013 Newsletters

January 2013 (grafting workshop-2/16/13, gardening resolutions for the new year, blueberry info, dormant sprays, insects and plant evolution, honeybees shift gears, vein-finding in vampire bats, weed of the month: Policeman's Helmet (impatiens glandulifera), cascadia grain event, north willamette horticultural society meetings; NW agriculture show, 2012 agriculture census, livestock feeding habits, pesticide recertification classes in the Portland metro area, NRCS organic agriculture initiative)

February 2013 (our cold and dry winter weather, propagating roses, should you prune when you plant, adding organic nitrogen to gardens, weed of the month: Quackgrass, tipping points, how to warm a calf, oregon small farms conference, small farms newsletter, ancient cheesemaking, managing farm liability, speaking of pregnant animals, grafting workshop, pruning workshop)

March 2013 (grafted tomato update, garden tidbits for March, no rototilling right now, moss on lawns, why do people garden, be a weather watcher, remote sensing bird songs, weed of the month: poison oak, new traceability rules, grass tetany season, colostrum is so important, cattle temperament and health, food safety and modernizaton act meeting, sprouting grain for livestock, food safety and farm direct marketing, a peek into the future of grazing, pruning workshop, tree sale)

April 2013 (frost, moonlight and vegetables, other garden topics, growing hops in the garden, weed of the month: Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), selenium in livestock health, research on OPPV, why is there so much false dandelion in the pasture)

May 2013 (corn chatter, crusts crush carrots (and beets, dill, etc.), summer cover crops, weed of the month: common chickweed (Sellaria media), feeding conditions affect beef gains and meat quality, adjusting horses to spring pasture, short-term calf removal and pregnancy, pastures)

2012 Newsletters

June 2012 (garlic flowers, soil crusting, spotted wing drosophilia update from peerbold crop management, blackberry breeding update, organic insecticides, Eurasian collard doves, ants and peoney buds, weeds of the month: true and false dandelion, pinkeye season, evening cut hay is sweet, pelted lime, crossbred cows last longer, effect of body condition on beef cow reproductive performance, soil test results and sampling depth, 2012 summer food preservation classes)

July 2012 (blossom end rot, tent caterpillars active, apple maggot season, summer pruning, large ant hills, weed ? of the month: western wild cucumber (marah organus), short of eggs?, how to improve weed control, stockpiled forage)

August 2012 (late blight, bleached out azalea and rhododendron leaves, potato greening, calcium and watering, strange stuff on lawns and barkdust, in praise of yellow jackets, weed of the month: dog fennel, tansy ragwort-again, light up their lives, cattle vaccinations, hot summer concerns, cattle jobs, first annual small farm school)

September 2012 (tomato and other updates, time to lime, vegetable seed saving, when are your pears ripe, large native plants for wet soils, the right ant for the job, plant resistance to herbicides, weed of the month: the mallows, foot warts of cattle, OSU swine AI workshop, lamb vigor, bovine respiratory disease, ODA offering organic certification reimbursements, drought dynamics, canning information/publications)

October 2012 (storing potatoes at home, no rain=landscape stress, sterile butterfly bushes, imidacloprid, organic orchard spray program, garden futures, weed of the month: bog rush (tussock) Juncus effusus pacificus, the farm property tax deferral, a Brahma makes one tough steak, fall planning, fostering baby chicks, changes in the meat case, non-traditional marketing of sheep and goats increasing, winter livestock feeding, Master Gardener classes to be offered in St. Helens)

November 2012 (demise of the yellow jackets, more on imidacloprid, winter weed control, planning for new fruit trees, issues with impatiens, drought effects linger long after the rain has begun, weed of the month: English holly (Ilex aquifolium), get off the grass, buying supplementary protein, how much do they eat?, injection site damage, human absorption of pesticides, remove insecticide ear tags in fall, cribbing horses)

December 2012 (Jan's Christmas gift ideas, bronze birch boreer & river birch, fall mushrooms, weed of the month: wild carrot (queen anne's lace), urban sheep, speaking of sheep, calving difficulties & cold weather, have you noticed your feed bill going up, get some colostrum, horse impactions, Master Gardener's 2013 classes offered)