Poisonous plants are a major cause of economic loss to the livestock industry. Two poisonous plants common to Oregon are poison hemlock and Western water hemlock. Ingestion of either by humans or livestock typically results in death.
Silage-making has been used to reduce the concentrations of toxins in a variety of crops. But in the case of poison hemlock, the opposite is true — making silage out of it actually increases one of its toxic alkaloids.
Some plants absorb excess nitrates or oxalates from the soil and store them in plant tissues. Toxicity problems can occur in animals which feed on these plants.
Mylen Bohle, David Hannaway, Andy Hulting, Karin Neff |
Apr 2018 |
Educational gallery
Illustration by Eiko Goto. (Cropped from original)
Fruit trees and grapevines have been grafted for centuries but the grafting of vegetable plants is relatively new. It started in 1927 in Japan and has since grown to be a common practice with environmental benefits.
Toshihiko Nishio, Alice Formiga (editor and translator), Shinji Kawai (editor and translator) |
Jul 2018 |
Article
Credit: Christin Lola - stock.adobe.com (Cropped from original)
Q: I'm composting on site and wondering how concerned I should be about adding the grass clippings. Is there a weed killer that I could use that is safe to compost for a food garden? I’ve been looking into a vinegar/dish soap mix.
Q: The top (grafted part) of our dwarf cherry tree died. We have other cherry trees and would like to graft a new top on it. What is the best type of graft to make?