That tiny anthill you noticed may actually be the entrance to a ground-nesting bee family. A single female bee excavates a ground nest by using her saliva and tough mandibles to break up and move soil.
Trees all over Oregon are displaying signs of poor health. People are quick to blame insects, but insects are rarely the underlying cause of the problem. Drought and other stressors can make trees vulnerable to pests and disease.
Many home gardeners put much effort into attracting bees to their summer flower and vegetable gardens. But it's just as important to be bee-friendly in the fall and winter. Here's how to do it.
Want to entice more bees to your vegetable garden? Plant mustard. Bees absolutely love mustard flowers! The pretty, bright yellow flowers produce an abundance of both pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators.
It’s important to keep food safety in mind when storing herbs or vegetables such as garlic, mushrooms and chili peppers in oil. The combination of these low-acid foods and oil create an environment for deadly bacteria.
You may have encountered white, segmented “worms” or grubs when chopping firewood and wondered what they were. Common questions include, did they kill my tree? And are they a danger to other trees? The quick answers are no, and no.
Forage quality of common pasture weeds was determined through laboratory testing to compare feed value of weeds to desirable forage species and nutrient requirements for grazing livestock.
Shelby Filley, Andy Hulting, Amy Peters |
May 2010 |
Article
Q: I have chopped down blackberry canes into fairly small pieces in my backyard. Can I leave them on the ground, or can these pieces of cane resprout? I'm not interested in using any kind of chemicals. If I dig up the ...