Russian thistle thrives in the dry climate of eastern Oregon and Washington and if left unchecked develops an extensive root system that competes with wheat for water and nutrients.
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.
When winter approaches, it’s time to check your weed control plans. Noxious weeds are best controlled if you track them carefully. Weed mapping and weed calendaring are two activities important to tracking weeds so that you can properly control them. Here are a few tips to get you started.
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.
The category of Old Roses remains one of the most misunderstood and confusing. Nurseries may call a plant an "antique rose" or an "old garden rose," but the rose may not truly be an Old Garden Rose.
Q: What do you recommend for keeping weeds at bay in planting beds? We'd like to stop using Round-Up. Our beds are too big and the weeds are too numerous to be able to keep up mechanically. Would a vinegar solution be harmful to the soil?