December 2006

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OSU Extension Publications Can Help Make Gardening Easier By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Gardening can enrich people's lives in many ways and simple modifications with gardening tools and techniques can make a major difference for the novice or experienced mature gardener. Here are some easy modifications that can be made to make gardening easier, explained Jan McNeilan, retired consumer horticulturist with the OSU Extension Service. • Paint garden tools white so they can be easily found. • Buy a click seeder, seed tape or pelletized seed for ease of handling and planting. • Grow plants that feel or smell nice, such as herbs and velvety leafed plants. • Garden vertically. Grow climbing and rambling plants such as cucumbers and squash on trellises and other support structures that allow the gardener to tend plants without all the stooping and bending. • Build raised beds. Design beds so they provide a place to sit and weed. • Use a stool to avoid constant stooping or squatting. • Use long-handled and curved-handled tools with better grips for more leverage. • Do your gardening early or late in the day to avoid the heat. Encourage gardeners to drink plenty of liquids and to wear light, loose clothing, a big sun hat and gardening gloves. • Carry a whistle or cell phone along with your other garden tools. McNeilan and her colleagues have written several "Making Gardening Easier" publications that might be of interest to anyone who is "differently-abled." Find them on line by using the following links: • EM 8498-E Making Gardening Easier: Adapting Gardens for Visual Problems • EM 8499-E Making Gardening Easier: Gardening with Arthritic Ease • EM 8500-E Making Gardening Easier: Container Gardening with Gripping and Lifting Problems • EM 8501-E Making Gardening Easier: Gardening with Heart and Lung Problems • EM 8502-E Making Gardening Easier: Gardening with "Special" Children • EM 8503-E Making Gardening Easier: Master Gardeners Promote Therapy Through Horticulture • EM 8504-E Making Gardening Easier: Adaptive Tools • EM 8505-E Making Gardening Easier: Raised Bed Gardening USDA Cooking Recommendations For Turkey From University of Idaho's HomeWise The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is making it easier for consumers to remember how hot to heat the turkey this holiday season. Earlier this year, experts at FSIS pared down a short list of confusing numbers to just one: 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot enough to kill the Campylobacter, Salmonella and other foodborne bacteria that can travel along in raw poultry, says University of Idaho Extension food safety specialist Sandra McCurdy. And it's not dependent on whether you're measuring the temperature of the wings, thighs or breasts. But McCurdy says consumers should consider it a minimum and be ready to go up from there if they want their turkey to look and taste like it has on previous holidays. She says that turkey cooked to just 165 degrees Fahrenheit will be perfectly safe to eat but is likely to look too raw near the bone and to have juices that are too cloudy to meet the traditional expectations of friends and family. Consumers prefer turkey that's been cooked to 170 degrees Fahrenheit in the breast and 180 degrees Fahrenheit in the thigh, she says. Always use a food thermometer when measuring the temperature of meat, McCurdy says. Whether you use today's simplified recommendation or add another 5 to 15 degrees, there's simply no other way to know if poultry is safe to eat. Be Kind To Your Body When Gardening By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Gardening can be quite physically demanding. But there are ways to make it safer and easier on the body. Proper movement and positions, modified tools to help make the work easier and other strategies will prolong your career as a home gardener. The Oregon State University Extension Service's Lane County chapter of the Master Gardeners program has experienced teachers of "adaptive" gardening. Here are some of their hints for making the physical aspects of gardening easier on the body. And remember their motto: "Garden smarter, not harder." • Treat gardening as a sport. Warm up, and then end with a stretch. • Realistically assess time and how much you can accomplish. Most injuries occur from doing too much too quickly. • Lift heavy loads by keeping your back straight, bending your knees and lifting with your legs. When digging with a shovel, lift the dirt and turn you entire body to empty it. • Rotate activities to use different muscle groups. • Keep your work close to you. • Kneel or squat instead of straining the back. • Use tools with large handgrips. • Use kneepads to protect the knees. • Use tools with correct handle length for your height. • Use lightweight tools (including lightweight power tools). • Push and pull with the legs instead of the back. • Use a cushion, stool or small bench when weeding to avoid strain on knees and lower back. • Take frequent breaks. • Stop when you begin to become fatigued. If you feel stiff, sore or have pain, use ice for 15-20 minutes. Take care of yourself first so you can enjoy your garden and the fruits of your labor. There is nothing more frustrating than watching someone else tend your garden because you have an injury that prevents you from doing it yourself. Poor Athletic Performance Linked To Vitamin B Deficiency By Aimee Brown, Oregon State University Active individuals lacking in B-vitamins&emdash;including college athletes and other elite competitors&emdash;may perform worse during high-intensity exercise and have a decreased ability to repair and build muscle than counterparts with nutrient-rich diets, according to recent Oregon State University research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. The B-vitamins include thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, B-12 and folate. These micronutrients are necessary during the body's process for converting proteins and sugars into energy, and are used during the production and repair of cells, including red blood cells. For active individuals a marginal deficiency in the nutrients may impact the body's ability to repair itself, operate efficiently and fight disease, said Melinda Manore, researcher in the Colleges of Agricultural and Health and Human Sciences. Manore analyzed the athletic performance of several elite and collegiate athletes in her research, as well as less competitive individuals. The stress on the body's energy producing pathways during exercise, the changes in the body's tissues resulting from training, an increase in the loss of nutrients in sweat, urine and feces during and after strenuous activity and the additional nutrients needed to repair and maintain higher levels of lean tissue mass present in some athletes and individuals may all affect an individuals B-vitamin requirements, said Manore. "Many athletes, especially young athletes involved in highly competitive sports, do not realize the impact their diets have on their performance," said Manore, who is also an Extension Service nutrition scientist. "By the time they reach adulthood they can have seriously jeopardized their abilities and their long-term health." Current national B-vitamin recommendations for active individuals may be inadequate, and athletes who follow the recommended daily allowances set by the U.S. government may be receiving lower amounts of nutrients than there bodies need, said Manore. Athletes who restrict calories or limit food groups like dairy or meat have an increased chance of deficiency. Such athletes are often concerned about maintaining a low body weight for sports like gymnastics and wrestling. "The most vulnerable people are often the individuals society expects to be the healthiest," said Manore. "There's a lot of pressure on women in particular to look like an 'athlete.' Unfortunately for some people that means skinny and petite, rather than healthy and strong." The B-vitamins are in whole and enriched grains, dark green vegetables, nuts, and many animal and dairy products. Manore suggests athletes and individuals with poor or restricted diets consider taking a multivitamin or mineral supplement. Trees And Shrubs Can Provide Shade For Other Plants By Davi Richards, Oregon State University Mediterranean gardens, which thrive on a weather pattern of wet winters and dry summers like those in much of western Oregon, usually combine elements of both sun and shade. Since we have no control over the sun, gardeners need to choose where to place or plant shade-providing elements with care. Evergreen trees, deciduous trees, shrubs, pergolas, hedges and walls all produce different shade effects. Since waterwise Mediterranean gardening is suited for hot dry summers with plenty of sun, shade provides welcome relief for both people and plants. The amount of water your garden will need is, not surprisingly, related to how sunny or shady it is. "Many Mediterranean plants can survive the summer without any watering and little if any shade," said Steve Renquist, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, "but many others do better with dappled shade or shade during the hottest part of the day." You can also choose to make a true shade garden, which receives no direct summer sun. A true shade garden can be planted, for instance, under a dense tree canopy, on the north side of a wall or under a pergola. There are a variety of plants &endash; shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs that will do well in shady conditions. Here are some larger specimen trees and shrubs that provide true shade to filtered shade, Renquist said. "Vine maple (Acer circinatum) is a good tree to provide filtered or dapped shade," he said. "It stays a reasonable size (5 to 35 feet high) for a garden and is deciduous, so it allows winter sun through, and has brilliant fall color. It's native to Oregon woods, so it's already adapted to our climate." Another small deciduous garden tree for filtered shade is Kousa dogwood, which grows to about 20 feet and has showy cream-colored spring flowers and bright bracts in the late summer. Following a normally wet winter, it can usually do well through the summer without additional water. Oregon white oak (Quercus garryanna) also provides moderate shade. Although it eventually grows to a large size, it is very slow growing. The twisting growth habit and glossy dark green leaves of this western Oregon native provide unusual visual interest. If you want faster results, there are some drought-tolerant, shade-providing plants that are also fast growing. For instance, some types of eucalyptus (Myrtaceae), which are native to Australia, do well in our climate. Ceanothus (California lilac) and cotoneaster (Rosaceae) are both fast-growing, drought-tolerant evergreen shrubs that can fairly quickly provide shade for a small area. However, beware of cotoneaster, Renquist said. It can become slightly invasive. For other fast-growing native shrubs Renquist suggests Oregon grape, (Mahonia aquifolium), an evergreen, or serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), which is deciduous and produces edible berries. Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a native fast-growing tree. And of course, you can always introduce instant shade by building a wall or pergola. A pergola with a fast-growing deciduous vine can provide deep or dappled shade in the summer and still allow warming summer sun to filter through in the winter. Letting your garden evolve one step at a time from thirsty to a semi-shady waterwise garden is a good approach. This way you can eliminate small failures before they become big ones and build on unexpected successes. Reduce evaporation from the soil for all your plants by using mulch generously. Large rocks placed with care can keep the hottest sun off susceptible root zones. Some sun-loving shrubs, like cistus, do better without irrigation than with it. Still others, both shade- and sun-loving, might require occasional watering, maybe once a week. To be practical, group plants by their need for water. If you have a favorite water-loving plant you don't want to part with, put it near the house or in a container for hand watering. You have the choice of reducing your watering or eliminating it altogether. For a dry summer garden, a small water feature like a pond or fountain can be especially welcome and refreshing. If you place it in a shady spot and recycle the water, the actual water consumption will be only the relatively small amount lost to evaporation. Keeping Entertained In Retirement Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went down town and into a shop. I was only there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, "Come on, how about giving a retired person a break?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a "Nazi." He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him a "doughnut eating peckerhead". He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket. The more I abused him the more tickets he wrote. Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus. The car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said: "Hillary in 2008." I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

OSU Study: Diet Including Enriched Eggs May Decrease Risk Of Heart Disease By Aimee Brown, Oregon State University New research from Oregon State University suggests that eggs enriched with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a long chain fatty acid, may increase antioxidant activity while helping to rid the body of cholesterol and fats. A diet containing CLA may decrease risks of cardiovascular disease and help prevent chronic illness, said Gita Cherian, a researcher in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences. CLA occurs naturally in the fats of ruminant animals like cattle, sheep and goats and in the dairy products derived from these animals. Synthetic CLA has also been produced, but its effect on health is inferior to the natural form, said Cherian. "CLA is a component of fat," said Cherian. "As the western diet has shifted from including meats, whole milk and cheeses to focusing instead on reduced fat, nonfat and more processed foods, we have inadvertently removed much of what we need to be healthy." Cherian used chicken eggs to incorporate more CLA into a typical western diet. Eggs are high in nutrients, versatile, inexpensive and popular in many cultures, she said. They provide a feasible alternate source of CLA for humans, and the unique properties of CLA seem to remove the cholesterol that leads to so many people asking for cereal instead of sunny-side up, said Cherian. "In studies with hamsters, the cholesterol and fat from the yolks were excreted," she said. "We actually saw higher levels of cholesterol coming out of the animals when CLA enriched eggs were included in the diet." Based on previously published research by others, about three grams of CLA per day would be required to produce beneficial effects in humans. Currently, we consume about 600 milligrams of CLA per day, said Cherian, adding that one serving of CLA enriched eggs could provide more than 640 milligrams. To find the same benefit from milk, you would have to drink about 7.4 cups of whole milk, said Cherian. "We've taken so much of the animal fat out of our diet, yet Americans are more overweight than ever," she said. "The preliminary research suggests that there is likely a connection between the nutrients found in natural fats and the needs of our bodies." Cherian, an animal scientist, said enhancing the nutritional value of food is a way to add value to what people eat. As people shy away from animal fat and red meat, CLA enriched eggs, mayonnaise, salad dressings and baked goods may be an alternative system for delivering these important fatty acids, she said. A Linus Pauling Institute Pilot Project Grant funded Cherian's work on the health effects of CLA enriched eggs. Tips For Christmas Tree Cutters & Buyers By Cheryl Moore-Gough Montana State University Extension Horticulturist In December 2005, MSU Range Club members Chaley Paulson, Ryan Melin, and Jessica Davis harvested Christmas Trees to be sold by the club. In the background, Nicole Griffin drags up another tree and Molly Ryan tags trees. MSU photo by Sara Deutscher. Are you ready to purchase a holiday tree or brave mountain roads to collect one? Here are a few suggestions to help you choose a tree that will last through the holidays. Trees cut close to display time are well-hardened, acclimated to the cold and also freshest. For this reason, many people in Montana choose to collect their tree from U.S. Forest Service land. If you've decided to do this, be sure to purchase your $5 collection permit from your local Forest Service office or other vendor prior to your trip. Contact your local Forest Service Ranger Station for information, especially if you reside outside of Montana, as not all states permit cutting of trees. Trees must not be collected from private property without permission from the landowner. Be sure your selected tree is the right size for your house. Sizes can be misleading in the great out of doors, and there may be tree size cutting restrictions. Don't take just the top of a tree, no matter how tempting. Cutting the top of a tree will permanently deform future growth. Leaving a stump 6 inches high is ideal. If you buy your tree, be sure it is fresh. Grasp the trunk and hit the base on the ground. If lots of needles fall, choose another tree. Trees with dry needles won't last as long. As with any tree or shrub, a trip home on the top of the car or in the back of the pickup can damage the tree. If you must drive at highway speeds, or for a long distance, protect your tree with a tarp or burlap, or borrow a friend's trailer. If you can't put your tree up right away, don't just stick it on the floor in the corner of the garage. Put its base in a bucket of water in a cool, humid, draft-free environment. Optimal conditions are 33 to 50 degrees Farenheit with 85 to 90 percent relative humidity. Protect the tree from direct sunlight. Before placing your tree in a stand, make a fresh, straight cut across the bottom of the trunk. You'll be sorry if you use a diagonal cut when you try to plumb the tree and when you try to keep the base under water. One of the biggest mistakes made is using a stand that is too small. Have a large enough stand to hold the tree and a good supply of water. Most trees need about a quart of water per day; however, some are thirstier than others. A 6-foot-tall Fraser Fir may need up to four quarts of water after you first display it. Its needs will slack off to two or three quarts per day after a week or so. If your tree stops taking up water, it's drying out, and will soon become a fire hazard. Slow the drying by placing the tree away from heat registers. Antitranspirants will only work if you use a dose large enough to make the tree sticky, so don't bother. There have been many solutions suggested to add to the water to prolong tree life. Many have recently been proven to do no good for the tree and some will actually clog up the works and shorten your tree's display life. Use clean water, check your tree stand daily and don't let it dry out. Generally speaking, Fraser, Noble, and Nordmann firs will last four to six weeks depending on variables such as room temperature, storage, handling and so on. Balsam, Douglas, Grand and Korean Firs, along with Eastern and Western white pines and Colorado Blue Spruce, should last four to six weeks. Scotch Pine, Norway and White spruces last about three to four weeks. Enjoy your holiday. For more information on gardening and landscaping, visit your county or reservation MSU Extension office, or click Yard and Garden at http:www.msuextension.org . Hang Loose This Holiday Season From University of Idaho's HomeWise The heat from twinkling holiday lights won't compromise the health of your landscape plants, but the wires that connect those bulbs can put your tree's life and limbs at risk. Jim Fazio, a University of Idaho professor of conservation social sciences and a consulting urban forester, says tight strands of holiday lights can interfere with the movement of plant nutrients and water that occurs inside woody plants' inner bark. The inner bark includes phloem cells, which move nutrients from the foliage to the roots, and xylem cells, which move water from the roots to the foliage. In between the phloem and xylem are the tree's cambial cells, which add new layers of growth each year. Fazio says the diameter of a tree's trunk or branches can easily increase by a quarter- to a half-inch annually, depending on the species and growing conditions. When tight lights are left on year-round, the trunk or branches can be effectively girdled and the tree's life-support system entirely cut off. Hanging strands loosely and checking them yearly shouldn't pose problems, Fazio says. "When you're up there replacing light bulbs this year, make sure the tree still has room for growth." Fazio also advises homeowners to resist the temptation to puncture tree bark with screws or nails. "Any time you break that protective layer, you're opening the tree up for fungal spores that cause rot," he says. "They're in the air all of the time everywhere, and the break in the bark gives them a place to enter the tree." OSU Guide Helps Keep Horses Healthy In Winter By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Winter brings rain. And rain brings mud, especially if you have horses on small acreage. With horses on 1 to 10 acres, rain and mud can mean an unhealthy mess for your horses and your pasture. Plus muddy pastures pollute streams, groundwater and household wells. "Living in mud and manure is unhealthy for a horse," said Garry Stephenson, small farms faculty with the Oregon State University Extension Service. "Mud harbors bacteria and fungal organisms that cause health problems." Wet, muddy conditions can foster organisms that cause mud fever (scratches), cracking of the hoof and sole and related lameness. Insects breed in mud and manure. With careful management, it is possible to keep a good grass cover through the winter, keep your weeds down and keep water clean and your horses healthy, said Stephenson. "Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms for Green Pastures, Clean Water, and Healthy Horses," (EC 1558), a publication from the OSU Extension Service, spells out how to keep small acreage horse pastures healthy, and at the same time protect horse health and water quality. Stephenson, lead author of the publication, gives the following tips for getting through the rainy season with horses on small acreage: • Keep animals off wet pastures. Animals on wet pastures create mud and compact the soil. They overgraze and trample grass. The result is less vegetation to filter sediments and use up nutrients from manure. • Create a "sacrifice area," a separate paddock to keep animals off wet pastures. This restricts impacts to one area and saves pastures during wet months. Paddocks can be prepared with "hog fuel" wood shavings or chips or gravel. • Install rain gutters and downspouts on farm buildings to direct water away from paddocks. • Utilize grass or vegetation "buffer strips" around your sacrifice area. • Don't overgraze or overstock your area. Rotate grazing to prevent overgrazing and allow pastures to rest. In western Oregon or Washington, a mare and a foal require about 2 acres for grazing use. A minimum of 1 acre per horse is required to cycle nutrients from manure and urine and to provide adequate space for exercise. The amount varies based on the amount and frequency of rain and how much the horse gets supplemental feed and exercise elsewhere. • Cover your manure piles with a tarp or roof to prevent rain from leaching away nutrients and microorganisms into water. Or better yet, compost your manure. "Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms," (EC 1558), provides 24 pages of "how-to" practical information to help horse owners keep their horses, pastures and water quality healthy. Download a copy from the Web at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/ec/ec1558.pdf Order a printed copy by calling 1-800-561-6719. Manage Stress To Make Better Decisions By Rich Mattern, North Dakota State University Some of the most pressing concerns faced by farmers and ranchers in agriculture today, such as drought stress, can elevate personal stress and disrupt sound decision-making. A family science specialist at North Dakota State University urges producers and their families to think family first and to keep their current challenges in perspective. "Drought stress and other concerns in agriculture can put persistent strain on farmers and ranchers," says Sean Brotherson, NDSU Extension Service. "However, what farmers and ranchers want to be careful about is letting their personal stresses pile up so that their management practices and decision-making become negatively affected. When you're under stress, you may communicate less with others, become more disjointed in your thinking and make decisions based on anxiety or anger." To assist individuals and families to think through and make healthy personal and business decisions in times of stress, Brotherson has authored an Extension publication on making family decisions in farming and ranching. The publication outlines strategies, such as clarifying your values and goals, identifying available resources, evaluating costs and benefits, and understanding decision-making styles that may affect you. "It's helpful to have a process to work through as you are making decisions that affect your bottom line or your family security," Brotherson says. "This makes it possible to reduce stress and increase the quality of your decision-making. This is important because your decisions affect all farm or ranch operations. They also determine the quality of your personal life and family relationships." Some of the ideas outlined by Brotherson in "Making Family Decisions in Farming and Ranching": • Identify key values important to your well-being, your families or your farm or ranch operation. Discuss these values and then develop goals that are specific and clear, and will guide your family and business decision-making. • Identify personal and interpersonal resources, such as creativity or communication, that can aid in your decision-making. Identify tangible, concrete resources, such as capital or equipment, that are important in your decisions. Seek ways to access or create these resources. • Evaluate the costs and benefits involved to each member of the family or business operation in making a particular decision. Then evaluate costs and benefits to the couple or the family as a whole. Examine your decision-making style. Think about what decision-making process will work best for the family and the farm or ranch operation in a particular circumstance. "Agricultural challenges, such as drought stress, place many families in North Dakota in the position of making critical decisions about farming, financial security and family well-being," Brotherson says. "Hopefully, this resource and other ideas can be helpful in making the best decisions possible for you and your family." "Making Family Decisions in Farming and Ranching," NDSU Extension publication FS-581, can be obtained at your local Extension office or by calling (701) 231-7882. Source: Sean Brotherson, (701) 231.6143, sean.brotherson@ndsu.edu

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