Category Archives: How to…

Bird Feeders

Posted on by

Don’t let disease foul your bird feeder…

CORVALLIS, Ore. – As you’re welcoming wild birds into your yard this winter, be sure to keep your bird feeder clean and keep an eye on the health of your feathered diners.

“Sick birds will either be found dead or perched, often with feathers in disarray, eyes squinted or wings held out,” said Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. “Healthy birds are alert and mobile, whereas sick birds stand out because they are neither of those.”

Birds can get salmonella from bird feeders. Other diseases can spread when birds congregate or land on infected perches, Sanchez said.

“If the sick bird is associated with your feeders, take down the feeders and clean them,” she said. “It is probably a good idea to keep the feeders down for two to three weeks, until the disease has had a chance to run its course in the local population. Allow the bird to recover on its own. Make sure children, pets and free-ranging cats cannot get to the bird.”

Sanchez offered these tips to make sure your feeders are clean and free of mold for backyard visitors.

  • Clean your feeders once a month during low-use times and up to once a week during high-use periods.
  • Scrape off bird droppings and rinse or wipe clean the perches with a solution of 1 part vinegar to 20 parts water.
  • Hang your feeders where the feed won’t get wet. If seed in a feeder has gotten wet and compacted, remove the feed and discard it. Then clean the feeder with warm water and a brush.
  • Dry the feeder before refilling with the fresh seed.
  • If your feeder’s location is likely to get wet often, only fill it with a one- to two-day supply of seed at a time.
  • Clean up under feeders regularly and prevent accumulation of feed beneath the feeders by moving them occasionally. Seed on the ground can attract other animals, such as rodents, that you would prefer to not have near your home.

For more information about feeds and feeder placement, check out the following publication from the OSU Extension Service:  http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/19664/ec1554.pdf

Author Denise Ruttan, OSU Extension Service
Source: Dana Sanchez, Wild Life Specialist OSU Extension Service

Mums the word!

Posted on by

There are over 5,00 varies of mums, but only common garden varieties are usually found at local nurseries. Check online if you are looking for unusual ones, or ask your local nurseryman if they can order a specific variety for you.

Guide to chrysantheMUMS:
  • Select mums that match your hardiness zone. Mums are available in both tender and hardy perennials.
  • Plant mums in full sun, they need at least 6 hours daily.
  • Mums like well draining soil. Boost soil with compost and fertilize mums every 4-6 weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer during the growing season.

  • Never let mums wilt! Water often and do not let them dry out.
  • Watch for pest,  and treat plants with insecticidal soap, if needed.
  • Pinch spent blooms to encourage more blossoms and to keep plant bushy.
  • Mums bloom at different times during the season; there are early, mid, and late blooming varieties. Fall mums will continue blooming until a hard freeze.

~Carlotta

Plant a Tree

Posted on by

Planting a tree in the fall while the soil is still warm and moist allows the tree to grow strong roots before winter freezing. Then, winter and spring rains provide the tree ample water for a healthy jump start in the spring. 

How to plant a tree:

  1. Visualize the tree full grown!  Then plant it where it has plenty of room to grow and where it gets at least six hours of sunlight,
  2. Dig a hole 3X bigger in diameter than the root ball and as deep as the container. Make a mound of soil in the center of the hole to support the roots.
  3. Grab the trunk near the root ball and pull it out of its container. Loosen the roots by pulling the tree’s main roots loose from the soil!
  4. Place the tree in the center of the hole. Do not fertilize now wait until spring.
  5. Set the tree’s crown 2″ above the soil line, point loosened roots outward & downward in the hole. Root placement is important, otherwise years later you could discover the roots are strangling the tree and causing crown rot!
  6. Fill the hole halfway with soil, then water a few minutes. Once the water

    example of  slit pipe

    is absorbed, fill the hole tampering as you go, water again thoroughly.

  7. Mulch around the tree, but do not allow the mulch to touch the trunk.
  8. Stake tree for stability and also protect its trunk from deer damage;a 6″ black corrugated-perforated drain pipe wrapped around the truck works well for this purpose.

 

ENJOY!… Carlotta Lucas

Tomatoes

Posted on by

Coax Tomatoes & Peppers to Maturity
CORVALLIS, Ore. – There’s probably nothing more exasperating than working hard in the vegetable garden all summer, only to end up with hard green tomatoes, unripe melons, and sweet peppers the size of robin’s eggs.
Oregon ‘s cool springs and cool summer nights can prevent tomatoes and peppers from flowering and setting fruit early enough to grow to a decent size before the frosts of fall arrive.
Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, recommends using plastic sheeting to warm the soil. The sheeting comes in various colors including black, green and even red. Black seems to be the most popular color with vegetable gardeners.
“Lay sheets of black plastic on the soil where those heat-loving vegetables will be growing,” Penhallegon said. “The plastic absorbs heat during the day and keeps the soil warm during the night.”
Black polyethylene film in rolls three or four feet wide and 1 to 1.5 mils thick works fine, but Penhallegon recommends using thicker plastic if you want to use it for more than one season. If you want something that will decompose by the end of the year, look for black paper mulch.
Before planting peppers, melons and tomatoes, lay the plastic on the ground where the plants will grow. Cut six-inch holes in the plastic every two feet. If you use drip irrigation in your garden, put drip lines under the plastic.
If you use sprinklers to water, dampen the soil before you lay the plastic down and cut the holes larger to ensure that enough moisture enters the ground from the sprinklers.
Dig a hole for each transplant where there is a hole in the plastic. Then plant your plants. Be sure there’s enough plastic on all sides to cover a mature root system.
After everything’s planted, take a pitchfork and punch some holes in the plastic so water will soak through, but avoid the drip hose. Then weigh down the edges of the plastic with a few mounds of soil.
By Judy Scott, Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon Oregon State University Horticulturist