1) Landscape Answers: Killing Volunteer Trees Can Put Other Plants at Risk

A: Baby trees that appear in the garden are a nuisance you can’t afford to ignore. As with most weeds, getting rid of seedling trees is easiest while they’re little. Delaying control efforts until they’ve become saplings makes killing them much harder – and sometimes riskier for nearby plants.

When tree seedlings are young and tender, you often can pull them out, if the soil is moist enough. Or, you can kill them by spraying with glyphosate (Roundup, Touchdown, Kleeraway, Rodeo, Clearout, etc.), but you’ll have to shield or otherwise protect your shrub and other nearby plant leaves.

As tree seedlings get bigger, their green tissues become tougher. So, glyphosate can’t work as well. Typically, treated leaves wilt and die. But, dormant buds soon send up new sprouts.

When a little tree is that old, you can clip it off below soil level. If you don’t leave a dormant bud behind, that will take care of the seedling. If the tree does put up new shoots, though, you can spray their tender tissue or just keep cutting them off until the plant’s roots eventually starve to death.

For larger volunteers, you can: 1) Cut down the tree. 2) On the stump’s wound, apply a ready-to-use formulation of picloram (Tordon) or triclopyr (Remedy, Stump Killer, Brush-B-Gon, etc.). This will kill the tree and its root system. But, it may also kill your shrub and other neighboring plants.

Stump-killing products contaminate any soil they touch, poisoning the roots there. Foresters say picloram doesn’t even have to drip on the soil, because it can leach into it from a treated stump’s roots.

This creates risks that probably are worse if it’s a sprout from a root that’s still connected to the parent tree or the intertwined roots of a tree stand, rather than if the young tree is just the result of a bird-planted seed.

2) Homemade Solution Is Handy Kitchen Cleaner

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Clean kitchen surfaces are a key ingredient to a healthy household, but that doesn’t mean consumers need to spend a lot of money on cleaning solutions, a Kansas State University scientist said.

An inexpensive, homemade cleaning solution – 1 teaspoon regular (unscented) laundry bleach, mixed with 1 quart water – is an often-recommended approach to cleaning and sanitizing food preparation surfaces in the kitchen, said Karen Blakeslee, K-State Research and Extension food scientist.

While this solution is a standard with food safety pros, Blakeslee recommended that consumers re-read their countertop care instructions before using any new cleaning product.

Storage for the homemade cleaner can be a plastic or glass container with a re-sealable lid, kept out of reach of children and pets, Blakeslee said.

3) K-State Scientist Gives Tips for Stretching Feed Dollar

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Most pork producers know that particle size has an impact on feed efficiency. As particle size is reduced, the digestibility of the diet improves, a Kansas State University animal scientist explained.

K-State recommends that particle size be maintained at approximately 700 microns with an optimal range of 650 to 750 microns, said K-State Research and Extension swine specialist Bob Goodband. Larger particle sizes result in poor feed efficiency. Smaller particle sizes increase the energy cost of grinding, susceptibility to ulcers, and problems with feeders’ and bins’ bridging.

"The particle size of the diet can have a huge economic impact in your costs of production," he said. "For every 100 microns that particle size is above the recommend range, the resulting cost for lost feed efficiency will be about 65 cents per pig. For example, suppose you haven’t checked your particle size recently, and it has crept up to 1,000 microns. If you reduce that particle size to 700 microns, that will save you almost $2 for every finishing pig marketed."

Goodband said producers can ensure proper particle size by performing routine maintenance, such as changing hammer mill screens or turning hammers. Producers should also adjust the gap between rolls and re-groove rolls in roller mills regularly.

K-State can analyze particle size for $10 per sample. A 1.0 to 1.5 pound sample (one coffee cup full) should be sent to: Kansas State University, 206 Weber Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506. Results will be sent out within 10 working days of the sample’s arrival at the laboratory. More information is available by calling (785) 532-1277.

4) Store Winter Squashes Properly to Extend Quality

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Winter squashes – including pumpkins – are maturing and making their way to supermarkets, farmers markets and the current offerings at U-pick operations.

"A local harvest time often leads to the year’s best prices. So, if consumers know how to store winter squashes longer term, they may want to buy a supply fairly soon," said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

Unlike their summer kin – zucchini, bush scallops, and the straight- or crook-neck yellows – the winter types must stay on their large, trailing vine until they mature. As they reach harvest size, winter squashes develop a hard rind, which cooks later peel away or use as a bowl to serve the "good stuff inside" after it’s cooked, Upham said.

"You can actually judge whether a winter squash is mature by using your thumb. A thumbnail can’t easily puncture the tough rind of a harvest-ready winter squash," he said.

Pumpkins need about 10 days of curing after harvest, preferably where temperatures are 80 to 85 degrees F and the relative humidity is 80 to 85 percent. The best place for storing them after that is a warm, dry location, Upham said. How long properly stored pumpkins will last depends on the variety, but temperatures below 50 F will drastically shorten any pumpkin’s storage life. Freezing can ruin pumpkins.

The winter squashes people know as winter squashes go straight from field into storage, he said.

The ideal storage for acorn, butternut and turban squashes is in the dark at 50 degrees and 50 to 75 percent relative humidity. But, any cool, somewhat humid place can get results close to a maximum storage life of five to eight weeks for acorn squashes and two to three months for butternuts and turbans.