Category: Pokeweed

Pokeweed

8/14/2017

A number of people have asked the name of the weed with the large leaves and purple-black berries that hang in a cluster. This perennial is known as pokeweed. All parts of this plant are poisonous, especially the roots. Signs of poisoning include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, drowsiness and difficulty in breathing. One of the toxins found in pokeweed is the protein lectin, which can cause abnormalities in white blood cells.

Surprisingly, young leafy springtime shoots are sometimes eaten after thorough cooking. Though cooking eliminates most of the toxins, there is still a danger of being poisoned from handling and preparing the shoots as well as ingesting improperly cooked plants.

Berries can be attractive to children. Cut down and discard pokeweed that might come into contact with kids. This plant is a perennial. You may want to spray it with a herbicide next year before it is large enough to be attractive to children. (Ward Upham)

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Horticulture Newsletter 2016, No. 31

8/2/2016

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Video of the Week:
When is Cantaloupe Ripe on the Vine?

Upcoming Events:

August 4 Kansas Turfgrass Field Day, Manhattan
https://turffieldday.eventbrite.com
The field day program is designed for all segments of the turf industry - lawn care, athletic fields, golf courses, and grounds maintenance. Included on the program are research presentations, problem diagnosis, commercial exhibitors, and equipment displays. There will be time to see current research, talk to the experts and get answers to your questions. Pesticide recertification credit in 3B is available and 0.25 GCSAA education points

August 15 K-State Vegetable Research Field Day, Olathe
http://hnr.k-state.edu/events/2016%20GG%20Vegetable%2 0Research%20Tour.pdf

Fruit:
When Are Apples Ready to Pick?

Apples mature over a long period of time depending on variety. Some varieties such as Lodi can mature in July and others as late as October. Here are some guides to help you decide when to pick your apples.

Color change: As apples mature, the skin color in areas of the stem and the calyx basin at the bottom of the apple turns from an immature green to a light-yellow color. Some apples will develop a red skin color before they are ripe, so this is not a reliable indication of maturity.

Flavor: This is a good guide if you are familiar with the apples you have and know how they should taste. Even if you do not know the characteristic flavor of the kind of apple you have, you can still sample slices of a few apples and decide if they have a sweet flavor. If they are not ready to harvest, they will taste starchy or immature. If apples have already fallen and taste a bit starchy, store them for a period to see if they become sweeter.

Flesh color: As apples mature and starches change to sugars, the flesh changes from very light green to white. When you cut a thin slice and hold it up to the light you can see the difference.

Days from bloom: The number of days from bloom is a reliable guide for general maturity time, but weather conditions will have some influence. Some kinds of apples and approximate days from bloom to maturity are Jonathan, 135, Delicious, 145, Golden Delicious, 145, and Winesap,155 days. This process may be slower than usual due to the cooler weather this year.

Seed color: The seeds of most apples change from light green to brown as the fruit ripens. This indicator should be combined with other changes since it is not absolute. The flavor of the apples, the change in color of the stem and calyx basins and flesh color are important in deciding if apples are ready to harvest. (Ward Upham)

Peaches; Pitburn and Split Pits

As fruit growers are harvesting peaches, some are noticing split pits and/or pitburn.

Pitburn is evidenced by brown or gray areas around the pit and is caused by high temperatures and rapid growth. It actually isn’t the high temperatures that injure the flesh directly but a lack of oxygen interfering with normal development. Remember the very high temperatures we had earlier in the year? Those high temperatures led to pit burning.

Split pits are also often the result of rapid growth and can be made worse with excessive thinning and/or irregular watering during the pit hardening stage. Such peaches are more likely to rot than those with intact pits.

There isn’t anything that can be done at this stage to help the peaches. However, a good job of watering and avoiding overthinning can help prevent split pits in the future. Peaches with pitburn or split pits are safe to eat. (Ward Upham)

Vegetables:
Fall Gardens

This is the time of year we normally think of planting a fall garden. Crops that can be planted now include lettuce, radishes, spinach, and similar crops. There still is time to raise another crop of green beans along with some summer squash. If you can find plants, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower can also mature during the fall season.

Planting a fall garden is just like planting a spring garden with some big advantages. You will find the weed pressure to be much less and insect problems may be far fewer than in a spring garden. Seeds will germinate rapidly, so you will have crops up and growing in just a few days – compared to several weeks in the spring.

There are a few drawbacks to fall gardening, and one of those is that you must provide regular, frequent watering (possibly daily) until the crops are up and growing. It is best to plant seeds deeper than you do for a spring garden because soil is cooler and moister down a little deeper.

As far as soil preparation is concerned, don't get too excited about deep tillage for a fall garden. Lightly work the soil enough to establish a seedbed; reserve your deep tillage for later in the fall. Also, don't concentrate on adding a lot of organic matter and fertilizer for the fall garden. The organic matter can be added later in the fall with the deeper tillage, and excessive fertilizer application in hot weather is not a good idea. If you have some crop residue to remove from a previous crop, chop the residue with a lawn mower and lightly till the soil surface after the residue has had a chance to dry for 2 to 3 days. (Ward Upham)

Pests:
Chiggers

Chiggers are mites, not insects. And like all mites, the adults have eight legs. However, the larva only has six legs. Though the bright red female adult is tiny (about 1/20th of an inch) the larva is much smaller (about 1/150th of an inch). Only the larvae are parasitic and attack animals. The larva injects digestive juices into the skin, which causes a rapid swelling. In the center of the swelling is a "feeding tube" from which the chigger sucks out liquefied skin cells. Feeding usually continues for 2 to 4 days.

Protection from chiggers uses two approaches. The use of a repellent can discourage chiggers from attacking. The most effective repellents are Deet and permethrin. Both are applied to clothing. The second approach seeks to reduce chigger populations. Keeping the lawn mowed regularly can help, but large populations may require the use of an acaricide. Effective products include bifenthrin (Talstar, Hi-Yield Bug Blaster II, Hi-Yield Bug Blaster Bifenthrin, and Ortho Lawn Insect Killer Granules), cyfluthrin (Tempo 20, Bayer Vegetable & Garden Insect Spray) and carbaryl (Sevin). For more information, see the K- State Research and Extension publication titled, “Chiggers” at: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/MF2107.PDF (Ward Upham)

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed

Pesticide Effectiveness

We sometimes receive complaints from homeowners regarding the lack of effectiveness of various pesticides. There can be a number of reasons for this lack of efficacy. Here are some of the common ones:

1. Lack of good foliage penetration. This often is a problem when spraying for bagworms on junipers. The spray must penetrate the foliage and reach the bagworms toward the inside of the plant. High-pressure commercial sprayers are able to get the spray to the insects but homeowner models are much more problematic. With pump-up sprayers, you may have to push the wand through the outer layer of foliage to reach insects toward the inside of the plant.

2. Not spraying where the insect is. Many of our insects and mites feed on the underside of leaves. If the plants are sprayed over the top, little to no pesticide reaches the pests. This problem is often seen with spider mites on broadleaf plants and cabbage worms on cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.

3. Maturity of pest. Insects become much more difficult to control when they become adults. For example, Sevin does a good job of controlling young, early instar grasshoppers but is much less effective on adults.

4. Level of disease pressure. Most fungicides are better used as preventatives than as curatives. If a disease gets firmly established, it may be difficult to bring it back under control. For example, chlorothalonil is effective in controlling early blight and Septoria leaf spot on tomato if used as a preventative. However, chlorothalonil will not control these diseases on badly infested plants.

5. Choosing the wrong product. Homeowners often use a product they have on hand. However, products differ markedly in how well they control specific pests. Make sure the pest you wish to control is on the label. Unfortunately, even labeled products may vary in effectiveness. Check K-State Research and Extension recommendations for products.

6. Using the wrong rate. Using less than recommended rate can reduce effectiveness but using more can also cause problems. For example, using a systemic herbicide such as Roundup at higher than recommended rates can burn off the top of the plant before the herbicide is translocated to the roots, thereby reducing effectiveness.

6. High pH spray water. Certain pesticides are not stable in high or low pH water. Following are some examples.

* Captan has a half-life of 3 hours at a pH of 7.0, but only 10 minutes at a pH of 8.0.
* Carbaryl (Sevin) has a half-life of 24 days at pH 7.0, but only 1 day at pH 9.

The half-life of a product is the amount of time it takes for half of the product to be neutralized. For example, if you apply 3 ounces of a product to a gallon of water and the half-life is 8 hours, only half of the product is still active at 8 hours, one-fourth of the product is active 16 hours and 1/8 of the product is still active at 24 hours. (Ward Upham)

Contributors: Ward Upham, Extension Associate

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Horticulture Newsletter 2014, No. 33

8/19/2014

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Video of the Week:
Grow Your Own Salad Mix

Turfgrass:
Overseeding a Lawn

Tall fescue lawns that have become thin over the summer can be thickened up by overseeding during September. Start by mowing the grass short (1 to 1.5 inches) and removing the clippings. This will make it easier to achieve good seed-soil contact and increase the amount of light that will reach the young seedlings.

Good seed-soil contact is vital if the overseeding is to be successful. Excess thatch can prevent seed from reaching the soil and germinating. Normally we want 1/4 inch of thatch or less when overseeding. If the thatch layer is 3/4 inch or more, it is usually easiest to use a sod cutter to remove it and start over with a new lawn. A power rake can be used to reduce a thatch layer that is less than 3/4 inch but more than a quarter inch.

Once thatch is under control, the soil should be prepared for the seed. This can be done in various ways. A verticut machine has solid vertical blades that can be set to cut furrows in the soil. It is best to go two different directions with the machine. A slit seeder is a verticut machine with a seed hopper added so the soil prep and seeding operation are combined. A third option is to use a core aerator.

The core aerator will punch holes in the soil and deposit the soil cores on the surface of the ground. Each hole produces an excellent environment for seed germination and growth. Make three to four passes with the core aerator to insure enough holes for the seed. Using a core aerator has the additional benefit of reducing the amount of watering needed to get the seed germinated and growing. Aeration also increases the water infiltration rate, decreases compaction, and increases the amount of oxygen in the soil. Fertilizer should then be applied at the rate suggested by a soil test, or a starter fertilizer should be used at the rate suggested on the bag. (Ward Upham)

Fall Lawn Seeding Tips

The keys to successful lawn seeding are proper rates, even dispersal, good seed to soil contact, and proper watering. Evenness is best achieved by carefully calibrating the seeder or by adjusting the seeder to a low setting and making several passes to ensure even distribution. Seeding a little on the heavy side with close overlapping is better than missing areas altogether, especially for the bunch-type tall fescue, which does not spread. Multiple seeder passes in opposite directions should help avoid this problem.

A more serious error in seeding is using the improper rate. For tall fescue, aim for 6 to 8 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet for new areas and about half as much for overseeding or seeding areas in the shade. Using too much seed results in a lawn more prone to disease and damage from stress. The best way to avoid such a mistake is to determine the square footage of the yard first, and then calculate the amount of seed. Using too little seed can also be detrimental and result in clumpy turf that is not as visually pleasing.

Establishing good seed to soil contact is essential for good germination rates. Slit seeders achieve good contact at the time of seeding by dropping seed directly behind the blade that slices a furrow into the soil. Packing wheels then follow to close the furrow. The same result can be accomplished by using a verticut before broadcasting the seed, and then verticutting a second time.

Core aerators can also be used to seed grass. Go over an area at least three times in different directions, and then broadcast the seed. Germination will occur in the aeration holes. Because those holes stay moister than a traditional seedbed, this method requires less watering. If seeding worked soil, use light hand raking to mix the seed into the soil. A leaf rake often works better than a garden rake because it mixes seed more shallowly.

Water newly planted areas lightly, but often. Keep soil constantly moist but not waterlogged. During hot days, a new lawn may need to be watered three times a day. If watered less, germination will be slowed. Cool, calm days may require watering only every couple of days. As the grass plants come up, gradually decrease watering to once a week if there is no rain. Let the plants tell you when to water. If you can push the blades down and they don't spring back up quickly, the lawn needs water. Once seed sprouts, try to minimize how much traffic (foot, mower, dog, etc.) seeded areas receive until the seedlings are a little more robust and ready to be mowed. Begin mowing once seedlings reach 3 to 4 inches tall. (Ward Upham)

Flowers:
Dividing Daylilies

Daylilies need to be divided every three to four years to maintain vigor. Though they may be divided in early spring before growth starts, it is more common to divide them at this time of year. Many gardeners cut back the tops to about half their original height to make plants easier to handle.

Daylilies have a very tough root system that can make them difficult to divide while in place. Dividing in place is practical if it hasn’t been long since the last division. In such cases, a spading fork can be used to peel fans from the existing clump. If the plants have been in place longer and are well grown together, it is more practical to divide them after the entire clump has been dug.

Use a spade to lift the entire clump out of the ground. Although it is possible to cut the clump apart with a sharp spade, you'll save more roots by using two spading forks back-to-back to divide the clump into sections. Each section should be about the size of a head of cauliflower. An easier method involves using a stream of water from a garden hose to wash the soil from the clump, and then rolling the clump back and forth until the individual divisions separate.

Space divisions 24 to 30 inches apart, and set each at its original depth. The number of flowers will be reduced the first year after division but will return to normal until the plants need to be divided again. (Ward Upham)

Fruit:
Pear Harvest

Pears should not be allowed to ripen on the tree. They should be picked while still firm and ripened after harvest. Tree-ripened fruits are often of poor quality because of the development of grit cells and the browning and softening of the inner flesh. Commercial growers determine the best time to harvest pears by measuring the decrease in fruit firmness as the fruit matures. This varies with growing conditions and variety. A Magness meter is used for testing and measures the pressure needed to push a 5/16-inch tip a specified distance into an individual fruit. Home gardeners can use these other indicators:

1. A change in the fruit ground color from a dark green to light green or yellowish green. The ground color is the "background" color of the fruit.

2. Fruit should part easily from the branch when it is lifted up and twisted.

3. Corking over of lenticels. Lenticels are the "breathing pores" of the fruit. They start out as a white to greenish white color and turn brown due to corking as the fruit nears maturity. They look like brown “specks” on the fruit.

4. Development of characteristic pear aroma and taste of sampled fruit.

Pears ripen in one to three weeks after harvest if held at 60 to 65 degrees F. They can then be canned or preserved. If you wish to store some for ripening later, fresh-picked fruit should be placed in cold storage at 29 to 31degrees F and 90 percent humidity. Ripen small amounts as needed by moving them to a warmer location and holding them at 60 to 65 degrees F. Storing at too high a temperature (75 degrees F and higher) will result in the fruit breaking down without
ripening. (Ward Upham)

Vegetables:
Harvesting Winter Squash

Summer squash such as zucchini and scallop are harvested while immature but winter squash such as acorn, hubbard and butternut are harvested later, in the mature stage, after the rind is tough and seeds have developed. We normally think September is the time that winter squash are harvested. Harvesting too early leads to fruit that shrivels and rots.

There are two main characteristics that help tell us when winter squash are mature: color and rind toughness.

Winter squash change color as they become mature. Butternut changes from light beige to deep tan. Acorn is a deep green color but has a ground spot that changes from yellow to orange when ripe. Gray or orange is the mature color for hubbard.

Hard, tough rinds is another characteristic of mature winter squash. This is easily checked by trying to puncture the rind with your thumbnail or fingernail. If it easily penetrates the skin, the squash is not yet mature and will lose water through the skin -- causing the fruit to dry and shrivel. Also, immature fruit will be of low quality. The stem should also be dry enough that excessive water doesn’t drip from the stem.

Winter squash should be stored cool with elevated humidity. Ideal conditions would be 55 to 60 degrees F and 50 to 70 percent relative humidity. Under such conditions, acorn squash will usually last about 5 to 8 weeks, butternuts 2 to 3 months and hubbards 5 to 6 months. (Ward Upham)

Common Smut on Sweet Corn

Smut (Ustilago maydis) is a fungal disease of corn that may infect leaves, stems, tassels or ears though infections on ears are the most obvious. Immature galls are white and spongy but become brown with dark powdery spores with maturity. Leaf galls remain small but those on the ears or stems can become rather large and will release large numbers of spores when they rupture. This disease is likely to be most severe on plants injured by hail, cultivation or insects and tends to be worse on soils that have had heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer or manure. Also anything that slows growth such as hot, dry weather or cool, wet weather when the plants are young can result in more infections.

Immature smut galls are considered an edible delicacy known as cuitlacoche in Mexico. They are a high value crop for some growers in the northeast U.S. who sell them to Mexican restaurants.

There is no chemical control for this disease. Crop rotation and a balanced fertilizer program can help minimize this disease. Remove and destroy galls from infected plants before they rupture. (Ward Upham)

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed

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Pokeweed

Horticulture Newsletter 2016, No. 31

Video of the Week:
When is Cantaloupe Ripe on the Vine?

Upcoming Events:

Fruit:
When Are Apples Ready to Pick?

Peaches; Pitburn and Split Pits

Vegetables:
Fall Gardens

Pests:
Chiggers

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed

Pesticide Effectiveness

Horticulture Newsletter 2014, No. 33

Video of the Week:
Grow Your Own Salad Mix

Turfgrass:
Overseeding a Lawn

Fall Lawn Seeding Tips

Flowers:
Dividing Daylilies

Fruit:
Pear Harvest

Vegetables:
Harvesting Winter Squash

Common Smut on Sweet Corn

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed

Authors

Subscribe to the newsletter by entering your e-mail and clicking the link below

Archives

Categories

Pokeweed

Horticulture Newsletter 2016, No. 31

Video of the Week:When is Cantaloupe Ripe on the Vine?

Upcoming Events:

Fruit:When Are Apples Ready to Pick?

Peaches; Pitburn and Split Pits

Vegetables:Fall Gardens

Pests:Chiggers

Miscellaneous:Pokeweed

Pesticide Effectiveness

Horticulture Newsletter 2014, No. 33

Video of the Week:Grow Your Own Salad Mix

Turfgrass:Overseeding a Lawn

Fall Lawn Seeding Tips

Flowers:Dividing Daylilies

Fruit:Pear Harvest

Vegetables:Harvesting Winter Squash

Common Smut on Sweet Corn

Miscellaneous:Pokeweed

Authors

Subscribe to the newsletter by entering your e-mail and clicking the link below

Archives

Categories

Video of the Week:
When is Cantaloupe Ripe on the Vine?

Fruit:
When Are Apples Ready to Pick?

Vegetables:
Fall Gardens

Pests:
Chiggers

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed

Video of the Week:
Grow Your Own Salad Mix

Turfgrass:
Overseeding a Lawn

Flowers:
Dividing Daylilies

Fruit:
Pear Harvest

Vegetables:
Harvesting Winter Squash

Miscellaneous:
Pokeweed