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Flu Season

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

This is a great time of year. Many different types of seasons; Christmas Season, Thanksgiving Season, Giving Season and most importantly it is Flu Season! No one wants to get sick and this time of year it is the easiest way to get sick.

We all get together with family and friends to celebrate the holidays with good food, but we also forget that we are passing germs and can get each other sick by simply hanging out with each other.

Hand washing is easy to do and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness in all settings. Continue reading “Flu Season” →

Winter Gardening?

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Gardening inside in the winter!  Yes, there are ways to garden inside in the cold winter months in Kansas.   This idea is not so far-fetched if you consider growing selected citrus plants indoors. Most varieties of oranges and other citrus grown commercially in warm climates are too large to be grown indoors. There are several species that make good houseplants when cared for properly, however.

Lemon and lime are probably the best citrus to use for starting plants.  Obviously, you will need fruit with seeds you can harvest from them.  There are many varieties that are seedless so it may be an experiment for you to find seeds.  You can try to experiment with tangerine.  I have had some luck with grapefruit as well.  The culture of citrus plants is not particularly difficult if the following requirements can be met.

Use a fertilizer formulated specially for acid-loving plants, mixed so it’s half the recommended strength. Fertilize the plant only when it is actively growing, usually April through August or September. Continue reading “Winter Gardening?” →

Benefits of Timber Stand Improvements on Kansas Farmsteads

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Many producers and landowners in Kansas have wooded areas on their property that can provide beneficial habitat for wildlife. These forests offer protection from wind and snow, refuge from predators, and a variety of foods not found in other landscapes. While these areas might be taken for granted, they can often be enhanced with little or no loss to timber production.

Properly managed forests provide habitat for wildlife such as squirrels, deer, turkey, and songbirds. Other wildlife species such as rabbits, quail and raptors use the forest edge (the border where two different cover types come together) and benefit from the management of these areas. For the landowner, wooded areas offer aesthetic beauty, improve water and air quality, provide valuable wildlife habitat, and offer income opportunities.

Timber stand improvement (TSI) is one option for enhancing the wildlife value of a wooded area. TSI removes inferior trees to improve the growth rate and/or quality of the best, high-valued (crop) trees. Use this practice to thin a forest by removing trees that are restricting the growth of the more valuable trees. Continue reading “Benefits of Timber Stand Improvements on Kansas Farmsteads” →

New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Happy New Year! Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? Were they personal, professional, simple, complicated, silly, fun, etc.? It is best to have a mixture of all, because in the end you want to become a better person right? Right!

Will you be able to accomplish it all? It is okay to fail at it! Forming a new habit is hard! They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. That feels like a long time, but it will fly by!

By now some people reading this are thinking I did not make any resolutions and I have no idea where to start! Well my friends, you start by making SMART goals.

Specific: Goals should be simplistically written and clearly define what you are going to do.

Measurable: Goals should be measurable so that you have tangible evidence that you have accomplished the goal. Usually, the entire goal statement is a measure for the project, but there are usually several short-term or smaller measurements built into the goal.

Achievable: Goals should be achievable; they should stretch you slightly so you feel challenged, but defined well enough so that you can achieve them. You must possess the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to achieve the goal.

Results-focused: Goals should measure outcomes, not activities.

Time-bound: Goals should be linked to a timeframe that creates a practical sense of urgency, or results in tension between the current reality and the vision of the goal. Without such tension, the goal is unlikely to produce a relevant outcome.

Now that you know how to make great goals, it is never too late to make some resolutions for the New Year! Good Luck!

Winter Cattle Water

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

With winter weather approaching you should not forget to make sure all of your cattle have access to fresh drinking water. Even though with these cold temperatures it might not seem like they need to drink as much water as normal, it is vitally important that they can get to water.

The water needs of cattle are influenced by a number of factors such as: rate and composition of gain, pregnancy, lactation, physical activity, type of ration, diet salt content, dry matter intake and environmental temperature. This time of year cattle are trying to stay warm so they won’t be doing a lot of physical activity.

A study done by Kansas State University showed that in January, on the average, water intake with calves weighing 600 lbs. was 5.0 gallons per day and 1000 lbs. it was 8.5 gallons per day. If you fall calved and have cows milking right now they will need to have access to around 11 gallons of water per day.

A good way to keep the water thawed is by putting a water tank heater in the water tank. If you do that you need to check it often to make sure it is not shorting out in the water. A good thing to look to tell if a short does happen is the cows will congregate around the water tank but will not be drinking. Keeping a close watch on your cattle should tip you off fairly quickly to a problem.

Watering Houseplants

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

How do you water your houseplants?  Every day?  Each Tuesday?  Fill a coffee cup and give it to your plants every once in a while?  Houseplants are probably killed or injured more often by improper watering than by any other single factor. No general schedule can be used for watering all houseplants. Size of plant, pot, light, temperature, humidity and other conditions influence the speed with which the soil mass dries out. Continue reading “Watering Houseplants” →

Conflict

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

I hope your parents told you that one of the toughest challenges you might face is maintaining a long-term relationship. With that information you might better realize that the pathway of a relationship may have well-paved sections, but it may be littered with potholes and obstacles, as well. I borrow and adapt a portion of the opening line of Charles Dickens’ (1867) A Tale of Two Cities to complete the phrase, What I know about a long-term relationship… “It [is] the best of times, it [is] the worst of times.” My intention is neither to discourage nor scare you from committing to such a relationship, but I hope to encourage you to be ready for the work it takes to make such a relationship work.

 

Conflict is one thing that may be occurring during some of those worst of times. The American Heritage Dictionary defines conflict: “A state of disagreement or disharmony between persons or ideas.” Put two people in a room, even BFFs, and there is likely to be disagreement or disharmony, i.e., conflict. Continue reading “Conflict” →