Better Kansas - Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Better Kansas – Sept. 3, 2020

Posted on September 3, 2020September 2, 2020 by Mary Lou Peter

In today’s Better Kansas, we shed light on the challenges of going back to school in the midst of a pandemic, the Mediterranean Diet, 2020 Census, harvesting and roasting sunflower seeds, spice girls (aka cattle) and sugarcane aphids in sorghum. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

NOTE: I’m taking a break next week so will be back in touch on Thursday, Sept. 17. Until then, have a great couple of weeks and stay safe!

Better Living, Better Communities

WHETHER YOUR KIDDOS ARE HEADING INTO THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR completely online, are in-person or a hybrid of the two, there’s likely plenty of stress going around. If they’re attending school completely or partially online, you are likely playing the role of teacher’s aide, technology support person, snack and lunch maker, head cheerleader and other myriad roles. And oh, by the way, at the same time you’re probably also trying to do a fulltime demanding job for your company or organization. A K-State child development specialist encourages parents to maintain routines (kids need ‘em … we all need ‘em) and to cut themselves a little slack during this incredibly challenging pandemic situation in the Sound Living radio segment on Back to School Challenges. It even made me feel better, though my kids flew the coop awhile back.

IN THESE DAYS WHERE WE’RE SPENDING MORE TIME AT HOME, AND ONE DAY RUNS INTO THE NEXT with little to define the edges, this might be a good time to change things up regarding what we eat. I don’t know about you, but I need constant reminders about getting and staying on track to eat more healthfully. This basic fact sheet on the Mediterranean diet is a good start. It even includes a couple of recipes that actually sound good! This particular item is from the Dickinson County extension office, but your own local extension office will have good information on nutritious and tasty ways to be healthy, too. If you’re not familiar with what they have to offer, give them a try.

ONE MORE WORD ABOUT THE 2020 CENSUS: PLEASE COMPLETE IT IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY. If you’re wondering why it matters so much … or even how to participate if you haven’t already, take a look at Kansascounts.org or Impact in Your Community. As I mentioned before, there are only a very few questions … it truly takes only a couple of minutes to complete it. At stake are billions of dollars over the next 10 years in federal funding for our communities across the state, so I encourage you to get online and be counted.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

SOMETIMES MY BLOG ITEMS COULD GO IN EITHER THE FIRST OR SECOND SECTION. That’s the case with this one because it’s about growing, cooking and eating, which is kind of the point of fruit and vegetable gardening, right? And farming in general!? This time what caught my attention is a short item in the horticulture newsletter on harvesting and roasting sunflower seeds. I’ve done this with pumpkin seeds (remember, kids?) but not sunflower seeds. If you try it, let me know how it goes. In this edition you’ll also find short articles on asparagus and rhubarb in autumn, fertilizing strawberries, Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti, using compost and several tree-related items, plus a link to a video on overseeding your lawn.

RETURN OF THE SPICE GIRLS?! LAST WEEK I WROTE ABOUT SPICES FOR HUMANS, including health benefits, but I’ve just found this interesting study on using spices in cattle production. The idea is part of a larger effort to find alternatives to antibiotics and chemicals used in raising cattle. And guess what?! It turns out that when a little garlic and a few other spices were added to heifers’ mineral supplement, their average daily gains were higher than those on the control mineral without spices. Plus, overall, the spice girls (heifers 🙂 had fewer ticks, so the spices may have had a repellent effect.

JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO SUGARCANE APHIDS MOVED INTO KANSAS and despite their name, also developed an appetite for our sorghum crop. These tiny bugs can reduce crop yields and kill young sorghum plants. And according to an Agronomy eUpdate article, they have been found again this year in several southwest and central Kansas counties. The “honeydew” secreted by these sweet-sounding but important pests can even gum up combines and disrupt harvest. For photos, a map of where they’ve been seen so far this summer, plus background and management tips, take a look.

For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/

Better Kansas – Aug. 27, 2020

Posted on August 27, 2020August 26, 2020 by Mary Lou Peter

In today’s Better Kansas, we share information on cooking with herbs and spices; saving, sharing and budgeting; wheel bugs; Kansas Forest Service tree and shrub sale; a soybean disease and recent agricultural research in southwest Kansas. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

MAYBE YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE COOKS WHO JUST THROWS THINGS TOGETHER and the result is always absolutely scrumptious? I’m so envious! Many of the rest of us are less adventurous and can use some tips. Seasoning with herbs and spices is a wonderful resource that suggests which flavors tend to go with particular meats or vegetables, plus really useful information about health benefits of some herbs and spices. There are even tips about growing them and storing them. Did you know that turmeric fights inflammation? And cinnamon inhibits foodborne bacteria? Things to think about … and live with.

LAST WEEK I SHARED AN ITEM ON HOLIDAY SHOPPING. It’s never too early! Just don’t do like I do occasionally and put those early purchases in a closet, only to be forgotten until after the gift-giving occasion. This week we delve into family budgeting. Don’t let the name deceive you…. the factsheet is relevant if you’re a family of one … aka “me, myself and I” … or a crew of 10. Take a look at Spend Some, Save Some, Share Some: Family Budgeting for tips and reminders. Plus, it has information about typical families’ spending for such expenses as housing, food, transportation and healthcare, so you get an idea how your spending and saving compares. Don’t know about you but I’m all for reminders!

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, I LIKE WRITING ABOUT BUGS and this week I’m bringing information about wheel bugs, also called assassin bugs. Honestly, I just really like the names. Apparently, they’re all around us. It sounds like they don’t go out of their way to get in OUR way, but they’re intimidating enough I’d probably steer clear if I saw one. Unfortunately for a lot of other insects, these bugs are voracious predators that feed on caterpillars, beetles, aphids, ladybird beetles and honey bees.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

WITH SEPTEMBER COMES THE START OF THE KANSAS FOREST SERVICE TREE AND SHRUB SEEDLING SALE. The sale starts Sept. 1 and is a great way to get low-cost tree and shrub seedlings that can be used as conservation plantings. Think windbreaks, wildlife habitat, timber plantations or riparian (streambank) plantings – anyplace where you need a number of trees or shrubs to enhance the environment on your property. A wide variety of species is available, everything from Bur oak to False Indigo to Shagbark Hickory plus many others. Some are even designated as supportive of butterflies, bees or other pollinators. The trees come in packages of 25 per species. For more information, take a look at a recent news article or order on the Kansas Forest Service website.

A DISEASE FIRST FOUND IN SOYBEANS IN 1971 CALLED SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME is showing up in Kansas this summer. Fields in the Kansas River Valley are reportedly affected by the soilborne fungus which can cut yields by up to 25%. SDS favors wet conditions, so is usually most severe in irrigated fields or dryland areas that received significant rain. And interestingly … it tends to be most severe on well-managed fields that have a high yield potential. Apparently, it knows a good thing when it sees it.

“KANSAS IS A VERY BIG STATE,” said anyone who’s ever driven across it. Plus, differences in the weather and soils from one part of the state to another mean farming in southwest Kansas, where it tends to be drier, is different than farming in southeast or northeast Kansas, which typically receive more precipitation. That’s part of why agricultural research is conducted in various parts of the state – to see how new crop varieties and management practices are suited for particular areas. Soybeans that do well in northeast Kansas may underperform in southwest areas and vice versa. Check out some of the latest southwest findings in the K-State Southwest Research-Extension Reports.

Better Kansas – Aug. 20, 2020

Posted on August 20, 2020August 20, 2020 by Mary Lou Peter

In today’s Better Kansas, we touch on financial planning for the holidays, 2020 Census, SNAKES, corn and soybean status and crop irrigation research and outreach. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

IT’S ONLY AUGUST, BUT THIS MAY BE THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO ASK THOSE WE HOLD NEAR AND DEAR FOR holiday gift suggestions. The thinking is that we can spread shopping (and the expense) out over a few months rather than wait until the last minute. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s worth a try. We don’t really know what December in the time of COVID-19 will look like, but some things probably will not change – gift giving, gatherings (of people at least in your bubble) and possibly travel. Christmas Spending: Planning Ahead Matters gives us things to think about. Maybe we can buffer a little holiday stress by planning ahead.

A K-STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SPECIALIST this week pointed out that one in three Kansans still have not responded to the 2020 Census. If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes (I promise, it’s no more than that) to go online or call 844-330-2020 OR dig out that paper form you may have received months ago, fill it out and mail it back. It truly is shorter than I remember from previous census forms and the stakes are huge. The results determine congressional representation, how billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated and other decisions that will impact every one of our communities. Decisions about where to build new schools, new roads, where to offer grants for community mental health, and much more are based on this data. Read about the census in Kansas, plus a Wichita Eagle newspaper article sheds more light on implications for the state. You may have to sign up for an account to read it, but it’s free.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

I WAS IN CENTRAL KANSAS RECENTLY ON A FRIEND’S FARM and I admit, I was keeping a watchful eye out for snakes. With so many of us spending time outdoors right now, reading up on the myths, habitat, control and benefits (yes, there are some), is a good idea. Some of the common poisonous types we have in Kansas are cottonmouth, Copperhead, Massasauga and Timber Rattlesnake. But not all snakes are poisonous and we have many in Kansas that are not. To learn more, including how to tell a poisonous from a non-poisonous, check out Snakes: Urban Wildlife Damage Control.

SOYBEANS AND CORN ARE IMPORTANT CROPS IN KANSAS and this year’s crops are coming along but there are always challenges, including diseases. Southern rust, gray leaf spot, stalk rots and an interesting disorder called lesion mimic have shown up in some Kansas corn. Soybean fields have exhibited signs of (love this name) frogeye leaf spot, as well as Septoria brown spot and bacterial blight. Take a look at Status of disease pressure in corn and soybeans for pictures and descriptions of what to look for and potential ways to manage them. The Kansas corn crop was rated 15% excellent, 48% good, 25% fair, and 12% poor to very poor as of Aug. 16, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Soybeans were rated 19% excellent, 50% good, 25% fair and 6% poor to very poor. Data for weekly reports is contributed by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, K-State Research and Extension, and other reporters across the state.

WATER IS NECESSARY FOR LIFE OF ALL KINDS and in areas where it’s scarce, it’s even more important to get the most out of every drop. Making crop irrigation as efficient as possible is at the heart of the water management research program at the Southwest Research-Extension Center in Garden City and other research centers. Check out current projects and learn about Water Technology farm outreach efforts through K-State Research and Extension collaborations with the Kansas Water Office and privately-owned farms in western and southern Kansas, and other agencies and organizations. Through the vision and generosity of those farmer-collaborators, the public is able to view how new irrigation technologies and management techniques work on real-world farms.

Better Kansas – Aug. 13, 2020

Posted on August 13, 2020August 12, 2020 by Mary Lou Peter

In this week’s Better Kansas, we touch on putting together advance directives, costs and benefits of home gardening, chiggers, western Kansas field days, chainsaw safety and a new ag research effort. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

THERE ARE SOME CONVERSATIONS WE’D RATHER NOT HAVE, RIGHT? Like what happens to Mom’s jewelry when she’s gone? Or Uncle Bill’s sweet ’57 Chevy? Those may be decisions that can be put off to another day. One thing none of us should put off is making sure our wishes are clear if we can’t speak for ourselves in case of a medical crisis. It may sound morbid to say, but a pandemic will bring these conversations to the forefront like nothing else will. Without advance directive documents, decisions can be made for you that may be inconsistent with your wishes. Until I looked into this, I didn’t know the difference between “durable power of attorney for health care” and “living will” or “pre-hospital do not resuscitate” directives. They’re all considered advance directives and each is simply explained in Advance Health Care Planning in Kansas. Take a look for that information and more.

ACCORDING TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS :), NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO PLANT A FALL SALAD GARDEN. Many people cite cost savings as a reason to grow their own fruits and vegetables rather than buy them. To “dig” a little deeper, a new resource Gardening 911: Costs and Benefits of Home Gardening walks us through whether it’s more cost effective to grow our own produce than to buy it. It gets into the dollars and cents but also less obvious benefits: stress relief and mental health. Plus, there’s just something rewarding about growing … anything! I’ve had some successes with zucchini and cantaloupe but was a failure with strawberries. Surely it was the variety I chose?! Or the weather??

LIKE MANY OF YOU, I’VE BEEN OUTDOORS A LOT LATELY and am reminded that we share the great outdoors with many, many others. In this case I’m talking about chiggers. In looking through resources to learn more about those tiny little creatures, I’ve discovered that we have at least 46 SPECIES of chiggers right here in Kansas. And I so want to call them blood suckers, but in fact I also learned that they are no such thing. Take a look at Pests That Affect Human Health: Chiggers to learn more.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

COVID-19 HAS CERTAINLY ALTERED OUR DAY-TO-DAY ROUTINES, but agricultural research goes on! To share research findings in western Kansas with farmers, ranchers and related businesses, K-State is having two virtual field days in late August. The Western Kansas Virtual Fall Field Day-Hays is Aug. 26 from noon to 1:30 and the Southwest Research-Extension Center Virtual Fall Field Day is Aug. 27 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The free events cover a variety of topics, including:

Aug. 26: New Herbicide-Tolerant Crop Traits and Weed Control Strategies in Western Kansas; The Role of Temperature in Insect Population Dynamics; Dual Use of Cover Crops for Soil Health and Forage in Dryland Systems; and Sorghum Hybrids for Early and Normal Planting.

Aug. 27: Alfalfa and Corn Insect Management Strategies Update; A Decade of Dryland Cover Crop Research in Western Kansas; Expanding Cotton Recommendations; and Bee Diversity in Edge Habitat of Active Croplands in Western Kansas.

Click here to register, or for more information contact the K-State Western Kansas Agricultural Research Center at Hays 785-625-3425 or the Southwest Research-Extension Center in Garden City 620-275-9164.

IS IT WEIRD THAT I GOT A RUSH FROM USING A CHAINSAW YEARS AGO? Under the watchful eye of my neighbor, Bill, of course. It was his chainsaw after all, and he knew I was a rookie. But wow, it made short work of some pesky tree branches! Anyone who’s used one or seen one in action knows that like much machinery, they can be hugely helpful and very dangerous. Those of you planning a project might want to review Chain Saws – Safety, Operation, Tree Felling Techniques. I always associated the term “kickback” with bribery. Chainsaws give it a whole different meaning.

ANYONE WHO THINKS FARMING IS THE SAME AS IT WAS EVEN 10 YEARS AGO might be surprised at the ever-increasing ways technology is being used to make growing the world’s food supply more efficient and sustainable. And many research efforts looking into ways to do that involve partnerships between universities and individual farmers. Read about one of the newest collaborative projects involving high speed precision seeding. As is the case with many research projects, K-State students will have the opportunity to work with the latest technology on the project.

K-State Research and Extension