- [Narrator] Montana AG
live is made possible
by the Montana Department
of Agriculture,
the MSU Extension Service,
the MSU AG Experiment Stations
of the College of Agriculture,
the Montana Wheat
and Barley Committee,
the Montana Bankers Association,
Cashman Nursery and Landscaping,
The Galatin Gardeners Club,
and the Rocky Mountain
Certified Crop Advisor Program.
(soft dueling guitar music)
- Good evening, folks.
You're tuned to Montana AG Live,
originating tonight from
the studios that KUSM
on the very dynamic campus
of Montana State University,
and coming to you over
the Montana Public
I'm Jack Riesselman and I'll
be your host this evening.
Those of you who have watched
the program in the past,
know how it works.
You provide the questions
and we will do our best
to provide the answers.
We do like to stump the
panel once in a while.
Last week, we managed to stump
the panel a couple of times.
So, if you asks some questions
that you're really
curious about,
go ahead and send
them in this evening.
Tonight's panel, let
me introduce 'em,
You to Uta McKelvy. Uta is
here as a plant pathologist.
She's been with us
several times before.
Glad to have her back.
Tim Seipel. Tim is kind of a
weed specialist, ecologist,
crop plant weeds, a
little bit of everything.
Plus, if you've got
weeds any other place,
good chance to ask about 'em,
because if you don't
have weeds in Montana,
you're doing something
special, I guarantee you there.
We all know Mac Burgess.
Mac is a small farm specialist,
specializing in all
kinds of different,
independent
agricultural endeavors,
and also, he knows a lot
about horticultural plants.
So, any questions tonight
that you'd like to know about,
good chance to call 'em in,
and our special guest
tonight is Stephen Vantassel.
Stephen works for Department
of AG up in Lewistown.
He is a critter specialist.
If you've got critter problems,
this is a chance to find out
how to keep the mice out,
keep the voles down,
keep the skunks out,
whatever you want
to do with critters.
He's going to answer
those questions tonight,
and we'll come back
to Stephen a minute.
But, first, let me
introduce the people
taking the telephone
calls this evening,
Erica Rockville
and Cheryl Bennett.
And Cheryl was here last week,
and she told me I
looked better last week,
and I think that's
probably true.
So with that, Stephen,
tell us about what you do.
- Well, I think you hit it
right on the spot there.
So yeah, I help people
resolve conflicts
with vertebrate animals.
That's the animals with a spine,
so be skunks, raccoons;
unprotected birds,
like pigeons and starlings,
and prairie dogs.
And so, that's
basically what I do
is do a little bit of writing.
I do presentations for
our pesticide program,
and then, also do a little
bit of research, as well.
- You know, I've
used Stephen too.
We've had some skunk
issues at various places.
I spent a little time in the
fall, it's called a Duck Blind,
and the skunks took up
residents under that Blind.
It was not
particularly pleasant.
Stephen helped me
eliminate that problem.
So, at that, let me move ahead,
and we have a Facebook
question already, Stephen.
This person had
issues with voles
during the previous winters.
Is it advisable to
use plastic protectors
around the stems of rose bushes,
or are the thorns
deterrent enough.
- If you're having damage
with voles with rose bushes
and you'd want to protect those.
Typically, voles are going after
your thinly barked
trees and plants.
And I would encourage you
to be thinking about doing
some aggressive control now,
as the vole populations
are declining.
Usually, people wait too long.
They want to do
control in the spring
when they see the damage,
but the damage, actually, is
occurring all winter long.
So, I'd be putting in some traps
and doing any types of barrier,
barrier fencing
around your plants
that you are very
concerned about
because once that snow comes,
they would love to
take advantage of
and then they'll be attacking
some of those plants,
they can get access to.
- Stephen, about two
or three years ago,
I had a major vole problem.
And I've been around
voles long enough to know
that I keep trash piles
down, so forth and so on.
The last two years,
I've not had any issues.
Are they cyclical or do they?
- They are. And
so, there can be-
Generally, the rule
of thumb is, I think,
every four to five years,
the numbers begin to spike,
but there's no rhyme
or reason to it.
You can't guarantee
that's going to happen.
So obviously,
environmental conditions
will play a role in that.
And we don't understand
it completely
as to whether it's food-based
or whether it's
because they age out.
The literature is a little bit,
hasn't made a decision, a
ruling, on that quite yet.
- Okay. Are they more of an
issue in the Northern climates?
You know, you and I both spent
a lot of time in Nebraska.
I never had vole issues down
there, but I have them up here.
- Well, there's vole-
Yeah, no. There's vole
problems in Nebraska, as well.
And I think that when you can
start getting farther south,
there's just so much
green vegetation
that there's probably
enough food for them
to just keep eating,
and so, the vegetation
will overcome the damage
caused by the voles.
But once they have
that snow cover,
they get food-stressed,
and then they start attacking
your ornamental plants
that you know, that
are valuable to people.
- Okay. Mac was
asking me earlier,
we were talking about voles
even before this question
came in Facebook,
organic methods of
controlling these pests?
- None of the chemical means
are approved for organic use.
So, I would think, habitat,
mowing, keep your cover down,
like, you said, Trash piles,
weed-free areas
around your trees.
And I've seen them, you know,
take up cover in mulches.
So, mulches are a
double-edged sword.
They can be great in many ways,
but they can provide
habitat for these rodents.
- Absolutely.
- Keeping the bare ground.
- Okay, thank you guys.
- Even cholecalciferol?
Even cholecalciferol
isn't allowed?
- I don't know. (laughs)
- Okay.
- You might, you might
know more than I do there.
- All right.
- I'm not aware of that one.
I'd have to look into that.
- Okay. Okay.
- Vitamins, it's vitamin D.
- Vitamin D. All right.
A question that came
in this evening,
we were talking about
trees and shrubs.
What about pruning?
Uta, is this a good
time to prune trees?
- Right. So, typically,
we want to prune
our trees and traps when
the plants are dormant.
So, I would, generally,
recommend to do it
in the early, early spring,
February, March, next year.
I think you could
do it in a fall,
but you want to be sure that
your plants are dormant,
and given how warm
this year has been
and how warm to fall still is,
I wouldn't quite
count on that yet.
So, wait a little longer,
or just wait until
March and you know,
do something fun this fall.
- March is a great time.
You can get out there
when the wind blows,
and the snow flies in March.
- That's just a good time.
- Yeah, it is a
good time. I agree.
- Keeps you warm.
- Question from Three Forks.
Tim, this person has heard
that there is a
glyphosate shortage,
which is, also, a lot of
people know, is Roundup,
is this true?
And will that affect
agriculture in here,
in the state of Montana?
- Yeah, there is actually a
nationwide glyphosate shortage,
and prices have gone up
for Roundup, or glyphosate,
quite a lot.
And there's people
who are out there
looking for alternatives
for next year.
I don't know that we have
a lot of alternatives,
but it will drive
up producer prices
and prices per acre of inputs
for the next year, or so.
I think 30 to 50%,
even more than that,
in terms, of glyphosate
prices going up.
- Well, that makes
a big difference
in a chem fallow operation.
That makes a really big
difference in a chem fallow.
So, people who are looking
at chem fallow next year,
and, you know, they may go
out every 30 days and spray,
it's going to be,
it's going to be challenging,
and it's going to require
more money to input in there.
So, there might be instances
where you could skip a
chem fallow application,
but don't skip on rates.
Don't cut your rates and
think you'll get away with it.
You won't get as good
of weed efficacy.
It would be better to figure out
if you could actually cut out
one of the chem
fallow applications.
- And you probably don't
know the answer to this,
but I am kind of curious,
is there a particular reason
why there's a shortage?
There never has been before.
- I think it's related
to all the shortages
we've had with Coronavirus
around the world,
and, sort of, our supply chains.
A lot of the precursor molecules
come from other
places in the world,
whether that be China
or whether they be
made in other places,
and so, I think that's
led to some shortages
of manufactured and ready-to-go
Roundup combinations,
on the market out there.
- Tim, so is this shortage then
only affecting glyphosate,
or are we talking
about, essentially,
all herbicides being short?
- Not all herbicides,
there's other-
So, the two biggest
ones right now
that people are really looking
at is glyphosate or Roundup,
which we, really,
commonly use in Montana.
And the other one that's
been really short this fall
and going into the next
spring, has been glufosinate,
which is a molecule
that's more commonly used
in the Midwest of
the United States.
So, we don't have to worry
about glufosinate as much.
We are really affected
by the Roundup shortage.
Glufosinate is used
in LibertyLink crops,
LibertyLink canola,
and some of those
things out there.
It's used in corn and
soybeans more often.
- Okay, thank you.
Interesting situation.
From Facebook, Bozeman,
Stephen, this is for you,
and it's kind of
interesting question.
They have a lot of rabbits
living under their porch,
and they wonder whether or not
those rabbits could cause
any structural damage
or damage to the house.
- I have never heard of rabbits
causing structural
damage to the house.
They can chew some wood if
they can get access to it.
So, if you have any
type of wood exposure
underneath that porch
area or that deck area,
that might be a little
bit of a concern.
Otherwise, they're not going
to be gnawing on concrete
or anything like that.
So, if there's any pipes
or wires underneath there,
they could certainly
gnaw on that.
But, otherwise, I have
not heard of rabbits
becoming a problem.
Now, if they're doing any type
of burrowing underneath there
or exposing, if you have
like a slab foundation,
I'd be more concerned
about your foundation area.
If they're exploiting a borough
that was already created
by another animal,
and that could be an
issue, in terms of,
cracking a foundation,
depending on how large
that borough was.
- Okay. Well, what
about ornamental plants?
I've wondered we've
had heavy snows,
which we haven't had,
rabbits we'll do some
damage all around.
- Oh, they sure will.
Oh yeah, they will.
You can always tell it's
going to be a rabbit
as opposed to a deer,
because you're going to look
for that 45 degree angle cut,
and also, the height of the
damage will be different.
I mean, the rabbit can
only reach so high.
You want to be thinking
about something a couple feet
above the snow line,
where a deer is
going to, obviously,
be able to go up
almost six feet,
so that'll also be another one.
So, deer when they bite,
they bite and then twist.
So, if you look
carefully at the branch,
it'll be frayed at the top.
A rabbit takes a clean
slice at a 45 degree angle.
So, look carefully.
You want to make sure we
go after the guilty animal.
And then fencing will
stop your rabbit damage
around your plants.
It's very easy to do.
- I have a couple
of golden retrievers
that have moved the
rabbits out of our yard
pretty effectively.
- Biological control
can work too.
- Yeah, your right.
Thank you Stephen.
Mac, this person said,
"Last time you were on,
you had a lot of squash
in front of you."
(laughing)
They grew some winter squash,
and they said, "it tastes like-"
and I can't mention the word.
Was there a problem?
- Depending on the variety,
you might just wait a while.
And as I mentioned, last time,
several of those varieties
do get better with storage,
and some of them are at
their peak, you know,
two months after harvest.
So, I would say some of those
bigger Hubbard's
and Kabocha squash
are still not anywhere near
their prime eating quality,
but it's great.
Delicata and Acorn
squash season right now.
- You know, I bought an
Acorn squash not long ago,
and I happen to like
squash quite a little bit,
and be honest with you, it
really wasn't very tasty.
And, normally, it has a
little bit of a nutty flavor.
You put a little butter
and brown sugar on it.
- And it can be hit and miss
if they weren't harvested,
or if they were harvested too
early, which is a temptation
with some producers and
production areas, so.
I would think Montana
producers, by in large,
don't have any incentive
to harvest early
and get a second crop in.
So, they let them go all the way
to full ripeness or
even to the frost.
And so, we tend to grow
pretty good ones up here.
But, the market sells
them out pretty quick.
And if you just go to
the store and get them,
they may well have
been harvested
when they looked like a squash,
but not without guards to
make it tastes like a squash.
- Okay. Thank you.
Uta, last week,
this person says,
"You talked about dry seed
decay. Can you explain-"
This question is from Custer
out in the central
part of the state,
a long I-90, 94, actually.
What can you tell us
about dry seed decay,
and what can you
do to prevent it?
Because this has been a dry year
in which they
seeded winter wheat.
- Well, I guess this
person missed me
at the Pest Management tour,
where we sure talked
about dry seed decay.
Maybe keep an eye
out for next year.
Dry seed decay is a disease
that affects the seed.
And, as the name suggests,
that typically happens when
we put seed in a ground
that has not enough moisture
to promote an early germination
and seedling development.
And so, there are a lot of
organisms, fungal organisms,
living into soil that just
naturally occur there.
And for them, a seed
that is not growing
and it's just laying dormant,
it's just a very, you know,
easy meal for them to attack.
So, there are various fungi
that can cause this disease,
aspergillus or-
- [Jack] Penicillium.
- Penicillium, that was the
other one I was looking for,
are some of the
causal agents here.
And you may observe
that, you know,
you don't have a
great emergence.
And if you look for
the seed in the ground,
it might appear
like it's covered
in some grayish, bluish,
or whitish fuzz or mold,
or it's just covered in soil,
'cause the fungus
growing around the seed
is just trapping the soil and
keeps attract to the seed.
And so, the best way to
prevent a dry seed decay
is planting into moisture.
So if, you know, a rain or
precipitation is coming,
that's a good time to plant.
And fungicide seed treatments
can also be very effective.
And I cannot recite a
specific product right now,
but, essentially, any
fungicide seed treatment
that has broad-spectrum activity
would be a suitable choice
for a dry seed decay.
- I agree entirely.
Okay, Stephen, we got a lot
of questions coming in here,
and some of these
are fascinating.
(group laughing)
This person would
have liked to know,
how to keep mice
out of parked cars?
- Yeah.
- Any suggestions?
- That is- Yes.
It is a tough one,
but here's some
strategies for you.
One, you want to be sure
your parking on gravel
and away from planting areas.
You want to try to keep
everything as mowed down
as much as possible.
You want to be looking at
putting out multiple-catch traps
around the structure.
You also want to be sure you're
if you have bird feeders around,
you modify those bird feeders;
you want to be thinking
about food sources.
Remember, anytime a plant grows
long enough to go to seed,
that's the seed for
rodents as well.
So, you want to be sure
those are all cut down
and not allowed in.
So, then you want
to be thinking about
putting out some bait stations.
Make sure you're
following the label,
and put out some,
probably some Rodenticide.
If you're not wanting
to use Rodenticide,
then use the
multiple-catch mouse traps,
and place them around
your facility as well.
But, around your area as well,
to kind of keep those
rodents in the low end.
Yeah, those are some
bait stations there,
and there should be also a photo
of some multiple-catch baits,
multiple-catch traps as well.
And you just have to,
basically, put enough material,
enough traps out
there, to sort of,
get that population down
so they're not going to
go after your vehicle.
- Stephen, is that half-eaten
bag of potato chips
and food scraps left
at the floor of my car,
are those going
to be issues, or?
- I don't think it helps, but
I'd be, probably, you know,
but I'm not sure that's
going to be enough
because a mouse is going
to want to get up in there,
simply, your know,
if you're driving,
it's going to be a heat source
and they're going to be
attracted to some of that heat,
but also, in terms of structure,
if a rodent, you know,
Deer mice will travel 400
plus feet to go somewhere,
so their home range
is quite large.
So, they would, probably,
just jump up into it
because it's a structure,
and it provides them
shelter from predators.
So, I don't think
the food, you know,
I would always encourage you
to keep the food out of it,
'cause, you know, bears
may want to be interested
in your car as well.
But, I think it's more
of the issue of the fact,
that the presence of
the vehicle is there,
is going to be the attractant.
- You know, Stephen, while
we're on the subject,
it is mouse season, and you
move into November in Montana.
Those mice like to
move into warmer places
as you have suggested.
- Absolutely.
- Can they do a lot
of damage at homes
if you don't keep
them under control?
- Significant. It's
one of the things
I've been doing in my training.
I've been trying to
help people understand.
It's one of the interesting
psychological elements
in Montana where, even
generally across the US,
is that when people have rats,
they will move heaven and
earth to control the rats.
But, when it comes to
mice, they'll just say,
"Oh, it's just a
mouse. No big deal."
No. I want you to
take that seriously.
That photo that
you're seeing there,
is at my house when
I was in Nebraska.
We used some use some
foam to fill a gap,
and the mouse, mice, just
chewed right through it.
So, don't rely on foam
to be your solution.
But, once they're
getting into the walls,
they are damaging
your insulation.
They can also
attack your wiring.
And so, if you're wondering
why your heating bill
is sometimes going up,
it may not just be,
it may be partly due to the
cost of the fuel, of course,
but you may also
have, over time,
those mice are degrading
your installation,
and so, you're losing
more heat to the outside.
And so, take mice seriously
for the physical damage
they can do to your structure.
- Okay. Thank you. Good advice.
Tim, this person from Conrad,
has heard of a weed
called Beggars Lice.
Do you know what that is?
- Beggars lice. I might
know what that weed is.
So, Hound's-Tongue.
So, it's either-
So, it could be a Hound's-
It could be Hound's-tongue,
which is an obnoxious weed
in the state of Montana.
And so, it makes these...
It looks, I guess we
call it Hound's-tongue,
because it has, sort of, a
rough cover on the outside.
It's, sort of, round shape
with a little point on one end,
and it'll stick to
all your clothes.
And it'll end up
all over the place,
and it can be a real pain.
I encourage you, not
to just pull them off
and throw them in your yard,
I encourage you to put them
in a bag and throw them away.
We also call Beggars ticks
a closely related native
species, actually, too.
There's a few native,
blue-looking, forget-me-nots
that you'll see in the
mountains, in the summertime,
and those can also be
called Beggars ticks.
So yeah, there, we have a
couple of 'em out there.
- Okay. Here's an
interesting question
I've thought about a lot.
And this comes from Bozeman.
And Mac, I'm going to put
you on the spot with this.
This person wants to know,
"Why Dixon melons
are only growing
in the Dixon/Plains area,
and why we can grow good melons
like that anywhere else?"
- What is the elevation
in Dixon, Montana?
- Probably, around 2,500
feet, I would guess.
- I think that's it.
- I thinks it's
a little special.
- It's a little
bit warmer. Yeah.
- In Sander's County over there.
I think the nights are warmer.
- [Mac] Yep.
- I think it's lower elevation,
and there gets to be
some really warm days.
I've also-
- To be fair, I think that
you could grow great melons
along the Yellowstone River,
down in Billings, as well.
It's a challenge in
Bozeman. A real challenge.
- I guess it's not
possible here, basically?
- Well. (laughs)
- Yeah, they don't
ripen very well.
- And it needs to be-
Because of the cold nights,
is it really the cold?
I mean, we have warm
enough days, but cold.
- Well it's both. Yeah.
It's the cold nights and
the not-warm-enough days.
- [Tim] And then maybe humidity.
- Is there a specific
variety that does well
in that Plains/Dixon area
that you guys know of?
- I don't know what
variety would grow.
- I'm sure the Dixon melon
folks have got their favorite,
and I bet they keep it
fairly, closely guarded,
but there are a number
of Musk melons available.
You just look for
the earliest ones.
Sweet Granite is one
that comes to mind.
That's an open
pollinated one, I think.
And I don't know,
I've tried to several of them.
And you can grow
them in Bozeman,
you know, all the usual tricks
to retain heat with plastic.
And then, you know,
you want to make
sure it doesn't rain
as they're ripening, either.
You want to cut the
water off as they ripen,
and that, sometimes,
September we get a rainstorm,
and then they'll explode on
you or they're no good, so.
- You know, they, they look
like they're going to ripen,
but if you try to eat
them, they're really-
I'd buy a Dixon melon anytime.
- Yeah. (laughs)
- It's much better.
- Yeah, they come out
quite a bit earlier.
- Yeah, they do.
Stephen, from Great Falls.
Squirrels in the yard,
and they want to get rid
of them without trapping.
Any suggestions?
- These are Tree squirrels?
'Cause Ground squirrels
should be in hibernation now.
- Probably, Red squirrels,
I guess, or Fox squirrels.
- Okay, in the yard.
So, I would have say,
you want to control
the amount of food.
So, I'd be asking, you know,
"Is there a bird feeder
on the property?"
Or, "Perhaps, your neighbors
have bird feeders?"
In which case, modify
those bird feeders
so you're not feeding
the squirrels,
to reduce the attraction
to that particular area.
But, if you have like an
Oak tree or something,
that's coming into seed,
that's going to be, obviously,
clearly a challenge.
What some people do,
is they'll actually
wrap the trunk
with some aluminum flashing
to prevent the squirrels
from climbing it.
But, that assumes that you
don't have another tree nearby
that they can jump to.
So, I would need a
little more information
to provide some other stuff.
Otherwise, the dog running
around the backyard
may be helpful,
but it's probably
going to be pretty hard
to keep a squirrel, Tree
squirrel, out of your yard.
- Do the Tree
squirrels we have here,
are they a problem
to any ornamental?
- I haven't had a lot
of reports of that,
but they certainly can get into
structures and be an issue.
Yeah, absolutely.
- Well, where there's
a lot of them,
they can do some pruning
and gnawing on stuff,
which is not real good.
We had them, at one
time, in the Midwest,
and I used live traps.
And that really
worked well, except,
if you don't dump
them far enough away,
they're going to be
back the next day.
- Yeah, and that's not quite
legal, here in Montana.
So, you can't really
dump 'em somewhere else.
You have to get landowner
permission, and so.
- I didn't say that. (laughs)
- It used to be a one-way,
kind of a one-way deal.
Plus, you know,
there could be some game
species issues as well,
so that has to be factored in.
But, typically, if
they're damaging turf,
that that can be, you know,
sometimes when they're
scatter hoarding,
and they're putting
out some food,
that would be more of
your Gray squirrel,
it can be quite
extensive, in that regard,
with their feeding.
But, that tends to
be not something
that occurs every single year.
I haven't heard that very often.
So, I guess give me a call,
and we can, certainly,
talk a lot more next week.
- Okay, thanks.
- When I'm back to the office.
- All right.
A call from, here in Bozeman.
People have seen a lot of ads,
that they need to spray their
lawns for disease control.
- Uta, do you think
that's necessary here?
- I don't think that lawn
diseases are a big issue here.
I mean, a lot of the
diseases are caused by fungi.
They typically like
it moist and warm.
I don't know if
that's, necessarily,
so much of an issue here.
I think that's maybe something
that your lawn and tree
care service suggests,
'cause you know, they
have to run a business.
But, I think you might be
fine, skipping that one.
- You know, we got some
snow last night here.
And I don't think it's going
to stick around for good,
quite yet, but we hadn't
got all the leaves raked up.
Is that an important thing
to be getting on top of?
- I raked my leaves
up yesterday, so.
Actually, that's
a good question.
You know, I think it depends on
how thick the leaf
layer is on your lawn.
I think if it's a lot
of leaves on your lawn,
there might just be a risk
that they don't decompose.
And then, you just have
this, like, kind of like,
gluey layer of half-composed
leaves laying on your lawn.
I don't know if it will
cause disease, but you know,
it will like take away
the air and the light
from your lawn, in
the next spring.
- I'm always figured
that could contribute
to the, sort of, the
environmental side
of the disease triangle for
all the fungal diseases.
- Oh yeah. I mean, so
there's this concern of,
there's a snow mold.
So, I think Abby talked
about it last week too.
If, you know, if we
have a lot of snow cover
and our grass blades
are very long,
they can be attacked by
certain fungi that, you know,
seem to thrive under these
temperatures and conditions
that are provided
under the snow cover,
so that can be an issue.
So, in that sense, I think
she recommended to mowed lawn.
I don't know if the leaves
do quite the same thing.
I mean, you know, I think
one idea would be, like,
rake it up or if you
don't want to rake it up,
mow it over with the lawnmower,
and kind of break up
the leaves a little bit,
to help them decompose.
It could be like a little bit
of mulching for your lawn.
- I, first of all,
it's November here,
and to have warm
conditions like we have,
I mowed my yard Friday,
- [Uta] Yeah. I saw that.
- in November, which
we never used to do.
- [Uta] Yeah.
- I mowed it just before we
had that nice, big windstorm.
I mowed the grass very short.
And you know what?
I don't have any
leaves left in my yard
that fell off the citrus trees.
- Oh, there ya go.
- Worked very, very well.
- Perfect.
- It blew away into
your neighbors yard?
- Yeah, exactly.
And it controls snow mold.
- Got hung up in the fence.
- Okay. Question came in
this week and last week,
and I didn't ask it last week
because I hadn't heard of it,
but we talked about
a little bit before.
From Facebook, "Is it okay
to plant Yellow Rattle seeds
in flower beds that are
riddled with a horrible grass
that has a lot of
underground rhizomes?"
First of all, I'd never
heard of Yellow Rattle.
So, you want to
tell us what it is?
- Yes. So, Yellow Rattle is,
it belongs to the
genus, wren sinus.
Excuse me.
I'll just put my plant
nerd credentials out there.
And it's a member of
the scrophularia family.
So, it's a hemi-parasitic
plant, actually.
And it lives, I'm pretty sure
it does not live on grass roots,
but lives on Daisy
roots, of the different.
And so, if you planted it
into a heavy grass stand,
I think it would be okay,
and I think it would grow.
It's a little bit of a weed
that people worry
about in certain-
If you have a really
clean, alfalfa legume,
sort of, grass hay,
it's not desired in that
alfalfa, or sort of-
- Were you planting it because
it's a desirable ornamental?
- I think people have
planted it before,
as an ornamental
plant, but you know,
a weed is just one step away
from an ornamental plant.
Sorry to all the horticultural
people out there.
But, we've introduced a whole
lot of weeds into Montana
that were introduced for
their horticultural value.
And so, sometimes, when
we look at those plants,
and it's an attractive,
little yellow box,
or like a little Yellow
Rattle, that forms on the top.
And so, you know, I don't know
if I would encourage
planting it.
It has been a weed around
the Twin Bridges area,
and, I think, at some other
heavily irrigated pastures.
It needs a lot of moisture.
So, it's usually in
flood irrigated pastures,
where I've seen it, as a weed.
- Okay. I've learned
a lot tonight.
I had never heard of it before.
Thank you, Stephen,
from Phillipsburg,
this caller has had rabbits
eating her car wires.
Is there any way to stop
this from happening?
And I know that's an
issue a lot of places.
- Well, number one,
I would love to have,
have her send me those wires.
I'll be glad to pay for the
pay for the shipping for that.
So, I'm always looking
for damaged items.
I wish there was an easy way.
Short of garaging your field,
there is a product
out of California
that uses a shock mat around
the perimeter of your car.
And you, basically, drive
your car into this grid,
and it uses a shock track,
so animals aren't going to
step towards your vehicle.
But, I think that's not
going to be practical
once we start getting
snow, here in Montana.
I think, ultimately, what
you're going to have to do
is either have some sort of
fence around your vehicle,
put it in the garage,
or try to trap down those
rabbits in your particular area,
or reduce the population.
The problem is, is that
we have some vehicles
are using organic
type of wiring now,
for the installation,
and that seems to be some
thought, it's called Soy.
And some people believe
that that's, actually,
encouraging more
gnawing on these wires.
- [Jack] Okay, thank you.
- [Mac] It doesn't
happen in my old truck.
(group laughing)
- If you've ever been to
the Bugaboos in Canada,
outside of Fernie, you drive
down a really long gravel road.
One that you don't want to,
you don't want to
have car trouble on.
And when you get
to the trail head,
people wrap their
cars in chicken wire,
around the base,
and put rocks on the base,
because they had a really
bad problem of porcupines
chewing vulcanized rubber hoses.
And so, it could be a
tough, tough out there.
So, I have seen
chicken wire and rocks.
- That'll work. That will work.
- We learned something
again tonight.
- That will work.
- We're going to do a little
promo after this next question.
So, I'll let the studio know
that I'm going to
plug a little thing
called, Annie's Project,
after I ask a question.
Will there be herbicide
carry-over caused
That's a good question.
- I would say likely. Yes.
It's a hard thing to predict.
So, when we use herbicides
in our crop fields,
we often use molecules
that have what we call,
a residual half-life.
And we want them to
stay in the field
to continue to affect the weeds.
But, when most herbicides
are broken down,
either through a chemical
reaction that requires water,
or microbes consume it, and
they also require water.
So, in these really
dry drought years
that we've had this year,
sometimes the half-life of
that herbicide is longer.
So, it takes longer
for it to break down.
So next year, there
may well be issues
of herbicide carry-over from
things that were applied year.
I know in Canada,
they've made some,
in Saskatchewan, Alberta,
they've some of the companies
have really talked about,
"Be careful with pulses
and be careful with
oil seeds next year,
where you've sprayed certain
residual herbicides."
So, it definitely could
be a problem next year.
- Okay. I'm going to bring
up a little a blurb here,
there's a project
going on in the state
called Annie's Project.
And they're promoting
empowering women in agriculture.
And that's a six-week program
that starts, actually,
tomorrow night, virtually.
It starts at 6:00 PM,
goes to 8:30. It is $50.
And I tell you, what I've
heard about this program,
it's absolutely incredible.
Women are playing such
a more important role
in agriculture every year.
This would be a good chance
to interact with those women
who are involved
with agriculture.
If you're interested
in joining that group
starting tomorrow night, you
can get a hold of Katrin Finch.
And her number is
(406) 454-6980.
And I'll repeat that
phone number again,
in about 10 minutes, if
you didn't have a pen.
But, folks, this
is a great program.
It's a chance to
learn something.
If I weren't going
to be gone a lot,
I would be joining
this group tomorrow.
So, anyway.
- [Uta] But you're
not a woman, Jack.
- I know, but you can
still learn, right?
(group laughing)
And, actually,
that's a good point.
I think next year, we're going
to really take a special look
at women in agriculture,
on this particular program.
It's high time we do.
And they play a
very critical role
in today's agricultural picture.
Why have you, Uta-
This person would like to know,
is there anything
special they should do
to prepare their
garden for winter?
And Mac, you can jump into.
You guys, just hop on it.
- Yeah, I think that's
a great question.
And I guess applause to
the person for, you know,
thinking about that and
asking that question.
You know, I think there
are a lot of things,
we already talked about leaves.
I want to add here, if
you have a tree or shrub
in your yard or in your garden
that has some disease issues
and foliar disease issue,
I would think it's
especially important
that you rake up those leaves
and actually dispose of them.
So, put them in the garbage
rather than composting them.
'Cause those leaves
can often, you know,
be a place where the
pathogen overwinters
and then re-infect the tree
in new, the next season.
And then while we're talking
about, you know, sick plants,
I'm a pathologist.
So, I think it's a great
idea at the end of the season
to sanitize your garden tools
to really kill off the germs
that, you know, are
maybe residing on there.
So, your tools that
you use for pruning,
but also for example,
your wheel barrel or other
things that you carry sod with.
Your pots, once
you've emptied them,
you want to wash them,
rinse them, sanitize them.
That would be something
important to do,
and just sets you up for a
successful season the next year.
- I agree. Anything
you want to add?
- Yeah. Clean up.
Look for your tools, and bring
them inside, and oil handles.
- So, my frozen,
cold cucumber vines
that still have the
last stragglers,
I should go clean those up and
pull them out of the garden?
- You know, it's probably
not the end of the world.
But, you know, in this
number, of specific cases,
are mind boggling.
But, there are diseases and pest
that will proliferate
on, you know,
either from the presence
from your old cucumber vine,
or just having residue
on the surface residue.
And residue on the
surface can be good
for many aspects
of soil quality,
but they can also
harbor pests, and so.
Some fall tillage, or
just turning things over
and covering things up,
can be beneficial from some of
the insect pest perspectives.
- Okay. Thank you, folks.
Stephen. From Billings,
this person has soft-wooded
trees in a ditch
that are about six
inches in circumference.
They're being gnawed
down by a beaver.
How do you get rid
of these beaver
without destroying the
ditch bank behind your home?
Legally.
- Well, you'd want
to be trapping.
And so, seasons should be here.
I think it's seasons
going on right now.
So, if you can
find a fur trapper,
who'd be interested in
trapping those beaver,
then that would certainly be
the easiest way to go forward.
Otherwise, you're looking at
either some sort of
fencing situation,
or a mixture of paint
and masonry sand,
that can sometimes
be placed on trees
to prevent their gnawing.
It's not a foolproof.
And so, generally speaking,
if the beaver doesn't have
alternative trees to feed on,
it's not going to be something
that's going to be
very effective for you.
So, I think if you're
having tree damage,
trapping and removal system
is going to be the
way forward for you.
- Okay. Thank you.
I like this one. Mac, you ready?
- Okay. What do we got?
This person from Townsend,
like Split Pea soup.
They want to know
why Split Pea soup
is always made with green
peas and not yellow peas?
- You can make it
with yellow peas
and just call it, "Dal," right?
(group laughing)
- Well, I, you know, if you
ordered in a restaurant,
and I happen to like it,
it's always green peas.
Is there a nutritional
reason or quality reason?
- You know, the yellow
peas and yellow lentils
are eaten in other countries,
and, you know, enjoy
them too. They're great.
But yeah, green are
traditional, I guess.
- This summer, at
a cropping tour,
The Streetery out of Havard,
they actually made some really
delicious Yellow Pea hummus.
- [Jack] I like that.
- Yep.
- Yeah. I do those
Crimson-red lentils
that are decorticated
and they're, kind of,
pink-red in color and they
make a real nice soup.
- Okay.
- If you want to call it that?
- Well, have-
- A little bit of garlic.
- Isn't that what
pulse means, right?
Pulse means-
- [Jack] Soup.
- Yeah, pulse means,
soup or a stew. Yeah.
- Okay. Well, now that
we got that settled.
- [Uta] I'm getting hungry.
(group laughing)
- Yeah.
Steve, and this is
another interesting one.
From Plains, the caller
has seen and heard
of plastic sunflowers
that are placed
in the ground by plants.
They make a noise and scare
away voles and rabbits.
Have you heard of that before?
- Not that specific
frightening device.
I'd love to hear more about it,
but here's the rule of thumb.
The rule of thumb for
wildlife control is,
"If it's easy, and
something simple,
and inexpensive, and
you want to do it,
it probably won't work."
So, unfortunately, that's
just the reality of it.
The reason is because
the animal can come at it
from a different angle.
Like, you know, people
will try repellents
of various forms,
and often they don't
have the kind of success
that people want to have.
So, I would be highly skeptical.
I have photo of a
vibrating-type device
that was used to repel voles,
and you can see the
vole damage around it.
A lot of this stuff
simply doesn't work.
So, I would be very cautious
about putting money into that.
- Why I have you up,
and we have a lot of
questions about voles,
and every time you're on,
we get a lot of
questions about voles.
It comes down to, most
people want to know,
what's the best
way to trap voles?
And I think you probably
sent some pictures down
showing vole traps, or am I-
- And I have a publication,
on our website,
on vole control.
So, if you can find the
trails, take your mouse trap.
You want to use an
expanded trigger mousetrap,
and you don't even
need to bait it.
You can then put
it perpendicular
so that the trigger
is right in the trail,
and just line them up, and
start trapping your voles.
You can also use your
multiple-catch mousetraps,
and just put the opening
right in the trail,
and they'll run right in.
Vole aren't that smart.
And just trap aggressively.
And keep that debris down,
and that's going to be
very important for you.
- So, right now is the time?
- Troll, aggressively,
now before the snow hits.
- Yep.
- Okay. Thank you.
- Absolutely.
- Uta, you had
something here earlier,
that you're showing me.
You want to show the
audience what you have here,
as kind of a show and tell?
- All right. I wanted to
or I brought along today,
the, what's it called?
It's a calendar.
It's produced by the
Urban IPM program,
or the it's the MSU
Extension IPM program.
But, this calendar is
specifically focusing
on Urban IPM, and
it's for next year.
So, this is a great
time to grab some,
and then, you know, give it
to your friends and neighbors,
or hang it up in your house.
So, it's really pretty.
I hope, you know, you
can already make that out
from the cover,
but what's really
nice about this,
is it has, for every month of
the year, some tips, you know,
that are just around house
and garden care, et cetera.
And yeah, it's a, kind
of, a product that is,
you know, we put a
lot of effort in,
and it turns out
really nice every year.
So, if you are
interested in these,
they are for free, and every
county extension office
across the state has several
of those laying around.
So, you just stopped
by, and ask for a copy,
and it's yours.
- I've been into a
lot of nursery shops
over the last few years,
stocking up on plants
that the voles have
eaten and so forth.
But anyways, I see those in
most of these nursery shops.
And I think they're great.
And thank you for showing us.
Stephen.
- Yes.
- Back to you.
And this one, I can
kind of relate to.
From Missoula, this
caller has a skunk
in the basement of
her older house.
How can she get rid of it?
- Okay, well, I have a
publication on skunks as well.
So, you want to get a cage trap
that is at least 7 x 7 x 24.
And then you also want to
get an old cloth cover.
You can use a larger
trap if you wish,
but the minimum size
would be 7 x 7 x 24,
and that's an inches.
And so, you'd want
to get a cover,
some sort of an old cloth,
that would cover at least half
of the length of the trap,
typically, where
the bait area is.
Get some fried chicken.
Set your trap so
it's a very stable,
you don't want any
movement in that trap
when the skunks walk it in.
Put the fried
chicken in the back.
Cover the trap so you have
a blind place to come to.
And then capture it.
And that way, when
you capture it,
you can then take it out of
your basement and let it loose,
if you let loose your backyard,
or dispatch it, accordingly.
But, you know, you're not
going to be trans-locating it.
If you're gentle with that trap,
you shouldn't have
the skunk smelling,
Make sure you know how
to set and open the door.
Because once the skunks inside,
if you're going to
be releasing it,
you need to be sure you know
how to quickly open that door.
You're always wearing
gloves and safety equipment.
Happy to give you more
advice from my publication,
or you can call me, as well.
That's basically it.
It's pretty easy project.
- Okay. I'm going to
follow-up skunk, a little bit,
because I learned
something this year
from one of my
golden retrievers.
If they get skunked,
or you get a little bit,
and you treat 'em
with something like,
Skunk-Off, or some
of these products,
you have to do it before
you give them a bath.
Is that correct? And if so, why?
- Well, I recommend when
people are having a dog issue,
you want to be sure, don't
let the dog in the house.
That's very important.
Wear gloves.
And then you want to
be wearing gloves,
and you want to use a product-
You want to use a
cup of baking soda,
a pint, or I think it's a
quart of hydrogen peroxide,
and one tablespoon of
liquid dish detergent.
Mix that fresh,
and then simply
place it, you know,
pour that over where the dog-
Keep it out of the
dog's mouth and eyes.
And it actually
de-natures the odor.
Don't use tomato juice.
Don't use a lot of
this other stuff.
Skunk-Off may work,
but you'll find that the
hydrogen peroxide formula
is chemically proven to
denature the odor, and so.
- [Jack] It's a lot cheaper.
- And it's cheap.
- It's very easy to
use. Just mix it fresh.
Don't mix it in advance.
Just keep the materials
around. It's very good,
But, don't let that
dog in the house,
because that odor
can just contaminate
a whole host of things,
and you'll rule-the-day if
it gets into your house.
- My dog was out in the
garage for a lot longer
and he preferred to be
there, I will tell you that.
(group laughing)
Another question, this isn't
on peas, this is on lentils.
Mac said that he
uses red lentils.
Can you actually tell
the difference in tastes
of their various,
different colored lentils?
- I don't know if you
could do the taste.
There's definitely textural
differences and size differences
among them.
But, some of the smaller ones
that have their seed
coat on them still,
can stay kind of
crunchy or al dente.
And then, your typical
green lentils, you know,
you taste the- Not you taste.
You experience the
fiber on the skins,
and those red lentils
I was talking about,
those do turn into a
much smoother texture
because those skins
have been rubbed off.
- Yeah. They cook much
mushier, quicklier,
where you end up
with more like a dal,
or something like that.
Where as, the green
lentils tend to, at least-
Yeah, I think it's texture.
- Yeah, they stay
a little chewier.
And then there's some of
those small ones, like I said,
you know, especially, if
you don't cook them as long,
they can have more
of an al dente-
- [Jack] Okay. Thank you.
- Experience.
I'd like to do a blind
taste test on you.
We'll see if he can
tell 'em apart. (laughs)
- I'm going to another good
one for Stephen, in a minute.
But, before we do that,
I have another one here
that fascinates me.
This person from Conrad,
wants to know the
difference between
wild oats and regular oats.
- Wild oats and regular oats,
they're both in the
same genus of plants,
and that's Avena.
So, when you go to
the grocery store,
and you look at the
Avena soap on the aisle,
it'll be called,
"Aveeno" or something.
They are two different species.
Cultivated oats are
much larger in size
and their seed coat
is not as tough.
Wild oats are, you know,
we have to sew our wild oats,
and they're pretty tough seeds.
They live a long time. They
have a thick seed coat,
and there's not as much sort
of germ plasm in there to eat.
The actual genus of
plants is pretty big.
There's a lot of wild
oat grasses and oat
- So, what makes them weedy
is that seed dormancy then?
- Yeah, the seed dormancy,
they grow more rapidly and
their fruit is smaller.
- We get resistance to
wild oats, quite rapidly,
with the herbicides that
we've used, is that correct?
- Yes, we do, in Montana,
herbicide-resistant,
wild oats is, probably,
one of our biggest problems
when it comes to
herbicide resistance.
And we do have multiple
herbicide-resistant wild oats.
And the Fairfield Bench,
I think with the
irrigated barley,
or some of the barley
that's been up there,
was a real focal point of it
in the 90s and the early 2000s,
but it's also spread
across the state.
And now, we have
wild oat problems
where we have resistance
to the grassy herbicides
that we would normally use in
peas, and lentils, and pulses.
And so, wild oat can become
problematic in there too.
But, it's definitely
more of a spring wheat,
so it's a spring
wheat, pulse crop weed,
not so much a winter wheat weed.
- Okay. Thank you.
Stephen, question from Missoula,
and they say they are
plagued by Fox squirrels.
Once they found this
person's Apricot tree,
they never tasted a ripe one.
They only want the
innermost core,
the fruit is discorded,
and my dog's gave up.
Had a similar problem
with raccoons.
Is it time to get rid of
the apricots and plums,
or any suggestions?
- No, I think that, you know,
you have a couple of options.
One, you know, population
reduction, of course,
but also though, that
flashing wrapping of the tree
is certainly something
to be thinking about,
especially if your tree
is relatively isolated,
but if it's not,
you can do all the
trees that are nearby it
to prevent the squirrels from
being able to climb the trunk.
And so, you'd want to have
at least three feet wide
and probably four feet,
starting four feet
off the ground,
really make the force
that squirrel to commit,
and then layer it like
you would shingles.
So, you'd always have one wrap
underneath the wrap above it,
and then you'd want to have
little quarter-inch dowels
between the flashing
and the tree
so that there's some air flow
so you don't get mold fungus
growing underneath that,
but moisture dry out.
- I haven't seen a ripe
apricot in Bozeman since 2007.
(group laughing)
You might, you might
need to put bird net too,
as they ripen, or?
- Well, the bird netting
might get chewed through
by the squirrel.
So, you'd want to,
it's certainly, if
you'd have to be thinking metal,
because squirrels are
beaver that climb.
And you want to be sure that
you're being aggressive,
not, you know-
So there's also, maybe
some electrical fencing
that can work for you as well.
It depends on how much effort
you really want
to put into this,
but there can be some
ways to at least diminish
some of this damage for you.
- Okay. Thanks, Stephen.
A comment from Billings.
This person says you can
get a Deprivation Tag
for beavers from the
Department of Fish and Game,
and get a permit from the
agency to trap the beavers
in the summer.
So that's good to know.
- [Stephen] That's correct.
- Uta, this is an
interesting one,
and I can't remember a
little bit about this.
Black Walnut trees,
and we do have a
few in the state,
have a toxin associated with it.
I think it's called juglon
toxin and or something.
Does that prevent other plants
from growing under Black Walnut?
I think it does, but I
don't remember for sure.
- Yeah. I don't know
what the toxin is called,
but it rings a bell, I think.
Yeah. It's like a
nifty little trick
that this tree has developed,
that it suppresses anything
else growing nearby.
So with Walnut trees,
I think it's important
that you rake up the leaves
to maintain your lawn, you know.
I think that's all that
I can say about that.
- Yeah, that's the thing.
Yeah, the outsides of the fruits
is where most of the toxins is.
- Oh, not even the
leaves, the fruits?
- I think it's
mostly the fruits.
And you know, my
neighbor down the street
has a Black Walnut tree.
And just in the last few years,
as climate change has made
it a little bit warmer,
we start to see them
make a few fruits.
- That's interesting.
- Okay, Stephen,
you're back on board.
And we've had several
questions about Pocket gophers.
And almost everybody says,
"They're a pain and they
want to get rid of them."
Any suggestions?
- Sure. I have a publication
on Pocket gophers, as well.
So, you have various options.
You have, of course, trapping
is the preferred method,
actually, the best method.
But, if you have
lots of acreage,
then you probably
want to be looking at,
for some sort of Rodenticide.
Strychnine is the best toxicant,
but it's also one of
the most expensive.
And you also have zinc phosphate
and, also, chloracetophenone,
and a diphenadione
product as well.
All those Rodenticides
are placed below ground
in the main tunnel.
Make sure there's no
access to the surface.
Read that label carefully.
Always treat fresh mounds.
And the same thing occurs when
we're talking about trapping,
you're always focusing
on the fresh damage.
And if you work
hard enough at it,
you will get enough success
to eliminate them
from your landscape.
- Thank you. I'm going to
mention that phone number again,
for the program on empowering
women in agriculture,
you can Katrin Finch
and the number is
(406) 454-6980.
It starts tomorrow
night at six o'clock.
So, the rerun next week,
you'll know that you're
already late for registering.
So, if you want to register,
you need to do it
tomorrow before 6:00 PM.
Okay. I have a question here
that I find interesting
from Belgrade.
This person was cleaning
up their flower bed,
and found that the tulip
bulbs were emerging.
Will they last
through the winter?
It's all yours.
- It depends on how
much they come up.
(group laughing)
- I have not observed that.
- I haven't either, but
it's been a warm fall.
- It sure has.
- Yeah. It's very possible.
One last question for Tim.
This person wants to
grow a rye for grain.
Does that increase the chance
of them getting feral rye?
- Yes. You can
grow rye for grain.
It is not done very
much in Montana.
I do know of a couple of
organic growers who do grow rye.
But, you can end up with
some feral rye problems
if you have a lot of volunteer,
your fields don't clean up.
It's not quite the same.
You know, it's really more
of a volunteer rye problem.
Feral rye can happen,
but that was, actually,
the feral rye problems that
they have further to our south,
that came from rye
that went feral,
so the genetics is a little
bit different on that.
- All right. Thank you.
- Now, a lot of
Montana wheat growers
have spent their childhood
hand-walking wheat fields,
growing that out.
That might not be
popular with a-
- It might not be
so popular and-
- Some of your neighbors.
- Yeah. There's some
people that, you know,
I do know of a couple
of organic growers
who are growing rye,
but not very many.
- Okay.
- Does Triticale have the
similar issue of becoming
weedy in wheat?
- No, not as much as I've seen.
You know, I have seen some
sort of volunteer Triticale,
or weedy Triticale
in years after,
but it's nowhere the same
as, as the feral rye problem.
All right, there.
- Folks, we're getting
down to the end here.
I've got one thing I want
to ask Stephen real quickly.
This person says that,
"If they use steel
wool, that it keeps mice
out of coming in the
house." Is that true?
- It would be steel wool,
but I recommend not
using steel wool
because it does a rust.
So, I would recommend Xcluder
fabric, which is spelled,
X-C-L-U-D-E-R.
So, that's stainless
steel shards,
embedded into a plastic mat.
- Stephen, I got to cut you off.
We're just out of time here.
Next week, Joel
Schumacher will be here
talking about labor
crunches in agriculture.
Folks, thanks for watching.
Steve, thanks for
being here. Good night.
- [Narrator] For more
information and resources,
visit montanapbs.org/aglive.
(soft dueling guitar music)
Montana AG Live is made possible
by the Montana Department
of Agriculture,
the MSU Extension Service,
the MSU AG Experiment Stations
of the College of Agriculture,
the Montana Wheat
and Barley Committee,
the Montana Bankers Association,
Cashman Nursery and Landscaping,
The Galatin Gardeners Club,
and the Rocky Mountain
Certified Crop Advisor Program.
(slow, dueling guitar music)