FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF JAN. 18, 1999:
I keep finding small, 3/8-inch long, black weevils crawling around in my sink or bathtub. Are they going to infest my entire house? What should I do to get rid of them?
Even in the middle of winter, you can find an occasional black vine weevil creeping around your home, says University of Idaho extension entomologist Bob Stoltz. It can’t reproduce indoors; it’s just looking for moisture and warmth until it can find its way back outside. In all likelihood, it’ll simply die or dehydrate inside, but if you can’t stand looking at it, just dispose of it.
Where black vine weevils become significant pests is in your landscape. If the leaves of your peonies, lilacs and privets get notched up in late spring or early summer, Stoltz says black vine weevils are the probable culprit. The leaf damage is primarily cosmetic, but below the soil surface, hungry weevil larvae prune away at roots. Beneficial parasitic nematodes, watered into the soil in spring or late summer, can reduce larval damage, as can broad-spectrum soil insecticides. Use a persistent foliar spray to kill leaf-feeding adults.
What is the best way to store large amounts of dry beans, wheat and rice at home?
Under optimum cool, dry, dark storage conditions, these nutritious staples can be kept safely and successfully for years, says Joan Parr, University of Idaho extension educator.
For the best possible results, first remove any rocks, gravel, mouse and bird droppings, and moldy or off-color pieces; if in doubt, chuck it out. Store the legumes or grains in clean, dry, nontoxic "food grade" containers. Don’t use garbage cans and don’t even use garbage bags as container liners: they’re not food-grade, says Parr.
Check your stored staples occasionally to make sure their condition is still good and their containers still intact. Rotate foods out of storage and replace the ones you use.
When storage conditions aren’t optimum, expect storage life to shorten, Parr says. Utah State University research indicates that, at room temperatures of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, dried beans begin losing quality after nine months and dried brown and white rice–even in a sealed container–after two years. Whole wheat, however, can be stored at 70 degrees in sealed containers for 25 years!
If you live at a high elevation and find that your stored beans don’t absorb liquid during cooking, they’ve probably become too dry to rehydrate, Parr says.
I checked my flower borders and some of my young plants have been pushed out of the ground. What should I do to keep them alive until the weather warms?
Frost-heaving, caused by the action of freezing soil, can kill plant roots–either through cold damage or drying out, says Darrell Bolz, University of Idaho extension educator. Small plants and those with limited root systems are especially at risk. Until the ground thaws and you can replant, your best bet is to protect those exposed roots by piling on mulch or soil. "Watering frost-heaved plants when the temperature is cold may tend to increase the possible damage," Bolz cautions.
I’d like to do a better job of pruning my grapes this year. When should I tackle this task and how should I go about it?
Late winter is a great time to prune grape vines, says Danny Barney, University of Idaho extension horticulturist. "These unruly critters require more pruning than most other fruiting plants," he says. "Doing it right means cutting off 75 to 90 percent of the wood that grew last summer."
First, identify two to four of the largest new canes that arise from the top of the trunk. New canes are about the diameter of a magic marker and have swellings or nodes every 8-12 inches. The buds that will produce the coming season’s canes, leaves and fruit are located at these nodes.
Next, prune off all other canes flush with the trunk. If you wish, leave two to four stubs with one or two buds each near the top of the trunk; these will form next year’s canes. Unless you need to replace the trunk, cut off all the suckers and canes that arise from the ground or lower trunk.
Then, pull out the canes you have pruned to get a clear view of the vine. Shorten the remaining canes, leaving a total of 30 to 45 buds. If you keep two canes, for example, count outward from the trunk 15 to 22 nodes and cut off each cane at that point. If you keep four canes, shorten each to 7-11 buds. If the vine is very vigorous, leave a few more buds. If growth seems weak, leave fewer buds and apply more nitrogen fertilizer next spring and summer.
Finally, tie the canes loosely to a horizontal wire, fence or arbor.