FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF JUNE 7, 1999:
My kids like to eat hot dogs directly from the package. Should I insist that the hot dogs be cooked first?
To be on the safe side, cook hot dogs until they are steaming before you serve them, says Sandra McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety coordinator.
Normally, the hot dogs you buy are ready to eat. Recently, however, hot dogs made by Sara Lee/Bil Mar Foods were recalled after 17 people died of Listeria.
Healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill with this food-borne bacterium, McCurdy says. However, newborns, the elderly, people using glucocorticosteroid medications and anyone afflicted with cancer, diabetes, kidney disease or AIDS is at higher risk of serious or fatal consequences. Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to become infected than non-pregnant, healthy adults, increasing their susceptibility to miscarriage.
Listeria is destroyed by cooking hot dogs to the steaming point, says McCurdy. We don’t call them cold dogs, do we?
We planted peas for the first time this spring. How frequently do we need to harvest them?
Because peas blossom and set pods over time–not all at once–you really should look through the vines daily to find those that have reached optimum maturity, says Stuart Parkinson, University of Idaho extension educator. "Often, one or two days’ delay in harvest can mean the difference between perfect peas and peas that are somewhat less than desirable," he says.
Most peas, including snap peas, are ready for harvest when the seeds and pods are well developed but still tender. The time is right when you can crush them between your fingers without separating them into halves.
On the other hand, edible-podded peas like snow peas should be harvested at the first sign of seed development. Don’t let their seed become plump or bulging.
Peas are a cool-season crop and should be planted in early spring so they can get a head start on hot weather. During blossoming and pod set particularly, hot days can be hard on their quality and yield.
We’re noticing a lot of yellow leaves in our ornamental and landscape plants. Is this iron deficiency and what can we do about it?
If it’s iron deficiency, the leaves will be yellow or yellowish white but the veins will remain green, says Michael Colt, University of Idaho extension horticulturist. Because plants can’t move iron from older to newer leaves, young leaves will turn yellow first. In severe cases with especially susceptible plants, those new leaves may even turn black and die.
Incorporating iron-containing products into the soil in spring before new leaves appear or making foliar applications during the growing season can both be helpful, Colt says. But homeowners should first take a close look at their watering scheme. Excessive irrigation and poor drainage are usually at the root of the problem, he says.
"People don’t think they can overwater but they definitely can–and one of the first signs is iron chlorosis in maples and aspens."
We’re finding squash bugs on our squash and pumpkins. What do you recommend for controlling them?
You may need a two-by-four–literally, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist in Twin Falls. A board set down near the affected plants works surprisingly well: the adult squash bugs slip under it at night; in the morning, you can flip over the board and stomp them. Or, if you’ve got the stomach for it, just pick the bugs off the plants in the late afternoon and smash them. As for the yellow-to-bronze, football-shaped eggs you’ll find massed under leaves or on vines, simply rub them out.
Gardeners can try chemical warfare–Stoltz suggests permethrin, diazinon or the natural agent sabadilla–but these insecticides work better on nymphs than on adult squash bugs. "The adults are hard to kill with anything," he says–and your squash, pumpkins and cucumbers can’t tolerate very many of the critters.
About five-eighths inch long, the flat-backed, orange-edged grey bugs emit saliva so toxic that it kills back the plant from the point where they feed. The first signs are yellow-specked leaves, followed by wilting and blackening of entire vines.
Squash bugs overwinter as unmated adults in protected spots like woodpiles or under bricks. Unfortunately, even if you keep a very tidy yard, they can fly in from the neighbor’s.
Still, Stoltz considers them largely manageable: "With vigilance, you can find the adults early on, kill them, rub off the eggs and not have much of a problem–because they’re big and easy to see."