FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF SEPT. 10, 2000:
Is it possible to grow huckleberries in a home garden?
Yes, according to University of Idaho horticulturist Dan Barney, but you’ve probably tackled easier gardening projects. Barney has been working to domesticate Idaho’s state fruit for about 10 years. Huckleberries don’t transplant well from the wild, but he’s currently growing several thousand plants in containers and field plots at the UI’s Sandpoint Research and Extension Center that he has propagated from seed.
You can do what Barney did and collect your own seed from wild, fresh—not frozen—huckleberries. "If possible, it’s best to collect seed from a site similar to your own," he advises. Usually, commercial huckleberries are harvested at 4,000- to 6,000-foot elevation, "but seedlings from this high don’t always perform well at lower elevations. "
Once you’ve collected the fruit, crush it through a kitchen strainer to remove the skins, then wash the tiny seeds in several changes of fresh water. Set the seeds on a coffee filter to dry out of the sun for a week at room temperature. Next, store them in sealed plastic bags and place them inside a refrigerator; do not allow them to freeze.
In January, remove the seeds from the fridge and spread them on moist, firm, peat moss-based potting soil. Cover them with an eighth-inch of sand or vermiculite and keep the soil misted. Once the seedlings have germinated—in two to six weeks—set them under cool-white fluorescent lights. When all danger of frost has passed, move the slow-growing seedlings outdoors into partial shade, fertilize them every week or two with half-strength liquid fertilizer sold for houseplants and continue to keep them moist.
Your huckleberry seedlings can stay outside after winter returns, as long as you protect them from freezing and drying. In spring, transplant your year-old plants into 1- or 2-gallon containers. In another year or two, move them into raised beds with rich, fast-draining, amended soil—or keep them in their containers.
For full instructions, pick up a copy of the 22-page UI bulletin "Growing Western Huckleberries" from your county extension office. Or, call Connie King of UI Ag Publications at (208) 885-7982, fax her at (208) 885-4648, send e-mail to cking@uidaho.edu, click on web site http://info.ag.uidaho.edu, or post a letter to Ag Publications Building, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2240. Cost to Idaho residents is $3.40, including tax and shipping.
Is it safe to reheat my restaurant take-out foods in the microwave right in their Styrofoam containers?
Sandra McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist, considers it safe. However, she notes that some scientists are concerned about degradation products from the polystyrene (Styrofoam) migrating into foods—especially high-fat foods like cheese—during microwaving.
Plasticizers—the chemicals added to plastics to make them more pliable—have been able to mimic or block the action of natural hormones in animal studies, McCurdy says. But there is no compelling evidence that these chemicals act as endocrine disrupters in humans.
"The Food and Drug Administration must approve the food-contact materials used as packages and containers, and it has deemed polystyrene plastic as safe," McCurdy says. Nevertheless, if you are concerned, you can 1) use glass or ceramic containers to microwave foods, 2) cover foods with paper towels rather than plastic wrap when microwaving, 3) rewrap plastic-wrapped cheeses with foil or wax paper and 4) throw out old plastic containers that show signs of breakdown, such as cracking or deformation.
I’m trying to lose weight and have been successful in changing some of my eating habits and dropping a few pounds. My doctor thinks I should also exercise for a half-hour a day, but I’m so busy it’s really hard to find the time. Do those products work that are advertised on the Internet as burning calories for you so you never have to exercise again?
Martha Raidl, University of Idaho extension nutrition specialist, says she would be "very skeptical." Noting that exercise burns calories precisely because your muscles, heart and lungs need extra energy while you’re doing it, she says the Federal Trade Commission has expressed its skepticism as well. Indeed, the FTC has ordered one manufacturer of such a product to stop making this false and unsubstantiated claim—and the manufacturer has agreed to refund $10 million to its customers.
If you can’t find 30 minutes in a row to exercise, try breaking that half-hour into three 10-minute segments in the morning, afternoon and evening, Raidl says. "You’ll get the same results as if you had exercised for 30 minutes straight."
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]