FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF OCT. 18, 1999:
I love coffee and drink about two or three cups a day. I’ve heard that drinking too much coffee can cause heart attacks. Is that true?
According to Martha Raidl, University of Idaho extension nutrition specialist, a recent study done at Harvard University found that women who drank six or more cups of coffee a day were not any more likely to have heart attacks than women who didn’t drink six cups.
Coffee may even have some beneficial health effects. Another Harvard study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that men who drank coffee were less likely to develop gallstones.
"Moderation is the key," says Raidl. "Too much coffee can cause insomnia, irritability, heartburn and indigestion in some people. But two or three cups is not considered excessive."
My kids came back from hiking with tree sap stains on their shorts. How do I get rid of the sticky mess?
According to the "Stain Removal Guide for Washable Fabrics," Pacific Northwest Extension Publication 440, you should first rub the stains with ice, then scrape off the sap with the side of a dull knife. Next, saturate the area with pretreatment stain remover and wait one minute for the product to penetrate the stain–or, rub it with heavy-duty liquid detergent. Launder immediately and line dry.
If the stains persist, wash the shorts again, this time in chlorine or oxygen bleach–unless the label indicates that bleach should not be used.
For more information on removing stains from washable fabrics, order the 16-page guide from Ag Publications at telephone (208) 885-7982, fax (208) 885-4648, e-mail cking@uidaho.edu, web site http://info.ag.uidaho.edu, or U.S. mail at Ag Publications Building, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2240. Cost to Idaho residents is $1.50 plus .85 for tax and shipping.
With winter coming, I’d like to add more greenery to my living room but my houseplants historically have not done well unless they were right next to the window. How much light do they need?
At a minimum, houseplants need 50-75 foot-candles of light, says JoAnn Robbins, University of Idaho extension educator. Without it, they’ll become weak and spindly, the distance between nodes will lengthen, leaves will turn yellow and drop (usually beginning from the bottom) and growth will basically cease. Without enough light, variegated plants will even revert to solid green.
Light levels diminish rapidly as you move away from a window. A plant one foot from the glass will soak up 100 foot-candles of light. Two feet away, light levels dim to 25 foot-candles. At three feet, your houseplant gets only 11 foot-candles of light.
"At low light levels, most common houseplants are classified as long-term perishable and should be replaced every two years or so," says Robbins.
Unless you want to use supplemental plant lighting, your houseplants really should be near the window–and preferably a sunnier window with less overhang, less shading from trees and a southern exposure.
We tend to do our garden cleanup in the spring, while our neighbors always tidy up in the fall. Are there advantages to doing it now?
There are when it comes to controlling insects, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist. For example, with grasshoppers fairly abundant this summer, you’re likely to have plenty of grasshopper eggs in your garden soils.
"If you till your garden in the fall, you can destroy a lot of those eggs," he says. "You can also get rid of hiding places for millipedes, cutworms, earwigs, slugs, black vine weevils and lots of other things."
With their "built-in antifreeze," these insects don’t need much in the way of winter protection, Stoltz says. "Anything you can do to deny them harborage and a place to overwinter will help keep them out next year."
Besides tilling, you’ll want to clear away piles of bricks, wood and other waste materials; stack empty pots inside in a dry spot; and–with gloves on to prevent spider bites–clean the leaves out of your basement window wells.
"Good sanitation will help take care of a lot of stuff," says Stoltz.