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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Whitetop (Hoary Cress) Control In Residential Situations, Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Jacob Hadfield, Corey Ransom
Whitetop (Hoary Cress) Control In Residential Situations, Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Jacob Hadfield, Corey Ransom
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Whitetop (Lepidium draba, formerly Cardaria draba) is a persistent, perennial weed that grows in open, sunny areas. It spreads by seeds and rhizomes, enabling it to spread by several feet in a single season. It is common in wildlands, agricultural, and residential areas. It rapidly spreads into unhealthy lawns, landscape beds, and vegetable gardens. This fact sheet provides information on identification, lifecycle, landscape damage, and suppression and control options.
A Beginner's Guide To Growing Mushrooms At Home, Jacob Hawkes, Paul R. Grossl, Melanie Stock
A Beginner's Guide To Growing Mushrooms At Home, Jacob Hawkes, Paul R. Grossl, Melanie Stock
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Welcome to the wonderful world of mushrooms! Researchers have shown that mushrooms are not only nutritious and delicious but also provide a myriad of known medicinal benefits, such as protection against cancer, protecting brain health, stimulating gut health, and supporting a healthy immune system. Lately, psychedelic mushrooms have been receiving considerable attention as a promising treatment for mental health conditions, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and end-of-life anxiety among the terminally ill. This publication provides a simple guide for beginners interested in growing basic gourmet and medicinal mushrooms at home for personal use using easily accessible, relatively inexpensive materials.
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Create A Garden Anywhere, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Create A Garden Anywhere, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
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This fact sheet is part of a series about creating sustainable school and home gardens. It provides information and resources on creating gardens anywhere, such as in containers, towers, raised beds, and forests. It also includes ideas and resources for encouraging beneficial insects and providing food and habitat for pollinators.
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Rain Barrels, Daniel Findlay, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Rain Barrels, Daniel Findlay, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
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This fact sheet is part of a series about creating sustainable school and home gardens. It provides information and resources on establishing rain barrels. When attached to a downspout, a barrel collects the rain that falls on the roof, allowing for local water use and preventing flooding or runoff pollution. The water can be used to nurture plants and animals.
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Welcoming Pollinators, Kaitlin Cambell, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Welcoming Pollinators, Kaitlin Cambell, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
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This fact sheet is part of a series about creating sustainable school and home gardens. It focuses on welcoming pollinators to the garden by providing a safe and effective habitat, and lists recommended plantings and resources.
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Raised Bed Gardening, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Raised Bed Gardening, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
All Current Publications
This fact sheet is part of a series about creating sustainable school and home gardens. It provides information and resources on raised bed gardening, which can help gardeners maximize space and increase food or flower production, all with fewer weeds.
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Vertical Gardening, Tyelar Haines, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Vertical Gardening, Tyelar Haines, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle
All Current Publications
This fact sheet is part of a series about creating sustainable school and home gardens. It provides information and resources on vertical gardening, which can maximize space, increase food production, and improve plant health.
Simple Sprinkler Performance Testing For Rich County, Kelly Kopp, L. Neil Allen, Dallen Smith, Lauren Thomson
Simple Sprinkler Performance Testing For Rich County, Kelly Kopp, L. Neil Allen, Dallen Smith, Lauren Thomson
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This fact sheet describes how to perform a site inspection and a sprinkler test so you can irrigate your landscape more efficiently. It also provides an irrigation schedule for Rich County, Utah.
Commercially Available Products In Increase Soil Water-Holding Capacity, Shital Poudyal, Jake Powell, Rowe Zwahlen, Grant Cardon
Commercially Available Products In Increase Soil Water-Holding Capacity, Shital Poudyal, Jake Powell, Rowe Zwahlen, Grant Cardon
All Current Publications
Although adding organic matter is traditionally the most effective way to enhance soil water-holding capacity, several commercial products in the market also have the potential to increase soil water-holding capacity. In this fact sheet, we discuss the properties and characteristics of those commercially available products and recommended application rates. We also explore some limitations of using these products.
Understanding Cut Flower Consumers, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
Understanding Cut Flower Consumers, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
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This fact sheet provides information on cut flower consumers, such as floral preferences and consumer demographics and psychographics. It discusses possible ways to enhance perceived value and interest in cut flowers.
Cut Flower Markets And Marketing In The Intermountain West, Makylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
Cut Flower Markets And Marketing In The Intermountain West, Makylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
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This fact sheet discusses different markets for cut flowers in the Intermountain West, including wholesale and direct-to-consumer markets. Farmers markets, community-supported agriculture and subscription services, u-pick operations, farm venues, and online options are explored, as well as using social media to advertise and build clientele.
An Overview Of The Cut Flower Industry, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
An Overview Of The Cut Flower Industry, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
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This fact sheet provides an overview of the cut flower industry. It provides information about traditional and specialty cut flowers, comparing flowers sourced locally in Utah and internationally.
Maple Sap Collection And Sap Processing Systems, Jesse Mathews, Youping Sun, Steven Price, Darren Mcavoy, Michael Farrell, Paul Harris, Kelly Kopp
Maple Sap Collection And Sap Processing Systems, Jesse Mathews, Youping Sun, Steven Price, Darren Mcavoy, Michael Farrell, Paul Harris, Kelly Kopp
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Starting a maple syrup operation as a hobby or a business can be a daunting task. This fact sheet can help a new maple syrup producer get started on their sugaring journey with information on sap collection methods and processing equipment.
Evapotranspiration And Precipitation Data For Calculating Irrigation Requirements In Utah, Shital Poudyal, Anju Chaudhary
Evapotranspiration And Precipitation Data For Calculating Irrigation Requirements In Utah, Shital Poudyal, Anju Chaudhary
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Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and precipitation data are essential for developing water budgets and calculating irrigation water requirements. However, it is crucial that the data used for such purposes are recent and easily accessible to stakeholders. In this fact sheet, we calculated average reference evapotranspiration and precipitation data for multiple locations in Utah, USA. To accomplish this, we collected the data from the Utah Climate Center and compiled it to show an average of 20 years of data by month in an easily digestible format. We compiled data for 69 locations in Utah, making it easy to find one close to …
Utah Florist Preferences For Local Cut Flowers, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
Utah Florist Preferences For Local Cut Flowers, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock
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This fact sheet provides crucial information on wholesale florist needs and preferences for local cut flowers. The information here will enhance the ability of current and potential cut flower growers to properly assess the profit potential of their decisions and assist with the long-term sustainability of their farming operations.
Water Recommendations For Vegetables, Sheriden M. Hansen, Taun Beddes, Burdette Barker, Ashley Butler
Water Recommendations For Vegetables, Sheriden M. Hansen, Taun Beddes, Burdette Barker, Ashley Butler
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Traditionally, we irrigate using overhead sprinklers and/or flood irrigation. However, these methods can be wasteful, and so a way to conserve and still have a healthy garden is to use drip irrigation. It can reduce water use by up to about 50%. This fact sheet reviews water recommendations for growing vegetables.
Anemone Cut Flower Production Budget, One High Tunnel, Northern Utah, 2022, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Ruby Ward
Anemone Cut Flower Production Budget, One High Tunnel, Northern Utah, 2022, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Ruby Ward
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This budget contains costs (preplant and site preparation, establishment and maintenance, and harvest and processing) and returns for the production and sale of anemone cut flowers that were grown in a high tunnel (14 feet by 40 feet). Production methods, yield, costs, and pricing were determined from Utah State University (USU) research trials, as well as feedback from Northern Utah producers. The costs and returns represent typical production in Northern Utah but should be adjusted where necessary for individual situations. Site selection, tunnel use, variety, harvest timing, pest management, and other practices will impact costs and returns to a cut-flower …
The Backyard Garden - Pea Pests, Bridger Carey, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray
The Backyard Garden - Pea Pests, Bridger Carey, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray
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As part of a series, The Backyard Garden, this fact sheet reviews pea pests. It includes general information, symptoms, and management for the following pea pest issues: thrips, spider mites, pea weevil, aphids, pea leaf weevil, damping-off, powdery mildew, fusarium wilt, fusarium root rot, and bacterial blight.
The Backyard Garden - Bean Pests, Nick Volesky, Bridger Carey, Marion Murray
The Backyard Garden - Bean Pests, Nick Volesky, Bridger Carey, Marion Murray
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As part of a series, The Backyard Garden, this fact sheet examines bean pests. Insects and other pests include thrips, spider mites, cutworms and armyworms, Mexican bean beetle, and seedcorn maggot. Diseases include bean common mosaic virus, damping-off, beet curly top virus, common bacterial blight, and halo blight. The fact sheet includes general information about these issues, signs and symptoms on plants, and management.
Backyard Fruit Production In Utah's High Mountain Valleys, Maegen Lewis, Jaydee Gunnell, Michael Pace, Teryl Roper
Backyard Fruit Production In Utah's High Mountain Valleys, Maegen Lewis, Jaydee Gunnell, Michael Pace, Teryl Roper
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Utah’s population has seen significant growth in recent years resulting in population increase outside of the Wasatch Front and into Utah's high mountain valleys. These locations include Bear Lake Valley, Ogden Valley, Morgan and Henefer, Park City, Wasatch Valley, and Sanpete Valley. Much of the information presented here would also apply to the Uintah Basin and other high elevation locations in eastern Utah. Common characteristics of these valleys include high elevations (greater than 5,000 feet) leading to short growing seasons. Many homeowners who are new to these regions wish to establish perennial fruit crops in their gardens. This publication outlines …
Lisianthus Cut Flower Production In Utah, Melanie Stock, Sheriden M. Hansen, Maegen A. Lewis, Anna Collins, Brent Black, Dan Drost
Lisianthus Cut Flower Production In Utah, Melanie Stock, Sheriden M. Hansen, Maegen A. Lewis, Anna Collins, Brent Black, Dan Drost
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Lisianthus is a florist staple and excellent crop for local farms. Its limited cool-storage period, long vase-life, and broad range of pastel- to jewel-tone colors are superior to wholesale imports. This fact sheet reviews lisianthus groups, site preparation, germination, transplanting, fertilizing, and irrigation and disease and pest management. It also provides information on trellising, harvest and storage, and economics as a specialty crop option for local farms.
Lamb's Lettuce In The Garden, Evan Christensen, Dan Drost
Lamb's Lettuce In The Garden, Evan Christensen, Dan Drost
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This fact sheet provides information on lamb's lettuce, also known as mâche, corn salad, fetticus, and Nüssli salat. It is native to southern Europe and a cool-season vegetable grown for edible leaves that add a mild, nutty flavor to any salad. This fact sheet offers reliable information about recommended varieties, how to grow lamb's lettuce, harvesting and storage, nutrition facts, and problems such as weeds, pests, and diseases.
Shallots In The Garden, Emmalee Rolfe, Dan Drost
Shallots In The Garden, Emmalee Rolfe, Dan Drost
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This fact sheet provides information about growing shallots, a cool-season vegetable that grows best in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. The fact sheet offers reliable information about varieties, soil preparation, planting and spacing, fertilization, harvesting and storage, nutrition facts, and problems like weeds and insects and diseases that affect shallots.
Landscape Tree Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal
Landscape Tree Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal
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Trees, undoubtedly, are the most valuable plant in a landscape and must be prioritized for irrigation in drought conditions. Grass easily recovers from a period of long drought; hence, it must be placed last on the priority list for irrigation. Many resources are available online that explain ways to irrigate landscape trees. However, growers and homeowners in Utah are still confused about quantifying and applying the appropriate amount of water a landscape tree needs. This Excel spreadsheet is an irrigation calculator designed to determine the amount of water a landscape tree needs in Utah’s hot and dry summer months. Find …
How Much Water Do Landscape Trees Require In Utah? An Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal
How Much Water Do Landscape Trees Require In Utah? An Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal
All Current Publications
Trees, undoubtedly, are the most valuable plant in a landscape and must be prioritized for irrigation in drought conditions. Grass easily recovers from a period of long drought; hence, it must be placed last on the priority list for irrigation. Many resources are available online that explain ways to irrigate landscape trees. However, growers and homeowners in Utah are still confused about quantifying and applying the appropriate amount of water a landscape tree needs. This fact sheet includes a simple calculator designed to determine the amount of water a landscape tree needs in Utah’s hot and dry summer months.
Oaks In The Landscape, Sheriden M. Hansen, Jaydee Gunnell, Andra Emmertson
Oaks In The Landscape, Sheriden M. Hansen, Jaydee Gunnell, Andra Emmertson
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Oak trees (Quercus sp.) are generally a tough, drought tolerant, and beautiful addition to Utah landscapes. There are roughly 450 known species of oak, with about 60 cultivars that are native to North America. Oaks are known for slow growth, sturdiness, and easy care and can be used to create a focal point and ornamental interest in the landscape. This fact sheet reviews recommended cultivars for the Intermountain West and how to grow them, including site selection and preparation, planting and spacing, irrigation, and addressing challenges such as weeds, fertilization, pruning, and diseases and pests.
High Tunnel Construction Cost Calculation Workbook, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Brent Black, Dan Drost
High Tunnel Construction Cost Calculation Workbook, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Brent Black, Dan Drost
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The cost of building a high tunnel fluctuates over time with supply prices. This Excel workbook accompanies the USU Extension fact sheet, "Constructing a Low-cost High Tunnel" by Black, Drost, Rowley, and Heflebower (2011) and allows users to input local supply costs. The workbook then calculates the cost to build a USU low-cost high tunnel with several design options according to high tunnel length and door structure. It also provides an example calculation based on April 2022 pricing for reference.
Fall-Bearing Cultivars: A High Tunnel System For Early Production, Alyssa Palmer, Brent Black
Fall-Bearing Cultivars: A High Tunnel System For Early Production, Alyssa Palmer, Brent Black
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Fresh red raspberries are a consumer favorite in Utah and have a high value but short shelf life, making them an excellent candidate crop for local direct market sales. However, Utah’s high-elevation valleys often experience harsh winter temperatures and short growing seasons, limiting raspberry yields. Raspberry plants exhibit one of two fruiting patterns: the summer-bearing type or the fall-bearing varieties, also referred to as “ever bearers” because of their ability to produce both fall and summer crops. These may be better suited in areas with harsh winter conditions that cause cane dieback. High tunnels can be an effective tool in …
Temperaturas Críticas De Primavera Para Yemas De Los Árboles Frutales, Michael Pace, Marion Murray
Temperaturas Críticas De Primavera Para Yemas De Los Árboles Frutales, Michael Pace, Marion Murray
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Esta publicación enumera las temperaturas primaverales críticas para las yemas de árboles frutales cuando el 10% y 90% de las yemas mueren en diferentes etapas de desarrollo después de 30 minutos de exposición.
Managing Vegetation Around Fruit Trees, Teryl Roper
Managing Vegetation Around Fruit Trees, Teryl Roper
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Fruit trees thrive along the Wasatch Front and in many other locations in Utah. Backyard fruit trees are very common in Utah, and producers quickly become attuned to insect and disease pests that can swiftly spoil substantial amounts of fruit. They are typically less aware of the detrimental effect of competing vegetation around fruit trees. This fact sheet describes the nature of vegetation competition and proposes management strategies to reduce or eliminate competition.