Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Sorted by date Results 1 - 5 of 5
The Big Horn Basin has an incredible temperature range. In the last six months, I saw 104 degrees in the summer and 36 degrees BELOW zero last week! Humans are lucky to spend most of their time in nice, temperature-controlled buildings but plants aren’t that lucky. It is really quite amazing that plants can survive these temperature extremes. How do they do it? I’ll focus on plant adaptations to freezing and will write another article this summer on heat adaptations. Freezing causes major issues for plant cells which is why tomato plants get...
As Mother Nature continues to threaten snow, you may be thinking about cleaning up around your property. Spraying weeds probably doesn’t come to mind as a fall chore; usually you think of spraying weeds in the spring or summer when they are actively growing. Fall is an ideal time to control many weeds with herbicides. Perennial weeds with extensive root systems are beginning to prepare for “winter hibernation.” To survive the long winter they need to store a bunch of carbohydrates in the roots and root crowns to feed on through winter. They...
When I first heard that 2016 was designated by the United Nations as International Year of the Pulses I thought, ‘Pulse, like a heartbeat?’ I was wrong. They were not talking about a heartbeat. Pulses are legumes like beans, peas and lentils. Dry beans, which are a pulse, are grown in the Big Horn Basin. Many pulses are also major components of cover crops and others are found on native rangelands. A whole year was dedicated to these amazing plant parts for many reasons. 1. Pulses are healthy to eat. They are a good source of protein, fib...
Most of you are probably unaware that 2015 is the International Year of Soils. This was declared by the 68th UN General Assembly. Since we are already in September, we better get celebrating! It is no wonder that this year was dedicated to soil because of its importance in every aspect of our lives. The dirt on dir… uh.. soil: —95 percent of our food is directly or indirectly produced in soil. —Soil hosts a quarter of our planet’s biodiversity. —There are more soil microorganisms in a teaspoonful of soil than there are people on earth. —I...
Smoke fills the air on another August day. Fortunately, fires creating the smoke are in states to the West but any day it could be Wyoming's turn. With the wonderful precipitation this year, grass is tall and has been green most of the summer. But - it is about to turn brown, creating abundant fuel. One lightning strike and the once lush hills could be ablaze bringing the threat of fire much closer to home. You certainly don't have to be surrounded by trees to be threatened by fire so how...