rhubarb plant

Frost-touched rhubarb can be poisonous

Wait for the plant to produce new stalks, says fruit specialist. Frost-touched 
rhubarb can have the toxic oxalic acid in its stalks as well as leaves

The dismal weather of the May long weekend is now a bad memory, but the two very cold days may have dealt your backyard rhubarb patch a lasting blow. Rhubarb stalks can become poisonous when Mother Nature decides to drop her temperatures below freezing after their leaves have emerged. Any stalks with wilted leaves after

Manitoba Forage Council adds grasslands to name

The Manitoba Forage Council is planning to change its name to reflect the group’s broader focus on those who make their living from all kinds of grass. By calling itself the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association, the group hopes to become better aligned with the goals of the recently formed Canadian Forage & Grassland Association.


Grasses in the landscape

Grasses are invaluable in a wide diversity of designs for the garden landscape, putting on an extended winter show of various-shaped blades, once vibrant with many summer colours. Now is an ideal time to plan garden and landscaping ideas. I use graft paper to design how the garden could look in reality, as it’s much


Looking for that amazing tree

In these first days and weeks of summer here in the Red River corridor, our basin’s trees are fully decked out in their leafy finery. Not only do they protect living areas, fragile lands and riverbanks, but they provide glorious scenes for our winter-weary eyes. But how often do we take these grand living structures


Entomologist warns sunflower growers to take a close look before spraying

Something bugging your sunflower crop? Or just bugging you? Separate sunflower friend from foe before spraying, a provincial government entomologist reminded producers at the annual Special Crops Symposium. “Ground beetles can destroy as much as 40 per cent of the sunflower beetles’ larvae over the winter, they’re important … and significant,” said John Gavloski. “It’s

Small Sunflower Crop Faces Competition

The size and quality of Manitoba s sunflower crop is still very much up in the air, but the sheer lack of acres planted this spring will keep supplies on the tight side and should underpin the domestic market. Manitoba accounts for nearly all of Canada s sunflower production, and the provincial crop is currently

Mountain Ash Tree

If someone were to ask what my favourite deciduous tree is, my answer would have to be the mountain ash. Its display begins with the tree leafing out in May, and shortly after that its blooms appear clusters of white flowers that have a sweet, musky smell that wafts throughout the yard. Bees are irresistibly


Sunflower Acres Look To Rebound In 2012

Manitoba sunflower crops are looking good, the problem is there just aren’t that many this year. More than half of the province’s sunflowers are grown in southwestern Manitoba National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC) president Kelly Dobson said Aug. 19, during a tour of the Manitoba Crop Evaluation Trials’ (MCVET) sunflower plots. A wet spring

Tips For Late-Seeded Sunflowers

The U.S. National Sunflower Association has these tips for farmers on the Northern Plains hoping to overcome a late spring and cash in with a good crop of sunnies. Sunflower is one of the last crops that can be planted in the northern region. Once established, the crop grows quickly. Common strategies agronomists and farmers