WSU Extension Q&A: Better to water gardens in morning
Q. My friend and I are having a disagreement about when to water our gardens, during the day or at night. Which one of us is right?
A. The best time to water gardens is in the morning. Watering at night or in the late afternoon can keep the leaves wet for an extended period, which can favor disease development. Watering in the morning allows the entire day for the leaf and fruits to dry.
Q. I saw half-gallon canning jars at the grocery store. What can I process in half-gallon canning jars?
A. The only processes that the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Center for Home Food Preservation recommend for half-gallon jars are very acidic fruit juices (and juice only). There are no other research-tested processes for canning in half-gallon jars. Recipes written to can food in pint or quart jars cannot be adjusted to use in a larger jar. For fruit juice recipes, go to http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can2_fruit.html.
There are historical recommendations for canning foods in half-gallon jars. However, these are not accepted or endorsed by the USDA, Cooperative Extension System or U.S. manufacturers of home canning jars.
Q. I read your question on hay exported from the Northwest. How much of that hay goes to China?
A. China is the largest growth market for hay, and they imported 1.13 million tons of it last year. That’s a 24 percent increase from 2014, and the demand grows even with genetically modified organism challenges, port slowdowns and a strong American dollar. Ten years ago, almost no hay was imported into China. Most of the hay exported to China is alfalfa for the dairy market. Dan Putnam from University of California wrote an interesting blog at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/Alfalfa/.
Q. Why were all the carrots in my garden short and knobby this year?
A. Carrots can appear short and knobby for numerous reasons, but the most common culprit is compacted soils. Compaction causes roots to change direction, resulting in forking and stubbing of the roots. Before planting carrots, work the soil deep so that there is no compaction in at least the top 12 inches of soil.
To submit a question for this column, please call the WSU Extension office in Kennewick at 509-735-3551.
This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "WSU Extension Q&A: Better to water gardens in morning."