August 2014 RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS

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1 August 2014 Tour the Rutherford County Quilt Trail Friday, August 15, 2014 Cost $25.00 (includes transportation) Have a day of fun and tour some of Rutherford Countys historical locations. Departs 9:00am from Lane AgriPark Community Center (by van or bus). Return approx. 4:00pm Quilters, historians and any one looking for a pleasant day in Rutherford County, will enjoy viewing the painted quilt blocks which adorn several historical buildings and barns throughout our county. Some of these blocks represent quilts used by the family in times past. The tour will include quilt blocks on Bradyville Pike, Cripple Creek, Ferrell Hollow and Burks Hollow Road. Shopping stops will be at Ferrell Hollow Farms, Brown Family Fiber & Iron Works and Readyville Mill. Lunch will be provided by Carolyn s Creations at Cripple Creek Presbyterian Church. A tour of the historic cemetery will follow lunch. Reservations and payment required in advance since space is limited. Make payment to RCES and mail to Rutherford County Extension office 315 John R. Rice Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN Visit web site at for more information about the quilt trail. Tomato RC Farmers Market 9:00 am Aug 8 Extension Agent, Pat Whitaker will be answering your questions and explaining how to best preserve tomatoes at the Aug 8th Farmers Market Class. Whether you plan to preserve your harvest by canning, freezing or drying; come learn lots to tips and tricks to enjoy your gardens bounty (or what you buy at the market) all year long! Vendors, door prizes, & silent auction! FREE! No registration required. Rutherford County fce clubs are sponsoring the 4th annual Quilts in the Boro August am 5pm Community Center $5 admission Demonstrations include quilting, piecing, spinning, needle felting & more! For more information go to Quiltingbees.org/QuiltsintheBoro2014 All events will be held at Rutherford County Extension/Lane Agri-Park 315 John R. Rice Blvd. Murfreesboro TN unless otherwise noted. PH: Visit our website for more information TO REGISTER FOR EVENTS AND CLASSES CALL unless otherwise noted

2 August 2014, Page 2 Red Star 4H Chick Chain Poultry Sale August 9th 4H Design Camp News Thirty-one Rutherford County 4H youth participating in the 2014 Chick Chain project have been busy since spring raising Red Star chicks for the 4H Poultry Show and Sale at 9:00am on August 9th at the Lane Agri-Park Livestock Barn. This project teaches participants the art and science of caring for poultry. They also learn responsibility, leadership, following directions, record keeping, budgeting, salesmanship and showmanship. After the show, each pen of five birds will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is a great way to start a backyard flock of egg-laying hens at your house, or to improve the genetics of the flock you already have! If you raise chickens and want to improve or add to your flock, don t miss this opportunity to purchase these hand raised chickens and support the efforts of our 4H youth. Proceeds from the sale go to our budding entrepreneurs. Rutherford County 4-H Agent, Raquel Victor, recently took five of our 4-H ers to the Central Region 4-H Design Camp on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. During those 3 days, campers were able to put their creative skills to use by making several design projects that highlight their individual skill level. An example of some projects were creating a magnetic memory board, the art of decorating cupcakes, an accordion scrapbook, and sewing a backpack just to name a few. Much fun was had and many new friends were made. From left Hannah Simpson, 4-H Agent Raquel Victor, Teen Leader Paige Rowlett, Teen Leader Abby Rossi, Kayla Rowlett, and Sarah Daugherty. Archery GPS Cooking Shooting Sewing Pottery Horse Livestock Poultry 4H Open House September PM Community Center Building Come and meet our 4-H agents and find out what exciting clubs and programs will be offered for the season. You will be able to sign up for clubs and project groups at the open house! Some activities fill up fast so don t miss this opportunity. Club & project sign ups will continue as long as there are spaces available. Watch next months newsletter for more information!

3 August 2014, Page 3 Announcing the 2014 Grass Masters Lawn Care Academy August 13 16, 2014 There s a really good chance you ll learn way more than you bargained for about turfgrass and lawncare if you complete our lawncare course slated for August 13-16, You ll learn about the different kinds of turfgrasses we can (and can t) grow here and how to manage them, options for establishing a new lawn, renovation tips for existing lawns, weed control, fertilization, and more! Shoot, you may even learn what it is that makes those holes in your lawn! Class time is from 6:00-8:00 p.m. nightly August and from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Saturday morning August 16. All sessions will be held in the Lane Agri-Park Office Complex auditorium located at 315 John R. Rice Blvd in Murfreesboro. The course is free for everyone interested in learning more about home lawncare. We ll even reduce the price by 50% for anyone over the age of 55! Space is limited and you must register by Friday, August 1 to guarantee that course materials will be available for you! You can register by calling the Extension office at from 7:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or Mitchell Mote at mmote1@utk.edu Grass Masters Lawn Care Academy Pledge: We won t promise you ll have the nicest lawn on your block after completing this course, but if you don t, odds are good you ll have a good idea why not. Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating.

4 August 2014, Page 4 Aug 1 Aug 5 Aug 8 Aug 12 Aug 15 Aug 19 Aug 22 Aug 26 Aug 29 Sept 2 Sept 5 Sept 9 Sept 12 Sept 16 Sept 19 Rutherford County Farmers Market Classes June July Classes start at 9:00am FREE no registration required! Geocaching 101 get to practice this great hide and seek outdoor activity that is fun for the whole family! Walter Dirl will be your leader. Cooking with Kids Amy Willis will introduce young ones to some fun, healthy snacks. Pat Whitaker will be leading Tomato Talk. Learn tips for preserving and preparing the Queen of garden vegetables. Katie Peay will talk about how to install and maintain a rain barrel in your home garden or landscape. See a demonstration on spinning wool by Kitty McCloud. Needle felting, hand quilting and other traditional arts will be introduced. Bring the outdoors inside Carol Reese will teach you to make your own quick & easy flower arrangements. Did you know preparing your yard for winter increases your chances of a lush lawn in the spring? Mitchell Mote will tell you how! Sample southern gourmet dishes prepared by Mitchell Murphree, Five Senses Chef Gardening doesn t stop just because it will be fall soon. Learn how to freshen up containers to spruce up your outdoor spaces. Barbara Mullins will be your teacher. Spreader & Sprayer Calibration. Mitchell Mote will help you take the guess work out how to use fertilizer and pesticide equipment. Learn how to save money on lawn & garden watering with rain barrels! Robert Hayley will tell you how. Will have some to purchase. More rain. Learn to create a rain garden to reduce ponding & flooding in your landscape Michael Shirley will talk about raising back yard poultry for meat. Make friends with worms! Mark Murphy will explain how to turn your kitchen scraps into black gold. Be Prepared When Disaster Strikes - learn to make your own emergency preparedness kit. Every home needs one! Sept 23 Garden season is almost over! Learn what to do to winterize & protect your garden tools & equipment. FOR MORE CLASSSES VISIT THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY WEBSITE! What is EFNEP? The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is sponsored by University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University. We work with families living on limited resources and help them learn the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior changes that will help them develop nutritionally sound diets. Anyone who is responsible for feeding their children and are eligible for any assistance program such as WIC, SNAP or Head Start is eligible to participate in EFNEP classes. We help families: Learn to make food choices to improve nutritional quality of the meals they serve their families Increase their ability to select and purchase foods that meet the nutritional needs of their family Gain new skills in food production, preparation, storage, safety, and sanitation Learn to better manage their food budgets. Tiffany Schmidt, Community Nutrition Educator

5 August 2014, Page 5 Late Summer Lawn and Garden Tips Mitchell Mote, Extension Agent For a long time now, I ve equated the flipping of the calendar page to August with flipping an internal switch in me the switch that shifts my line of thinking regarding lawn and garden chores from a summer track to a fall track. Truth be told, I always look forward to the time when that switch is flipped, especially the switch regarding lawn grass maintenance chores. The start of August for me marks the beginning of the end of the warm season turfgrass mowing season. As August slides toward September, days shorten and night time temperatures become a tick cooler, bermudagrass and Zoysia grass shoot growth rate declines and you re apt to notice a little decrease in the need for mowing frequency. As the season moves closer to fall, one day you ll realize that as far as bermudagrass is concerned, you can winterize and park the lawnmower, because it s through growing for the year. As for cool season grasses such as tall fescue, this transition from summer to fall time gives us a chance to improve our grass stand or even start all over if the tall fescue went totally belly up. September is the ideal time to sow or overseed tall fescue and other cool season turfgrasses and August is the time to prepare for those operations. So, enough rambling; let s outline what to do and when to do it! Lawns Bermudagrass and Zoysia: Mow as necessary Make final fertilizer application for the year (as per soil test) by the early part of September Postemergent broad leaf herbicide application if needed for late season summer broadleaves Preemergent herbicide application for annual bluegrass (Poa annua) prevention (and some winter annual broadleaves) before annual bluegrass germination takes place. Poa annua germination is greatly influenced by temperature and moisture, but generally occurs late August to early September. The product must be applied and activated by adequate rainfall or irrigation prior to germination occurring in order to work Overseed with ryegrass in late August-early September if you want to maintain year round green color. You CAN T use preemergent herbicides for Poa annua and sow ryegrass seed, you can only do one or the other! Need more help with Lawn Care?.check out the FREE Grass Masters Lawn Academy

6 August 2014, Page 6 Late Summer Lawn and Garden Tips, continued from previous page Tall Fescue and Other Cool Season Grasses: Mow as necessary Postemergent broadleaf herbicide application if needed for late season summer broadleaves If no fall overseeding is planned: Preemergent herbicide application for annual bluegrass (Poa annua) prevention (and some winter annual broadleaves) before annual bluegrass germination takes place. Poa annua germination is greatly influenced by temperature and moisture, but generally occurs late August to early September. The product must be applied and activated by adequate rainfall or irrigation prior to germination occurring in order to work Overseed with desirable cool season grasses September to early October to thicken up existing grass populations. You may core aerate and overseed or dethatch and overseed or use a slit seeder, but some soil cultivation will improve seed to soil contact and generally improve germination Areas that have been overrun with undesirable grasses or other plants are candidates for a total renovation in September. Treat the area to be renovated with glyphosate to kill all existing vegetation two weeks or more prior to your targeted planting date (plants should be actively growing to achieve the best kill). Till the ground and sow the seed or core aerate and sow the seed or use a slit seeder to plant the seed; just make sure the seed contacts the soil. Roll or lightly drag the area after sowing, cover totally bare areas with a light mulch of straw, irrigate lightly multiple (2-3) time per day to keep seed damp and encourage germination Mow new grass when it s taller than its intended maintenance height, i.e., if you plan to maintain at 3 inches tall, mow it when it reaches 4 inches in height Don t let fallen leaves accumulate to long on new grasses Make fall fertilizer applications between September 1 and mid-november as per soil test Landscape Beds: The application of preemergent herbicides in late August-early September can prevent many winter annual broadleaf weeds such as common chickweed which can be very pesky in landscaped beds. A product containing isoxaben will provide a broad spectrum of broad leaf weed control. One containing both isoxaben and another ingredient such as trifluralin can provide broad spectrum control of annual broadleaf and grass weeds Vegetable Gardens: Plantings of many vegetables for fall harvest can be made well up into August. Examples include: Snap Beans- to Aug. 15 Broccoli- to Aug. 15 Cabbage- to Aug. 15 Cauliflower- to Aug. 15 Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustard- to Sept. 1 Leaf Lettuce, Radishes- to Sept. 15 Turnip Greens- to Sept. 30 *When using any pesticide, ALWAYS read and follow label directions For additional information regarding these or other related topics, contact the Extension office at from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon-Fri You can Mitchell Mote at mmote1@utk.edu Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating. UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment