Harlan County Ag News

Transcription

1 Harlan County Ag News Coopera ve Extension Service Harlan County 519 South Main Street Harlan, KY (606) Fax: (606) extension.ca.uky.edu CALENDAR March 2 Harlan County Farmers Market informa on mee ng 6 pm Pine Mountain Se lement School. Call our office to register. March 7 Harlan County Beekeepers Depot 6 pm See Spring Agriculture Programs Calendar for more informa on. Get an Early Start on Spring Gardening Rick Durham, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist You don t need to wait for warm weather to start your vegetable garden. Did you know there are several types of vegetables you can start as early as March? Radishes, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, onions and many more vegetables are all quite frost tolerant, and you can seed or transplant them in the garden from mid-march to early April. If you want to get an even earlier start, you could try covering an area with clear plastic film to create a mini greenhouse where plants will thrive. To try this season-extending technique first work up the soil for your plot and stretch some black plastic over the area for a couple of weeks. This will help warm the soil and give seeds and transplants an added boost. After a few weeks under black plastic, the soil will have warmed a few degrees, and you can prepare the bed for planting and transplanting. Once planted, you should install a wooden or metal frame over the bed and cover it with clear polyethylene film. Anchor the film at the base with boards, bricks or soil, but remember that occasionally you will have to remove the poly to tend to the plants and to harvest the crop. For this reason, it s best if you don t permanently attach the plastic to the frame. It will also be necessary to open sections of the covering for ventilation on warm sunny days. You can easily accomplish this by designing the ends of the covering so you can easily open or remove them during warm weather.

2 Harlan County Ag News March 2016 Pruning Has Many Advantages Fruit trees, vineyards, and brambles benefit from an annual pruning from the time they're planted and for years to come. Prior to spring growth, prune out the dead, diseased or insect-infested wood to reduce pest problems during the growing season. Pruning helps to increase air movement within the tree canopy. Thus reducing the amount of time foliage remains wet from rain or dew and also lessens the likelihood of diseases that could develop under wet conditions. You also will get better spray coverage in an open canopy than a heavily shaded one. Pruning also helps to promote high-quality fruit production. Moderate pruning each year helps to open up the tree or plant and allows sunlight to penetrate the plant canopy, thus encouraging formation of fruit buds for next year's crop and promoting high quality fruit for this year. Wait to prune fruit trees, grape vines, and brambles until the worst part of the winter weather is over. Late February or early March usually is the best time to prune. Don't leave stubs because they act as an entry point for diseases. Contrary to popular belief and advertising, wound dressings don't promote more rapid healing of pruning cuts. The wound will heal just fine if left untreated. Remember, the extent to which you prune young fruit trees will influence the onset of fruiting. Trees need foliage to grow and develop so pruning too severely will delay the time trees start to produce a crop. However, taking time to properly prune and train a young fruit tree will pay off with production of high-quality fruit later. Lady Bugs Invading Homes Before too long, those outside temperatures will begin to warm, and it will be shortly followed by Asian lady beetles showing up in homes across Harlan County. These bugs typically enter the residential areas of buildings after harboring themselves inside the crawl spaces and the attic of the home during the winter. As temperatures warm during the late winter/early spring, the beetles once again become active. This usually occurs first on the sunnier, south-west side of the building. As awakening beetles attempt to escape to the outdoors, some wander inward, emerging from behind baseboards, walls, attics, suspended ceilings, etc. Since the lady beetles are attracted to light, they are often seen around windows and light fixtures. Pest proofing your home is the most Page 2

3 Harlan County Ag News March 2016 efficient way to prevent pest entry. It s best to deal with lady beetles outside, before they enter your home. Following these guidelines will help pest proof your home or place of business. Several tips also will conserve energy and increase the comfort level this fall and winter. Install door sweeps or thresholds at the base of all exterior entry doors, paying particular attention to the bottom corners that are a common entry location. Check for light entering under doors; this indicates possible pest entryways. To close other potential pest entries, apply caulk on the bottom outside edges and sides of door thresholds; fit garage doors with a rubber bottom seal because vinyl seals poorly in the winter; and seal gaps under sliding glass doors by lining the bottom track with foam weather stripping one-half to threefourths inches wide. Utility openings where pipes and wires enter the foundation and siding are common entry points. You can use caulk, cement, urethane expandable foam, steel wool and copper mesh to plug openings around outdoor faucets, receptacles, gas meters, clothes dryer vents and telephone or cable television wires. Apply a good-quality silicone or acrylic latex caulk to cracks around windows, doors, fascia boards and other openings. Before you apply the caulk, clean existing caulk, and remove any that s peeling to aid adhesion. To reduce the entry of lady beetles and other overwintering pests, repair gaps and tears in window and door screens. Keep windows closed to prevent entry. Another way to prevent pest entry is to apply an exterior (barrier) treatment with insecticides. To gain the most from this effort, apply long-lasting liquid formulations that contain synthetic pyrethroids. These products are available at some hardware, lawn and garden shops. If you apply the barrier treatment, use a compressed-air or hose-end sprayer to treat the base of all exterior doors, garage, crawl space entrances, foundation vents, utility openings and up beneath siding. It s also useful to treat the foundation outside perimeter with a two-to-six-foot wide band along the ground and two to three feet up the foundation wall. If lady beetles are already inside the home the best way to remove them is with a vacuum cleaner. Insecticide foggers or sprays are generally not recommended for eliminating the beetles indoors. Beetles need to be sprayed directly, or they have to crawl over a surface that is treated with an insecticide. Using such applications will create pesticide residues on walls, counter tops, and other surfaces. Therefore, a vacuum cleaner is more sanitary and effective. Page 3

4 Harlan County Ag News March 2016 Find Out What Your Soil Needs Brad Lee and Ashley Osborne How much fertilizer do you really need to use on your lawn and garden? If you re just making a guess, you could be using too much. But how can you know for sure? A simple and inexpensive soil test can tell you all you need to know to make your lawn and garden look great and to protect the environment from runoff of excess nutrients. Soil fertility testing is a program designed to provide homeowners, landscape contractors, turfgrass managers, greenhouse managers as well as others with a soil management tool to determine fertilizer requirements of their lawn, garden, trees and shrubs. The University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service offers soil testing services to every Kentucky citizen. Soil testing is the most important thing you can do before applying fertilizer. Fall and spring are the best times to take samples and you should sample your lawn, landscape beds and vegetable gardens every 1 to 2 years, since your soil s needs may change over time. You can use the test results to determine the amount and kind of nutrients you add to your lawn and garden for best growth. A routine soil test from the University of Kentucky lab will provide you with information about the soil ph, plant available phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and cation exchange capacity of your soil. The results will include a recommendation about what amendments, if any, you may need to improve plant vigor and yield. Other special tests are available, however this routine test will address most home lawn, landscape and gardening needs. We can help answer your questions about taking the sample and turning it in. Generally, to obtain a useful sample, you ll want to map out the area where you plan to grow plants or where plants already exist. It s a good way to keep a record of your land use and results over time. Divide the area so that each soil sample represents one plant type or condition. Collect at least 10 samples for each area, mix them together and then take one composite sample that represents that area for soil testing. For example, if you have a landscape bed that contains shrubs in one area and roses in another, collect two composite samples: one composite sample from several sites under the shrubs and another composite sample from several sites under the roses. For lawns, sample to a depth of about four inches. For gardens, ornamentals, mixed fruit trees and wildlife plots, sample to a depth of about six inches. Ideally, you should sample well in advance of any planting or spring Page 4

5 Harlan County Ag News March 2016 green up to allow time for analysis, interpretation and then fertilizer and lime applications. Use clean tools and never use a tool that you ve previously used for fertilizer or lime. Shovels, trowels, spades, hand probes and augers are all good sampling tools. Clear the ground surface of any mulch or thatch. Take samples from several areas and mix together in a plastic bucket to avoid metal contamination. If the soil is wet or damp, let it dry overnight. Collect about a pint and place it in the UK soil sample bag, available from any Cooperative Extension office. Identify your sample on the bag and on the submission form. The Coopera ve Extension Service prohibits discrimina on in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or na onal origin. To file a complaint of discrimina on, contact Tim West, UK College of Agriculture, , Terry Allen or Pa y Bender, UK Office of Ins tu onal Equity and Equal Opportunity, ; or the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326 W Whi en Bldg., 14th and Independence Ave. SW, Washington DC , (202) Sensational Six-Layer Dinner 2-3 medium sliced potatoes 2 cups sliced carrots 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup sliced onion 1 pound browned and grained ground beef 1 1/2 cups green beans 1 can tomato soup Lightly oil or spray baking dish with cooking spray. Layer ingredients in order given. Cover. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until tender and thoroughly heated. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes. Serves 6 Nutrition Facts 1/6 of recipe: 230 calories, 6 g. fat, 580 mg. sodium, 17 g. carbohydrate, 25g. protein, 150% Vitamin A, 35% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 25% Iron Jeremy N. Williams County Extension Agent for Agriculture / Natural Resources Page 5

6 Harlan County Coopera ve Extension Service 2017 Spring Agriculture Programs Harlan County Extension Depot 110 River Street, Harlan, KY March 17 Home based Microprocessor 9:30 am ($50 Fee) March 21 Home Fruit Produc on 5:00 pm March 27 Backyard Poultry Produc on 6:00 pm March 30 Basic Gardening 6:00 pm April 27 Organic Gardening 6:00 pm May 11 Compos ng & Vermiculture 6:00 pm June 8 Herb Gardening 10:00 am & 6:00 pm For more informa on or to register Call

7 2017 Plant Order Form Purchaser Information: Name: Address: City, State, Postal Code: Telephone: Coopera ve Extension Service Harlan County 519 South Main Street Harlan, KY (606) Fax: (606) harlan.ca.uky.edu Quan ty Item Unit Price Total bundles Strawberries (Allstar) (June bearing larger berry) $3.25 (bundle of 25) bundles Strawberries (Earliglow) (June bearing smaller, sweeter berry) $3.25 (bundle of 25) Blackberries (Natchez) Blueberries (Patriot) (two varie es needed for pollina on) Blueberries (Blue Crop) (two varie es needed for pollina on) Raspberries (Tula Magic) Asparagus (Jersey Knight) $3 each $6 each $6 each $2 each $1 each bundles Onion plants (Candy) $4 (bundle of 60) Total Due Pre payment is required by Friday, March 17, for all plant orders. Make checks payable to: WTA Ag Fund Payment Information: Amount Paid: Date: Received by: Check No.: or Cash Plants are expected to ship from the nursery during the first week of April. We will send you a postcard to let you know when the plants will be available for pickup.

8 Harlan County 519 South Main Street Harlan, KY PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID HARLAN, KY PERMIT 831 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED