September Newsletter - Burke County

September is National Potato Month!

According to the N.C.Department of Agriculture, North Carolina produces over 18,500 acres of potatoes and is ranked about 17th in the nation in cash receipts for potatoes. Most of the potatoes are grown in northeastern North Carolina along the coast where the climate and soil is best for growing potatoes commercially.

What's the best kind of potato? There are three basic types of potatoes, round, white all purpose potatoes; red skinned potatoes; and yellow flesh potatoes. Hint, the round white potatoes are often used to make potato chips!

There are a variety of ways to grow and prepare potatoes.

Read on in the newsletter for ideas and information!

Watch For Fall Army Worms

Fall army worms are showing up in Burke County. We see them most years and they can sometimes cause a lot of damage to lawn grasses although they will eat anything in sight including vegetables. They can also cause extensive damage to pastures and hay fields. I’ve already had calls about black worms on tomato plants. Fall army worms can range in color from green to brown to almost black with a wide stripe down their backs. They overwinter in Florida and migrate northward as the weather warms, arriving in Burke County in mid to late summer. They can be present in large numbers and can strip plants, shrubs and turf grass as they eat.

The adult moth will lay eggs on almost anything and after hatching, small caterpillars start searching for food. When they are small they can skeletonize the foliage but after growing larger they can devour all of the foliage. They feed mostly at night and hide in the soil during the daytime. Chemical treatments should be made late in the day or early evening. Spinosad is a chemical that works well when you have fall army worm damage.

While we don’t always have damaging numbers of this insect, hot, dry weather seems to make them worse so this could be a year for many fall army worms.

Tips for Growing Potatoes at Home

Choose the right kind of seeds for the soil and climate of your region.
Get certified seeds to guarantee they are disease and insect free.

Cut a seed piece with at least two “eyes” and allow them to cure outside for at least a day.

Plant in soil with low PH (between 4.8 and 5.4) and cover with leaf mulch — the mulch will protect the potatoes from disease!

Make sure to watch out for Potato Beetles and get a Potato Beetle spray that will prevent them from ruining crops.

Pressure Canners

What to consider when selecting a pressure canner
Home canning low acid foods (foods with a pH of lower than 4.6) like vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, tomatoes, or combinations of these foods require the use of a pressure canner to properly process jars for food safety. Improperly home-canned foods have been known to cause botulism, a severe type of foodborne illness resulting from the toxins of Clostridium botulinum bacteria. If you are in the market for a pressure canner, here are some things to consider while you shop.

Canner, Not Cooker
As you make your selection, make sure you are choosing a pressure canner. Pressure canners are also used for cooking, but pressure cookers are not used for canning. Do not choose a pressure cooker or a multi-cooker, like an Instant Pot, as these types of devices are only appropriate for pressure cooking food and cannot be safely used for canning.

Weighted gauge or dial?
Next, you’ll want to consider whether you’d like to have a pressure canner with a weighted gauge or a dial gauge. Weighted gauges offer greater precision and do not require accuracy testing. Dial gauges are accurate +/- 2 pounds per square inch. If you are canning at a higher altitude, a dial gauge will offer you greater flexibility to control and adjust pressure, which may help you avoid over-processing food. Dial gauges will need to be tested every canning season for accuracy, so choose a model that can be conveniently tested as needed. N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke Center offers free dial gauge testing, but not for every pressure gauge model. Contact the office to find out which models we test. If you choose a canner model that can not be tested by N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke Center, check with the manufacturer to find out whether they offer to test dial gauges and how you can utilize their services.

Can your cooktop handle it?
Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you can properly and safely can on your stove or cooktop. Sustained heat is necessary for safe processing. Some range tops cycle on and off and cannot be safely used for canning. If you have a flat top range, you should check with the manufacturer to verify whether or not your cooktop can handle pressure canning. The canner bottom should not be more than 1-inch larger than the cooking eye.

For more information on selecting a pressure canner, give us a call at 828-764-9480 or email Emily Troutman, FCS Agent at emily_troutman@ncsu.edu

Stockpiling Forages for Fall and Winter Pasture

Livestock producers can take advantage of late summer and early fall growing conditions to obtain high quality pasture for late fall and early winter grazing. This practice is called stockpiling.

The best grasses for stockpiling are cool-season grasses, as they will retain good quality and palatability into winter. August and September are the best time to begin stockpiling for fall and winter use. Remove livestock from the pasture, apply 60 to 80 lbs. of nitrogen per acre and allow grass to accumulate growth until November or December. Remove summer growth down to 3 to 4 inches by grazing or clipping so stockpile production comes from new grass growth. Growers can top-dress at a rate of 40 to 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre on tall fescue before August 15. Research has shown following these guidelines can increase dry matter production by 25 pounds per acre for each pound of nitrogen applied to tall fescue.

To maximize stockpiled forage use, be sure to graze the fescue-clover fields quickly after the first frost. Pure fescue stands will maintain palatability and quality much longer into the winter so graze these last. Also, you need to maintain a high stocking rate to prevent waste as a result of trampling. Strip grazing can help to reduce trampling losses. In this time of high costs, stockpiling cool-season grasses extends the grazing season, reduces winter hay feeding, provides a good return of high-quality forage for each pound of nitrogen applied providing your livestock an ideal place for wintering and birthing young.