Polk County Cooperative Extension News for June

Patience

It certainly is a virtue. Each day is a new challenge for every person we see. Everyone has tasks to complete, worries to deal with and stresses that we can’t see. It’s easy to get angry at others because we think that they aren’t doing something how we think something should be done. I’m guilty of this when I drive. It bothers me to no end when people don’t use turn signals or don’t pay attention and pull out in front of me when they simply could have waited until I passed so I wouldn’t have to slam on my brakes. It happens every day. A lot of people in this world have an inward focus. That is, they rationalize “this is my world, other people just live in it”. I know people like this; they are always criticizing others and expecting people to conform to what they think should be done, how it should be done and when it should be done. Wouldn’t it be better if we were able to control frustrations and give grace? Why get angry and ruin our day? We really don’t know what’s going on in that person’s life that caused the frustration. We’ve all had bad days and may have acted in ways that we wouldn’t normally. I think it’s at these moments, when we are frustrated with the actions of someone else that we should look deep within ourselves and be the bigger person, give some grace and have patience. After all, it may be you or me one day that needs some grace and understanding.

August Lawn and Garden Tips

This year has been quite dry so don’t forget to water dry plants and lawns. Give a thorough soaking when you water shrubs, flowers, or lawns. Frequent, shallow sprinklings can do more harm than good. When watering shrubs during dry periods of summer and fall, be sure to apply enough water so moisture will move downward to the root system. It is helpful to make a 3-4" mound of soil about 18-24" outward from shrubs. Let water flood inside mound and soak downward to roots. If you use overhead irrigation on shrubs apply water at some time other than late afternoon because prolonged moisture on leaves overnight encourages disease growth.

Mulching of shrubs and young trees can be very important in hot, dry weather. Shallow roots are protected from the sun, moisture is conserved, and weeds and grasses are controlled with a good mulch. A 3-4" layer of pine straw, leaves, pine bark or hardwood mulch will help grow strong, healthy plants.

August is a good month in which to transplant iris and daylilies. By doing so now, new transplants will have time to become well established before cold weather. Be sure to water well after transplanting.

Don’t Prune Shrubs or Trees! Late summer pruning should be avoided. It can stimulate new growth which will not have sufficient time to harden off before cold weather. February is the best time for major pruning, but dead or diseased wood may be removed at any time of the year. If you must cut back a tree or shrub, prune as little as you can and do major pruning next February.

Fall Vegetable Garden - Growing a productive fall garden requires thoughtful planning and preparation. Now is the time to remove any previous crop residue and weed growth. Prepare the soil by tilling or spading to a depth of at least 6” to 8”. If the spring crops were heavily fertilized, you may not need to make an initial pre-plant fertilization. Otherwise, 1-2 lb of a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 may be applied per 100ft of bed space. An organic fertilizer can be used as well but be careful with fresh manure as it may contain herbicide residue which will stunt your crops. Thoroughly incorporate the fertilizer. Plant your fall crops between the middle and late part of August for a fall harvest. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and kale are all great fall/winter crops. Choose varieties that will be harvested in 50-70 days to beat the extreme cold.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Japanese Beetles/White Grubs-Late July/early August is the optimal time for control with soil insecticides since grubs are still small and are close to the surface. Applying at any other time of year will not give you the same control. For organic control begin applying Milky Spore to build up the bacteria in the soil. You will need to do this for several years to get a colony started.

Borers - Spray peach, cherry and plum trees for borers this month using an orchard spray soaking the trunk and soil around the base of the tree.

Mosquitoes— Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for managing mosquitoes. The most effective way to reduce the number of mosquitoes around homes is to find and eliminate their breeding sites—standing water. There are plenty of potential places in which mosquitoes can develop. A neglected bird bath, swimming pool, or clogged rain gutter can produce hundreds of new mosquitoes in just a few days. Mosquitoes prefer to rest in protected sites during the day. Yards with lots of trees, shrubs and dense vegetation are their favorites. Consequently, removal of tall weeds and overgrowth is part of an integrated mosquito management program.

Spreading Manure: Field Applications

Many horse farm owners do not have adequate land base to appropriately spread horse manure. Under the moist conditions encountered in the eastern United States, the practice of spreading manure on pasture can enhance grazing horses' parasite exposure by spreading viable parasites over a larger area. However, spreading manure in thin layers under hot, dry conditions can reduce parasite numbers by desiccating the eggs (does not get cold enough in the winter in Polk County to affect parasite eggs). Picking manure piles up for disposal outside the pasture area or dragging pastures during hot, dry weather are the two options recommended to prevent this extra parasite exposure. Spreading raw manure along with soiled bedding on pastures is not recommended because the wood bedding products often used can deplete the soil of nitrogen (necessary nutrient for growing forage) as it decomposes.

The approximate fertilizer value of manure from bedded horse stalls (46 percent dry matter) is 4 lb/ton ammonium-N, 14 lb/ton Total N, 4 lb/ton P2O5 (phosphate), and 14 lb/ton K2O (potash). Fertilizer value of manure at 20 percent moisture without bedding is approximately 12-5-9 lb/ton (N-P2O5-K2O). Nutrient values vary widely, so use these values as guidelines and have the manure analyzed if more specific data are needed. The amount of organic nitrogen mineralized (released to crops) during the first cropping season after application of horse manure is about 0.20. Organic nitrogen must be released through mineralization before plants can use it. About 20 percent of the organic N from horse manure is available to the pasture grass the year of application. Organic N released during subsequent seasons is usually about 50 percent (second year), 25 percent (third year), and 13 percent (fourth year) of the first-year mineralization.
https://extension.psu.edu/horse-stable-manure-management#section-17

Summary: spreading un-composted stall waste on pastures or other open land is not recommended. Manure that has been deposited on pasture by grazing animals can be dragged during hot, dry weather to distribute nutrients, facilitate the breakdown of manure piles and reduce parasite eggs.

Composting Manure

Composting occurs naturally if stall waste decomposes in the presence of oxygen and is kept relatively moist, above 50 percent moisture content; however, a managed composting system can greatly reduce the time to do so. The microbes that decompose the bedding and manure occur naturally in stall waste. Composting provides a material that is more readily marketable and more desirable for use than raw stall waste. Finished compost is partially degraded manure, which is more organically stable, presenting less of a pollution threat. Its finer texture, high organic matter content, and fertilizer value make it desirable as a garden soil amendment. Composting reduces the volume of waste by 40 percent to 70 percent.

Horse manure can be well-suited for composting because it has appropriate levels of nitrogenous material and carbon. The carbon: nitrogen ratio of horse manure alone is 20:1 to 30:1 and the ideal ratio for composting is 35:1 to 40:1. When small amounts of bedding are included, the ratio is ideal. However, wood shavings often included have a C:N ratio of approximately 500:1, therefore the addition of other green material may be needed if the stall waste has a high proportion of wood product. Finished compost that has gone through appropriate heat cycles should have greatly reduced populations of weed seeds, parasites and harmful pathogens. For sanitization to take place during the composting process, the entire mass of organic material must be exposed to lethal temperatures for a suitable length of time. Because these temperatures develop in the interior of the pile, turning the pile is an important part of compost management. Once finished, compost can then safely be applied to pastures and other landscape beds as a desirable soil amendment. One drawback of composting system is the presence of certain residual pasture herbicides that remain active in the manure. These herbicides are active against broadleaf weeds, and therefore, cannot be used in a garden without serious plant damage occurring. Removal of hay treated with aminopyralid or manure from animals consuming treated forage from the farm where it was sprayed is considered illegal according to the pesticide label.

Summary: Composting and subsequent field applications are relatively low-cost options and can be implemented on any size operation, even with the construction of a bin-type system for composting; however, they can take a considerable amount of time for management and for the composting process until a finished product is available. Quicker composting in-vessel technologies are available for a considerable investment, but composted manure can be finished in as little as two weeks.

White vs. Whole Wheat Flour

Most people these days know that whole wheat flour is "better for you" than refined white flour. But exactly does that mean, and how can you use whole wheat flour in your cooking without compromising the taste and texture of your baked and fried foods? In this article we will be exploring both of those questions with the goal of demystifying the terms, and providing tips that can help you integrate more whole wheat into your diet without drastically changing the quality of your recipes.

Whole Wheat Nutrition: The USDAs nutrition guidelines recommend tha all Americans should be consuming at least 50% of their grains in the form of "whole grains". But what are whole grains? The answer is fairly simple. The image below is a basic diagram of a wheat grain. Notice that the grain has three mainparts, the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Each of these three parts are made differently and serve a different purpose for the seed.

Bran: The bran is the outer, protective layer of the wheat grain. It is rich in healthy fiber and B vitamins.
Germ: The germ is the "baby plant" inside of the grain. If you were to plant a wheat grain, this is the part that would sprout. It is packed with E and B vitamins, as well as healthy fats, proteins, and disease fighting phytochemicals.
Endosperm: The endosperm is essentially a form of food storage for the germ. It is mostly made of starch, with a small amount of vitamins and protein.

In the process of making refined white flour, both the bran and the germ are removed from the grain, leaving behind only the starchy endosperm. For cooks, this is a useful process because white flour made from only the endosperm has a light texture, and a delicious starchy taste. However, from a nutrition perspective, this is a downgrade because we are losing out on all of those healthy nutrients that are in the bran and germ.

How to Cook with Whole Wheat Flour: If you take a recipe designed for refined while flour, and use whole wheat flour instead, you will be significantly improving the nutritional value of the food, but you may also be disappointed with its heavier taste and texture. Here are three tips that can help you use more whole wheat flour without compromising taste and texture.

Use recipes designed for whole wheat flour: Whole wheat flour absorbs water differently than refined white flour. For this reason, using a recipe that is designed for use with whole wheat flour often yield better results.
Use half whole wheat and half refined white flour: Even is you only substitute half of the refined white flour in your recipe with whole wheat flour, you will be substantially improving the nutritional quality of your food. And keeping in half of the refined white flour will yield a product tha is closer to what you're used to.