Soil Amendments
Just For Fun May 16, 2021
There are many different things that you can add to your soil. You may see ads for different products claiming that they’ll do miracles for your garden. Alternatively, maybe you’ve always seen your grandparents put a special mixture on their soil and it did wonderfully every year. Soil is alive with microbes and complex chemical reactions that are happening all the time. The amendments that we add may be helpful to those processes. Let’s talk about some common soil amendments and what they do to the soil
Real quick, what is a soil amendment? These amendments have nothing to do with our constitution. Rather, they are things that we mix in or incorporate into the soil. The overall goal of an amendment is to improve soil quality. That may be done by adjusting pH, adding nutrients, building organic matter, increasing soil biodiversity, or improving soil drainage. Amendments can be organic (from something that was alive) or inorganic (mined or man-made).
Fertilizer and lime are two of the most obvious soil amendments. Synthetic fertilizer provides a quick boost to the plants, but doesn’t really improve soil quality over time. Organic fertilizers must be broken down to be available to the plants, therefore, they will fertilize over a period. Lime raises the pH of the soil and makes the nutrients more available to plants. You can have too much of a good thing and over apply lime, resulting in a pH that is too high.
Coffee grounds can be added to soil. They will build organic matter in the soil. They also attract earthworms. Coffee grounds don’t have a big impact on the soil pH if you rinse them first. They can also be used in compost as a green material because they have nitrogen.
Compost is another amendment that people like to use. Compost is a great way to boost the quality of your soil because it builds organic matter. Compost will release nutrients to your soil over time. Releasing nutrients over time makes your plants use the nutrients more efficiently and gives you even growth throughout the season. One issue with growing plants in compost is that compost raises the pH of the soil. Growing in 100% compost can lead to nutrient deficiency problems because the pH is too high. Mixing compost with soil will help alleviate this problem.
Mycorrhizae can be added to the soil. Mycorrhizae are a fungus that attach to the roots of your plants. This fungus becomes like an additional network of roots. They will pass nutrients up the plant and the plant will send energy down to the fungus. It is a symbiotic relationship. Mycorrhizae can be beneficial to plants, but they’re not always effective. If there is too much phosphorus in your soil, the fungus won’t grow.
Compost tea is made from compost. You add the tea to plants to increase the microbes there. We need microbes in the soil, and the issue with this is that we don’t know all the microbes that we’re adding. There could be E.coli in the tea. A simpler thing to do would be to add the compost straight to the plants, and not worry about the tea.
I would recommend caution when looking into new products to add to your soil. There are many things out there and not all of them do what they claim. If you have questions about soil amendments, contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Galls
Just For Fun May 9, 2021
Today I am going to talk about insect galls. I’ve gotten several questions from people that have seen something strange looking growing on their plant, and they wanted to know what it is. Galls can make a leaf look alien, but they rarely harm the tree. Let’s talk about some of them, what causes galls, and the damage that they do to a plant.
Insects usually cause galls. They look like an extra growth or tumor on the plant. They can take a variety of colors and shapes. Use of pesticides is not recommended in most cases to treat galls. Most pesticides will be ineffective because the insect or disease causing the gall is inside the plant.
Oak apple galls are somewhat common. These galls form on oak trees. They look like round balls that are attached to the oak leaves. They start out green, but turn brown, and are about half an inch to 2 inches in diameter. Oak apple wasps cause these galls. Oak apple wasps are really small wasps. These small wasps are not dangerous to people and won’t hurt you. Inside the gall is a single wasp larva. Once the larva emerges the gall will turn brown, and you can probably see the hole where it emerged, if the gall is still intact.
Azalea leaf gall is another fairly common gall. This one is not caused by an insect, but is a fungal disease. The disease overwinters inside the plant. Then in the spring and summer, you’ll start to see whitish swollen tissue appearing. That tissue has spores that can be moved to other leaves or plants by rain or wind. Fungicides are not an effective way to treat azalea leaf gall. If you see one of these galls, just pick it off and throw it in the trash, which will reduce its spread. Azalea leaf gall can also infect rhododendrons.
Maples can have a couple of different types of galls. One of those is called maple eyespot gall. A midge causes it. A midge is a really small insect. These insects will lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the leaf from inside the gall. The hormones that the midge injects into the leaf causes a dark red ring to form that has a yellow inner ring and a dark red center. The baby midge will then drop to the ground and finish growing into an adult. These galls rarely do real damage to the tree. Using an insecticide to treat is not recommended because the midge is protected inside the gall.
One type of gall that is problematic for farmers is phylloxera. This louse like insect will feed on roots, which causes roots to swell and die. One of their favorite plants to feed on is grape. Nowadays grapevines are grafted onto a rootstock that is resistant to phylloxera insects. Phylloxera is native to North America, so our native grapes like muscadine and fox grape are resistant to it. However, European grapes are not. In the mid 1800s, some American vines were shipped to Europe that were infected with phylloxera. The arrival of phylloxera in Europe and other countries around the world nearly destroyed the winemaking industry. For the vineyards that did not die, they had to rip out their vines and replace them with ones that were grafted onto resistant, American rootstock.
If you have questions about galls contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Buttercup (Bittercup) Control
Just For Fun May 2, 2021
Buttercup is a longstanding problem for many pastures. Fields of yellow can be beautiful to look at when driving down the highway, but large populations of buttercup creates problems for livestock that are trying to forage. Let’s talk about these weeds and what can be done to control them in pastures and hayfields.
There are several different common names for buttercup. I’ve heard folks call it bittercup. It has a bitter taste that makes livestock not want to eat it. I’ve also heard it called bitter sneezeweed. That is a common name for a different plant that also has yellow flowers. The scientific name for buttercup is Ranunculus. There are actually different species of Ranunculus. Some of them are ornamental flowers that we like to see and grow. The plant that I am referring to has small yellow flowers that range in size from dime to quarter sized. The flowers have a glossy look to them. For most species of buttercup, you’ll see three leaves coming out of one spot. Each of those leaves will have three lobes on it. Generally, if you see those groups of three, that’s a good indicator that it’s buttercup. Some other plants like clover also have groups of three, but clover’s leaves don’t have lobes in groups of three on them.
So let’s talk about how to control it. There are three ways to control it. Growing a good stand of grass that outcompetes the weeds, mowing buttercup before it flowers, or spraying it with herbicide before it flowers.
Growing a healthy stand of grass that is able to outcompete weeds requires regular fertilizer applications, checking soil pH and adding lime as necessary, and managing the number of cattle grazing a field. Fields that are overgrazed will be more prone to weeds growing. Heavily grazed grass won’t be able to grow back as quickly because its energy storage down in the roots is depleted. If grass is growing healthily, it will be able to outcompete many weeds, buttercup included.
Mowing is another option for buttercup control. Buttercup is a short-lived perennial. If you mow before it flowers, you eliminate the seed production for that plant. This is a strategy that takes several years to become fully effective.
In some cases, forage stand management and mowing are not going to be enough and an herbicide must be used to effectively control buttercup. 2,4-D or an herbicide containing 2,4-D is the best option. Because buttercup is a perennial, a pre-emergent like Prowl, won’t be effective. For the 2,4-D to be effective the timing of the application is critical. If you see buttercup flowers, it’s too late. The 2,4-D application must be done when the buttercup plant is still small. Ideally, you want daytime temperatures to be 50 for two or three consecutive days. 2,4-D does have haying and grazing restrictions. Generally, you must wait 30 days before haying after spraying and wait 14 days before grazing lactating dairy animals. As always, follow the label.
A common weed that may be confused with buttercup is field mustard. Field mustard also has yellow flowers. Field mustard is an annual plant that usually flowers before buttercup. Because it is annual you can also use pre-emergent herbicides on it. Like buttercup, field mustard is not good for livestock to eat.
If you have questions about buttercup, identification, or control contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Just For Fun April 18, 2021
Have you seen small white cottony balls on hemlock trees? If you have then that means those trees are infested with Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Let’s look at why it’s important to preserve hemlocks, what is the pest that is killing them, and what you can do to save them. We are getting to the time of year when they really start to come out.
Hemlocks are a native species that ranges from Maine to Northern Alabama. They are a keystone species that provides habitat for about 120 species of vertebrates and over 90 species of birds. Hemlocks are unique in their ability to thrive in shade. This attribute makes them common in ravines and along rivers and streams. Their proximity to streams and rivers means that they are crucial in reducing erosion and watershed protection. Hemlocks can be identified by their needles. They have short flat needles with two distinctive pale white stripes on the underside. The needles are wider at the base and taper to a rounded tip, unlike firs that have parallel sides the whole way down.
HWA is a very small insect. The white cottony sacks on the hemlock trees are egg sacks of HWA. They are an invasive species from Asia that doesn’t have a natural predator here. HWA feeds on the sap inside of hemlock trees. Wind, birds, deer, or humans can spread the HWA. Once a tree has become infected, it will die within four to 10 years. Therefore, it is important to treat trees as soon as possible after finding that they have been infected.
It is important to treat your own trees with cultural and chemical controls. Cultural controls include keeping hemlocks well mulched and watered. Hemlock trees don’t have very deep roots and droughts can make them more susceptible to infection. Don’t place any bird feeders or deer feeders near your trees. Birds and deer can carry the eggs for long distances. If you are hiking in an area that has HWA wash your clothes afterward because you may be carrying eggs. Be careful to not over-fertilize your trees as that could make them more enticing to HWA. Cultural controls may keep your trees healthy, but when they become infested, chemical controls are the only option. Chemical controls involves treating your tree with either Imidacloprid or Dinotefuran, and is the most common and effective method of control. An imidacloprid treatment will last four or five years. However, it may take one year before it is effective. Dinotefuran will last for two years in the tree and will take about four to six weeks to take effect. The ideal way to apply either of these insecticides is by soil injection or soil drench. Putting the insecticide in the soil will mean quicker uptake by the plant and reduce the chance of off target drift. If the trees are near open water, a trunk injection of insecticide is necessary, which will require a professional. Whenever applying a pesticide it is important to familiarize yourself with the label before using the product.
The Union and Towns County Extension Offices each have a soil injector that is available to be checked out. Checking it out requires a $250 dollar deposit that will be returned when the injector is brought back. I also have a soil drench kit in each office, which are simpler to use, especially if you don’t have many trees. You must provide your own insecticide. The organization Save Georgia’s Hemlocks have a website that has lots of information too.
Contact your local Extension Office or send me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions about HWA.
Raised Beds
Just For Fun February 28, 2021
This week I would like to talk about raised beds. There are many different ways to make raised beds. So I’ll go through different types of materials that you can use and some basic principles to use when building your raised beds. I’ll also talk about situations where I like raised beds over growing in the soil and vice versa.
Raised beds are a great tool to use if you have don’t have a lot of sunlight in your yard. Plants grown in raised beds will still need full sun, but if you only have a small area of your yard that has full sun, a raised bed is a good way to maximize that. If you have slopes that are too steep to plant, leveling out a small area and putting in a raised bed in that spot is another good idea. Oftentimes, the best soil in Towns and Union is found in river bottoms. If you don’t the good fortune of putting your garden in one of those places, growing in raised bed will also be much easier than fighting with heavy clay soils. Raised beds are also going to have fewer weed issues, and less soil compaction. You can build elevated raised beds to that you don’t need to do as much bending down.
Dimensions for a raised bed depend on the materials that you are using. Generally, I like raised beds that aren’t more than 4 feet across. If you have really long arms you can make them wider. I also like beds that are about 8 feet long. If you make long beds, it’s just more difficult to walk around them, especially if you’ve put a bunch of raised beds next to each other. 10 inches height will be enough depth for most vegetables. Potatoes will need more depth. The deeper you make the raised bed the more material you will need to fill it. Soil to fill raised beds costs money, so don’t make them needlessly deep. If you have tall crops planted in your raised beds they can shade out other crops, so orient them in a north-south direction. You want to the raised bed to be completely level. To do this you may need to dig out the place where you’re putting it.
Let’s move on to materials that you can use. There are several different types of lumber. Cedar is very good, because it does not rot quickly. However, it is very expensive. Cypress is often easier to get than cedar. Oak and other hardwoods can be difficult to find in sufficient quantities, and are only a little more rot resistant that pine. Pine is the most readily available and cheapest lumber. It will rot, but I’ve seen where you can get several years of use out of pine. An alternative to lumber is cement blocks, brick, concrete, or stone. If you are going to build the wall high, you would need some mortar to keep the walls from falling.
The research that is available says that pressure treated wood is safe to use for food production. Arsenic is no longer used to pressure treat wood, and has not been used since 2005. Wood treated with creosote should not be used. Railroad ties and utility poles are treated with creosote.
If you have questions about building your own raised beds contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Blueberry Pruning
Just For Fun January 31, 2021
Blueberries grow pretty well in Georgia. Rabbiteye blueberries are native to the southeast, so they’re well adapted to our climate. Let’s talk specifically about pruning blueberries.
Blueberries don’t need to be pruned every year to be fruitful. However, if you start doing some cane renewal pruning every year on a mature plant the bushes will be more fruitful and have more longevity. The ideal time to prune blueberries is late winter because the plants are dormant. February is late winter for us in the mountains. Plants in their dormant state are going to be less prone to infection or stress from the pruning.
Blueberry is a multi-stemmed bush. Each one of the stems that comes out of the ground is called a cane. Cane renewal pruning is removing old canes from the plant so that there is space for new canes to grow. Ideally, under cane renewal pruning you’ll remove old canes each year so that in five years all the canes on the plant will be completely different. Each year go through the plant and cut out the oldest canes that you find. Also, remove any diseased or dead canes. Ideally, you don’t want to remove more that 25% of the canes in a single year. If you have a blueberry bush that hasn’t been pruned for a couple of years it may take a couple years to get it back into shape. If you have a blueberry bush that hasn’t been pruned for many, many years cane renewal pruning probably isn’t going get the plants back into shape. In that situation, I’d recommend something that may seem very drastic, but is better for the plants in the end. Mow the bushes down to the ground. Mature plants will be able to take this hit, and put up new suckers, that turn into canes. This is going to give you fresh growth, and a new healthier plant. You’ll go without blueberries for a couple of years. Therefore, if you have several plants that need to be mowed, you could do a couple a year, until they are all back under control.
New plants should be pruned to have the healthiest plants. Prune back 2/3 of the top growth on bare root plants, and ½ of the top growth on potted plants. If the new plant has many canes prune out all but 1-3 of the best looking ones. You also don’t want a first year plant to produce fruit, so pick off any flower buds. If you prune plants like this the first year, the second year won’t need much pruning. In the second year pick off flower buds again, and remove any diseased canes. The third year, remove diseased canes, but you can leave the flower buds on vigorous shoots. The fourth year, the plant should be able to handle full crop, but if you have some weak looking canes, thin out the buds to prevent over fruiting, which can cause permanent bending of canes from the weight.
Each year after harvest is completed cut plants back so that they don’t become too tall. Tall plants are more difficult to harvest for people; bears and birds probably won’t have that same problem.
If you have questions about pruning blueberries, contact you County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
What Holiday Is Today?
Just For Fun January 10, 2021
Today is National Houseplant Appreciation Day! This is the day for plant lovers to celebrate the plants that bring more life to our homes! Houseplants do more than bring some green to our homes, they also release oxygen into the air that helps improve air quality in our homes in addition to releasing moisture into the air that creates fresh humidity that makes your home feel cooler! To all the plant lovers out there, Happy National Houseplant Appreciation Day!
Some Honorable Mentions throughout the week include:
Monday: National Clean Your Desk Day
Wednesday: National Rubber Ducky Day
Thursday: National Dress Up Your Pet Day
Friday: National Bagel Day and National Hat Day
Christmas Cactus
Just For Fun December 20, 2020
Christmas cactus is a popular plant. They are one of the three plants that make up the holiday cacti. Thanksgiving cactus and Easter cactus are the other two. Each of these species typically blooms around the date of their respective holiday. Christmas cactus is a tropical plant, so they take a little extra care to be able to bloom at the right time. Let’s talk about Christmas cactus and how to take care of them.
Even though we call it a cactus, the Christmas cactus doesn’t like dry and hot conditions. They are native to the tropical rainforests of Brazil. That means that you need to water them more regularly than a true cactus or other succulents. Once the plant has set flower buds, you want to keep the soil evenly moist to keep the buds from falling off. Don’t overwater and waterlog the soil. During the spring and summer, you can let it run a bit drier.
During the warm months, you can leave Christmas cacti outside, so long as they are out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will burn them up. If you leave them outside, you need to be wary of a frost because freezing temperatures will kill them. Generally, if temperatures go below 50 they need to be brought inside. Too much direct sunlight can damage them inside too.
To fertilize them, begin when new growth starts. Usually, this is either late winter or early spring. Fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer such as 20-20-20. If you use liquid 20-20-20 dilute it to half strength. Fertilize once a month throughout the month. Christmas cacti need extra magnesium as well. So fertilize with Epsom salts once a month, but not the same week that you put out the general fertilizer. Fertilizer contains salts, if the concentration of salts is too high in the soil, the water will become unavailable to the plant. Mix the Epsom salts at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Stop all fertilizing in the late summer for better flower bud production in the fall.
Sometimes people are disappointed when their Christmas cactus doesn’t bloom around Christmas. The trick is that Christmas cacti are photosensitive, like many other plants. Photosensitive means that they will put on flower buds in response to changes in day length. Christmas cacti need at least 14 hours of continuous darkness in the fall to set buds. These long nights should start in September and continue for 6 weeks to complete the bud set. The darkness needs to be continuous. If the darkness is broken for 2 hours bud set will be inhibited.
You can prune them in the late spring to encourage more branching and flowers. Simply cut off a few pieces of stem. Those pieces of stem can be placed in potting soil and kept lightly moist. After a few weeks, they will root and you have a new plant.
If you have questions about the Christmas cactus contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Mistletoe
Just For Fun December 13, 2020
Around this time of year mistletoe is sometimes a popular decoration in people’s homes. You’ll see it hanging above doorways for use by romantically inclined couples. Nowadays you can buy plastic mistletoe at stores to put up in your house. Let’s talk about the effect that mistletoe can have on trees in the nature.
The origins of hanging mistletoe come from Norse mythology and Celtic Druids.
You can find mistletoe outside on trees year round as it is an evergreen plant. Usually in December it will become more noticeable because trees are bare after dropping their leaves. If you see a green bundle of leaves in the branches of tree around this time of year, chances are that it’s mistletoe. In the plant world mistletoe is considered a parasitic plant. Mistletoe will send its root, called the haustorium, into the bark of a host tree. The mistletoe will take nutrients and water from the host tree.
Mistletoe is usually found in the southern United States, because it is susceptible to freezing temperatures, ranging from Virginia over to Texas and down to Florida. It can infect more than 105 different species of trees. Some trees often infected by mistletoe are maples, buckeyes, birch, hickory, oaks, and a whole bunch more.
Mistletoe can be shaded out by surrounding branches. Therefore, fast growing trees that can cover mistletoe from above will have success in preventing infection.
Mistletoe creates a large draw for water and nutrients on the tree. Mistletoe will pull these things to itself away from the roots of the tree. This process can lead to a lot of stress on the tree, especially in a drought. Mistletoe tissue will have 1.6 times more nitrogen, 2.3 times more potassium, and 2.5 times more phosphorus than the host tree tissue. During times of drought mistletoe water and nutrient uptake from the tree will increase while the rest of the tree is in decline. Research has shown that moderately infected trees can have a 66% mortality rate after a severe drought period. Mistletoe is able to pull water from the tree more effectively than the tree can pull the water up.
Mistletoe infections can be very common. Trees that are taller than surrounding trees and trees that are not densely packed in with other trees are most likely to be infected. Infections will be begin at the top of the tree and move downward and inward over time. Advanced symptoms on the tree of infection can be branch die-back, reduced tree growth, increased stress, and in massive infestations, tree death.
Early intervention is critical when dealing with mistletoe infection. If you simply remove the mistletoe shoot it will mostly likely grow back, so repeated removal would be necessary. Pruning tree branches that are infected is an effective method of removing mistletoe. Remove the branch at least 14 inches below the point of infection. Ethephon is as chemical application that is a plant growth regulator that can be used to control mistletoe. Whenever you apply any chemical, read the label before application.
Control of mistletoe on old and socially significant trees can be important. Having a mistletoe infection does not necessarily mean that death is imminent for a tree, but mistletoe can have a drastic impact on the tree’s ability to thrive. If you have any questions about mistletoe contact your local Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
What is IPM?
Just For Fun November 29, 2020
IPM is a pretty big buzz phrase out there in agriculture right now. It stands for Integrated Pest Management. Integrated means that you employ several different types of strategies. Pest in this case can refer to insects, diseases, weeds, or any other thing out there that you don’t want messing with your plants. Management is important. It’s not Integrated Pest Eradication. Management means that an acceptable threshold is found for the pest. Depending on what the pest is and what type of damage its doing affects what is an acceptable threshold. For example, the threshold for kudzu growing in a gully or ditch will be much higher than kudzu encroaching on your yard.
Management in IPM comes from a combination of biological, cultural, mechanical, and chemical means. By using a combination of these practices, the idea is that pests can be managed to minimize economic, environmental, and public health risks. IPM is a long term management strategy where chemical control is used as a last resort.
Biological control is using natural enemies of a pest for control. Ladybugs are an excellent example because they eat a lot of other insects that feed on garden plants. Another example is that UGA and UNG are conducting research on beetles that will control the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid that is ravaging our hemlocks. Cultural controls can include watering practices. A lot of fungal diseases are encouraged by wet conditions. Another example of cultural control is selecting disease-resistant varieties to plant. An example of mechanical control is using traps for rodents or other pests to remove them. Mulch to prevent weeds from popping up is another example. Finally, chemical control involves spraying pesticides. When pesticides are applied they are used only where needed. Selective pesticides that are safest for the surrounding organisms are used.
Prevention of pest problems is a big part of IPM. When IPM is used on a large production scale quantitative thresholds will be set so that chemical sprays are used only when necessary. Spraying chemicals is not bad or disallowed when using IPM, you just try to be more conscientious of using sprays and use them sparingly. There are times and situations when biological, cultural, and mechanical aren’t effective and spraying is the only effective option of control available. The goal of IPM is to reduce the reliance on chemical applications for successful control.
You may already be using IPM without even realizing it. Using mulch around flower beds or drip irrigation to water can be IPM. If you have a fence around your garden to keep deer and other pests out that are part of IPM. Some ways that you could improve your use of IPM could be spraying insecticides when beneficial insects aren’t active. When planting look to see what disease resistance your seeds have or use plants that are from our area, oftentimes those will have natural resistance and be adapted to our climate.
The key to being successful with IPM is to be more conscientious of your surroundings and thinking long term. If you have questions about IPM contact your local county Extension Office or send me an email at [email protected].
Chinese Privet
Just For Fun, Lifestyle October 18, 2020
Written and Submitted By Jacob Williams
Chinese privet is an invasive weed that grows in leaps and bounds. It is capable of taking over large areas of land. The Georgia Forestry Commission consistently lists it at the top of their Dirty Dozen for non-native invasive plants. It can become a real problem in wooded areas, especially along wood lines and roadsides. Let’s talk about Chinese privet and how you can control it to keep it from overrunning our beautiful mountains.
Chinese privet was originally brought over to the U.S. in the mid-1800s to be used as a hedge. By the 1950’s it had taken over entire forests. Privet puts on berries that birds and wildlife eat who spread the seeds and start new plants. Once established, the privet shrub will send up shoots around it to create a dense thicket that will force out native plants.
First, let’s talk about how to identify it. Privet is a semi-evergreen to evergreen, which means that it’s a lot easier to identify it during the winter because everything else has lost its leaves. It has thin bark with opposite leaves that are glossy. In early May, it puts on small white flowers that have four petals. It grows as a shrub, but it can grow up into the size of a small tree. The berries that it puts on are small, about the size of your pinky fingernail, and dark blue in color.
So, let’s talk about controlling this invasive weed. For starters, it’s good to be aware that controlling Chinese privet is not a one and done kind of deal. Repeated applications of herbicide will most likely be required. Late fall is the best time to treat privet with herbicides.
Hand pulling is an option only when plants are very small. If the plant doesn’t come up easily, it’s most likely a lateral shoot off the main plant. In this case, the main plant needs to be removed. A weed wrench is a tool that can make hand pulling of plants more effective, by allowing you to hand pull bigger plants. Brush mulching will level thickets of privet, but because it doesn’t remove the roots, and regrowth will occur. However, that regrowth will be uniform, making it easier to control with herbicides.
The two main herbicides used to treat Chinese privet are glyphosate and triclopyr. There are a couple of different ways to make the application. A foliar application from a sprayer will work if you have a concentrated enough mix. Ready to use mixes are usually not strong enough. The issue with foliar applications is drift. Nearby plants will also be affected by glyphosate.
A couple of other options are cut stump and basal bark. Cut stump will require a saw for you to cut the plant down to just a couple of inches above ground level. Then apply the triclopyr or glyphosate at a strong concentration using a brush on directly onto the tree where the stump is exposed. It may be beneficial to include a dye spray indicator so that you can tell which stumps have been treated. Basal bark means using triclopyr ester at the base of the plant, spraying the herbicide in a ring on the base. Herbicide treatments work well with controlling privet, but they can still be time-consuming. Whenever applying any kind of pesticide always read and follow the label instructions.
If you have questions about privet control contact your local Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Lichen
Community, Just For Fun October 4, 2020
Have you seen moss growing on trees? Lichen is the term used for the blue green, papery growth that is often found on the bark of trees and other perennials. Sometimes folks are concerned over the growth of lichen, because they think it may be damaging their tree. Most of the time, this is not the case. Let’s talk about what lichens are, what causes them, and what you can do to control them, if necessary.
Lichens are really made up of a couple of different organisms. They usually will have fungus and algae. These organisms work together in a relationship that is mutually beneficial. Together these organisms produce the thallus, which is the leaf like growth that people see and recognize as lichen. Each organism has its own role in the relationship. The fungus provides a physical structure for growth, because the algae is slimy and has no structure. The fungus also provides water and minerals from the air or the material that the lichen is growing on. The algae are capable of photosynthesis, so they provide the carbohydrates needed for life. Some algae are also able to pull nitrogen from the atmosphere that the lichen need for development. Together they are able to combine and sustain life.
Lichens grow all over the world. Different species will grow on different surfaces. For instance lichen that you see on a rock will not grow on a tree. Different colors are also possible. Lichen will begin to grow more on a plant if that plant has lost some of its leaves. When leaves fall from a tree, more sunlight is able to penetrate to the branches and trunk of the tree that will enable the growth of more lichen. Lichen is an opportunistic grower, meaning that healthy, actively growing plants will not have as much lichen on them. If there is an abundant amount of lichen on a plant that means there could be something that is stressing your plant, allowing the opportunistic lichen to grow. That could be a nutritional deficiency, a root disease, or an insect pest among other things.
Lichen does not kill plants. An abundant amount of lichen can be an indicator that something else is affecting the plant. Because lichen doesn’t damage plants, I don’t like to recommend products to kill it. You can remove lichen manually by gently scraping it from the bark. If you see a tree that has a lot of lichen growing on it carefully examine the plant. Here are some things to look for. Has the plant already lost its leaves? Are there holes in the bark from insects boring? Has the plant been receiving enough water? Are the roots turning black or are there mushrooms growing around the base of the tree? These are all questions that will help you determine if your plant is in decline and get to the root of the issue.
If you have questions about lichen growing on your plants contact your County Extension Office or send me an email at [email protected].
Chrysanthemums
Community, Just For Fun September 27, 2020
Chrysanthemums, also called mums, are the Queen of Fall Flowers. They can have gorgeous flowers each fall and bring a lot of color to the home this time of the year. There are several nurseries around here that grow beautiful mums. Let’s talk about some of the properties of this plant and what you could do to have mums in your yard.
Mums are a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae). This is one of the biggest families in the plant kingdom with a wide variety of flowering plants. The mums were first cultivated in the 15th century B.C. in China. In the 8th century A.D., the mum made its way to Japan. They were so popular there that the mum became the official seal of the emperor. The mum was introduced to the Western world in 1753 by Karl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist. Growers from ancient China would probably not recognize modern-day mums due to the breeding that has given them more showy flowers. Chrysanthemum is also the source of an insecticide called pyrethrum. Because this insecticide is developed from a natural source it is considered an organic insecticide.
The easiest way to have blooming mums at your house each year will be to buy them in the fall from a local nursery. However, if you are interested in growing your own mums it is possible. There are many different varieties available, so talking with a local nursery will help you choose a variety that is acclimatized to our area. They do best when planted in the spring after the last frost. Planting in the spring will give them time to develop a root system so that the following winter they will be able to survive. Well-drained soils with full sun are the best for growth. Mums need a slightly acidic soil with a pH near 6.5.
After planting fertilize mums with 5-10-5 fertilizer. The high phosphorus will assist root growth on mums. As the mum is growing in the summer pinching the tips of the mum will increase the amount of branching on the plant. More branching will lead to a fuller plant. Pinch the top half-inch to a full inch of the plant to encourage branching. Pinch every four to six weeks until August when the flower buds begin to appear.
Mums are relatively easy to take care of, but there are a couple of diseases to look out for. Some of the most common diseases are powdery mildew, blight, leaf spot, and rust. These diseases are fairly easy to control either by fungicide applications or removing the infected leaves. Spider mites and aphids can be pests of mums. They can be controlled by insecticides but good coverage of the plant is necessary to control these pests. Spider mites and aphids are capable of population explosions in a very short amount of time, therefore make sure that you completely cover the top and bottom of the leaves when spraying for these pests.
If you have questions about growing mums please contact your local Extension Office. Or send me an email at [email protected].
Chiggers
Lifestyle September 6, 2020
Now is the time of year when chiggers are going to be most active. If you haven’t, then consider yourself fortunate, because you live a blessed life. Let’s talk about chiggers, what they are, and what you can do to protect yourself from them.
Some people call chiggers red bugs because they are tiny red mites that are less that 1/50th of an inch long. Chigger are mites that are still in their larval stage. The larval stage is the only one that bites. The other stages of the chigger life cycle either lay eggs or prey on small insects. Chiggers like to live in areas that are full of brush and debris. They can be found in leaf litter. If you have areas with tall grass, they’ll like that too. Chiggers mainly bite rodents and rabbits. So, if you have areas that make a good habitat for rodents and rabbits then there is a good chance that you’ll have mites as well. Female mites will lay their eggs in the late winter, which will hatch in the spring. Chiggers will reach peak population in mid-summer and remain active until fall. They’ll be killed off by a hard freeze.
Chiggers only bite, they don’t bury under the skin. When they bite they inject their saliva which has a skin dissolving enzyme in it. As your skin cells dissolve, they drink it up. The saliva that they inject causes irritation, which makes you itch. Chiggers can stay latched on for three or more days, so if you have a chigger bite it’s best to wash that spot with lather repeatedly, and then dab the spot with an antiseptic. That will kill most of the chiggers on you.
Chiggers typically like to bite in tight places. That means you’lloften get their bites underneath your socks, in your waist band, or armpits.
Chiggers are susceptible to dehydration. Therefore, they like to populate areas with shade and high humidity. Removing brush piles and leaves, keeping grass cut, and removing bushes will eliminate areas that they like to live. Blackberry bushes seem to be a particularly favorite habitat. Chiggers don’t like temperatures over 90 (I don’t blame them), so when our temperatures drop as summer ends, chiggers will become more active.
There are some chemicals that can be used as repellents or to kill chiggers. Products containing DEET will be effective at repelling chiggers, mosquitoes, biting flies, gnats, and ticks. You can also spray it on your clothing to keep them off your clothes. Oil of lemon eucalyptus can be used as a repellent, except for children under 3 years old. Products containing permethrin can be used on clothing to kill chiggers and ticks.
Chiggers are very aggravating to have, but hopefully this article has given you some options for how to deal with chigger bites and how to prevent them from getting on you. If you have questions about chiggers contact your county Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
On September 28 I will be hosting a Radon Education Program. This event will be virtual, but there is some limited in person seating available. Pre-registration is required for this free event. Call the Union County Extension Office at 706-439-6030 to pre-register.