Coopera Agriculture and Horticulture Newsletter and Horticulture Newsletter SPRING 2017 KENTON COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Source: Ray Smith, UK Extension Forage Specialist Tall fescue,

We hope you enjoy this joint Agriculture and Hor culture newsle er, and we look forward to seeing you at our Ag and Hort programs this spring.

Extension Agent for Hor culture Educa on—Kenton County

Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resource Educa on—Kenton County

Coopera ve Extension Service Kenton County 10990 Marshall Rd. Covington, KY 41015 (859) 356‐3155 Fax: (859) 356‐0363 extension.ca.uky.edu

Agriculture and Horticulture Newsletter

SPRING 2017

KENTON COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

Source: Ray Smith, UK Extension Forage Specialist

Tall fescue, specifically Kentucky 31, is a cool‐season grass that is widely grown throughout Kentucky and the eastern United States, because it is resistant to many

unfavorable condi ons includ‐ing drought toler‐ance and insect resistance. How‐ever, the very reason for its resiliency is also its Achilles heel. It contains a harm‐ful fungal endo‐phyte that causes fescue toxicosis in ca le and horses.

Affected animals get sick, have reduced weight gains, repro‐duc ve problems and other issues.

In recent years, researchers have learned how to intro‐duce beneficial or novel endophytes into tall fescue varie‐es. These novel endophytes do not cause fescue toxicosis,

but allow a variety to have vigorous growth and improved drought and insect resistance. Six novel endophyte tall fes‐cue varie es are already available on the market. This fall, seed will be available for the University of Kentucky‐developed novel endophyte variety Lacefield MaxQ II.

WinterFruitTreeCareSource: John Strang, UK Extension Fruit Specialist

During the winter months, home orchard owners need to protect their fruit trees from rabbits and voles. But hold off on any pruning un l a er the worst of the cold, winter weather has passed.

Rabbits and voles injure fruit trees by chewing the bark from the lower trunk and por ons of the roots. This damage may kill or severely weaken the trees.

If grass has grown up around the base of the trees, it should be removed so as not to provide cover for rabbits and voles. If your trees are mulched, pull the mulch back for five to six inches at the base of the trunk to keep the rodents away.

Pick up and discard any fruit that remains beneath the trees to avoid a rac ng the rodents. Cleaning up fruit from the ground should be a part of annual fall and winter orchard cleanup.

Finally, install rodent guards around the lower trunk. These may be plas c wrap guards that are commercially available.

Lacefield MaxQ II is a novel endophyte tall fescue variety developed at UK.

Photo: Katie Pratt, UK Ag Communications

Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2

Establishing a pasture with a novel endophyte tall fes‐

cue variety is a process that will require you to have a good first‐year management plan, especially if you are conver ng a pasture or hayfield that contains Kentucky 31 tall fescue.

In the spring, you should prevent toxic fescue from producing a seedhead. Either graze the pasture every me seedheads emerge or harvest for hay. Some farmers use a combina on of grazing and mowing to remove seedheads. Then spray with a high rate of glyphosate to kill the exis ng toxic fescue. Do a soil test and apply fer lizer and lime ac‐cording to the results. Drill a summer annual forage into this killed‐out sod or cul vate and plant for an even more pro‐duc ve stand.

In the summer, graze animals on the summer annual forage or harvest it for hay or silage.

In the late summer, graze the summer forage closely or harvest it one last me for hay or silage. Apply another ap‐plica on of glyphosate and apply fer lizer as recommended. Some farmers skip the summer annual and just make two to three glyphosate applica ons four to six weeks apart. Next use a no‐ ll drill to seed your new novel endophyte variety between late August and late September.

During the first winter, don’t graze the seedling pas‐ture, and make sure that you never feed hay on this pasture that contains seedheads of KY‐31 tall fescue.

In your second year, you want to apply fer lizer in the spring, as recommended, and wait un l the plants are 8 inches high and firmly anchored to graze it. You can graze for short periods, but make sure you maintain a pasture height between 3 and 10 inches. For further recommenda‐ons beyond the first year, contact the Kenton County Ex‐

tension office. UK is offering a workshop to give producers more in‐

forma on on incorpora ng novel endophyte tall fescue vari‐e es into their forage and livestock opera ons. The Tall Fes‐cue Renova on Workshop is March 9 at the UK Veterinary Diagnos c Lab and Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sign up at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.

The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age,

sex, religion, disability, or national origin.

To file a complaint of discrimina on, contact Tim West UK

College of Agriculture, 859‐257‐3879; Terry Allen or

Pa y Bender, UK Office of Ins tu onal Equity and Equal

Opportunity, 859‐257‐8927; or the USDA, Director Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326‐W Whi en Bldg., 14th &

Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250‐9410 (202‐

720‐5964).

Home orchard owners can also construct their own guards using quarter inch hardware cloth. The guards should cover the trunk to a height of 18 inches and encircle the trunk. Dur‐ing the winter months, inspect the ground around the trees for tunnels in the grass or holes indica ng vole ac vity. Use snap traps when vole ac vity is noted.

Prior to spring growth, prune out dead and diseased wood. Pruning increases air movement within the tree canopy, poten ally reduces pest problems, improves spray coverage, and promotes high‐quality fruit produc on. Late February, March, or early April usually is the best me to prune.

Vegetables to Plant in March*

Those of you who want to get a jump on the garden can plant soon if the garden is ready. Peas and spinach can go in as early as March 1st! The soil temperature should be at least 40 °F, however, or seeds will rot. Soil should not be worked if it is overly wet and cold.

Vegetable Earliest Safe Planting Dates

Asparagus (crowns) 15-Mar

Beets 15-Mar

Cabbage 25-Mar

Carrots 20-Mar

Chard 20-Mar

Collards 10-Mar

Kale 20-Mar

Kohlrabi 20-Mar

Lettuce (leaf) 25-Mar

Lettuce (bibb plants) 25-Mar

Lettuce (head plants) 25-Mar

Onions (sets) 10-Mar

Onions (plants) 25-Mar

Onions (seed) 20-Mar

Parsley 20-Mar

Parsnips 20-Mar

Peas 1-Mar

Irish Potatoes 15-Mar

Radishes 10-Mar

Rhubarb (crowns) 10-Mar

Rutabaga 10-Mar

Snow Peas 1-Mar

Spinach 1-Mar

Turnips 10-Mar

Taken from ID‐128, Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky *Dates are for central and northern Kentucky

Calving season will be here before we know it. Providing sound management during that time can mean more live calves, which translates to more profit for you.

It is important to have a short calving period to allow frequent observation and assistance if needed. Some specific things a producer can do to limit calf loss include:

Separate first-calf heifers from mature cows. Calving difficulty can run as high as 30 to 40 percent for 2-year-old heifers compared to just 3 percent for mature cows. Place them in a small, accessible pasture near a corral where assistance can be given if needed.

Provide a clean area

for calving. The calving area should be a well-sodded pasture or clean, dry maternity pen, not a wet, muddy lot. It should also be large enough for adequate exercise and offer protection from prevailing winds.

Be familiar with the signs of calving. Within a few hours of calving, cows generally become nervous and uneasy. As contractions increase, a cow will likely wander away from the rest of the herd.

Check cows frequently. Observing cows three or four times a day and providing assistance when necessary results in more live calves. However, cows should be disturbed as little as possible during labor.

Know when a cow

needs assistance. Intervention is justified when two or three hours have passed without progress or if delivery has not occurred within 90 minutes after the water sac appears. In a normal delivery, the calf’s front legs and head will appear first.

There are also a few steps to take after the calf is born to help it get off to a good start. These include making sure the calf is breathing normally after it is delivered and that it consumes colostrum. Ideally, a calf should consume its first milk within 15 to 30 minutes after birth.

Immediately after calving, increase the cow’s energy intake to about 16 pounds of total digestible nutrients per day. The extra energy will help the cow produce enough milk for her calf and allow her to rebreed on schedule.

For more information on

beef cattle production and management, contact the Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service.

Source: Les Anderson, UK Extension Beef Specialist

Source: Richard Durham, Extension Hor culture Specialist

5. Grow vegetables that will produce the maximum amount of food in the space available. 6. Plant during the correct season for the crop. Choose varie es recommended for your area. 7. Harvest vegetables at their proper stage of maturity. Store them promptly and properly if you do not use them immediately.

A well‐planned and properly kept garden should pro‐duce 600 to 700 pounds of produce per 1,000 square feet and may include many different crops.

Finally, the closer the vegetable garden is to your back door, the more you will use it. You can see when your crops are at their peaks and can take maximum advantage of their freshness. Also, keeping up with the plan ng, weeding, watering and pest control will be easier.

For more guidance on planning your 2017 vegetable garden, contact Kenton County Coopera ve Extension or download the publica on, “Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky (h p://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf) from the Web.

Soon you’ll be receiving seed catalogs for the 2017 veg‐etable‐growing season. While listening to the cold wind blow outside, what a comfort it is to think about spring and sum‐mer and planning your garden.

To make the most of your garden, every aspiring gar‐dener should follow seven steps to have a successful garden‐ing season. 1. Plan your garden on paper before you begin. 2. Select a good gardening site that has full of sun for at least eight hours each day, rela vely level, well‐drained, close to a water source and not shaded. 3. Prepare the soil properly and add fer lizer and lime according to soil‐test recommenda ons. 4. Plan only as large a garden as you can easily maintain. Beginning gardeners o en overplant, and then they fail because they cannot keep up with the tasks required. You’ll have to control weeds and pests, apply water when needed and harvest on me. Vegetables harvested at their peak are tasty, but when le on the plants too long, the flavor is simply not the best.

occurred in Europe, the dif-ferent varieties were devel-oped in the United States, with the possible exception of the White Holland.

Many options are avail-able for those interested in starting a small flock of tur-keys. If fast growth and good feed efficiency are im-portant, the commercial strains of turkey are your best option. The Midget White, a smaller version of the Broad-Breasted White, is well suited for small farms.

If you are looking at raising heritage turkeys there are several varieties to choose from. The Bourbon Red was developed in Ken-tucky and is suitable for small flocks.

If you would like to enter your turkeys in poultry shows, purebred varieties are required. Choose one of the eight varieties recog-nized by the American Poul-try Association in their Standard of Perfection. The Royal Palm turkey is primar-ily an ornamental variety, but any of the other varieties are well suited to the small flock.

The North American wild turkey is the species from which all domesticated varieties of turkeys origi-nated. The Ocellated tur-key, sometimes called the Mexican turkey, is native to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Raising wild turkeys is illegal in some states, including Kentucky. The prohibition includes domestic strains of wild birds. The law is meant to protect native populations.

The wild turkey was first domesticated by the Aztecs. Turkeys provided a source of protein and the feathers were used for decorative purposes. Very little genetic selection was used with these early domesticated turkeys. The explorers took these tur-keys back to Europe with them.

After some early genetic selection in Europe, these turkeys were re-introduced into America with the first set-tlers. While the initial genetic selection of domesticated wild turkeys

A young male turkey is called a Jake and a young female is called a Jenny, while a baby turkey is a poult. Older females are called hens and older males are called toms. Adult males are sometimes called gob-blers.

Turkeys have brightly colored growths on their throat called caruncles and a flap of skin that hangs over their beak called a snood. They also have a wattle, which is a flap of skin under the beak. You will see all of these things turn bright red when a tom is upset or courting a female.

As turkeys get older it is easier to tell the toms from the hens. Toms are typically larger overall than hens and have larger snoods and caruncles than the females.

There are two species of turkeys, both native to the Americas: the North Ameri-can (Meleagris gallopavo) and the Ocellated (Meleagris ocellata) turkey.

Turkeys are raised only for meat. They are not raised for egg production, as with chickens, ducks and quail. As a result, turkeys do not produce very many eggs.

The most common type of commercial turkey raised in the United States is the Broad-Breasted White. It has a larger breast than the other varieties of turkeys.

The term heritage tur-keys refers to naturally mat-ing turkey breeds native to the Americas. These varie-ties date back to early Colo-nial times. They are Belts-ville Small White, Bourbon Red, Jersey Buff, Narragan-sett, Royal Palm, Slate, Standard Bronze and White Holland. Heritage turkeys grow at a much slower rate than Broad-Breasted Whites. The result is a smaller bird but one with a more balanced dark-to-white meat ratio; a more intense, sometimes gamey flavor; and a thicker layer of fat surrounding the breast.

Winter Equipment Maintenance

By Andrew Rideout

Just because it is cold outside, that doesn’t mean your lawn and landscape work is complete. There are many chores that can, and should be done during the winter months. Cold weather is the me to service your tools and power equipment, build a new compost bin, calibrate your sprayer, or even iden fy some winter annuals for proper control methods later.

Star ng your mower, ller, weed eater, or blower next spring can be easy with a few winter prepara ons. Gasoline breaks down over me, leaving a gummy residue inside your equipment’s carburetor and fuel tank. When you start up your equipment in the spring, this residue gets sucked into ny holes inside the carburetor called “jets” and stops them up. When this happens, it takes a skilled mechanic to clean the tank and carburetor. To prevent this, always drain fuel and add a fuel stabilizer to the tank. Pull the cord or turn the engine a couple of revolu ons to work the stabilizer through the fuel system for best protec on.

Many mes our equipment gets neglected during the year while it is used regularly. Winter is the best me to make sure you have a fresh oil change. Drain the oil using the drain plug typically on the side or underside of the engine. Add new oil per the manufacturer’s recommenda ons and change filter if applicable. Make sure you dispose of oil properly, and do not leave the equipment without oil (you might forget to add it in the spring causing serious damage to the engine).

Air filters are o en overlooked and arguably, the most important maintenance item on many pieces of equipment. A precise mixture of air and fuel is needed for combus on engines to run smoothly. The air filter will ensure only clean, dust free air enters the combus on chamber. Many filters are disposable and will need to be replaced, but some are the washable sponge type. Wash them with warm water and a small amount of soap; rinse and allow to dry thoroughly; and then add a li le engine oil to the sponge. This will allow the filter to collect dirt and debris even be er! If you use your equipment in a dusty environment, you probably should clean it much more o en.

Look over all of your equipment for signs of wear. O en, cables get worn or rusty. A li le lubrica ng oil will help tremendously on rusty cables before they get too s ff and break. Check for debris built up in the nes on your ller or around the blade(s) of your mower. A clean piece of equipment is a happy piece of equipment. Engines produce a lot of heat which wears on the metal and decreases their lifespan. A dirty engine retains more heat than a clean one. Take some me to clean debris and built up grime from all surfaces.

Winter is a great me to take a look at the underside of you mower. Grab the blade and push it up and down opposite the direc on it turns. If you feel movement, you could have bearings bad in the spindle. Repairing them now will prevent even costlier repairs later.

Many of these maintenance items are fairly simple and will add to the useful life to your equipment. Some maintenance now will prevent the need for costly repairs later. If you find problems that you are familiar with, make sure to get some expert advice from a local repair shop. Whether you do it yourself or have a repair shop do it, take a few hours this winter and take care of the equipment that takes care of your lawn and gardens!

DATE TIME MEETING LOCATION CAIP

2/22/2017 6:30 pm Beef Quality Assurance Kenton County Extension

3/13/2017 6:30 pm Backyard Poultry Basics with Dr. Jacqueline Jacob

Campbell County Extension

3/21/2017 6:30 pm Backyard Poultry Produc on with Dr. Jacqueline Jacob

Kenton County Extension

3/21 & 3/22 TBS Beginner Sheep Shearing School For more informa on contact, Dr. Don Ely, (859) 257‐2717; email: [email protected]

C. Oran Li le Research Center 1171 Midway Road Versailles, KY

3/24/2017 9:00 am Direct Marke ng, Principles: Farmers Markets Campbell County Extension

3/25/2017 9:00 am Indoor Tilapia, Shrimp, and Aquaponics Program

Kentucky State University Aquaculture Research Center

3/31/2017 9:00 am Direct Marke ng, Principles: C.S.A., On‐Farm Retail and Agritourism


4/4/2017 TBA Eweprofit III School For more informa on contact, Dr. Don Ely, (859) 257‐2717; email: [email protected]


4/7/2017 9:00 am Bringing Local Products to Local Consumer Markets


4/10/2017 6:30 pm ‐ 9:00 pm

Living Along a Water Shed Is Everyone’s Issue Presenter: Chad Von Gruenigan, Licking River Basin Coordinator


5/15‐5/18, 2017

TBA Breeding Sheep Sale For more informa on contact, Dr. Don Ely, (859) 257‐2717; email: [email protected]


6/13/2017 TBA Eweprofit I School For more informa on contact, Dr. Don Ely, (859) 257‐2717; email: [email protected]


10/10/2017 6:30 pm Nutri on for Fall Calves Dr. Jeffrey Lehmkuhler, UK Specialist


10/10/2017 TBA Eweprofit II School For more informa on contact, Dr. Don Ely, (859) 257‐2717; email: [email protected]


10/19/2017 10 am ‐ 3:00 pm

Chain Saw Safety Watch for Upcoming Details


Don’t forget to Register for Any/All Mee ngs by calling Kenton County Extension: (859) 356‐3155 or ONLINE at: kentoncountyextension.org

Upcoming Agriculture Classes

Saturday, February 25, Boone County Extension

9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m.

Taking Root’s 4th Annual Great Tree Summit

Register at: h p://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07edn2yyrk4edba615&llr=zuyhlezab

Thursday, March 9, Boone County Extension

7:15 a.m.— 2:45 p.m.

Public Workers’ Tree Seminar

All‐day workshop for those interested in our trees and how to keep

them healthy. $25 includes lunch.

Register at: h p://www.nkyurbanforestry.org/public‐workers‐tree‐

seminar.html

Tuesday, March 14, Durr Center, Marshall Road

7:00‐8:30 p.m.

Growing Tomatoes in Containers

Cost: $5.00 which will include containers, po ng media, and seeds.

Saturday, March 25; Big Bone Lick State Park

9:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.

Reforest Kentucky. The Northern Kentucky Urban Forestry Council’s annual tree day Register at: h p://www.nkyurbanforestry.org/reforest‐nky.html

Tuesday, April 11, Erlanger Branch Library 2:00‐3:00 p.m.

Growing Tomatoes in Containers For Families Learn how to grow tomatoes in containers for your porch or balco‐ny. Par cipants will plant a 6‐pack to take home and grow. Regis‐ter one person per family. Cost $1.00.

Friday, April 21, Covington Library 10:00‐11:30 a.m.

Earth Day Seed Giveaway

Saturday, April 22, Kentonlands Branch Library 12:30 –2:00 p.m.


Saturday, April 22; Independence Branch Library 10:00‐11:30 a.m.


Kentucky State’s Third Thursday: Every third Thursday, we will be offering a fieldtrip down to Kentucky State in Frankfort for

demonstra ons on various topics. The fieldtrip will be all day, and will include lunch. It’s free, too!

Contact Michele Stanton or Dan Allen if you are interested.

March 16: Goats

April 20: USDA, NRCS programs

Thursday, March 30; Edgewood Senior Center 4:00—8:00 p.m.

Farmer’s Fare Open House! Come and discover how you can become a supporter of local farm families. Meet local farmers, learn about the local farmer’s mar‐kets. Learn how you can have fresh locally grown produce be part of your family diet. Door Prizes! Free Samples! Demonstra ons!

Fare for the Fair

Do you grow the most unusual vegetables, the pre est zinnias, or the largest pumpkins around? Plan now to enter your home‐grown flowers, fruits or vegetables in the Kenton County Fair! More than 100 kinds of flowers, fruits, vegetables and agricultural products are eligible for entry. Call Michele Stanton for more informa on on what you can submit and what the judges look for.

The Season for Snow & Ice

By Dr. Bill Fountain

Like it or not, winter brings the damaging effects of snow and ice to trees and shrubs. Wet snows are bad, but freezing rain is o en worse. Ice storms typically start as warm rain falls through rapidly cooling air at ground level. This results in rain quickly turning to ice on all exposed surfaces. Freezing rain is especially serious on evergreens and deciduous species that have not shed all their foliage. Ice is heavy. A half inch on a power line can weigh 500 pounds. For trees this can amount to a weight increase of 30 mes. Correc ve pruning and replacement are the only solu ons once breakage has occurred. But, are there op ons to prevent breakage? The natural tendency is to protect plants by shaking the ice and snow from the branches. Unfortunately this can cause long‐term damage. As ice bends the branches, fluids in conduc ve ssues are s ll liquid. Only later do they freeze. Shaking damages the conduc ve tubes and results in air pockets called embolisms or cavita on that will never again be able to conduct water and mineral elements. The result is that plants become stressed, grow poorly, and suffer desicca on making them more likely to be a acked by diseases and insects. The best recommenda on for plants covered in wet snow or ice is to do nothing. If branches are in imminent danger of breaking, ice can be melted with cold water from a sprinkler. (Warm or hot water damages plants.) Using cold water to melt ice is with the understanding that both will refreeze on the ground. This should never be used where ice is likely to accumulate on walks or roads.

Plan Your Spring Garden Now by Anthony R Tacke

Each year new people get into vegetable gardening. Success or failure of home vegetable produc on can

depend on many things, but some major reasons for failure are negligence, not following the proper

instruc ons and not keeping up with current vegetable developments.

When planning a garden, it is important to ask a few basic ques ons:

Who will be doing the work? Will the garden be a group project with family and friends, or will you be going at it alone? Remember that a small weed‐free garden will produce more than a large, weedy mess.

What do you and your family like to eat? Although the pictures in the garden catalog look delicious, there is no value in taking up gardening space with vegetables that no one eats. Make a list of your family’s favorite vegetables, ranked in order of preference. This will be a useful guide in deciding how much of each vegetable to plant. Successive plan ngs of certain crops such as beans can be harvested over a longer period of me and increase your yield. As you plan, list recommended varie es and plan ng dates.

How do you plan to use the produce from your garden? If you plan to can, freeze, dry or store part of the produce, this will be a factor not only in planning the size of the garden, but also in selec ng varie es. Some varie es have much be er keeping quality than others. Care should be used in choosing the seeds, making sure the varie es you select are adapted to your area and intended use.

Finally, how much space is available? How much area can be converted into usable garden space, and how much garden do you need? Do not plant more garden than you need.

Addi onal Planning Hints

Plan the garden on paper first. Draw a map showing arrangement and spacing of crops. If you wish to keep the garden growing all season, you may need a spring, summer and fall garden plan.

Plan the garden and order seeds by January or February. Some plants may be started indoors as early as January.

In your plan, place tall and trellised crops on the north side of the garden so they will not shade the shorter vegetables.

Group plants by length of growing period. Plant spring crops together so that later crops can be planted in these areas a er the early crops mature. Consider length of harvest as well as me to maturity. Place perennial crops to the side of the garden where they will not be disturbed by annual llage. Finally, prac ce crop rota on. Try not to plant the same vegetable or a related vegetable in the same loca on year a er year.

Documents

Coopera Agriculture and Horticulture Newsletter and Horticulture Newsletter SPRING 2017 KENTON COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Source: Ray Smith, UK Extension Forage Specialist Tall fescue,