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EMG Volunteer
Training Update The difficult
decision has been
made to cancel the
Fayette County
Extension
Master Gardener
Volunteer Training
for 2020.
We sincerely
appreciate all of the
interest and we do
hope that you will
consider applying
the next time it is
offered in Fayette
County.
Congrats, It’s a Baby Bagworm 2
Deadhead for Longer Bloom Times
3
Lawn Ants 4
I Got 99 Problems but Tomatoes Ain’t One
5
July Quick Tips 6
Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather! 7
Recipe: Farmer’s Market Skillet Bake
8
2020 Gardener’s Toolbox Registration Form
9
Inside this issue:
By The Yard Cooperative Extension Service
Fayette County Extension
1140 Harry Sykes Way
Lexington, KY 40504
Phone (859) 257-5582
Email: [email protected]
July, 2020
HORTICULTURE NEWSLETTER
Vegetables are producing, flowers are blooming, bugs are biting, and July is HERE! We hope June was nice to you and treated everyone well! We will continue to be here for you as we have been to answer any of your questions and help you in any way possible. You can catch us via phone or email, or you can stop by the office with your samples and questions, just ring the doorbell when you arrive.
For our programs and classes, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, each event is being handled differently than normal and each on a case by case basis. While you can still sign up for Gardener’s Toolbox classes, please plan on it being something other than an in-person class. For each class you are registered for, you will receive an email instructing you on the final details of how that class is being handled.
Please note that all of what we are doing, and everything we will be doing, is done so with keeping the safety of our clientele and our employees as the top priority. All decisions are made based on guidance from the University of Kentucky and while following all CDC guidelines. We do ask that you call the office when you arrive or ring the door bell and someone will be with you shortly.
Please continue to watch and interact with our social media to stay up to date! We appreciate your patience and understanding as we all continue navigating this situation.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Jamie Dockery, Fayette County Extension Agent for Horticulture, [email protected] Carrie Spry, Fayette County Horticulture Technician, [email protected]
Plan of action for Gardener’s Toolbox Classes
Managing Lawns Weeds - Thursday, July 9th : We will personally record a video that covers this topic thoroughly that will be available for you to view at your convenience. An email containing the video link will be sent closer to time.
Water Plants – Tuesday, June 28th : We will personally record a video that covers this topic thoroughly that will be available for you to view at your convenience. An email containing the video link will be sent closer to time. Each registered participant will also receive a small aquatic plant that would make a great addition to a new or existing water feature. You will be notified closer to time as to when that will be available for pick up.
Congrats, It’s a Baby Bagworm!
By The Yard Page 2
Bagworm season is upon us in Kentucky. Depending on where you live, the hatching could have occurred anywhere from just in the last few days to a couple of weeks ago. If you want to monitor for their emergence next year, you can use this handy emergence map made through the National Phenology Network.
Description, Damage & Hosts
As adults, bagworms are moths, but the destructive stage is the caterpillar. Unlike other caterpillars that you can see out in the open and feeding, the bagworm wears a tactical stealth sleeping bag that helps to camouflage it. The caterpillar creates the bag from silk it can produce itself and from the materials they find in their surroundings. This means that they can have pine needles, cut off chunks of leaves, even fruiting bodies attached to the bag (Figure 1). Some clients that spot the bag are confused at the number of pinecones or seed pods in their tree, not knowing their plant has been invaded. Bagworms are most
commonly found in evergreen trees and shrubs but also can infest deciduous trees. Some favorite hosts are arborvitae, juniper, pine, red cedar, and locust trees. Their damage causes defoliation but also bronzing in evergreens. While bagworm damage in one season is not usually enough to kill a plant, successive years of infestation and damage can prove deadly.
Insect Development
Bagworms overwinter as eggs inside of their mother’s bag. As the season progresses, the eggs accumulate degree days. Every day at or above a certain temperature counts as a degree day or days towards hatching. Once they reach their magic number (between 600 and 900 growing degree days), the eggs will hatch. After this, the caterpillars might re-infest the same plant that they were born in or they may “balloon” away to a new site. This means the caterpillar will crawl to the tip of a leaf and release a silk strand that catches the wind to help it find a new place to settle. Kite surfing baby caterpillar pioneers could have whizzed by you very recently! Their bags start small as you can see in Figure 2, but if you are paying close attention in spring, you can spot them.
As the summer progresses, bagworms will consume leaves around them to expand their bag. Eventually the bag will reach about 1.5 to 2 inches long. The caterpillar can be seen poking its head out of the bag and feeding
(Figure 3). If disturbed, it will withdraw inside the bag and are difficult to extract. By the end of the summer, the caterpillar will pupate and males will emerge as moths that flutter around looking for females. Females never fully become what we recognize as a moth. They are wingless and never leave the bag. They release a pheromone that attracts the males to them so mating can occur through the opening of their bag. Then females lay their eggs and
perish.
Figure 1: Bagworm bags are constructed out of what they find in the plant they have infested. This means
that different bags from different trees can have distinct appearances. (Photo: Jonathan Larson, UK).
Figure 2: Newly emerged bagworms are small and so are their bags. These caterpillars may either infest the plant they were born on or they balloon away to a new location. (Photo: Jody Green, Nebraska Extension).
Figure 3: A bagworm caterpillar feeding outside of its bag. The yellow arrow is pointing at its
head. This specimen is from later in the season, early August, and is larger than the bagworms
you would encounter now. (Photo: Jonathan Larson, UK).
Continued on Page 3
Figure 2: Newly emerged bagworms are small and so are their bags. These caterpillars may either infest the plant they were born on or they balloon away to a new location. (Photo: Jody Green, Nebraska Extension).
By The Yard Page 3
Congrats, It’s a Baby Bagworm! (continued)
caterpillar pests if used against the early instars.
Other options include Spinosad and Neem. If you miss this early window for control, the problem will be harder to deal with later in the season.
If you catch this in late July or August then you will have to resort to using a bifenthrin, carbaryl, or
Management
Managing bagworms is easiest at this point in the season.
If you notice the bags or know that you have a tree that was infested last year, you should consider purchasing a Bt-based product to control the young caterpillars. This is an organic option and very effective against
cyfluthrin product.
You can also wait until fall/winter and remove the bags by cutting them off the twig with a pair of shears and destroying the bagworm in soapy water. This will reduce the number of caterpillars that emerge the next year.
Source: Jonathan L. Larson, University of Kentucky, Entomology Extension
Deadhead for Longer Bloom Times In the garden, the practice of deadheading your plants can promote more blooms.
Plants live to reproduce, and the way they do that is through their flowers. When you remove dead blooms from a plant, you also remove their ovaries. Many plants then take the energy it would have used to produce seeds and put it into producing more flowers, hoping the next time you’ll leave it alone to do its job. Of course, if you want continuous bloom in the garden, you won’t.
From a purely aesthetic perspective, deadheading can improve the looks of your garden by reshaping plants and removing unsightly waste. Not all plants will rebloom after deadheading, such as daylilies and daffodils. In fact, deadheading is used more for annuals than for perennials. However, the practice can still benefit perennials by forcing them to put their energy into the bulb or rhizomes rather than into seed production. This often produces hardier plants that bloom more profusely next year.
Deadheading can also prevent reseeding, which can reduce your time spent weeding later. However, in late summer or early fall, allowing some plants, such as coneflowers, to form seeds can give overwintering birds and other wildlife an important food source.
Deadheading is an easy task and one that you can do as you stroll through your garden on a pleasant summer’s day. Simply pinch or cut off the dead bloom below the flower and above the first set of leaves. Do this to all the dead flowers on the plant. Some perennials, like dianthus, bloom profusely all at once, which means the flowers will fade at the same time. It’s often easier to deadhead these with shears, taking the top one or two inches off the stems. This can stimulate a second bloom, though it will not be as lush as the first bloom.
If you have multiple flowers on a stem, wait until all the flowers have faded, then cut back the main stem.
Some annuals, like petunia and
verbena that produce lots of blooms also present a problem when deadheading. It is tedious to remove all the spent blooms. Wait until a natural break in bloom, cut the plants back, and apply fertilizer (only to annuals not to perennials in summer). Make sure there is ample water after fertilization. Many annuals will respond by renewing growth and resuming flowering. Other annuals, like Wave petunias and Profusion zinnias often don’t need to be deadheaded. They will either continue to bloom without your help or are sterile and will not produce seed.
Some perennials that will benefit from deadheading include foxglove, bee balm, hollyhock, coreopsis, butterfly bush, lavender, salvia and scabiosa.
For more information about which plants can benefit from deadheading, contact the Fayette County Extension Office.
Source: Rick Durham, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture
By The Yard Page 4
Lawn Ants
Several species of ants are common landscape residents. They nest in places that meet their needs: suitable soil type and drainage, convenient food sources, and in some cases, sheltering rocks or logs. We most commonly share greenspace with field ants, pavement ants, and larger yellow ants. Mounds of soil excavated by ants make turf bumpy and smother grass around the openings (Figure 1).
Repeated strikes of tall mounds can dull mower blades. On the plus side, lawn ants rarely are household invaders. Their diets typically include live or dead insects and sweet substances, often honeydew collected from aphids and scale insects. Field ants and larger yellow ants are common species.
Types of Lawn Ants
Field Ants
Field ants resemble carpenter ants but nest in the soil rather than moist wood. The workers vary in color from black to red and shades in between. They forage widely for food so individuals can be seen on sidewalks, decks, and patios, but they only occasionally wander
indoors. Their low profile mounds may be 8” to 10” in diameter and can be next to walks or landscape timbers.
Yellow Ants
Larger yellow ants, also called foundation ants, go about their daily routine largely unnoticed. However, this changes when winged males and female reproductive swarm. Mating flights appear suddenly, often after a rain, and usually during late summer afternoons. Flying ants can be alarming, but this species does not nest in structures and is not interested in stored foods.
Yellow ants nest in soil, usually under rocks, around or along foundations, or in open areas in yards. They bring up large
amounts of soil as they excavate their below-ground galleries. The ¼-inch long wingless workers collect the sweet liquid waste (“honeydew”) produced by aphids and other sap-feeding insects that feed on plant roots.
Pavement Ants
Pavement ants are small, dark ants that prefer to nest under large rocks, sidewalks, and building slabs. Piles of fine soil particles near sidewalk cracks are their signature. These ants will carry almost any available food item back to their nest. This species will enter structures through cracks and crevices in search of food.
Managing Lawn Ants
Control of lawn ants is generally unnecessary unless they are entering the home or causing significant disruption in the landscape.
Eliminating Colonies
A colony often can be eliminated by spraying or drenching the nest location with a liquid insecticide such as Ortho Bug B Gon Insect Killer for Lawns (bifenthrin + z-cypermethrin), Spectracide Triazicide Lawn Insect Killer (g-cyhalothrin), and Bayer 24 Hour Grub Killer Plus (trichlorfon).
Large colonies will require greater amounts of liquid to move the insecticide throughout the network of underground galleries within the nest (using a bucket to apply the diluted insecticide concentrate is an
Figure 1. Ant mound (photo: University of Nebraska Extension)
Figure 2. Field ants (above) have an uneven thorax com-pared to the rounded thorax of a carpenter ant (Photo: University of Nebraska Extension)
Figure 3. Larger yellow ants are also called citronella ants because of the lemony odor released when crushed
(Photo: University of Nebraska Extension,
Continued on Page 4
By The Yard Page 5
Lawn Ants (continued)
effective method). Follow label directions for treating ant mounds, paying attention to precautions for mixing and application.
Another effective and convenient way to control some species of outdoor and indoor-nesting ants is with a granular bait product, such as Combat® Ant Killing Granules. Sprinkle the bait in small amounts beside outdoor ant mounds, along pavement cracks, and other areas where ants are nesting or trailing.
Reducing Entry into Residences
Ant entry into homes can be reduced by caulking around door
thresholds, windows, and openings where utility pipes and wires enter buildings.
Ant entry can further be reduced by spraying one of the above mentioned liquid insecticides around the outside perimeter of the building. Consider applying a 2- to 6-foot swath along the ground adjacent to the foundation, and a 2-to 3-foot band up the foundation wall. Also treat ant trails and points of entry into the home, such as around doors and where utility pipes and wires enter from outside.
Spraying Whole Lawn NOT Recommended
In Kentucky, spraying or applying granular insecticides to the entire yard is not recommended, and will seldom, if ever, solve an ant infestation indoors. Whole yard treatments also eliminate beneficial ants, which help to keep other damaging pests of lawns and gardens in check.
Source: Lee Townsend and Mike Potter, University of Kentucky, Extension Entomologists
I Got 99 Problems but Tomatoes Ain’t One
For all the joy and satisfaction that growing tomatoes can give a gardener, the frustration and aggravation can be equally as great! Several issues can plague the tomato grower. Here are a few non-disease problems:
Blossom drop can occur when nighttime temperatures are below 55°F. Rain can also hinder pollination and so can high humidity. Shaking the plant can encourage better fruit set by helping to release the pollen for pollination.
No fruit developing on the plant can be caused by too much nitrogen fertilization. In addition to no fruit development, plants that have had too much nitrogen fertilization will appear very large and dark green.
Leaf curling is caused by an
excessive amount of rain.
Blossom-end rot appears as a black leathery scar on the blossom end of the fruit. This is the end opposite where the tomato attaches to the vine. The most common cause of blossom-end rot is an inconsistency in soil moisture that leads to a calcium deficiency in the developing fruit. This is often times seen when we go from periods of really wet weather to periods of hot, dry weather. Correct by maintaining uniform soil moisture through mulching and irrigating. Mulching helps to retain moisture within the soil, it cools the soil and reduces the competition for water with weeds.
Fruit cracks usually occur during hot rainy periods (above 90°F), especially when preceded by a
long dry period. Fruits exposed to the sun are most susceptible.
Sunscald first appears as a yellow or white patch on the side of the fruit facing the sun. The spot may blister and dry, forming a paper-like surface. Poor foliage cover allows exposure to sun such as on pruned, staked tomatoes, sprawling plants, or unhealthy plants. Caging offers the best protection.
Blotchy ripening, the uneven development of color, may be due to temperatures below 60°F, root stress from compacted or soggy soil, or low levels of potassium in the soil. The fruits can still be used, simply cut away the poorly-colored areas.
Source: Amanda Sears, Agent for Horticulture, Madison Co. Cooperative Extension Service
By The Yard Page 6
July Quick Tips
Now is the time to plan and
plant a fall garden. Most plants
with shorter growing seasons can
be grown in the fall and often
produce better results. Allow a
little more time to mature than the
seed package says as cooler nights
will slow growth somewhat.
When watering, try to avoid
wetting foliage or watering late in
the evening as both can promote
disease.
Garden ponds will need to be
topped off regularly in the heat.
Make sure to use a de-chlorinator
every time to protect your fish.
Water lilies will benefit from
regular feeding. If you aren’t
getting many blooms feeding may
help.
Do not spray chemicals in the
heat of the day. Many plants can be
damaged. Spray in the early
morning or late evening when
temperatures are cooler.
Monitor evergreens for spider
mite damage. Drought stressed
plants are particularly at risk. If
you see signs of browning shake
the branch over a white surface, if
you see tiny moving red specks
you likely have mites. Minor
infestations can be treated with a
daily spray from the hose. Larger
problems may need chemical
control.
Remove spent blooms from
flowering annuals and perennials
to promote more bloom.
If your late blooming
perennials (Asters, Goldenrod,
Butterfly bush, Mums, etc.) are
already tall and threatening to flop,
prune them back to 1’ in height.
This will result in a fuller, sturdier
plant that will bloom slightly later
than normal.
Don’t forget to register for 2020 Gardeners Toolbox Classes. A condensed registration form is enclosed in this edition of “By The Yard” newsletter. For a detailed listing of the 2020 Gardener’s Toolbox class, visit: http://fayette.ca.uky.edu/files/ gardeners_toolbox_2020.pdf or call (859) 257-5582 to have a copy mailed to you. You can now register and pay online for classes visit: http://fayette.ca.uky.edu/ registration
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Fayette County Cooperative Extension
Horticulture
Japanese Beetle
doomsday is here!!
Emergence is now
underway! Check out ENTFACT-
451,
https://entomolo-
gy.ca.uky.edu/ef451
By The Yard Page 7
Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather!
Learn about heat-related illness and how to stay cool and safe in hot weather.
High temperatures kill hundreds of people every year. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet more than 600 people die from extreme heat every year.
Take measures to stay cool, remain hydrated, and keep informed. Getting too hot can make you sick. You can become ill from the heat if your body can’t compensate for it and properly cool you off. The main things affecting your body’s ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather are:
High humidity. When the humidity is high, sweat won’t evaporate as quickly. This keeps your body from releasing heat as fast as it may need to.
Personal factors. Age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use all can play a role in whether a person can cool off enough in very hot weather.
Those who are at highest risk include people 65 and older, children younger than two, and people with chronic diseases or mental illness.
Closely monitor people who depend on you for their care and ask these questions:
Are they drinking enough water?
Do they have access to air conditioning?
Do they need help keeping cool?
People at greatest risk for heat-related illness can take the following protective actions to prevent illness or death:
Stay in air-conditioned buildings as much as you can. Contact your local health department or locate an air-conditioned shelter in your area. Air-conditioning is the number one way to protect yourself against heat-related illness and death. If your home is not air-conditioned, reduce your risk for heat-related illness by spending time in public facilities that are air-conditioned and using air conditioning in vehicles.
Do not rely on a fan as your main cooling device during an extreme heat event.
Drink more water than usual and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.
Check on a friend or neighbor and have someone do the same for you.
Don’t use the stove or oven to cook—it will make you and your house hotter.
Even young and healthy people can get sick from the heat if they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot weather:
Limit your outdoor activity, especially midday when the sun is hottest.
Wear and reapply sunscreen as indicated on the package.
Pace your activity. Start activities slow and pick up the pace gradually.
Drink more water than usual and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink more. Muscle cramping may be
an early sign of heat-related illness.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
If you play a sport that practices during hot weather, protect yourself and look out for your teammates:
Schedule workouts and practices earlier or later in the day when the temperature is cooler.
Monitor a teammate’s condition, and have someone do the same for you.
Seek medical care right away if you or a teammate has symptoms of heat-related illness.
Learn more about how to protect young athletes from heat-related illness by taking this CDC course, https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/extreme/
heat_illness_training.htm .
Everyone should take these steps to prevent heat-related illnesses, injuries, and death during hot weather:
Stay in an air-conditioned indoor location as much as you can.
Drink plenty of fluids even if you don’t feel thirsty.
Schedule outdoor activities carefully.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing and sunscreen.
Pace yourself.
Take cool showers or baths to cool down.
Check on a friend or neighbor and have someone do the same for you.
Never leave children or pets in cars.
Check the local news for health and safety updates.
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
For More Plate It Up
Recipes, Visit: http://fcs-
hes.ca.uky.edu/content/
plate-it-kentucky-proud
FAYETTE
COUNTY
EXTENSION
OFFICE
WILL BE
CLOSED
FRIDAY,
JULY 3, 2020
2020 GARDENER’S TOOLBOX
REGISTRATION FORM
Name: _________________________Phone: _____________E-Mail:_______________________
Address: ______________________________City: ______________State: ____ Zip: _________
TOTAL Amount Enclosed $ ________
NOW AVAILABLE - Register and pay online for Gardener’s Toolbox classes if you
would like at: http://fayette.ca.uky.edu/registration
IMPORTANT REMINDERS!
Sign up early for classes to avoid being turned away because class is full. ALL classes, including the “Free” ones are “PRE-REGISTRATION” only. If you need to cancel, you must do so 2 weeks prior to the class time to
receive a refund or credit for a different class. If handouts and/or plants are not picked up 3 days after class, items will be
donated. Please make check payable to: Fayette County Master Gardener Association
Mail To: Gardener’s Toolbox ~ Fayette County Extension Office
1140 Harry Sykes Way ~ Lexington, KY 40504
For more information, call (859) 257-5582
~ 2020 GARDENER’S TOOLBOX CLASSES ~
Class and Time Class and Time
Thursday, 7/9/20: Managing Lawn Weeds, Cost: Free Tuesday, 7/28/20: Water Plants, Cost: $10.00
Thursday, 8/13/20: Low Maintenance Lawn Care, Cost:
Free
Tuesday, 8/25/20: Dividing Perennials, Cost: $5.00
Thursday, 9/10/20: Japanese Iris, Cost: $20.00 Tuesday, 9/22/20: Garden Worthy KY Native
Perennials, Cost: $10.00
Thursday, 10/8/20: Minor Bulbs, Cost: $20.00 Tuesday, 10/27/20: Stump the Hort. Agent, Cost: Free
Thursday, 11/12/20: Common Garden Mistakes,
Cost: Free
Thursday, 11/19/20: Begonias, Cost: $10.00
Thursday, 12/10/19: My Favorite Garden Tools,
Cost: $5.00
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
Lexington, KY
PERMIT 112
Newsletter
Enclosed
Fayette
County
“By the Yard”
Fayette County Cooperative Extension 1140 Harry Sykes Way Lexington, KY 40504-1383
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an
Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education
and employment and authorization to provide research,
education information and other services only to individuals
and institutions that function without regard to economic or
social status and will not discriminate on the bases of race,
color, ethnic origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy,
marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or
physical or mental disability. Inquiries regarding compliance
with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Title IX of the Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act and other related matter should be
directed to Equal Opportunity Office, College of Agriculture,
Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Room
S-105, Agriculture Science Building, North Lexington,
Kentucky 40546.
Jamie Dockery
County Extension Agent for Horticulture Cooperative Extension Service
Fayette County Extension Service 1140 Harry Sykes Way
Lexington, KY 40504-1383 (859) 257-5582
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
AND KENTUCKY COUNTIES, COOPERATING
