April 2008

Goat Field Day

April 19^th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at McElroy Acres Farm, 412 Leeport Road, Milton, Ky.  Lunch will be provided by the North Central KY Goat Producers Association, so please call to make a reservation at 268-9321 or the Trimble County Extension Office at 255-7188 to ensure enough food is available.  Topics to be covered: kidding problems encountered after the drought, hands-on body conditioning scoring of goats and grading kids, demonstration of grooming and showing goats for 4-H and FFA followed by an opportunity to have questions answered by an individual who judges 4-H wethers, goat nutrition, and a goat cheese making demonstration.  All 4-H and FFA age participants can participate in a drawing for a kid give away.  The winner must have parental permission to have the goat.

Directions to Field Day:

Take US 421 N from Bedford, travel 4.2 miles, turn LEFT onto Bedford-Milton Pike, (also referred to as the Crossroads), Travel 1.4 miles on Bedford-Milton Pike, turn left onto Leeport Road.  Travel .4 miles.  There is a large pond next to the house.  Goat Field Day signs will be posted.  

Pest control options abound during growing season

            The return of gardening season also signals the return of insect pests that prey upon vegetables. University of Kentucky Entomologist Ric Bessin offers some helpful suggestions to effectively manage these pests during the growing season.

Many insects become active when the average daily temperature reaches 45 degrees or so. They tend to emerge first in the southwest part of the state and move northeast, reaching Trimble County seven to 14 days after first emergence. 

When most people think of insect control, they think of insecticides first, but that shouldn’t always be the case.  There are many situations where you have additional options.

            The best pest management options for gardeners vary, depending on the types of vegetables a person grows. One of the simplest, low cost forms of pest control that small home gardeners can do involves people going out to their gardens in early morning with a bucket containing soapy water. This is the time of the day when many of the insects are sluggish and have slow reaction times. So, you have the opportunity to easily knock the insects off the plants and drop them into the bucket. The soapy water kills the insects almost immediately.

Prolonged cold periods possibly could reduce the numbers of some insects, such as flea beetles, that overwinter on top of the soil in debris. Corn earworm, an insect that overwinters in the soil, could be pushed farther south due to the cold temperatures.

However, the cold weather will not phase out all of the insect pests. Some of the most common pests home gardeners annually face include the Colorado potato beetle and tomato hornworm. Preventive control options for annual pests include looking for pest resistant varieties, selecting a planting date when pests are not as common, tilling the soil and crop rotation.

 It pays to put money into preventive controls when we’re certain that pests are going to show up.

You can reduce your chances of becoming infested with the Colorado potato beetle by applying a 6-inch layer of straw on top of potatoes after they have been planted. The straw layer also makes it easier for gardeners to dig up the potatoes at the end of the season.

            While some insects are pests, some can be very beneficial to gardeners; including a type of wasp that kills the tomato hornworm.  The wasp inserts its eggs into the insects like the tomato hornworm and eventually takes over the insect’s entire body.  The wasps do not harm vegetables. White, egg-like cocoons may appear on the tomato hornworm’s body after it has been killed by the wasps. Gardeners should leave the tomato hornworm alone if they see this on one of their tomato plants because it is a signal the worm is dead and no longer a threat to the plant.

            We often don’t appreciate the levels of natural control that we have.  If we didn’t have any beneficial insects, we would see pest problems of epic proportions.

            For more pest control options, visit the UK Entomology Department’s ENTfacts Website at http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/entfacts.asp or contact the Trimble County Cooperative Extension Service at 255-7188.