About Fort Gordon rambler. (Augusta, Ga.) 19??-???? | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1982)
Agricultural Information Earnest Carswell, Jr. Farmers Stand To Gain From Falkland Crisis Thousands of miles to the south of us, Great Britain and Argentina poise ready to fight over the remote Falkland Islands. Keep your eye on the con flict. It could have an impact on grain sales right here Tom Spouse, Georgia Ex- One of Argentina’s biggest customers is the Soviet Union. “The Soviets are coming off a disastrous crop year,” Sprouse explains. “Their grain crop is down an estimated 20 percent. They require another 40 to 50 million metric tons just to meet their domestic demand.” A long-term trade agreement now in its sixth year requires the Soviets to buy eight million metric tons of grain from the U. S. annually. But Sprouse says this country could supply much more — if the Soviets would buy from us. “Right now we have a burdensome supply of grain. Any farmer can tell you that,” says Sprouse. “We could fill any grain gap created by a 3,, Farm News j GEORGIA OUTDOORS Extension Tips tension grain marketing specialist at the Rural Development Center in Tifton, says any interruption of the normal flow of grain from Argentina could cause prices here to rise. “The Falkland Islands themselves aren’t so important to grain production, but Argentina certainly is,” says Sprouse. “If the crisis over the islands escalates to where the British blockade Argentina grain ports, it would throw the world market into chaos.” Sprouse says the market is already “nervous” over the crisis. And, coupled with the new acreage reduction program, prices have risen some because of it. Sprouse speculates that a full-scale blockade would force many of Argentina’s customers to buy grain from other countries. Since the U. S. and Brazil join Argentina as the world’s top three soybean- producing countries, a big chunk of the market could come our way. blockade of Argentina.” Sprouse says that Georgia grain prices could reflect a blockade overnight. “We could see an immediate rise in prices, but that price increase might be short-lived,” he explains. “The best thing a farmer can do is keep aware of what’s going on. If prices rise significantly, it could benefit the man who still has grain in his inventory and give the rest of us a chance to forward price a portion of the 1982 crop at above break-even levels.” Soybeans, corn, wheat and other grains already pump more than $700 million each year into Georgia’s economy. Sprouse says that expanding the world market for our grain would bring that figure close to $1 billion. “Removing some of Argentina’s grain from the market wouldn’t solve all our problems, but it could sure bring some temporary relief to farmers who will take ad vantage of it,” he says. Why Birds Attack Windows By Jeff Jackson Extension Wildlife Specialist “There’s a bird trying to get into my house. He keeps trying to come through the glass. Isn’t that unusual?” It’s a common question in spring and summer. Sometimes the call follows this pattern: “This cardinal is beating himself to death on my window. It keeps flying into it and bumping against it. There’s blood spattered on the glass. What’s wrong with the bird?” “I assume it’s cardinal doing answer. the male this,” I MOLE CRICKETS Georgia’s No. 1 Lawn Problem TIFTON — Tunneling beneath your feet lies a pest whose only goal is to destroy your lawn. “The mole cricket is the number one lawn problem in Georgia, particularly in the southern part of the state,” says Georgia Extension Service entomologist Leon Stacey. “Mole crickets are back in force this spring, and it’s critical that homeowners find out now whether their lawns are infested,” he says. “If you don’t treat now, you’ll suffer the damage later.” Mole crickets feed on grass roots. They aren’t picky about the kind of grass. You’ll find them in lawns, pastures — even golf courses. In addition to eating the roots, the crickets tunnel beneath the grass. Their tunnels push the grass up from the soil and keep it from getting moisture and nutrients. Stacey suggests you examine your lawn this week. Look for patches of dead, dry grass. “You may have damage and not see any crickets,” says Stacey. “That's because mole crickets are interested in more than just eating right now. Spring is their mating season, and when they mate they often damage one patch of lawn and then fly off to another.” To find out whether those crickets are still hiding under the grass or not, Stacey suggests a simple, inexpensive test. It’s a lot like dropping depth charges on a submarine. “Mix a cup fun of laundry detergent with a gallon of water,” he says. “Pour it on the edge of the damaged area. Don’t worry about the center — crickets leave the dead grass when they finish eating. Wait about five minutes after you pour. If you see crickets coming to the surface, you need to treat for them.” Stacey says a baited insecticide is best this time of year. Your county Extension agent or local yard and garden dealer can suggest one. Later in the summer when young crickets from this spring’s mating are developing, use a chemical spray, Stacey suggests. “Young crickets aren’t attracted to a baited insecticide like adults are,” he says. “But if you don’t kill them they’ll develop into adults and you'll need to hit them with a baited chemical again in late September or October.” And if lawn damage weren’t enough, Stacey says “How did you know?” the caller asks. “What on earth is he doing it for?” The reason the male bird “attacks” glass is simple. The bird sees his reflection. He’s trying to beat the tar out of it or at least scare it off. A cardinal is “genetically programmed” to drive intruders of his own species from his territory. A pair of songbirds needs a fixed amount of space, or territory, to have a family. The size of the territory varies with the food supply: usually insects. The more food available, the smaller and more closely packed will be the territories. If food is scarce, the birds will defend a larger area. It’s Mother bird food. Although some birds such as house sparrows and purple martins, are social nesters, cardinals are like most territorial songbirds. They aren’t footloose and BABY LIMAS Baby limas are not an immature lima bean, according to Extension Service horticulturists. Baby limas are just another variety of the same species that include Fordhook, Henderson, speckled and other kinds of “butter” beans. crickets pose another hazard to rural landowners. “If you live in the country, watch out,” he says. “A heavy infestation of mole crickets is an open invitation to many kinds of wildlife who feed on them. Armadil los in our coastal areas love these crickets, and raccoons will feed on them in any part of the state.” Garden Without Cabbage? Perish the Thought! A garden without cabbage? Perish the thought! I’d sooner see America without apple pie. Or baseball. Steamed tender in a boiler, or shredded raw for cole slaw, they’re something else—worth all the time and trouble they take. But cabbages aren’t all that difficult to grow. They just take a little patience—and time. A lot of time, in fact, if you grow ’em from seed—90 to 125 days for early varieties, 125 to 150 days for the late corners. That’s why most gardeners prefer to purchase a few young plants from a nursery. Later on, after you’ve been into gardening awhile, you may want to start seed inside and grow your own transplants. In the beginning, though, pick up a few down at the seed store. Cabbages come in many varieties and hybrids. Your main considera tion is whether you want an early variety or a late one. And the Extension Service bulletin, “Gardening,” lists two—Early Round Dutch and Market Prize (Hybrid) as mid-season. Recommended early season cabbages are Head Start (Hybrid) and Red Acre. For late season, try Rio Verde. A good savory type cabbage is Chieftain. Cabbages like cool weather. So time your plantings to mature before or after it gets hot. Extension suggests Jan. 15 to Mar. 15 for spring planting and Aug. 15 to Oct. 1 for fall. The plants should be 12 inches apart in rows two and a half to three feet wide. Keep in mind that those heads are going to be pretty heavy when full grown; you’ll want to set the plants a little deeper and firmer than most vegetables. Dig a large hole to accommodate the plant. Place soil around the roots, filling the hole about halfway. Now fill the hole with water, let the water settle, then finish filling with soil. Cabbages should be on your richest, most fertile soil (they are heavy feeders). They also drink a lot of water, so keep the soil moist. And be on the lookout for green cabbageworms. They aren’t too hard to control if you don’t let them get ahead of you. fancy-free during the The starling, preferring the small house, moved in and left the larger apartment for the ducks. No other starlings could use the wood duck apartment because the starling that guarded the territory around his house wouldn’t let them come close. Songbirds aren’t territo rial all the time. Most kinds take time off from fighting after the chore of raising nestlings is over. Then they change their behavior and join social flocks. This is particularly true of birds that eat seeds in the fall and winter. Getting together in flocks is an efficient way for birds to use concentrated sources of seeds like grain fields and bird feeders. Many birds of nesting season. Right now the whole surface of Georgia is divided up into bird territories. A newcomer can’t just drop in for a visit. The owner of the territory will try to kill him if he stays. “Oh dear,” says the caller, “I thought my birds got along so well. What happens when there is no space for a bird?” “If he can’t find a place to stay his life will soon come to an end,” I say. “The nesting season is strictly dog-eat-dog. I wouldn’t want to be a male cardinal without a territory.” Birds will tolerate certain other kinds of birds in their nesting territories. That’s because they don’t compete for the same kind of food in the same place. A robin can look for worms in the lawn while a warbler searches the treetops for caterpillars. They don’t get in each other’s way; their habits are different. A clever biologist used his knowledge of bird territory to keep starlings out of his wood duck boxes. The starlings were using his boxes and keeping the ducks out. So the biologist attached a small, starling-size birdhouse to the side of the larger wood duck house. one kind can come to a feeder in winter because there is no territory owner to drive them away. But now that the weather is warmer, the nesting season is starting. Flocks are breaking up and the birds are setting up territories. Territorial defense is usual behavior for nesting songbirds. Robins, mocking- birds, and other suburban songbirds attack intruders and window panes all summer long. To do your bird a favor, put up a piece of paper on the outside of the glass where the “attacks” take place. If he finds a new place to face his "attacker," cover that, too. If he can’t see his reflection, he can save his energy for singing his territorial song, finding food, and for fighting real intruders. Moving Overgrown Plants Takes Time and Effort Moving large overgrown plants isn’t difficult but it does take time, effort and patience. Mid to late winter is a good time to move large plants that have grown out of scale with their surroundings. One of the first steps in moving a plant is to tie the limbs up out of the way. This makes digging much easier. Tie a small rope around a bottom limb and work the rope around the outer branches and gradually upward. Tighten the rope as you wind it around the plant. When you reach the top, tie the rope securely. The next step is to decide what size root ball to dig. As a ru'e the ball of earth should be 10 to 12 inches in diameter for each diameter inch of the trunk measured slightly above ground level. A plant dug with a root ball this size generally has enough roots left to support the top until the root system becomes reestablished. After deciding on the size of the root ball, mark the outer edge in a circular pattern with the shovel point. A lightly dug circle will do. The objective is to leave a ball of soil around the remaining roots that can be secured with burlap. This prevents the soil from falling away from the roots when the plant is moved to a new location. To accomplish this, it is necessary to dig away from the plant instead of towards the stem. In other words, reverse the direction of the shovel and dig carefully away from the outer edge of the intended root ball. Remove a band of soil on the outer edge of the root ball. This is necessary to allow room for rounding and undercutting the root ball. On a shrub of considerable size, it is often necessary to remove enough soil to actually stand in the hole when rounding and undercutting. If a shrub is to be transported any distance, wrap the ball with burlap. Secure the burlap very tightly about the ball of soil by tucking and pinning with small nails. When done properly, the burlap will “fit the ball like a glove.” If a shrub is to be moved only a short distance, it is usually not necessary to burlap the ball. However, take care to keep the ball of earth intact. There is a way to do this successfully and fairly easy. First, get a burlap sack and remove the seams so you can spread the burlap out flat. It may be necessary to overlap the bottom of one sack with another and pin them together. Next, roll the sack up about half-way, with the roll upward. While one person tilts the root ball to one side of the hole, another slides the burlap under the ball. The roll should be placed at least half-way under the root ball. The ball is then tilted in the opposite direction and the burlap unrolled. After the root ball is placed in the original position, it should be possible to lift the plant out of the hole by grasping the four corners of the sack. Two people can life a 3- or 4-foot plant out of a hole easily. However, it may take four people to move a larger plant. Measure the depth and width of the root ball before placing a large plant in a new hole. The depth of the planting hole should be almost exactly the depth f the root ball and one or two feet wider. Once the plant has been lifted into the planting hole, don’t try to remove the burlap. Trim off the excess and leave the rest. Rocking the root ball back and forth can cause dirt to fall away from the roots. Should the root ball crack, remedy this when replacing the backfill mixture. Fill up spaces around the roots where the soil fell away and make sure air pockets are eliminated. Firm the soil around the root ball in stages as backfill is added to the hole. The final steps include building of a water ring of soil on the outer edge of <the planting hole and then mulching. The water ring should be about 4 inches high and 3 or 4 inches thick in order to hold and direct water toward the root ball. A 2- or 3- inch layer of mulch is enough. The final step, of course, is to water the plant thoroughly. Water once a week when it doesn’t rain. Some pruning is recommended on transplanted shrubs to compensate for roots lost in the digging process. Remove about one-fourth of the foliage. Individual limbs can be “headed back” (reduced in length). This technique, plus removing some interior foliage, results in a plant with a natural appearance and very few signs of having been pruned. Vegetables and Home Gardens ...All warm season vegetable crops can now be seeded in the Upper and Lower Coastal Plain area of Georgia. All types of green beans should be planted during the first part of the month. Old-timers believed that beans planted on Good Fri day grew better - that’s April 9 this year. Vegetables that are supersensitive to cold soils, especially bell pepper and eg gplant, should be set the latter part of the month when soils have warmed up. Delay okra seeding until soil has warmed to a depth of four to five inches. A planting of leafy vegetables early in the month will probably have time to mature before hot weather sets in. Tomatoes: To Train or Not To Train ...There are several ways to train tomatoes and each method seems to have its good points and its bad points also. The tomato plant in its natural state will produce an extra limb or sucker at the base of each main limb. It is this growth that the home gardener will have to make a decision about, leave it or pinch it out. Some training methods and their shortcom ings are: 1. Unpruned Plants: Unpruned plants of both the deter minate and indeterminate types develop into bush plants that are sometimes hard to spray properly due to dense foliage. Unpruned plants produce more tomatoes than pruned plants but the fruits are smaller and average weight per fruit is less. This method requires less labor than other methods. 2. One-Stem Method: Each sucker is taken off and only the main stem is allowed to develop. Tomatoes will be somewhat earlier but yields of fruit per plant is less. Much labor is involved in pruning plants. By using the one-stem method the tomato plants can be spaced closer together so more plants can be grown in a smaller space. One-stem plants are the simplest to spray. Some research work in dicated that blossom-end rot might be worse on severely pruned plants. Also, sunscald could be a problem. 3. Two-Stern Method: This method allows for the main stem and one sucker to develop. Tlie first sucker, below the first flower cluster, is allowed to remain and then all other suckers removed. This method allows a little foliage for shade and the tomatoes are a little larger than the unpruned plants. 4. Once-Over Pruning: On plants that grow a deter minate, suckers are allowed to develop up to the time that fruit are seen on the first cluster. At that time all suckers below the first cluster are removed. All new suckers are allowed to grow. This method has not been researched as far as tall indeterminate varieties are concerned. Trellis Cucumbers: ...It is possible to train cucumbers on a string trellis tied to an overhead wire. All the advantages achieved in trellising other crops, such as tomatoes apply also to cucumbers. In order to trellis cucumbers it is necessary to prune plants to a single vine. Pruning should start as soon as the plants are large enough to remove side shoots. Overhead wires should be five feet to six feet high on strong posts set 18 feet to 20 feet apart. Binder twine may be used to tie around the base of the plant and to the overhead wire for the plant to climb. Have the trellis in place as soon as cucumber seed are planted. A plant spacing of 15 inches in the row with rows four feet apart has worked well. ...As soon as plants start to form a vine, train the vine around the string for one or two turns and it will then continue to climb the string. It will be necessary to continue to prune plants often enough to maintain a single stem plant. Expec tant yields on trellis cucumbers should be greater than those grown on the ground since little damage is done to vines dur ing harvest. Boost Yields - Use Starter Solutions ...Research indicates that the use of starter solutions at the time of transplanting can increase early as well as total yield of crops. One starter solution experiment at the Georgia Mountain Experiment Station indicated that the value of a starter solution on pepper was $160.00 per acre. Starter solu tions aid and hasten the plant’s recovery from the shock of transplanting and consequently promote a faster start and quicker recovery. These advantages are brought about by the promotion of root regeneration which provides more feeding capability for the plant. ...Starter solutions should contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and be com pletely water soluble. The phosphorus content should be fair ly high in the mix. Plant injury may result from applying too much solution so be careful and follow the directions on the package. Home gardeners can make a homemade starter solution by using a complete grade of fertilizer such as 6-12-12. Place one pound of fertilizer in five gallons of water. Keep this solution stirred up for 24 hours, pour off the liquid and discard the undissolved material. Use this solution at the rate of one cup per transplant. Fertiilizer material is highly corrosive so plastic containers are best for holding the solu tion. Thomas Jefferson, the na tion's third president, was one of the most accomplish ed and versatile of the na tion's founders. He spoke six languages, was a surveyor, scientist, lawyer, musician, politician and architect, just to name a few. ENEMY OF TREES The greatest enemy of trees in the lawn is the lawn mover, according to Extension Service horti culturists. Bumping into the trunk of a young tree can result in severe damage; the most tender growth layer is just under the bark and is easily injured. Trees are sometimes girdled by repeated bumps. Driving three or four metal stakes into the ground about six to eight inches from the trunk is good insurance against damage.
