Newspaper Page Text
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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008
Fertilizing and maintaining pecan trees
Have you ever wondered where the pecan
tree got its name? The pecan is a member of the
hickory family and the name “pecan" is a Native
American word used to describe nuts requiring
a stone to crack them. Pecans were known as
far back as the 16 th century and were found in
locations of central and eastern North America
and the river valleys of Mexico. Texas even
proclaimed the pecan as their state tree back in
1919. However, today Albany, Georgia is known
as the pecan capital of the world and each year
they host the National Pecan Festival.
The pecan tree can grow to be very large and
tall. They nonnally grow to maturity at 70 to
100 feet high, but they can get as high as 150 feet, and
have been found with trunks measuring more than three
feet in diameter. There are more than 1,000 pecan variet
ies and many have names of Native American tribes. The
lumber that comes from these trees is of high quality and
a lot of beautiful paneling, furniture and flooring has been
made from it. Pecans are very nutritious, containing many
vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, E, several
B vitamins, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphate,
potassium and zinc. They also contain compounds that help
prevent the buildup of the bad cholesterol.
If you have pecan trees of your own, you should nurture
and care for them and prepare for the coming year. One
thing you can do is keep your trees in good
shape. February is the best time to start fertil
izing. The best practice to begin with is to get
a soil sample and have it tested in order to see
what fertilization the soil needs. Without a soil
test, general recoimnendations would be to
apply a 10-10-10 fertilizer at four pounds for
every inch of trank diameter and apply it during
the last half of February. Zinc is very important
and necessary to produce a good pecan crop. It
is best to use zinc sulfate and apply it at three to
five pounds per tree. Apply all fertilizers includ
ing lime at the tree drip line and beyond. Enough
Mine should be applied so that the soil pH is
about 6 to 6.5. Once again, getting a soil sample and hav
ing it tested will tell you the actual pH of the soil and the
nutrients that are in it so the trees can be properly fertilized
for optimum growth.
To prevent the increase of disease and insect attacks,
keep all dead limbs and fallen nuts picked up and removed
from the area throughout the year. There is some control by
using insecticides and fungicides, but they must be sprayed
regularly and they will not provide complete control. Once
the nuts mature, their quality decreases rapidly if they are
allowed to lie on the wet ground. Harvest the nuts early and
store them in a clean, dry place.
Bob Waldorf is the Banks County extension agent.
bob
waldorf
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Most refunds take from 12 hours to 48 hours.
Groves visits home after serving overseas
News From
Poplar
Springs
By Willene Parson
Boyle
I talked to John Groves on
Friday. His grandson, John
Groves III, came home for a visit.
They celebrated on Thursday with
a White Christmas. His family
had waited with all the Christmas
presents and decorations for his
arrival home. John III wants to
thank everyone for their prayers
during his time overseas. He will
be leaving sometime during the next
two weeks. Please remember John III
when you pray.
Sherry and Chris Lewis lost their
Maysville home in a fire Sunday.
It was totally destroyed in the early
morning fire.
Alexis Gee was honored with a
birthday party at the home of her
parents, Jessie and Latasha Gee. Many
family members and friends attended.
We want to wish her a very happy third
birthday.
Mike and I enjoyed going to Atlanta
on Saturday during the snow. We went
to the Fox Theater to see “Cats.” The
show was great. I had given Mike the
tickets for his birthday.
The community was saddened to
hear of the death of Darwin Frankum
of Gillsville. He was a life-long mem
ber of the community. Our prayers are
with his wife, children and grandchil
dren. He will be greatly missed by his
family and host of friends.
It’s registration time. To register your
team for the 2008 Relay For Life, visit
Banks County’s personal Relay for
life webpage at http://events.cancer.
org/rflbanksga. For help with the web
site, call Kathy Mize at 706-778-8780,
Elizabeth Church at 706-677-7100 or
Katie Cullinan at 706-549-4893. Our
next meeting will be Monday, Feb 4, at
6:30 p.m at the First Georgia Bank.
Has cancer ever affected anyone you
know or love? As a part of the Banks
County Relay for Life team, we would
like for you to join us. The relay will
be held in May 30-31 but it’s time
to fund-raise now. We need school
groups, churches, youth groups, busi
nesses, community group or neighbor
hoods to join us in the fight. If you
are a caregiver or cancer survivor,
we would like you to contact us for a
special invitation to join the fight. You
will receive a special T-shirt and will
meet in the survivor’s tent for food
and other festivities. This is a fight
we need everyone to help beat! We
need your help as a group. For more
information, contact Debbie Morgan
at 706-499-6419 or at 282 Yonah
Street, Cornelia, Georgia, 30531, Ken
Mize, 706-870-4650 or Willene Boyle
at 706-677-4200. We need your help.
Those in our community who are
overseas fighting or state-side being
trained to defend our country include:
Jeb Herrin, Jason Ledford, David
Willoughby, T.J. Brookshire, Kyle
Delaigle, David McWhorter, John
Groves III, Clint Medlock, Timothy
Reems, Richard Davenport, Kyle
Pilgrim, Russell Cantrell, Shawn
McClure, Sgt. Amanda Justus,
Matthew Sutton, Justin Johnston, David
Puttnum. Alex Head, Tiffany Sorrows
and Mark Sullivan Jr. Call me if you
know of others who are serving in the
Armed Forces, and please remember
them and their families when you pray.
If you have any addresses, please call.
I have people calling and wanting
to write our troops. Let me know
if there is someone you love you
want added to our prayer list or if
one of these has came home. I only
know their home if you call and let
me know.
Those who are sick in our com
munity include many who have
cancer and need our prayers.
They include: 3-year-old Dristan
Tyndell, Trinity Brown, Mattea Grace
Emerson, Elizabeth Cook, Juno and
Bobbi Samples, Royce Jones, Steve
Fattig in the VA in Atlanta, Claudette
Griffin, Joyce Ayers, Brooksy White,
Talmadge Savage, Bruce Simmons,
Van Chase, Jerry Smith, Gloria
Kimsey, Allene Montgomery, Wayne
Holcomb, Joshua Thomas, Susan
Campbell, Dennie Maxwell, Karen
Adkins, Liam Howell — an infant
with tumor, George McGee, Angie
Roach, Henry Galloway, Mrs. Bobby
Blackwell, Mary Sims, Darian Gray,
Jerri Gray, Frank Cronic,Dan Tomlin,
Jerry Poole, Greg Baker, David Smith,
Cidney Wilson, Jeremy Gaddis, Johnny
Westbrook, Tommy Gray of Cornelia,
Jerry Carlan, Luther Campbell, Echo
Evans, Carol Dean Beck, Johnnie
Dalton, Allan Poe of Commerce,
Chad Standridge, Scott McClure,
Winford Baker, the Rev. Jerry Smith,
Coy Marlow, Betty Griffin, Bennie
Jackson, Clifford Wilson, Elizabeth
Wilson, William Wilson, Christine
Chitwood, Johnny Smallwood, Eddie
Borders, Pauline Arfin, J.D. Pritchett.
Crystal Medlock, Joann Broome,
Michelle McClure, Mary Bell Echols,
and J.R. Boswell, Remember our fam
ily when you pray. If you know others
who are sick, please call me so I can
add their name to our prayer list.
Happy birthday to: Alex Buffington,
Kayla Gary, Haley Crumley and Lisa
Victoria Phillips.
Happy anniversary to Calvin and
Rachel Crocker.
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