Post on 06-Mar-2018
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS
All events will be held at Rutherford County Extension/Lane Agri-Park 315 John R. Rice Blvd. Murfreesboro TN 37129 unless otherwise noted.
PH: 615-898-7710 Visit our website for more information http://rutherford.tennessee.edu
TO REGISTER FOR EVENTS AND CLASSES CALL 615-898-7710
March 2014
4-H Yard Sale &
Pancake Breakfast
Pancake Breakfast 7 – 9:30am
4-H Staffers & Volunteers will be preparing a delicious pancake breakfast for you to enjoy while
you shop our yard sale & vendors! $5 a plate
Includes pancakes, meat & drink
March 15th 7am-1pm
Community Center
Yard Sale Donations Needed!
Let us help with your spring cleaning!
If you have gently used, non-clothing items to donate, we will be accepting
donations March 13 & 14 at the Community Center.
Please help support 4-H by donating items!
Vendors Wanted $25 for inside 10x10 spaces
Businesses, crafters and vendors
are welcome.
Contact Barbara Davenport at
bdavenp4@utk.edu or
Walter Dirl at wdirl@utk.edu for
application or more information.
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS
For additional infor-
these or other related
topics, contact the Ex-
tension office at 898-
7710 from 8:00 a.m.-
Fri.
You can email Mitch-
March 2014, Page 2
Living Well With
Chronic Conditions
If you or someone you care for has heart
disease, arthritis, COPD, diabetes, depression, or
any other chronic disease, this free 6 week
workshop can help you take charge of your life
and learn to self-manage your disease more
effectively.
There is NO cost to attend and is open to anyone
with chronic condition and their family members.
Class is limited to 20 individuals.
Dates: 4/22, 4/29, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20 and 5/27
2:00pm to 4:00pm
Call 615-898-7710 to register
In this fun and interactive workshop you
will learn: Skills to manage pain, fatigue, depression and
frustration.
Relaxation techniques
Evaluation of new treatments
Wise use of medication
How to communicate more effectively with
health care providers
Healthy eating tips
Setting reachable goals
Call today—spaces are limited
Brown Bag (Lunch & Learn)
11:30 am in Auditorium Free! No registration
March 27 11:30—12:20 Spring Lawn Mower Tune-Up
It may still be cold, but the grass will be knee high before you know it. Enjoy
your lunch while you learn to get your lawn mower and garden tools ready to roll. No pre-registration required, but you must furnish your own lunch.
FREE! 6 week
workshop to
help you learn
to enjoy life
m ore wh i l e
living with a
chronic disease
Farm Pond Management Tuesday March 11 6:00PM
No cost, No registration
Creig Kimbro, UT Pond and Fisheries Specialist will be here to answer your questions about ponds, including controlling weed & algae, stopping leaks, and stocking. This session will give anyone wanting to know more about pond management the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the area. Meeting will be in Auditorium.
Our website is changing! Our brand new & improved website
will be on-line March 15th.
Until then—we are NOT updating the old site. Thanks for your patience
while we go thru this process to better serve our community.
http://rutherford.tennessee.edu
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS March 2014, Page 3
Healthy Vegetable Gardens
Even if you missed the first session, you can still attend one or all of the remaining sessions!
This FREE course will emphasize the basic necessities for growing a garden. Sessions are scheduled to follow the garden season to teach you WHAT you need to know WHEN you need to know it! Each session will start at 9am and should be over by noon. Call 898-7710 to register for one or all classes.
Session 2 March 29
Cool Season Veggies
Hybrids & Heirlooms
Session 3 April 19
Warm Season Crops
Irrigation & Mulches
Session 4 June 14
Managing pests & diseases
What to plant next
Each will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end by noon
Call 615-898-7710 to reserve your spot!
If you have questions about the course, call or
email: Janie Becker (jbecker8@utk.edu) or
Mitchell Mote (mmote1@utk.edu).
Hands on activities! Do your own dissections Care for your own sheep
Field trip to the ZOO! Visit Tennessee State University science lab and conduct
science experiments. Study embryology, parasitology and more! For more information contact mshirle1@utk.edu
ATTENTION!! Students 7th—9th grade who are considering Animal Science and Pre-Vet pathways in high school.
March 31—April 4th 9am—3:30pm Cost $75.00
Animal Science
Day Camp
Beginners Bee Keeping
Thursday 3/20 6:30—9pm
Friday, 3/21 6:30—9pm
Saturday, 3/22 9am-12noon
Community Center
Rutherford County Bee Keepers Association will be holding a 3 part Beginners Bee Keeping class. Cost of the course is $20 for RCBA members
$30 for non-members Deadline to Register March 10
Payment is due by March 20 Call Keith or Robbin Elrod @615-274-3725 to register
or for more information.
PLANT SWAP
April 26
Master Gardeners’ will hold their annual plant
swap April 26th at the Community Center .
Bring a plant—take a plant to this FREE event.
If you are just getting started in gardening &
don’t have plants to share, bring a canned
vegetable for the food bank to swap for plants
Plant Swap—Silent Auction—Garden Demos
Start dividing your plants to share now!
Check their website: mastergardeners-rc.org
for more information
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS March 2014, Page 4
UT-TSU EXTENSION—RUTHERFORD COUNTY @RUTHERFORDCOEXT
2014 Season Starts May 9th! Get ready to enjoy the seasons freshest, LOCALLY GROWN
produce and food items at Rutherford County's ONLY “home-grown” farmers’ market !
Farmers’ Market
Spring Vendor Meeting
April 14th 8am—4pm Get help to “Grow” your market business -
Farm Business Planning
Safe & Effective Pesticide use
Enhancing the Safety of Locally Grown Produce
2014 RCFM Updates
WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Training
We will be drawing for season booth holders and
have updates on more Market programs.
NO COST to attend, but registration is required by
April 10th (lunch provided)
Call Janie Becker at 615-898-7710 or email her at
jbecker8@utk.edu for more information
Adventures in Agriculture April 12
10am—2pm
Fun for all ages.
Animals Trolley Rides Horse Events
Games Garden Demos
Activities
From the farm to you….
Lane Agri-Park
Commercial Fruit & Vegetable
Grower Workshop
March 13 3-6PM
Community Center
~New Vegetable crop offerings
~ Insect Awareness and Control
~ Disease Control for Small Scale Producers
~ Bring your questions!
FREE workshop—but you must register!
Call 615-898-7710
or email Janie Becker jbecker8@utk.edu
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS March 2014, Page 5
Early Spring Lawn, Garden and Landscape Tips
by: Mitchell Mote, Extension Agent
Lawns:
Preemergent herbicides for the prevention of crabgrass, goosegrass,
and other summer annual weeds should be applied to turfgrass areas
prior to weed seed germination. Crabgrass will likely be the first to
begin germination, starting around mid-March most years, but an
extended early warm-up could speed the process up. To improve your
odds of being ahead of crabgrass germination, strive to have your preemergent down and activated by
the second week of March at the latest. All preemergent herbicides require that some volume of water
(often ½ inch), be applied after application within a fairly short time in order to be effective. Rainfall
or irrigation both work, the key is to get the water on it in time. Directions are on the product label.
Follow them! A second application several weeks later (time specified on the product label) will offer
the best season long summer annual control.
Cool season lawns (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, etc.) will often respond favorably to an application
of nitrogen in early March and again in early April. If using a fertilizer with a highly water soluble form
of nitrogen, shoot for applying about ½ lb. of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. of turf area. The percentage of
nitrogen in the fertilizer will determine how much fertilizer is needed to supply the desired quantity of
nitrogen. If the fertilizer you use contains mostly a slow release form of nitrogen, you can make a
single application at the rate of 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. in March and skip the April
application. We don’t recommend applying nitrogen to cool season turfgrass past the middle of April to
help minimize conditions favoring disease development. We recommend the bulk of fertilizer be applied
to cool season turf in Sept., Oct., and Nov. To figure how much of a particular fertilizer is needed to
supply a desired quantity of nutrient, use this formula:
what you want (lbs. of nutrient per 1000) = lbs. of fertilizer What you got (% of nutrient in fertilizer) to apply/1000 sq.ft. Example using 33-0-0 fertilizer:
0.5 lbs. N = 1.5 lbs. 33-0-0 per 1000 sq. ft. 0.33 (%N)
Warm season lawns (bermudagrass and Zoysia grass) won’t respond to nitrogen until they begin to
break dormancy (often by mid-April), so there’s usually no need to apply nitrogen before April 15. Shoot
for applying 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. Subsequent applications could be made around June 1,
July 15, and Sept.1 (depending on availability of moisture.)
To know how much if any phosphorous and potassium should be applied to turf, a soil test should be
performed.
Continued on Page 6 It’s time to get your soil tested.
Call 615-898-7710 to find out how!
RUTHERFORD COUNTY EXTENSION NEWS March 2014, Page 6
Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating
UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment
Winter annual broadleaf weeds (chickweed, henbit, bittercress, etc.) should be controlled
before they begin to bloom heavily and produce seeds. A wide variety of products will provide
effective levels of control if applied at the correct rate before the weeds become overly mature.
The greater the level of weed maturity, the lower the level of control will generally be.
Follow label directions! Don’t spray if the wind is blowing more than 5 mph.
Vegetable Gardens:
Many cool season vegetables can be planted now. Refer to SP291-O Guide to Spring Planted, Cool
Season Vegetables available at:
https://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/SP291-O.pdf
There’s still time to build beds or develop a piece of ground for growing warm season vegetables
during the late spring through summer period.
Several publications that may be helpful to you can be found at the UT Extension publications
page located at: https://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/Pages/default.aspx
Now is a good time to start seeds indoors for desired warm season vegetables such as tomatoes.
Growing your own transplants is one way to insure you have the desired varieties available when
it’s time to set them in the garden (assuming you planted seeds of the varieties you want.)
Landscapes:
If you weed your plant beds and get them clean and weed free, the use of preemergent herbicides
can minimize the populations of summer annual weeds that appear later. Many brands are available.
The key to success is to follow label directions.
Woody landscape plants and trees can be protected from overwintering scales, mites, aphids, and
other overwintering critters by applying dormant oil between now and bud break. Thorough
coverage of the plant is essential for good control when using oil.
Plants can be protected from critters such as lace bugs, Asian Wooly Hackberry Aphids
(remember the mess from them last year) and others by applying a drench of a product containing
imidacloprid when the plants begin to show signs of growth this spring.
The window for planting summer blooming bulbs is opening now.
A fresh layer of mulch can spruce up the looks of beds, just don’t get carried away! A total depth
of 4 inches is plenty
It’s a good time to prune summer blooming shrubs such as crape myrtle as well as trees in the
landscape while they’re still dormant. But don’t delay too long as they’ll wake up soon.
Spring Tips, Continued from Page 5