January 2019 News for Polk County
Director's Focus: Let's Talk Rain...and Berries
Normally this time of year I start off by talking about the cold but this year the story is the
RAIN!! Did we become a rain forest, and someone forgot to tell us? Wow, these are really historic amounts of rain for our area, but as miserable as it is now, it should lead to an amazingly beautiful spring! When moisture is high in the soil, flowers bloom more abundantly and seeds germinate better. So this soaking rain now should be great for our gardens in a few months!

Speaking of gardens, it’s that time again...time for the annual Polk County Extension blueberry, raspberry and strawberry plant sale! This year, due to many requests, we have added a small number of blackberry plants to our offerings! The blackberry variety is Ouachita--which is an amazing, upright plant that is in great demand--and we were only able to secure 10 of these, so buy early if you want blackberries.

The other varieties we sell of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are hand selected and tested in our own research trials. Our office is committed to providing the best varieties for the best prices around. All of the proceeds from this sale help us to conduct research and teach classes for the benefit of Polk County. We appreciate your support of our local Extension office by purchasing your plants HERE. You can place your order in person at the Extension office or by downloading the order form (see below).

Don’t wait. Orders will only be taken until February 22 or until we sell out. Place your order soon to ensure availability!
Scott Welborn is the County Extension Director for Polk County
It's Time for Our Annual Berry Plant Sale!
Get Your Order in by February 22
Prepare for a luscious berry crop this year by ordering your strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry plants through the Extension. All orders must be placed and paid for by February 22. Plants will be ready for pickup by mid-March.

Home, Lawn, and Garden Tips for January
Winter Watering
Typically, in cold weather, you need to pay close attention to the moisture levels of your outdoor plants. This year, with our heavy rains, it may not be quite as much of an issue, but there are still some types of vegetation to pay attention to. Evergreens continue to take up moisture in the winter. When the ground is frozen, or during a dry period, moisture is not available. High winds and warm sun on cold days will increase the amount of moisture the plant needs to survive. You can protect these susceptible plants by planting them in a sheltered area and providing additional water during dry periods or before an expected hard freeze. You should place potted plants in warmer areas to keep the root ball from freezing for days on end. Frozen roots for several days can kill potted plants.
 
Snow & Ice Damage
When snow and ice are predicted, your plants can get an injury from heavy precipitation falling from the roof onto frozen branches--as we have already seen happen some places this season. You can wrap wide tape or cloth around an evergreen to prevent broken branches. This technique is also helpful for boxwoods and arborvitaes. You can also go out during the snow or ice to brush off the snow, but do so carefully. If it’s frozen to the branches, they can easily break. If branches are bent and broken over by heavy ice or snow, wait a few days before pruning or cleaning up. Branches will often recover without your help.

Here are some other steps to protect your plants from cold damage:
  • Only plant vegetation that is hardy to our zone (Polk County is Zone 7B).
  • Try to plant tender plants in the highest part of the landscape. Cold air settles in lower lying areas.
  • Protect plants from cold winds with a fence or an evergreen hedge of tall trees.
  • Provide some shade for plants from direct winter sun, especially early morning sun. Plants that freeze slowly and thaw slowly will have the least amount of damage.
  • Stop fertilizing plants in late summer and let them harden off for the winter.

Bulbs
Check bulbs in storage. Often dahlia tubers and gladiolus corms are attacked by rot in storage; throw out any with rot. Fertilize spring flowering bulbs when 1” of growth is seen above ground. Use one rounded teaspoon of 10-10-10 per square foot. Or you can add additional compost around your bulbs for an organic boost.

Houseplants
The four major causes of houseplant deaths during the winter months are: over-fertilizing, over-watering, under-watering, and improper light. Do not fertilize houseplants in the wintertime. Let your plants go into a dormant (rest) period, a period of reduced growth, so that they will be ready for vigorous growth in the spring months. Make sure you provide your plants with a bright location or supplemental light from florescent bulbs. Misting your plants with water from a spray bottle is often a good idea due to the lower winter humidity in most homes.

Recycling a Christmas Tree
There are several ways to dispose of or recycle your tree. (Before recycling your tree, remove all tinsel and ornaments.)
  • Place the tree in the yard or garden for use by birds and other wildlife. The branches provide shelter from strong winds and cold. Food can be supplied by hanging fruit slices, seed cakes, or suet bags on its branches. You can also smear peanut butter and seeds in pine cones and hang them in the tree.
  • Prune off the branches and place over perennials as winter mulch.
  • Chip the tree and use as mulch around trees, shrubs or in flower beds.
  • Sink the tree into ponds and reservoirs. The fish will use the branches of tree to hide from predators, or feed on snails and aquatic insects found on the structure. It can also provide shade for fish during hot sunny days.

In the Garden
Replenish mulch around trees and shrubs to 3-6 inches in depth. Think about your spring vegetable garden and begin planting seeds indoors by the end of January. Florescent lights hung right over your plants will give you a better plant than simply using a window. Take time now to plan landscapes for spring plantings. Garden catalogs arrive early this month. Order seed early while stock is adequate.

Prepping Strawberry Beds
Mulch strawberry beds for winter protection using wheat straw or pine needles. Pull the mulch back when blooms appear.

Pruning Muscadines
January is the best calendar month to prune muscadines. Muscadines are very vigorous vines that require annual pruning to restrict growth and to encourage annual bearing. You will want to develop a main trunk. This is permanent on a muscadine vine. Remove any tendrils that have wrapped around the cordons or spurs. Also remove old fruit stems since they are sites for overwintering diseases.

Lawn Care
During a rainy winter period our fescue lawns can look pretty poor. You will notice yellowing and browning of the lawn due to the cold and wet conditions. You can help to mitigate this by applying a nitrogen fertilizer during warm periods of the winter. You will also want to apply a fungicide in early March to ensure all the water doesn’t lead to out of control fungal problems in the spring.

Should you need more information on any of these topics please stop by the Polk County Cooperative Extension office located at 79 Carmel Lane just outside of Columbus, or pop us an email or give us a call at 828-894-8218.

4-H Trivia

Since school is still out on holiday today, students are probably missing those pop-quizzes, right?? Let's dust the cobwebs off those brain cells with these 4-H Trivia questions. (answers below)

1) In what year did 4-H begin in North Carolina?
a. 1909
b. 1942
c. 1976
d. 1984

2) What do the four Hs in "4-H" stand for?
a. Hope, Happiness, Health, Heart
b. Head, Heart, Hands, Health
c. Help, Hope, Hands, Head
d. Home, Hope, Help, Heart

3) Who is eligible to participate in 4-H?
a. Youth ages 5-8
b. Youth ages 9-12
c. Youth ages 13-18
d. All of the above
2019 4-H Camp Info

It's never too early to be thinking about summer camp...especially when you are thinking about 4-H camp! Each year, more than 4,000 campers from across the state participate in 4-H camping programs at North Carolina’s 4-H educational centers. This year, Polk County 4-Hers will be attending camp the week of June 30th to July 5th at the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center.

NOTE: Any youth who completes the Polk County 4-H Presentation Program is eligible for a scholarship covering 50% of camp tuition!
Helen Blackwell is the 4-H Youth Development Agent for Polk County
Family and Consumer Science News
Jimmi Buell is the Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences in Polk County
How's Your Hay?
With the prime of hay feeding season upon us, I ask you this question: how is your hay? Certainly, this is a loaded question that could be answered many different ways, but it is very important for us to know exactly what we are feeding our livestock.

Too many times we hear folks say that they are feeding high quality hay, but the only reasoning they have to believe that their hay is “high quality” is that it looks good. Looks can certainly be deceiving. Without a proper Forage Analysis Test, we have no idea the true quality of our feed.

A simple analysis can tell us so much about our feed and can make us much more efficient managers of our resources. First off, we need to know what cycle our livestock are in and what their needs are. Are we growing heifers? Do we have cows that are nursing calves? Will we start calving cows in the spring? All are different, and all require different nutrient needs. By knowing the exact nutrients that our hay offers, we will better know which section of our hay to feed to different animals. Not only will this make our hay bill more efficient, but it will also improve the quality of livestock because they are consuming a properly-balanced ration.

Taking a sample is very simple. Using a core sampler, take a sample from each “lot” of hay you have. Generally, a “lot” is from the same field of the same cutting of hay. If you have square bales, take it from the end, and if you have round rolls, take your sample from the side. Take enough samples to fill a quart size bag. NCDA offers a testing lab that can run an analysis of your hay at a cost of $10. If you have any questions, or need help sampling, please do not hesitate to contact the Cooperative Extension office and we will be happy to assist you in sampling.
Noah Henson is the Area Agent for Agriculture--Livestock, Dairy, Equine, Forages
Marketing Minute
A Surefire Resolution to Improve Your Marketing: Start a Blog
One of the best ways to connect with your customers, get Google to notice you, and improve your search engine rankings is with a regularly updated blog.