In This Issue ~
- From the Desk of Shelley King-Curry, Southern Area Extension Director
- Welcome, Chanda Banks!
- Farmers Market Season is Upon Us
- Enjoy the Bounty of the Market
- Plant Sale Returns!
- Have You Heard the "Dirt on Winter Sowing"?
- A is for Apple, B is for Bees!
- Special Thanks to Our 4-H Friends
- Teaching 4-H'ers Stitch by Stitch
- Broiler Chicks are Here!
- What is a Livestock Skillathon?
- Flourishing Fish on Dry Land
- Save the Soil! Get the "Bare" Facts!
- Do I need a Nutrient Management Plan?
- Subscribe to University of Maryland Extension publications
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Happy SPRING from the University of Maryland Charles County Extension!
Happy spring everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to read about all that is happening at Charles County Extension! As our world continues to return to a new normalcy following two years of COVID-19, we continue to do the same.
Our UME Charles County faculty and staff are now offering mostly in-person opportunities and events. While mask mandates have been lifted, we continue to ensure everyone’s safety by allowing space for social distancing, keeping surfaces clean and sanitized, and encouraging optional use of masks.
We hope you have the opportunity to join us and engage in our upcoming events and activities. Now that we are back in the office, please take the opportunity to call, visit our website, email or stop in if you have a question, need or concern that we can address. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please look forward to our 2021 Annual report which is coming soon!
Our Financial Education programming is on hiatus due to the retirement of our faculty member, Patricia Horton-Maynard. While we wish Patricia well in her retirement, she and her programming efforts are missed. We are planning to initiate a hiring search soon, and expect to have someone in place by summer. Our goal is to continue meeting the educational needs of Charles County residents and financial literacy is high on the list.
In this issue, as with the others, we are sharing our planned efforts and programs for spring 2022, along with notice of local UME events and activities, acknowledgements of service and accomplishments by our volunteers and local youth, and updates on how our faculty and staff are working to continue to meet local needs to support you and others in the community.
Again, thank you for your continued support!
Shelley
Shelley T. King-Curry, MS
University of Maryland Extension
Area Extension Director -
Southern Maryland Cluster
Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's Counties
9501 Crain Highway, Box 1
Bel Alton, MD 20611
301-934-5403, Ext. 300
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Welcome Aboard!
SNAP-Ed welcomed Chanda Robinson Banks as a Program Assistant in December 2021 to assist in building capacity for SNAP-Ed partnerships and programs.
Welcome, Chanda! Thanks for all of your support.
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Farmers Market Season is Upon Us! |
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The La Plata Farmers Market is open Saturdays, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm! Come check out some new and returning vendors, and re-stock the pantry and fridge!
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Enjoy the Bounty of the Market |
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Jessica Conjour, MPH
Project Leader and Nutrition Educator
Maryland SNAP-Ed
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Plant Sale Returns!
by Terry Thir
Great News! On May 21, 2022, the Charles County Master Gardeners will once again hold their Annual Plant Sale from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm at the La Plata Farmers Market at the parking lot on Talbot Street.
Come and shop for perennials (these will come back year after year), native plants, vegetables, herbs and a variety of indeterminate tomatoes. We will have plants for sale that do well in gardens, containers and for small spaces. Come learn how to make a “potato basket” and how to grow lettuce in a lettuce box. Nothing tastes as good as something that you have grown yourself!
There will be many varieties of native plants that attract butterflies and birds to your garden, and vegetables and herbs for your pleasure. Bee Balm, Spiderwort, Coreopsis, Coneflowers, Asters, Columbines, Bleeding Hearts, Black-eyed Susans, and many others are all waiting for you.
In addition, we will have an “Ask the Master Gardener” plant clinic where we can respond to gardening and horticulture issues. We will also have a “Bay-Wise” booth to educate about sustainable horticulture practices for your landscape and vegetable gardens. For Charles County citizens, we can tell you how you can save 50% off your annual Stormwater Remediation (WPRF) fee by getting your property “Bay-Wise” certified free of charge.
Remember, the early bird gets the worm. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your garden by buying healthy plants that are great for the environment.
Visit us on Facebook to learn more or contact Charles County Master Gardener Coordinator Kaitlyn Baligush at [email protected] or 301-934-5402 x200.
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Have you Heard the "Dirt on Winter Sowing"?
by Kaitlyn Baligush
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Last November, Master Gardeners Molly Moore and Marlene Smith introduced us to the idea of winter sowing in their video presentation “All the Dirt on Winter Sowing,” and I did not realize what a hot topic this method is! Since publishing, their video has had 16,649 views and 579 likes!
Winter sowing is a term coined by Trudi Davidoff to describe a propagation method of sowing seeds in containers that are placed outdoors during winter. This simple method is great for native plant seeds, most of which need a cold frost in order to germinate, but can also be used for vegetables, herbs, and annual flowers.
You can learn the 10 easy steps to winter sowing and how to reuse common household items in your garden by watching their full presentation.
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Kaitlyn Baligush
Charles County Master Gardener Coordinator
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The 4-H program in Charles County offers many opportunities for kids from 5 to 18. Below are some of the most recent accomplishments. Check out our calendar for the complete list and descriptions of the ongoing projects.
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A is for Apple, B is for Bees!
Amy Lang
4-H Youth Development Educator
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The Teen Pollinator Ambassador program is sponsored by the National 4-H Council and Corteva Agriscience. Charles County 4-H has partnered with the Neighborhood Creative Arts Center's Rotary Interact group to teach 18 teens about pollination and generate creative tools they can use to teach younger audiences about this important topic. Two teens have decided to raise their own bees!
Warm thanks to our speaker on March 28, Michael Roswell. Michael is a Postdoctoral Associate in University of Maryland's Entomology Department. He led the teens through a hands-on investigation of apples to demonstrate how pollination occurs in flowering plants. The teens were fascinated to find parts of the flower embedded in their apples, and to find baby plants in the apple seeds. None of us will ever see apples in the same way!
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Taking a close look at apples |
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Special Thanks to Our 4-H Friends!
Thanks to Gateway Florists in La Plata, and Randy Watts Floral Design in Indian Head, for donating flowers for the garden experiment at Indian Head Elementary School!
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The 4-H Gardening Club had such a great time learning how plants reproduce and grow. |
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And thanks go to Ranger Elena Gilroy and Smallwood State Park for their generous donation of tree cookies for the
forestry program!
Thank you, all, again!
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Teaching 4-H'ers Stitch
by Stitch
Jeanne Williams
Extension Program Assistant
4-H Youth Development Educator
Each month, from February until May, 4-H members have had the opportunity to join in 3-week sewing workshops. At the February workshop, 4-H members made an apron that they can enter in the fair.
During the March and April workshops, 4-H’ers made a quilted pillow. These 4-H’ers learned how to cut out a pattern, prepare items for sewing, use the sewing machine, and many other skills. Sewing is an extremely popular workshop offering and the instructors continually try to find new ways to engage the youth.
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All of these items can be entered in the 4-H building in the Charles County Fair. Stop by and check them out in September! These workshops are all offered on different days of the week to maximize the number of 4-H’ers who can be involved. The instructors have some more really interesting opportunities in the works to engage intermediate level youth and we can’t wait to see what this summer holds! |
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The Broiler Chicks are Here!
On March 22, 2022, the 4-H office delivered over 250 Cornish Cross broiler chicks to 4-H’ers to begin their broiler projects. These members had to attend an in-person quality assurance training that went over all the specifics of raising broiler chickens for human consumption. This included nutrition, housing, troubleshooting, and other aspects of raising the birds.
These 4-H’ers could order chicks through the 4-H Office with a minimum number being 15. For the next 6 weeks these chicks will be fed, housed, and cared for by the 4-H members and their families. Upon completion of this project, 4-H’ers can either market their birds to friends and family or they can be kept for their own personal source of meat. 4-H members are not required to process their own chickens but can if they want to. The families were given guidance on where to get the birds processed and will be given resources on how to break down the carcasses.
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The broiler project teaches youth responsibility, empathy, record keeping, and many more important life skills. 4-H’ers will be required to turn in a record sheet that shows how the project went for them. This also teaches 4-H’ers and their families how to raise food animals to feed themselves or others, which is so important.
We can’t wait to see how these 4-H’ers market their projects and all that they have learned. We hope to continue this project in 2023!
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What is a Livestock Skillathon?
Bonnie Boyden
Program Management Specialist
4-H Youth Development Educator
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What is the benefit of the 4-H Livestock Knowledge and why do we continue to put so much time into making it happen for the youth? I am sure it is different for every 4-H’er, volunteer and supporter, depending on their goals and personal situation. But as I think about the Charles County 4-H animal science program, I could give you the typical elevator answer that it builds character, creates discipline, teaches youth about agriculture, responsibility, sportsmanship, etc., etc. While all of that is true and right on point, I am not sure that it gives justice to the core of what the 4-H Animal Science Project does for our youth and the positive impact on the community.
The animal science projects are very popular and continue to grow in Charles County and across the state. These projects do provide a great opportunity for learning many life skills as I stated earlier, but we are also the only organization that provides youth with this opportunity.
One of the learning experiences is the Livestock Skillathon. Youth attend weekly practices where they learn about different breeds of livestock, external parts, skeletal and anatomy of livestock, feeds used in livestock diets, equipment used in raising and showing livestock and in processing meat, wholesale and retail cuts of meat derived from livestock, expected progeny differences (EPDs), common calculations used to measure animal performance and profitability, judging hay, judging meats, and wool judging.
Skillathons are great for youth because they also provide opportunities for problem solving and applied science reasoning. They expose youth to real-life production experiences and problems. At the end of several months of practice, they are able to compete against their peers at the state contest. The 2022 Contest was held on Sunday, March 27, with 3 Seniors, 2 Intermediates and 3 Juniors attending from Charles County. We also had 3 youths, Trent, Delia and Levi Vallandingham from St. Mary’s County, attend the classes and participate in the state contest. All the seniors were in the top 15 with Addison Herbert winning the senior division. The intermediates were all in the top 20 and Trent Vallandingham was the top individual in that division. Our juniors were also all in the top 20, and Francesca Bologna was the top individual in that division. Some of the youth who participated are pictured below.
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For the youth to achieve, they must continue to have support from our 4-H Volunteers. Our two dedicated volunteers, Caitlin Olejnik and Maggie Boyden, attended each weekly practice to help teach our skillathon youth. Both of these 4-H volunteer leaders give generously of their time and talents to work with the youth to achieve their goals.
Keeping youth and adults involved in agriculture is very important. With the average age of today’s farmer around 60, the question arises: where are the future agriculture producers? The answer is in the 4-H youth. These benefits of an animal project will be lost, along with the economic support to the county, if we don’t support today’s youth in their efforts
Sometimes we tend to look at livestock projects from the wrong point of view. It is not an animal project. It is not an animal show. IT IS THE YOUTH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. Do not place the emphasis on the animal, place the emphasis and value on what can be gained or learned by the boy and girl who are involved in the 4-H animal science project and the impact on the community in which they live.
For more information about the livestock program in Charles County, contact Bonnie Boyden at [email protected]
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Flourishing Fish
on Dry Land
Maryland Today, February 10
Amy Lang, UME's 4-H Development Educator, participated in a proposal as part of the $10 million grant awarded to the Extension to "ensure prospective salmon farmers aren't swimming upstream."
Farmed Atlantic salmon, one of the world’s most popular seafoods, is mostly raised in pens in oceans or other frigid Northern bodies of water, meaning that unless you can look out the window and sometimes see icebergs, your salmon source is likely hundreds or thousands of miles away.
That’s beginning to change as U.S. land-based Atlantic salmon farming takes hold because of increased demand for sustainably produced seafood and an interest in more locally grown food sources. Now, with the help of a $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to a multi-institutional team, the University of Maryland Extension (UME) is helping to advance the science and potential of these systems right here in Maryland.
Catherine Frederick, an aquaculture agent associate, is working with a wide range of stakeholders, including residents, local and state officials, industry and nonprofits to raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities involved with opening a land-based Atlantic salmon farm.
She’s focusing on a land-based farming practice known as recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), a self-contained technology that avoids pollution and prevents farmed fish from escaping and interbreeding or impacting local ecosystems. Water composition can also be adjusted as needed, while light and temperature control can help improve fish health, growth and performance, maximizing the availability of a healthy, locally grown food resource.
“The vision is to facilitate the growth of an environmentally sustainable, economically feasible U.S. Atlantic salmon industry,” said Frederick. “It’s an emerging industry and is creating lots of interest, excitement and questions.”
Partnering with Maryland Sea Grant’s Jim LaChance, Frederick will survey and assess community concerns in Maryland and other parts of the country where newly proposed, sited or possible Atlantic salmon aquaculture facilities may be built pending approval of permitting requirements.
“We’re engaging the local community” she said. “They want to know, is it safe? Is it economically viable? Will it help my community?”
The overall $10 million project, led by Yonathan Zohar of the University of Maryland Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, looks to foster sustainable practices and increase food security through salmon farming in land-based facilities nationwide. The Extension’s Maryland-focused efforts are funded by $654,000 over five years.
Additionally, UME educators Jackie Takacs and Amy Lang are incorporating Maryland Sea Grant’s Aquaculture in Action program into 4-H programming, as well as FFA/vocational agriculture classroom experiences. UME seafood safety specialist Cathy Liu will identify gaps in industry seafood safety procedures, quality inspection and nutritional data for land-based salmon farming. Bill Hubbard, state extension program leader for environmental, natural resources and Sea Grant programs, said the work can contribute to healthier diets, lower food costs and local jobs.
“There’s more demand than ever for seafood, and seafood that is sustainably produced, so it’s a promising and significant economic investment for the state,” said Frederick. “And it’s not just increasing investment into land-based aquaculture here in Maryland, it’s an emerging trend for the U.S. with Maryland in a leadership role.”
Amy Lang
4-H Youth Development Educator
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Save the Soil! Get the "Bare" Facts! |
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Cover cropping is a practice that has grown tremendously in popularity over the past decade, as researchers continue to document the benefits it provides to cropping systems and to the environment. By definition, cover crops include any crop that is planted primarily to cover otherwise bare soil, and provides benefits other than supplying a harvestable product. In Maryland, the most widespread cover cropping practice is to plant fall cereal grains after corn or soybean crops are harvested as a way of protecting the soil between growing seasons and also protecting water quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Cover crops protect the soil by physically covering the ground, which shields the soil from erosion caused by wind and rain. This keeps valuable topsoil in place, and prevents sediment from washing into local streams, which can cause harm to freshwater environments. In addition, the roots of cover crops help to stabilize and hold on to the soil, and roots take up and store any excess nitrogen fertilizer that might be present in the soil after the cash crop harvest. This helps to keep fertilizers from leaching into waterways, which contribute to harmful algal blooms in estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, and instead stores them in crop fields where they can be recycled during the next growing season. Pictured upper left: Barley cover crop, planted after soybean harvest, covers and protects the soil between cash crops
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Fall-planted cover crops are by far the most popular use of cover crops in Maryland, partly because of state and federal cost-share programs that help offset the cost for farmers to plant them. Protecting water quality of the Chesapeake Bay has been a priority for state conservation programs for decades, and winter cover crops have played a vital role in reaching goals of reducing nutrient pollution and improving the overall health of the bay. However, there are many other potential benefits that cover crops can provide to agriculture in addition to conserving soil nutrients and preventing erosion.
Cover crops can provide benefits that extend off the farm, such as trapping and storing greenhouse gases, and benefits that directly help farm production, such as suppressing weed and insect pests, and increasing soil quality. The exact benefits that farmers will get from planting cover crops depends on the species of cover crops that are planted, but also on the way in which those cover crops are managed; primarily how and when they are planted and how and when they are terminated.
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The most common plant species used as cover crops fall into the categories of grasses, brassicas, and legumes. Each of these groups tends to provide specific benefits to cropping systems based on the different physical and chemical characteristics of the species in those groups. Grass cover crops include cereal grains like wheat, barley, and rye, and also different forage species like ryegrass and sudangrass. These species tend to establish and grow quickly, and can produce a tremendous amount of biomass during relatively short periods. These qualities allow grass cover crops to contribute large amounts of organic carbon to the soil environment, which helps to support the soil food web, improves physical properties of the soil, and helps to trap and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Brassica cover crops include species like forage radish, canola, and mustard. Plants in this group naturally produce compounds that are toxic to soil-borne pests like nematodes after the plants die and decompose. In addition, forage radish produces a large taproot, which can be over two inches in diameter and over a foot long, as well as a deep-penetrating feeder root which can extend down five feet or more into the soil profile. This extraordinarily large root provides a way of naturally aerating and loosening compacted soil without using mechanical tillage. Common legume cover crops include many different clover species, vetch, and peas. Legumes are unique in that they have symbiotic bacteria in their roots that fix atmospheric nitrogen, and convert it to a form that crop plants can take up after the plants die and decompose. This nitrogen fixation allows legume cover crops to essentially act as a natural fertilizer for the following crop.
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Other than choosing different species of cover crops to plant, the actual benefits to the cropping system will depend on how those cover crops are managed; essentially when and where they are planted, and when and how they are terminated before planting the cash crop. One common method is to treat cover crops as an organic soil amendment, sometimes called a “green manure.” This method typically involves terminating a cover crop by mowing then tilling the cover crop under the soil to speed the breakdown of organic nutrients stored in the cover crop biomass, so those nutrients can be taken up by the following cash crop. This method is typically used for legume cover crops that are grown ahead of vegetable cash crops.
When cover crops are left on the surface by avoiding tillage, they can form an organic mulch layer, which can benefit the following crop by providing a physical barrier that prevents weed growth, and improves the habitat for beneficial arthropod species. The mulch layer on the surface can also help to reduce erosion even after the crop is killed. For this method, cover crops are typically terminated with herbicides, although there are non-chemical alternatives like mowing or rolling.
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Soybean no-till planted into killed rye cover crop that continues to protect the soil from erosion. |
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Rye cover crop residue persisting as a mulch on the soil surface helps to block weeds |
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Red clover cover crop fixes nitrogen and provides flower resources for pollinators and other beneficial insects |
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Grass covers tend to provide the most effective mulch layers, since they produce high biomass, and their residue breaks down more slowly than legumes or brassicas. This method is used most often in large-scale grain crops, which can be no-till planted directly into the residue, although some vegetable crops, such as pumpkin can also be planted into cover crop mulch. An alternative to killed organic mulch is using living cover crop plants as a living mulch. This method keeps cover crops growing between rows of cash crops, where they can suppress weeds, support natural enemies, and (if flowering cover crops are used) may support beneficial pollinator species throughout the cropping season.
Since living mulches continue to grow, they do not depend on producing a high amount of biomass before termination, and therefore can provide more flexibility in planting times. Ideally, a living mulch will establish and cover the ground quickly, but will not grow so vigorously that it will begin to compete with the cash crop.
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Research continues to improve upon cover cropping strategies, while finding new benefits that cover crops can provide to agriculture and the environment. Actual applications are going to be very specific to the farm: what cash crops are grown, what pest pressure exists, what the environmental conservation priorities exist for that area, etc.
Also, the Northeast Cover Crop Council [AL2] has designed an online tool to help farmers select which cover crop species to use, but the specific applications will likely require a bit of on-farm experimentation [AL3] to optimize the practice. However, with the diverse types of cover crops to choose from, and the many ways that they can be managed, chances are there is room for some form of cover cropping on any farm. Above right: Annual ryegrass planted as a living mulch between rows of tomatoes prevents soil erosion and competes with weeds all season.
Sources:
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Dr. Alan Leslie
Extension Educator
Agriculture and Food Systems
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Do I need a Nutrient Management Plan? |
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Plan development time is almost over but there are still a few late-comers. It is ideal to have your plan completed prior to any nutrients being applied, but it is possible for me to write a partial plan that shows what you have already applied and future applications you plan to apply. Our next step would be to consider the Pre-Sidedress Nitrate Test (PSNT).
PSNT is applicable on fields where:
- Corn for silage or grain is being grown
- Manure or biosolids have been applied this year or in the past two (2) years
- A forage legume was grown last year
- Less than 50 pounds of commercial fertilizer nitrogen per acre were applied prior to sidedress
PSNT is not applicable on fields where:
- More than 50 pounds of commercial fertilizer nitrogen per acre have been applied prior to sidedress
- Commercial fertilizer has historically been the only nutrient source
- Irrigation is used
Soil samples for the PSNT should be taken when the corn is between 6 and 12 inches tall, prior to the rapid growth stage when the plant will require adequate nitrogen to fuel its growth. The soil should be sampled to a depth of 12 inches and multiple samples (recommended 30 – 40) should be collected throughout the field/management unit. Just like traditional soil sampling, these samples should be mixed in a clean plastic bucket and a sub-sample taken for testing. Please allow 2 business days for the test results.
This test can either potentially save you money on nitrogen fertilizer if the results show adequate nitrate-nitrogen in the soil, or it can optimize your yield by making you aware that inadequate nitrate-nitrogen exist in the soil and so a sidedress is recommended.
Please contact me early in the season to sign up for this useful test.
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Francis Warring
Nutrient Management Advisor
301-539-3058
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Feel free to contact our staff with any questions
or ideas you have to help make our community better.
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University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity, please contact us at (301) 934-5403.
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