Volume 40 / January 2022
Pottawatomie County

Agriculture & Horticulture
News & Updates
Note: Underlined texts are clickable links for more details.
Happy New Year 2022!
Open Cows and Your Bottom Line
You should have already pregnancy checked your cows by this time, but if you haven’t, it might be a good time to consider it. Do you really want to go through the expense of feeding a cow through the winter that is not going to provide you with a sellable calf next year?
 
Follow the link below for more information.

Open Cows (click)
How is Your Ryegrass or Tall Fescue Pasture?
It has been a dry fall and early winter for all of Pottawatomie County this year. Forages such as tall fescue and annual ryegrass have not fared well, and the coming spring may end up being one of those where you are forced to feed large quantities of hay and supplement into early spring.

Link to find out more about evaluating your cool-season pasture.

Garden Planning Time
Soil Preparation
Most would not think about tilling a garden plot, for vegetables or annuals, during the winter months. However, this is an excellent time to amend garden soils. Moderate moisture, not too wet or dry will help protect the soil structure. Applying two to four inches of organic matter such as leaf material, preferably chopped up or shredded, will help improve soil conditions as the organic material continues to break down through the winter months. In addition to improving soil tilth, tilling the garden during winter can expose overwintering pests such as insects to the freezing temperatures and reduce the potential for problems next spring.
Seed Care - Ordering and Storage
January is a great time to make that wish list and begin to order seeds for the 2022 garden. The link below has more details about how to properly handle seeds for best germination. Great tips we often overlook.

Seed Care (click for more information from Dr. Lynn Brandenberger)
Feeding the Birds
It’s important to match your birdfeeders to the type of bird you want to attract. Smaller birds such as chickadee, tufted titmouse, and finches prefer the tube feeders. Larger birds such as cardinals and blue jays prefer hopper or platform feeders, and birds such as the morning dove eat seed on the ground. Just as people prefer different types of food, birds prefer different types of food. Thistle and black oil sunflowers are good for smaller birds, cardinals like sunflowers of all types and millet is good for ground feeding birds. A good general bird feeding mix is white proso millet and black oil sunflower. Suet is good for woodpeckers and nuthatches. 

What is coming up in Pottawatomie County?

Did you know Events are listed on our web page?
(Click, and scroll down to Local Events on the right side.
You can search by county or topic, if you click View All Events)
The VASE Project /Local Recycling!

January Extension Project
Do you have glass vases in the cabinet or shelf collecting dust? Would you rather have space instead? This photo is from what we have in the office cabinet alone.

Let us help you with early spring cleaning!

Bring clean, empty glass vases to our office during the month of January and we will recycle them! Please do not bring wooden or pottery vases at this time, only vases that will hold water!

So far, three local flower shops will be participating for distribution in early February. Graves Floral, House of Flowers and Shawnee Floral will receive equal portions of the vases collected and were all excited about the opportunity!

Some glass supplies have been affected with supply chain issues and this is a win / win for our community and local businesses. Any glass that is not usable in the shops will be recycled appropriately through glass recycling centers.

Have questions?
Contact Carla 405-273-7683 or email [email protected]
Our office will be closed Monday, January 17th
for Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Multi-County Master Gardeners
Executive Meeting January 12th
OSU Extension Office Classroom
9:30 am

January 19th
9:00 am
OSU Extension Office Classroom
Shawnee, OK

Snacks and coffee at 9:00 am, business meeting at 9:30am. Discussion of project grants and program planning. Gardening with the Experts booth planning. Receive your 2022 membership cards if dues are paid.

2022 Master Gardener Course begins on January 20th!
Enrollment has concluded. Late students might be still able to add before Jan. 14th, contact Carla (click) Cost is $90.

Click here to view the Class Schedule


The Pottawatomie County Cattlemen's Association wishes everyone a

HAPPY NEW YEAR !



Their will be a PCCA Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 6:30pm at the OSU Pottawatomie County Extension Office.
Gardening with the Experts
January 29, 2022
9 am to noon
Gordon Cooper Technology Center
Shawnee, OK
Brought to you by the Shawnee Community Beautification Committee!
Cost is $10, half price to Master Gardeners. Buy your tickets in advance if you don't want to wait in line.

Landscape Recovery Part One - Pruning Workshop
February 8th, 2022
10 am to noon
Pottawatomie County OSU Extension Grounds and Classroom
How to prune crape myrtles and other plants to improve damaged landscapes.

Hands-on and classroom time both, weather permitting! Dress in layers for outside!
Please RSVP, 405-273-7683
Pollinator Gardens
Gordon Cooper Technology Center, Shawnee, OK
February 22, 2022
6 pm to 7 pm
Register with Gordon Cooper to enroll in this class. 405-273-7493.
Class information Look under Personal Enrichment tab and then Home and Garden
Announcements for events and online programs
Horticulture Industries Show - The Future is Green!
January 13-14, 2022
The Graduate Hotel
Fayetteville, AR
This is a great conference and get-away-trip!
Doug Tallamy will be in Oklahoma! He is an award winning author on native plants and conservation, presenting about his latest book "Nature's Best Hope".

February 4th in Tulsa, OK

February 5th in Edmond, OK

Online Shackelford Horticulture Webinar Series for 2022
New Schedule! New Registration!
These are intended for all audiences! Master Gardeners are encouraged to use these lectures for educational hours. Home gardeners and industry personnel will find something new to learn.
Red River Crops Conference

This conference addresses agricultural crop production topics for the southwest Oklahoma and Texas Rolling Plains Areas. This is a joint conference between Texas A&M Agri-Life and OSU cooperative extension services.

Wednesday, January 19, 7:30am - Thursday, January 20, 2:15pm.
Altus Expo Center, 300 S. Todd Lane, Altus, OK

RANCHER's THURSDAY LUNCHTIME SERIES.

The previous RANCHER's LUNCHTIME SERIES workshops are also available online for viewing at your convenience.

Go to our landing page at Beef.okstate.edu or just click on the link below:

Average Fertilizer Prices
Current Price/Last Reported
Urea (46-0-0).......$880 down from $947.00
DAP (18-46-0)......$847 no change.
Pot Ash (0-0-60)..$772 down from $820.00
These prices are based on an average of three area bulk fertilizer dealers. (updated December 29, 2021)

Just a note, these prices can change daily. Shop around for price and availability.
CATTLE PRICES
HAY PRICING
For Hay and Cattle prices: Red will indicate a drop in price, Green will indicate a rise in price. (12 29 2021)
Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is implied.
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Please let us know if special accommodations are needed, two weeks prior to an event.