Mercer County 1007 Lexington RD Harrodsburg, KY 40330-9203 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID Harrodsburg, KY

PERMIT #72

Mercer County Horticulture Newsletter

January, 2018

Mercer County

1007 Lexington Road Harrodsburg, KY 40330

(859) 734-4378 Fax: (859) 734-4379

http://mercer.ca.uky.edu

From The Ground Up

Brrrrr it’s cold outside! Stay warm inside by planning and day dreaming about all the new things that you will add to

your garden this upcoming growing season! Happy Gardening!

Jessica Bessin

Mercer County Extension Agent for Horticulture

NOTICE

Public Notification of Procedure for Filing a Complaint:

The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age, religion, gender, disability, or national origin.

To initiate a complaint at the college level, contact Tim West in the Business Office at 859-257-3879. At the University level, Terry Allen and Patty Bender in the UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (859-257-8927) may be contacted. Additionally, employee or clientele complaints involving any research or

extension sponsored program or activity may be directed to the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Bldg., 14th & Independence Ave. SW, Washington DC 20250-9410 (202-720-5964).

Recycling Live Christmas Trees

A live Christmas tree's usefulness doesn't have to end after Christmas. Trees can

provide habitat for wildlife and mulch for plants. Christmas trees can be used to

create a feeding station for birds and other backyard wildlife. Secure the tree by

wiring it to a post or deck; nailing it to a flat wooden base and anchoring it with a

rope and three stakes; or supporting the trunk in a 5 gallon bucket filled with

damp sand. Popcorn garlands and strings of cranberries, unshelled peanuts, stale

marshmallows or cereal will attract birds initially, but plan to add treats

throughout the winter. Add snacks such as apple slices, orange wedges, leftover

holiday breads, fruit cakes or nuts, suet cakes or pine cones smeared with peanut butter and rolled in bird seed. Place a

bird feeder in or under the old Christmas tree. Birds love the sheltered dining area. Add a dish of fresh water daily to

complete the backyard wildlife refuge. Christmas tree limbs can be laid over perennial flowers such as mums and bulbs to

insulate plants against wind, severe cold and soil heaving from freezing and thawing temperatures. Evergreen branches

stuck into the ground like a picket fence around broad leaved evergreens such as holly or rhododendrons will protect

plants from drying winter winds. Christmas wreaths are a perfect size to lay around many perennials as a mulch. In the

spring, use the old Christmas tree skeleton as a trellis for scarlet runner beans or climbing sweet peas. Vines quickly

cover the tree for a beautiful display. Chipped needles and limbs make excellent mulch around trees and shrubs. A

commonly asked question is whether pine mulch is toxic to plants. This mulch myth probably originates from some

observant folks noticing few plants grow under evergreen trees and then mistakenly concluding the pine needles must be

toxic. Few plants grow under evergreen trees because of dense shade from close tree spacing, competition from surface

tree roots and the dense mulch of the needles. However, with any freshly chipped mulch or sawdust, plants. Especially

new transplants can experience a nitrogen deficiency. Microbes which decompose the fresh mulch require nitrogen that

may in turn rob it from surrounding plants. This is most commonly a problem in new transplants or newly established

plants. Fresh chips should be composted first for about three months, or special attention to nitrogen fertilization during

the growing season should remedy this problem. Other options include checking with your waste hauler or city streets

division to see if they have a Christmas tree recycling program. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is collecting trees for fish

habitat. See the insert within this newsletter for tree drop off locations, tree collection ends January 15th. For the safety

of your home and hearth, don't burn Christmas trees in the fireplace. A dry tree seems to virtually explode and the resin

can build up in the chimney. Also, don't dump the tree in the country. For many of us the country is our home. We just

have bigger yards that include corn fields and cows. Source: Illinois Horticulture Extension

Mark Those Calendars!!!

2018 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference– January 8th-9th, Embassy Suites Hotel, Lexington KY.

The KY fruit and vegetable conference is a great meeting for anyone who is interested in gardening. The conference

covers many topics from fruit production, organic gardening, commercial vegetable production, farmers markets, wine

and grape production, insect management, disease management, and a variety of vendors will be present selling

horticultural supplies. Registration and fee can be completed at the door or mailed in at an earlier time. See insert for

registration form.

Martin Luther King Day– January 15th, Mercer County Extension Office is closed.

Mercer County’s 12th Annual Martin Luther King Day Events– January 15th, Mercer County Transformation

(former Harrodsburg High School) 8:00 AM

Pancake breakfast starts at 8:00 AM ( admission to breakfast is a of donation to Mercer Transformation) followed by

commemorative march at 9:00 AM and special program at 9:30 AM.

Adult Country Ham Workshop– January 15th, Mercer County Extension Office 12 PM

Leadership Appreciation Luncheon– January 22, Mercer County Extension Office 12:00 PM– 1:30 PM

Join us for lunch and time to network with local leaders and elected officials. This event is sponsored by the Mercer

County Extension Council. Please RSVP to 859-734-4378 by January 16th.

Kentucky Nursery & Landscape Association Spring Training and Showcase– January 24th-26th, Louisville KY

For more information and to register for the conference visit http://knla.org/

Fort Harrod Beekeeping Club –January 29th, Mercer County Extension Office 6:30 PM

Farmers Dinner Theater-February 5th, Mercer County Extension Office 6 PM

See insert for more details.

Mercer/Boyle Apple Grafting and Pruning Class– February 24th, location TBA 10:00 AM -3:00 PM

This grafting class will go over nutrition and growing info for apples. In the morning, there will be a

hands-on pruning demonstration. In the afternoon, lunch will be provided and grafting will begin.

Participants will take home 3 apple trees, as well as a grafting knife. 15 person limit, $20 payment

secures your spot! Please Call: 859-236-4484.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

Got holes in your tree? All sorts of insects, often beetles or clearwing moths, have a larval

form that chew wood. Some feed deeply within the tree while others such as Emerald ash

borer feed just below the bark. If however the holes in your tree occur in straight lines,

either horizontal or vertical, then the damage is probably from Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

The first clue to confirm it’s a sapsucker is that with borer damage, there may be only one

hole, rarely more than a few holes, and the holes that are present are randomly spaced. The

second clue that sapsuckers are causing the damage is that the holes are no deeper than a

sapsucker's beak, whereas borers create tunnels. Sapsuckers are members of the woodpecker family. The Yellow-bellied

Sapsucker is the only woodpecker in eastern North America that is completely migratory. Although a few individuals

remain throughout much of the winter in the southern part of the breeding range, most head farther south, going as far

south as Panama. Females tend to migrate farther south than do males. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are mostly black and

white with boldly patterned faces. Both sexes have red foreheads, and males also have red throats. Look for a long white

stripe along the folded wing. Bold black-and-white stripes curve from the face toward a black chest shield and white or

yellowish underparts. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is the primary found in Kentucky during the winter season. While

sapsuckers will eat insects, they make holes in bark in order to eat the sap that flows from the opening. Trees that are

most often attacked are pine, birch, maple, spruce and fruit trees, but other tree species may be damaged. Most damage is

done between February and June, which corresponds to the breeding season and territory establishment. In general,

sapsuckers rarely cause serious damage to trees because the holes are shallow. However, sometimes enough holes are

formed so as to girdle an area of the tree or the entire trunk, killing part or all of the tree. In addition, a particular tree may

be revisited by the same sapsucker for multiple years with enough damage resulting that the tree is weakened and thus

more susceptible to disease, drought and insect pests. If a sapsucker is damaging your favorite shade tree, some options

for controlling the problem are available. However, it is important to know that sapsuckers are very persistent and very

territorial. The greatest opportunity for the following control measures to work is if they are applied as soon as the

problem begins. Wrap the damaged area in burlap, 3/4-inch plastic mesh netting or 1/4-inch hardware cloth as soon as

the bird is discovered drilling on the tree. Remove the wrapping before summer. Smear sticky bird

repellents such as Tanglefoot®, 4-The-Birds®, and Roost-No-More® on the tree trunk. The

materials will not trap the birds in place, but rather result in a tacky feel that the birds do not like.

The scaring the bird with whirling toy pinwheels, balloons with eyes drawn on them, strips of

aluminum and aluminum pie plates has limited effectiveness. The use of an artificial owl, cat or

snake is generally considered ineffective. Loud noises repeated over time may cause the birds to

leave. Importantly, sapsuckers are classified as migratory, nongame birds and as such are

protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Lethal control measures are not allowed

without a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which can be obtained only with justifiable reason and upon the

recommendation of USDA-APHIS Animal Damage Control personnel. Source: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Seed Catalogs: Planning Ahead For The Growing Season

It might seem like the growing season is a long way off, but right now is the perfect time to

start planning for this spring’s garden. Many seed catalogs start arriving in December, and if

you are like me they are starting to pile up on the counter. These catalogs are advertising

the latest disease resistant varieties of your favorite fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Start

searching through those seed catalogs now and see if there is anything new that interests

you. A few seed companies even offer discounts for ordering seeds early and will often

throw in an extra packet of seed of a new variety for you to try. If you need help picking out disease resistant varieties

that are well suited for this area, we have several resources we can offer from variety trials that the University of

Kentucky has published. Contact the Extension office if you would like any additional information.

Sapsucker Damage

Drop Off

Locations

Near Mercer

County