Freeze Protection

Anytime there is a weather forecast for a hard freeze, we can cover our plants to provide some protection. If the sky is overcast and rainy there is less chance of cold weather than if it is clear. If you have seedling plants that are just emerging or half-hardy transplants, you may want to consider covering them overnight. Place covers such as blankets, boxes or plastic (not touching the plants if possible) over the area late in the day. Windy conditions may blow covers off so anchor them down thoroughly. Dont be concerned with seedlings that have not emerged or potatoes underground. They will be fine. Click on the link and go to page 2 of the this publication for information on how freeze hardy different vegetables are.
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf315.pdf

Broccoli

Broccoli is good for you and will more likely get eaten when grown at home. Fortunately, everyone in our family will eat broccoli. Now is the time to get the spring crop planted. It can also be planted in early August for a fall harvest.
This is one of my favorite vegetable crops to grow because it is very productive. After the main head is harvested, it will continue to produce side heads that can be harvested. Use wide spacing of up to 3 feet if you want to harvest large central heads. Closer spacing will produce smaller central heads. But if you harvest secondary heads you will get a greater total yield from the closer spacing.
Select short and stocky broccoli plants that have four or five true leaves for planting. Larger, older transplants are more likely to bolt when exposed to cool temperatures in the garden. Some cultivars will form small “button” heads when the weather turns warm following a 10 day stretch when high temperatures only reach the 40s F.
At transplanting, use a cup of liquid fertilizer that contains phosphorus to get them off to a quick start. Too much nitrogen fertilizer may cause hollow stems.
Plants have shallow roots. Use mulch or hand weeding verse cultivation. They like moist and well-drained soil. Give the crop one inch of water per week when rainfall is lacking. Be particularly generous with water as the head starts to develop.
Fertilizer applied will produce a large plant and a larger head. Sprinkle additional fertilizer after planting along the row every 2-3 weeks as the crop develops. Well manured gardens or soil with added compost will need less added fertilizer.
Full sun is best for quick growth. It will grow in part sun but will take longer to mature. Green Comet is the quickest at around 40 days. Packman takes 50 to 73 days. Premium Crop is a long one at 62 to 82 days.
The imported cabbage worm and occasionally the cabbage looper will want their share of the harvest. You can observe these caterpillars feeding on the underside of the leaves and in the broccoli head. Several insecticides can be used such as Bacillus thuringiensis or spinosad. I use a barrier called a floating row cover to keep the butterflies from being able to lay their eggs.
Planting now, one can expect to begin harvesting in mid to late June and July. Harvest the florets when they are tight and have a good green color. Once the buds start to open and yellow appears, it is getting late for harvest.

On Your Mark; Get Set -- GREEN!

The 2009 Riley County Fair will sport the theme of Green. Save your green by attending this family event July 23-27, at CiCo Park, in Manhattan. Share your talents (arts, foods, plants, photography, clothing, quilts and the like) in the Open Class divisions. Ride the carnival in the summer sun. Cheer on your favorite parade entry on July 23. Taste fair favorites from funnel cakes to corn on the cob and more. View projects by local youth and hang out with your friends and family. One thing is certain - plan to save your "green" by visiting the fair!

Positive Discipline for All Ages

The word "discipline" often comes with a negative connotation. In reality, discipline is simply a teaching tool to model and praise good behavior. When done properly, discipline teaches our children self-control and helps them to start setting their own limits and develop their own morals and inhibitions. Discipline should not be a tool to enforce power or make a child feel inferior. The number one thing to remember about discipline is to stay POSITIVE! Don’t just punish bad behaviors; model and praise good behaviors and teach the proper or alternative behavior to a misbehavior.

Children of different ages respond to discipline techniques differently. Therefore, it is important to mold your discipline style to fit your child's age. You can’t tell a newborn to “stop crying because it hurts my ears” because obviously the child cannot understand the language. The following is a simple list of discipline tips and techniques that can be used at varying ages. Keep in mind that all children are different, have different temperaments, and grow and mature in different ways. What works for one child may not work for the next. Patience, practice, and perseverance are key to developing more positive discipline tactics.

Birth – 18 months
-Infants cannot obey or disobey their parents/caregivers.
-No discipline is needed at this age, instead, focus on developing a warm relationship with the child.
-Praise the baby with hugs, smiles, attention, and time
-Ignore minor misbehaviors that are not issues of safety.
-Prevent many problems from occurring by baby-proofing the home.
-Always model and teach behaviors that you feel are appropriate.

18 months – 2 years
-Toddlers still don’t easily obey commands.
-If child is doing something you wish to stop, try distraction techniques.
-Get the child’s attention by doing things the child likes and will engage in sharing behaviors.
-Using reasoning and talking to a toddler usually doesn’t work.
-Rearrange your environment (remove objects that could cause problems) to avoid problems.

2-4 years
-Children of this age start to develop strong routines and natural tendencies – work with these tendencies if possible.
-Avoid giving complex choices.
-Do not expect children of this age to wait for things or easily share with others.
-Praise good behaviors and continue modeling acceptable behavior.
-Use distraction techniques to change the subject or get them interested in something else.
-Use a child’s natural tendencies – for example, if a child loves to climb, but is always getting in trouble for climbing on the furniture, take him/her to the park and let him/her climb all he/she wants with your supervision.
-Make sure the limits and boundaries you set are reasonable for the age and maturity of the child.

4-6 years
-Continue praise and compliments for good behaviors.
-Whispering is sometimes an effective tool.
-Keep few rules, but be rigid when enforcing them. Make sure your rules have meaning and specific consequences, and make sure your children are aware of them.
-Many “bad” behaviors are simply immaturities. Be patient and remember your child is still maturing and learning.
-Avoid punishment (spanking, yelling, etc.) if at all possible. If you feel it is necessary, do so calmly and after you have cooled down - NEVER punish out of anger!

6-11 years
-Prevent problems before they happen to avoid having to punish.
-Continue praise and compliments for good behavior.
-Allow children of this age the freedom to make simple choices and feel independent.
-Allow children to fail (as long as failing isn’t an issue of safety or extreme danger), but support them through it.
-Show your child the natural and logical consequences of their actions – for example – “If you go outside in the snow with no gloves on, your hands will get cold” is a natural consequence. “We do not eat dinner without washing our hands, so you won’t be able to eat with us until your hands are washed” is a logical consequence. Make sure your rules have consequences that make sense.
-If a child is expected to do chores, tell him/her about them in advance, then remind the child before he/she forgets.
-Save using direct commands for important things.
-Motivate the child with time, attention, and approval.
-Allow for some independence, but make sure your expectations are not beyond your child’s maturity level.

Teenage years
-Pay attention to your body language and tone when talking with your teen. Keep your tone friendly and not demeaning. Try to talk with your teen, not at your teen.
-Allow your teen to fail and use those times to teach valuable lessons and discuss what went wrong. Do not place blame for failure, but use it as a discussion topic.
-Make your teen feel included by allowing them to have a reasonable say in curfews, rules, decisions, and guidelines. Make discussions about rules be a conversation and listen to your teen’s point of view.
-Rules should be logical, explained, and make sense to your teen.
-Listen to your teen and validate their ideas, even if you don’t agree with them.
-Go easy on initial offenses. Use these times to explain why they were wrong, and discuss ways to improve in the future.

Stay tuned for more discipline and behavior-management tips in later blog posts!

Be sure to check out this resource from The University of Maine Cooperative Extension relating to discipline through different ages.
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4140.htm

"Endless Possibilities"

Imagine having the life of a college student. Attend interesting classes, take part in tours and off-campus field trips, experience life in the residence halls and try out campus entertainment. This mini-college experience happens during Discovery Days!

Youth age 13 through 18 are invited to participate in this year's conference, to be held at Kansas State University, June 2-5. Attend classes on animal science, cooking, golf, horse judging, environment, dancing, art, engineering and much more. Last year's event brought over 600 youth together from across the state of Kansas! This event certainly has "endless opportunities" for growth this year too!

In order to get your favorite classes, register EARLY. Registration is due April 15, but register sooner to have the best class selection. Visit http://www.kansas4h.org/Events/DiscoveryDays/Default.htm to check out the class catalog and to learn more about this awesome opportunity. Register online, and find out immediately if you got your favorite classes at https://4hyp-ts.oznet.ksu.edu/wconnect/ace/home.htm

Have you attended Discovery Days in the past? If so, share your favorite part about Discovery Days in the comment section below. See you there!

Summer 4-H Camp

Camp sounds so inviting, especially since the current temperatures have been in the 30's! Riley County 4-H members, and friends, will be visiting Rock Springs 4-H Center, June 6-9, for 4-H Camp. Youth in grades 2nd-7th are invited to participate as campers.

Campers will ride the trail horses, design their own t-shirt, try archery, swim, explore the Flint Hills nature, karaoke, take on the leadership adventure course, canoe, perform in skits and much more. Our theme this year is "Be Creative!" We will explore art, music, drama and much, much more. Campers will also have the chance to try Zumba!

Rock Springs will be our home for the camp experience. We will join youth from Dickinson, Geary, Morris, Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties for the camp adventure. Campers will be grouped by 8 per room, with two teen counselors. We will live in cabins or tents, and eat meals together in a family-style setting, at Williams Dining Hall.

One of my favorite things about camp is the Campfire. After it has gotten dark, we will all gather around the camp fire to sing songs, tell stories and share laughs. Counselors will lead us in the games and activities. The best camp memories always involve a song.

Camp is definitely something you won't want to miss. I am excited already to eat my favorite snack -- frozen lemonade at the snack bar and get goosebumps as we raise our nation's flag and 4-H flag each day.

Visit http://www.riley.ksu.edu/ to get your camp registration copy. You can also register and pay online at this site too.

Are you ready for some creative fun? See you at camp!

Restaurant Food at Home for Less: Bruschetta

After being inspired by a recent anniversary dinner at a fancy restaurant, I decided to try recreating one of my favorite appetizers – bruschetta.

Bruschetta is an appetizer that originated in Italy. It consists of a small piece of toasted or grilled bread that is rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, or other seasonings. American bruschetta is also commonly topped with cheese, basil, and tomatoes.

The bruschetta I copied is a version of the common cheese/tomato appetizer. I had a lot to go from since the menu at the restaurant informed me that the bruschetta topping was made from goat cheese with a marinade of olives and balsamic vinegar. On the side were diced tomatoes with basil seasoning. The dish I came up with tasted almost exactly like the restaurant dish, and cost much less!

Ingredients:
Bread for grilling or toasting – French or Italian
Small portion of Goat cheese (I found goat cheese with basil mixed in already, or you can mix in your own)
Basil
6-7 Green olives
1 can Diced tomatoes
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic (you can also use garlic salt)

Method:
Mince a handful of green olives (about 6-7) and place in a small bowl. You can use a food processor for a finer mince. Drizzle the olives with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Mix well.
In another bowl, combine diced tomatoes (canned or fresh) with about 3 tsp. basil and mix.
Slice bread at an angle and place on a clean surface to prepare for seasoning.
Rub with a smashed clove of garlic, or sprinkle with garlic salt. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper, and basil. For authentic bruschetta, grill the bread pieces on a grill. You can get a smiliar effect from using an electric kitchen grill as shown below. You can also broil for several minutes on each side until bread is golden brown, use a toaster oven, or a hot regular oven to toast the bread.
To serve:
Roll cheese into a ball and create a cylinder shape. Place cheese on appetizer plate. Spoon a thin layer of olive mixture onto the top of cheese cylinder. Place a small amount of tomato/basil mixture around the cheese and arrange toasted bread on the outside of the plate.
When ready to eat, spread cheese/olives onto toast and top with tomatoes. Enjoy!
Restaurant bruschetta: $14 (!)
My home-made similar bruschetta: $5
Total savings: $9

Thrifty Wardrobe Makeover

With today's economy and our growing concern for the environment, people are scrambling to find inexpensive and earth-friendly ways to revamp their old clothes, or get a new wardrobe for less money. Clothing reconstruction - or taking an old garment and giving it a new life as something new - fits both of these purposes. It saves money (if you use your own old clothes, it's virtually free!) and it prevents textile waste that could otherwise end up in our landfills. I decided to try my hand at some clothing reconstruction projects and can say from experience that even if you don't succeed, it is still a great learning experience and lots of fun!

I took a recent trek to the local thrift store with one thing in mind: how can I turn these used items into something new? One thing that helped my adventure was to view the pieces of clothing not as garments, but as fabric. I focused my search on finding large pieces of nice fabric – which meant finding the largest sizes possible – or colors that stuck out to me. I ended up getting about 7 sweaters, most of which were 100% wool, and about 6 large and colorful T-Shirts. The grand shopping total was less than $40. Think of all the fabric I got for $40! Incredible! So now I was left to wonder what I was going to do with all that stuff. For the first of my clothing reconstruction attempts, please read on. I will post more updates as I complete other projects. This is an ongoing process as I am constantly learning, experimenting, and getting new creative ideas.

One lumpy sweater (I was struck with the stripes and colors of this piece) took on a new life as…a skirt!

Here is the sweater before any reconstruction took place:

I removed the arms and cut off the top of the sweater. The bottom edge ribbing became the waistband with a little adjusting and alteration of the side seams.

I could have stopped here, but the skirt is a bit short, and lacks some personality. I decided to add a bottom band to the skirt for contrast and length. The sweater arms, when cut straight, became the bottom band of the skirt.
It still needs a lining, and I can do that with some simple knit – I could even use one of the old large T-shirts I found!

Thrift Store Sweater Skirt: $4 Comparable department store skirt: $50 Total savings: $46

Stay tuned for some more reconstructed clothing blog posts and ideas!

For more information and ideas on clothing reconstruction, check out Ohio State University Extension's Recycled Clothing fact sheet.

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