Verticillium wilt in Maple

My Amur Maple tree allee is suffering from Verticillium wilt. This disease is found in catalpa, redbud, maples, and Russian olive. I have lots of redbuds without this disease. Affected trees show a rapid wilting and drying of leaves in a portion of the tree crown, or in some cases, throughout the entire crown. Vascular discoloration can sometimes be seen on the cut ends of wilted branches.

Christmas Shopping In August!?!?

I bought my first Christmas gift this week! I know—the back-to-school supplies are still on the shelves, but this is actually late for me. Sometimes I start my shopping in January!

I find that saving money all year long, and buying gifts throughout the year helps me to avoid the credit card blues each January.

Do you have a holiday account? Holiday accounts are offered by most financial institutions as a way to help you save for holiday expenses. In most cases, you make weekly or monthly deposits into this account starting early in the year, but you can’t make any withdrawals. Depending on how the account is set up, your bank will give you a check for the amount you have deposited throughout the year plus interest in October or November. You can either make the deposits yourself or arrange to have them automatically deducted from a bank account.

The holiday savings account is a good option for those who are not disciplined enough to set aside money each month for Christmas. This can help you develop the discipline if you need it. One of the best ways to begin saving money is to do it automatically. If you are interested in opening a holiday savings account, talk to an account representative at your local bank or credit union.

Happy shopping!

Back to School = Back to Routine

The school bells are ringing once again, and it is hard to believe that summer has about ended! Now is the time to start a school routine that is sure to earn “A’s.” Has your family mapped out the school course?

· Lay out clothes the night before, and this will cut down on some of the morning rush.
· If packing a lunch, pack what can be packed the night before. Place all room temperature items, such as crackers, chips, napkins, silverware, etc. in the box or bag. Add the refrigerated items in the morning before you step out the door.
· Gather your backpack goods before you head to bed. Have it all together, and ready by your front door.
· Set aside a designated homework “spot.” Keep pencils, pens, erasers, markers, crayons, rulers and paper at this site.
· Determine a homework time, and stick to it.
· Get plenty of sleep. Brains function better on sleep. Try to keep bedtimes consistent each night.
· Eat breakfast before you dart out the door. Breakfast is the most important brain fuel.

How did you do? If the above items become your school habits, then you will definitely make the grade this year. Good luck!!

Grape Harvest

My Reliance grape is reaching maturity. It has two disease issues. Anthracnose which are the "bullseye" lesions on the fruit and black rot which makes the dried up or raisin like fruit. Protective fungicide sprays along with cultural practices are needed to manage these diseases. See Extension publication Fruit Tree Spray

Deer Feeding

Deer have found my sweet potatoes. I need to get the bird netting out to protect the leaves so that they can feed the roots.

Tobacco Hornworm

Sorry for the poor picture. I have this tomato on my deck in an Earthbox and I was up against my wall to take the picture. It is a tobacco hornworm feeding on the tomato. Control is picking it off. Missing leaves and the fecal material are sure signs to look closely for the culprit.

Minor Measurement Mix-Up

Last week was the first ever Cooking Camp experience for 19 third-fifth grade students. Ginny and Andrea led the “Chefs” in designing aprons, games, cooking, measuring, kitchen safety, menu planning and a host of other culinary skills. Our young “chefs” quickly learned that a key to any recipe success is to read.

Our breakfast themed day involved work with eggs. Cracking eggs and separating eggs were listed as favorite activities by many of the young cooks. After practice with eggs, it was time to get down to business of completing the recipe for a creation. The recipe of “Sunrise Sandwiches” took on a little hint of night because of a measurement mistake.

The chef team quickly grabbed ingredients and added a ¼ cup of pepper and a ¼ cup of salt to their recipe of 6 eggs. Shredded cheddar cheese was thrown in to complete the mix. After a quick look in the bowl, the adults discovered that the recipe did not quite look right.

After a chat with the team, and a review of the recipe, it was discovered that the recipe actually required a ¼ teaspoon of both salt and pepper. Without enough eggs to remedy the large quantity of salt, we scrapped that batch and began again.

The second recipe was truly sunny – bright yellow and orange – and quickly gobbled up by some very hungry cooks!

Herbicide injury

This tomato, I've been growing in a 5 gallon bucket using only compost from the KSU beef unit compost. It has done poorly on account that there appears to be some residual herbicide in the compost. Note the distorted leaves. It does have a few tomatoes.