By The Yard

Fayette County Extension

The Red Velvet Ant: Not Delicious nor Cuddly 2

Bulb Planting Time 2

Disrupt Vegetable Pests with Prompt Fall Sanitation 3

Recipe: Apple Cranberry Waldorf Salad 3

Black Walnuts 4

October Quick Picks 5

Jamie’s Farm and Garden ~ A Virtual Tour flyer

7

The Arboretum flyer 6

Inside this issue:

Cooperative Extension Service

Fayette County Extension

1140 Harry Sykes Way

Lexington, KY 40504

Phone (859) 257-5582

Email: DL_CES_Fayette@email.uky.edu

October, 2019

HORTICULTURE NEWSLETTER

In Praise of Trees outside your window is beneficial. A 1980s study found that gallbladder surgery patients who saw trees outside their hospital windows had shorter hospital stays, gave their nurses more favorable reviews, and took fewer painkillers than similar patients whose view was a plain brick wall.

It’s understood that trees promote human health and longevity. The reverse may be true as well. An article in the Atlantic Monthly reported that where the Emerald Ash Borer was prevalent, the corresponding loss in tree canopy was associated with 6,113 human deaths from respiratory illness and 15,080 deaths from heart disease in the 15 states surveyed from 1990 to 2007.

If you’re a landlord, you should value trees for another reason: The presence of trees on the property brings in higher rent than is received for homes without trees. Your tenants will stay longer, too. And surveyed apartments with mature trees in the landscape had 52% less crime than those without.

Let’s hear it for trees!

Submitted by Michele Stanton, Agent for Horticulture, Kenton Co. Cooperative Extension Service

If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably already appreciate trees. Did you know that trees contribute to your well being in ways you may not have considered?

Not all trees are equally well-suited for every planting site or in every climate. Tree selection and placement are two of the most important decisions a homeowner makes when landscaping a new home or replacing a tree. Many trees have the potential to outlive those who plant them, so the impact of this decision can last a lifetime. Matching the tree to the site benefits both the tree and the homeowner.

Take freeways. Drivers run off freeways into trees. This happens frequently enough that freeway designers recommend roadsides be cleared of trees to at least 38-46 feet from the pavement. However, if you create a parkway with grass and trees in the median, with grassed and treed shoulders, the accident rates go down significantly. Trees help define the roadway’s spatial edge, increase drivers’ safety awareness, and decrease average road speeds.

You’ve heard that trees are good for our health. Even seeing trees

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Fayette County Cooperative Extension

Horticulture

By The Yard Page 2

The Red Velvet Ant: Not Delicious Nor Cuddly

Velvet ants are striking insects; they are memorable and interesting due to their fuzzy appearance and bright coloration. Their name is a bit of a misnomer though; they are not actually ants at all but are wasps. Their family name is Mutillidae and there are about 8,000 species of them worldwide. As a group, they exhibit sexual dimorphism, meaning that the male and female look quite different from one another. With velvet ants, males have wings and are capable of flight while females are wingless.

In Kentucky, the most commonly inquired about velvet ant is the red

velvet ant, also known by the colorful nickname “the cow killer.” This species (Dasymutilla occidentalis) has contrasting red and black coloration (maybe they’re Louisville fans) that highlights their potential danger. They are also famous for “squeaking” when they feel threatened. They can be found near meadows, on forest edges, in fields, and in lawns. As adults, they drink nectar from flowers but have a unique way of raising their young. After mating, the female will seek out a nest of bumble bees (usually the Southern plains bumble bee) and lay their eggs on the bumble bee brood. They hatch and then devour the baby bumble bees alive. Other types of velvet ants may attack the nests of solitary wasps, such as the cicada killer.

Because of their interesting coloration, their fuzzy hair, and cute squeaks, some people want to handle the velvet ant. In particular, children can make this

mistake. This insect can inflict an extremely painful sting, so powerful it can kill a cow, according to urban legend. While not that quite that potent, it does rank a 3 out of 4 on the sting pain scale developed by Dr. Justin Schmidt. The best advice is to avoid them, and look at them from afar. Be sure to teach kids about what they look like and why they shouldn’t pick them up. They don’t have a nest like a honey bee or yellowjacket, so they are not aggressive defenders like those species.

Source: Jonathan Larson, University of Kentucky, Extension Entomologist

Figure 1 An adult female red velvet ant showing their bright coloration and their generally fuzzy appearance. (Photo: Jim Kalisch, University of

Nebraska-Lincoln Entomology Department)

Figure 2: Only female velvet ants can sting, the venom injected by them can cause considerable pain to their unfortunate target. (Photo: Jim Kalisch, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Entomology Department)

October 15 to the end of November (Thanksgiving) is a good time to plant spring flowering bulbs. There are a lot of different spring flowers to choose from including dwarf iris, crocus, daffodil (I call them jonquil), hyacinth, and tulips. Select quality bulbs. Keep them in a cool, dry, dark place until you are able to plant them. Choose an area to plant your bulbs that is sunny and well drained. If your soil

Bulb Planting Time! is a heavy clay, you may need to amend the area with compost, peat moss or other organic matter. Another option would be to make a raised bed in the area. When planting, dig a hole four times the height of the bulb. Place the bulb in the hole, pointed end up. Then fill in the hole. After planting, water the area with a gentle stream of water.

Source: Amanda Sears, Madison County Extension Agent for Horticulture

Source: Sandy Repp, Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension

By The Yard Page 3

Disrupt Vegetable Pests with Prompt Fall Sanitation

Although the weather this summer feels like we are moving from summer back into summer, the first frosts of fall are approaching, and production for many vegetable fields has run its course. Producers are wrapping up their field season, and that needs to begin with destruction of any crop residues left in fields. Crop residue that remains

in the field after harvest provides food for many of the insect pests we have been combating during the summer months. This provides them with needed nutrition and helps them reach critical stages needed to survive winter.

Prompt sanitation of crop residue is a helpful tactic to interrupt the lifecycle of pests. Most insect pests need to reach a specific stage and build energy reserves in preparation for winter; sanitation reduces or eliminates their food, which interferes with their process of getting to these stages. Methods to eliminate crop residue include shredding, disking, and tilling. Examples of insect pests that can be reduced through sanitation include some of our more difficult

to manage vegetable pests, such as cabbageworms, squash vine borer, squash bug, stink bugs, Colorado potato beetle, corn earworm, and squash beetle. Timely sanitation can be a very effective pest management tool and can work well with cover cropping in the off-season.

Producers that have planted Bt sweet corn are required to destroy crop residues within 30 days of the end of harvest. This is done to manage corn earworm resistance to the Bt traits in the corn. But this same tactic used to disrupt corn earworm can be used with many other crops to disrupt other pest lifecycles.

Source: Ric Bessin, University of Kentucky Extension Entomologist

For More Plate It Up

Recipes, Visit:

http://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/content/ plate-it-kentucky-proud

Figure 1. Squash vine borer needs to feed until it reaches the 5th instar stage, then it leaves the stem to pupate and pass the

winter in the soil. (Photo: Ric Bessin, UK)

Black Walnuts

By The Yard Page 4

While growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, I had elderly next door neighbors who had lived all of their lives in the country. They moved to Louisville to be closer to their children. This couple brought all of their farm ways with them to their urban home. They raised chickens for meat and eggs way before chickens were in vogue. Standard size fruit trees and a vegetable garden was their backyard.

One of their traditions every fall was to bring black walnuts from their farm and hull, crack, and dry the kernels. They accomplished these tasks over a 3 to 4 day period and had special clothes they wore exclusively for the job. Walnut hulls as they soften from a solid green to dark will stain clothes, skin, concrete and anything else they contact.

I remember thinking why would anyone go to all this trouble for such a small amount of nut. That was my thinking until they shared the fudge, brownies, candy and cakes containing black walnut. For me there is no nut with more intense flavor than black walnut  

Black walnut crops vary from year to year, but the 2017 crop is heavy.

The tree doesn’t have many quality ornamental traits, but the wood is valuable and much sought after.

The nuts should be hulled immediately after they have been harvested. If the hulls are allowed to remain on for any length of time, the juice in the hull will discolor the nut meats and make them strong tasting. There are various ways and devices to hull walnuts—a cement mixer, corn sheller, or our neighbors choice of running them over with their car. Hulls can also be removed by stomping the nuts under foot or pounding with a hammer. After hulling, thoroughly wash the shells of the nuts to remove hull debris and juices. Small quantities can be washed in a large bucket or tub. At this time, the good nuts can be sorted from the bad ones. Unfilled nuts float while filled nuts sink. (Rubber gloves should be worn when hulling and cleaning to prevent staining of the hands.)

After washing and sorting, allow the nuts to dry for two or three weeks. An excellent way to dry nuts is on a wire screen. Spread the nuts in shallow layers (no more than three nuts deep) and dry them in a cool, dry, well ventilated area. A shed or garage is usually a good place to dry walnuts.

The black walnut has one of the toughest and thickest shells to crack. While nuts can be cracked with a variety of tools, the hammer and nutcracker are most commonly used. The hammer method involves placing the nut,

pointed end up, on a hard surface and striking the point until it weakens and splits into sections along its axis. A pair of safety glasses is a good idea. Several nut cracking tools are available. When cracking nuts, shattering of the kernels is often a problem. Shattering can be reduced by soaking the nuts in water for 1 or 2 hours before cracking. The soaking process allows the kernels to absorb enough moisture to become somewhat flexible, resulting in larger kernel pieces. The kernels are extracted from the nutshell with a pick and a pair of pliers.

The oils in walnut kernels will turn rancid if nuts are stored improperly. After the kernels have been removed, place them in a plastic bag and store in the freezer. The nut meats will keep almost indefinitely when stored in the freezer. Kernels can also be stored for short periods in the refrigerator.

Harvesting, hulling, cleaning, and cracking black walnuts requires considerable labor and patience. The rewards are delicious.

Submitted by David Koester, Agent for Horticulture, Boone Co. Cooperative Extension Service

By The Yard Page 5

October Quick Tips Make it a point to be thorough in cleaning up any diseased plants. Many diseases over-winter in plant debris. Diseased perennials and annuals should be removed from the garden in the fall. Similarly, any trees that have had disease problems should have all the leaves raked and removed from the garden to lessen the chance of infection next year.

October is prime bulb planting time. Plant tulips, daffodils, crocus and other spring favorites now for a beautiful early display.

Feeding lawns is best done in the late fall. The end of this month and all of November are great times to fertilize your turf.

House plants should be treated as necessary for insects before coming indoors for the winter.

Store any pots or containers that may be damaged by freezing temperatures.

October is an excellent time to plant most trees and shrubs. Make sure to plant at the proper depth. The root flare of trees (the point where the roots branch off the trunk) should be at soil level.

Avoid planting broadleaf evergreens in the late fall as winter injury may result. Hollies, Boxwoods, Magnolias and others are best planted in the spring.

Needled evergreens drop their old needles in the fall. Yellowing, browning, and subsequent needle

fall is normal if it is only occurring in the interior of the plant.

Many insects find their way indoors in the fall. Most are not harmful, just annoying. Your vacuum cleaner is an easy way to get rid of an occasional insect.

Make notes of your gardening successes and failures for reference next year. It is never too early to start planning next year’s garden.

After the first hard freeze, remove non-hardy annuals and cut back perennials to near ground level. The removed plant material can be placed in the compost bin.

Clean up around fruit trees by raking leaves and removing dried fruit. This will help control several diseases and insects.

Remove and burn bagworm cases from evergreens. The cases contain eggs which will hatch in spring to produce next year's population.

Check tree twigs for egg cases of eastern tent caterpillar. The egg cases are dark and shiny, they look like someone has dabbed lacquer around the stem. They usually occur on branches that are about pencil size in diameter. They will break off the branch easily if rubbed with the hand or fingers.

Many insects can also be found in dead leaves in and around the garden and landscape. Getting rid of those dead tomato vines, bean bushes, and squash vines and fruit will lessen the chance that these

pests will be able to overwinter in the garden and so will lessen the incidence of pest problems in the spring.

Fall is the best time to apply fertilizer to woody plants. It is best to wait until the plants are dormant so don't apply fertilizer before late October. Dividing the fertilizer application into two or three parts is a good idea. Apply 1/3 in late October, 1/3 in November, and the final 1/3 in December. Altogether you should apply 2-3 pound of Nitrogen per 1000 square feet.

Don't forget to water trees and shrubs during fall and winter. Continue watering (in the absence of adequate rainfall) until the soil freezes. This is particularly true for evergreens since they continue to lose water through their leaves in winter. Keep the soil under your woody plants moist, not wet.

A layer of mulch applied at this time of year can have many benefi-cial effects in the home landscape. Mulch moderates the normal freeze/thaw cycle than can force many herbaceous perennial plants out of the ground. Mulch will also help conserve soil moisture and will serve as an insulating agent during severely cold temperatures.

Don’t Forget! Daylight Savings Time Ends Sunday, November 3rd, turn your clock back one hour!

Meet Dawn Bailey, the new Education Coordinator for the Kentucky Children’s Garden at the Arboretum. Dawn, a UK Anthropology graduate, has served as a park ranger at the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska; as a park guide at Mammoth Cave National Park; led kayak guiding in the Everglades; and studied Spanish in Guatemala. WELCOME Dawn!

Join us as Jamie Dockery, Fayette County Extension Agent for Horticulture, takes us on a exclusive virtual tour of his serene and tranquil farm and gardens. All to benefit the HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic in their worthy mission

to provide high-quality, low-cost spay and neuter services and to help diminish the feral cat populations. HOPE will receive all registration monies from this event to help further their efforts. A representative

from HOPE will open the program with a brief discussion of their mission and works, followed by Jamie narrating an image heavy slide show of his colorful gardens and adorable animals.

Pre-registration of $25.00 is REQUIRED. 

Jamie’s Farm & Garden ~ A Virtual Tour

a fundraiser for HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic

Thursday, November 7th, 6:00 p.m.

Name: _________________________Phone: _____________E-Mail:______________________________

Address: _____________________________________City: ______________State: ____ Zip: ________

Please include a $25.00 check payable to: Fayette County Master Gardener Association Mail To: Gardener’s Toolbox ~ Fayette County Extension Office ~ 1140 Harry Sykes Way ~ Lexington, KY 40504

For more information, call (859) 257-5582

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PAID

Lexington, KY

PERMIT 112

Newsletter

Enclosed

Fayette County

“By the Yard”

Fayette County Cooperative Extension 1140 Harry Sykes Way Lexington, KY 40504-1383

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the bases of race, color, ethnic origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability. Inquiries regarding compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other related matter should be directed to Equal Opportunity Office, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Room S-105, Agriculture Science Building, North Lexington, Kentucky 40546.

Jamie Dockery

County Extension Agent for Horticulture Cooperative Extension Service

Fayette County Extension Service 1140 Harry Sykes Way

Lexington, KY 40504-1383 (859) 257-5582

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, KENTUCKY STATE

UNIVERSITY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND KENTUCKY COUNTIES, COOPERATING