Winter Cover Crop Can Improve Garden Soil: Extension Notes by Rebecca Konopka - Carter County Extension Office

No matter how small your garden is, it can play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and temporarily locking it in the soil. There are a number of ways you can improve on this natural cycle, but at this time of year, the best way is through a cover crop.

Soil left bare over the winter months is susceptible to weed growth, erosion that can wash away valuable nutrients and a loss of carbon into the atmosphere. Soil nitrogen left over from this year’s crop is subject to leaching due to fall and winter precipitation. Planting a fast-growing cover crop can help prevent these problems. The term crop in this context may be misleading. These plants are not meant to be harvested. Instead, they add important nutrients, promote beneficial bacterial growth and stabilize the soil.

Easy and effective cover crops that can be planted at this time of year include annual rye grass, hairy vetch, red clover and winter rye.

Annual rye and winter rye are particularly effective as late-season cover crops. They germinate quickly and are an effective barrier against weeds. Grasses, however, do not capture nitrogen in their root system, so consider pairing rye with a legume, such as red clover or hairy vetch.

Hairy vetch and red clover work well as a cover plant, whether paired with rye or by themselves. Being legumes, they are excellent at fixing nitrogen in the soil. They are also prolific enough to reduce weeds and prevent erosion. In the spring, their blossoms will attract bees to your garden. If you worry about hairy vetch or clover reseeding in your lawn – though they’re pretty plants and would add biodiversity and important nutrients – just cut them back before they bloom.

Come spring, you have two options. You can turn over your cover crop into the soil, allowing your vegetables or flowers to benefit from the nutrients it will slowly release. Or you can cut it back and let it die naturally, planting directly into the crop and using it as a mulch to continue to suppress weed growth and supply nutrients to your garden. Depending on which cover you plant, this may be easier said than done, because some, particularly grasses, are difficult to directly sow or plant into.

Grasses have a densely packed root system, which make them difficult to till or turn over. If your garden is particularly small or you’re gardening in raised beds, rye might not be your best option. However, vetch and clover both have root clumps which are easily dug up and turned over or planted between. Be sure to terminate the cover crop before allowing the plants to go to seed.

For more information, contact the Carter County office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service.  Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national 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. 

Extension Notes: Bird Feeding - Rebecca Konopka Carter County Extension Office

Fall is the time many of us start to think about feeding the birds. While some folks provide birds with food all year, others only feed during the colder, food-scarce months. For many people, watching birds through their windows is a fun way to while away a dreary winter.

The food and feeders you choose to set out will depend on the types of birds and wildlife you wish to attract. Consider, too, whether you want to discourage or encourage squirrels from visiting your feeders.

Different birds prefer different foods, so if you want to attract a variety of birds, provide a variety of seeds. Black oil sunflower seed is a favorite of many bird species, including cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, finches, nuthatches and sparrows. If you’re new to feeding the birds, this is a good seed to start with. It’s inexpensive and available everywhere, from grocery stores to feeder supply outlets.

If you want to dissuade squirrels from plundering your feeders, safflower is a good seed for that. Squirrels will not eat safflower, but cardinals, mourning doves, woodpeckers, blue jays, tufted titmice, finches and chickadees love it. The seed is high in fat, fiber and protein. It’s more expensive than sunflower, but you’ll get more bang for your buck, because the squirrels won’t be gobbling it up.

Goldfinches love thistle or nyjer seed. Because it is so small, it requires a special finch feeder. These are usually clear tubes with small holes and perches. Some come with the perches above the holes, which discourages other small birds from eating the seed. It’s also fun to watch finches feed using their unique ability to hang upside down.

Suet is animal fat and a good source of protein. It’s usually hung in cages. Suet will attract many birds, but woodpeckers, in particular, love a good suet cake, and with their striking plumage, are a welcome visitor to the winter garden.

Seed mixes, found anywhere seed is sold, are often popular with beginning birders. They’re often the least expensive choice and attract many different birds. But be aware that they can cause quite a mess, because birds scatter the seed looking for the type they prefer.

Birds also love other types of food, too, such as pieces of apples and oranges, peanuts, peanut butter and cracked corn. Though if you don’t want squirrels, you might want to avoid these.

There are many styles of feeders and the choice often depends on the type of seed you’re offering and the birds you want to attract. House or hopper feeders are good, all-purpose feeders that usually have walls, a platform and a roof to keep the rain off. Platform or tray feeders are ideal for ground-feeding birds, such as grosbeaks, cardinals and mourning doves, and are good ways to lay out a buffet of fruit and nuts. Squirrels, however, will find it very easy to feed from tray feeders, but if you use safflower in them, squirrels will move on.

If you live in an apartment or townhouse, there are feeders available that adhere to the outside of your windows or attach to a balcony.

Squirrel-proof feeders are widely available, but keep in mind that squirrels are smart creatures, and they can usually think their way around most obstacles we humans set for them. But that can be fun to watch, too.

You will attract more birds by using more than one feeder and placing them in different areas of your yard. It’s a good idea to position feeders near a tree or shrub, so birds have nearby cover in the event a predator appears. On that note, we do not recommend feeding birds, if there are any outdoor or feral cats in the area. Cats are a major driver in the decline of songbirds and will kill upwards of a billion birds a year.

Clean your feeders once a month. Dirty feeders can promote mold and bacterial growth, which can infect birds and spread disease among neighborhood flocks. Goldfinches are particularly discerning when it comes to a clean feeder. Once a thistle feeder becomes damp and moldy inside, the birds will avoid it. A dirty feeder’s foul smell can also attract wildlife you might not want, such as insects, mice or rats. Clean with a solution of one-part bleach to nine-parts hot water. You could also use a mild solution of unscented dish soap.

Once you start feeding the birds, it’s a good idea to continue doing it regularly throughout winter. Birds need more calories to sustain them through those cold winter nights, so they will depend on your generosity.

Look for sales. Buying in bulk or stocking up during sales is a good way to save money. Make sure you store your supply in a cool, dry place.

For more information about attracting wildlife to your yard, contact the Carter County office of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expressions, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.

Extension Notes: Mums Make the Fall Garden Pop with Color - by REBECCA KONOPKA

Carter County Extension Office

This is the time of year when farm stores and garden centers tempt us with big and little pots of fall mums, drawing our eyes to their bright yellow, gold and burgundy flowers. Mums are an easy way to bring new life to the fall garden or spruce up your front porch.

Mums are a common fall decorative plant, because fewer daylight hours and longer nights triggers flowering. Nurseries often do this artificially by pulling dark cloth over the plants in late summer and early fall, which stimulates blooming. If you have mums growing in the landscape, the natural decrease in daylength as fall approaches will do the trick as well.

There are dozens of varieties, but generally mums can be identified in one of two groups, the garden or hardy mums, and the cutting variety. These latter are usually referred to as florist mums. Florist mums are generally tender and will not survive a winter in the garden.

If you want to enjoy blooms for the longest period of time, buy mums that are covered in buds, with only a few that have opened. It’s always good to buy a plant that has one or two blooms open, so you’re sure of the color you’re purchasing. You should be able to enjoy flowers for two to three weeks or more. Water the base of the plant, not the foliage and flowers. Water on flowers may promote floral diseases that will shorten the flower display.

Mums perform well in containers and will flourish inside or out. Many hardy varieties can also be planted after they bloom, so you may be able to enjoy their color the following year.

If you’re planning to enjoy your garden mum inside, find a good location near a south-facing window, out of direct sunlight and away from drafts caused by heating or air conditioning vents that tend to dry the flowers. A bright spot, with indirect light is the best. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.

Mums prefer moderate temperatures at night, about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If frost is expected, protect outdoor mums by moving them under cover overnight.

Once the plants have finished blooming, they will stop growing. You can either contribute them to your compost pile or plant them in your garden. Be aware, however, even the best gardeners often find that mums planted in the fall fail to establish in our Kentucky climate. Some may, but most do not. Mums as landscape plants tend to do much better when planted in the spring. However, you may need to visit your local garden center or shop from a mail-order source for early mum plants since they are not generally sold in the mass market in spring.

If you choose to plant them in the fall after they finish blooming, choose a spot that will get about six hours of direct sunlight a day during the growing season. Mums that don’t receive enough sunlight will grow leggy and have more stems than blooms. Cut back all the stems to about 8 inches. Mix some compost into the soil, and dig a hole no deeper than the depth of the pot the mum is growing in. Keep the top level of the garden soil at the same point on the plant as the container soil was. Mums should be spaced 18 to 24 inches apart, since mature plants can become a good size in the garden. Water them in, then cover the ground around the plant with a thick layer of mulch, keeping the mulch from piling up against the stem. 

For more information, contact the Carter County office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service.  Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national 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.

Time-lapse videos help producers see impact of proper pasture management:

Rebecca Konopka

Carter County Extension Office

Fall is a good time to renovate cool-season pastures and plan for the future of your pasture management program. If you have ever wondered how forage specialists develop their recommendations for certain pasture management practices, you can see the results of various techniques firsthand through time-lapse videos developed by the University of Kentucky’s forage extension program. 

Through these short videos, available on the KYForages YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/c/KYForages, you can watch and compare the growth and development of a variety of cool- and warm-season forages that are a direct result of different management practices. Some of the forages included in the videos are alfalfa, tall fescue, orchardgrass and bermudagrass. 

The videos explore many different pasture management practices including proper seeding depth, impact of winter management, rotational grazing impacts and the seeding vigor of different forage species. 

For more information on pasture management, contact the Carter County office of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.  Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expressions, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.

Hay Testing Available

It is time for hay testing!  Producers are invited to contact the Extension Office at 474-6686 to schedule a time to have hay samples collected.   The deadline for sampling is October 7^th.   

Knowing the nutritional quality of hay is an integral part of a profitable and efficient livestock operation.  Testing will provide the nutritional value and can result in reduced feed costs, increased animal performance, and information to help improve stands.   In addition to the quality reports, producers also have the option to receive basic rations for beef, goats, or horses that will help optimize their hay feeding program.   Producers can also use the  results and the UK Beef Forage Supplement tool (http://forage-supplement-tool.ca.uky.edu/) to develop a basic ration.   

Samples can be entered into the Eastern Kentucky Hay Contest.  There is no charge for the hay testing if samples are taken during the hay contest window.   

For more information, contact the Carter County office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service.  Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national 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. 

Extension Notes 

carter.ca.uky.edu

AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES 

Rebecca Konopka

Carter County Extension Office