Ramsey County
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April 8
Howdy!!!!
It’s raining, it’s raining, and the old man is snoring!!!!!!! It was so nice to wake up this morning and find the rain had moved into our area. The air smells so fresh, the grass will clean up (after the dust collection all winter) and the birds’ song will fill the air. It is such a beauty of the earth. We just don’t need any dumpers!!!!!! This past weekend found me working on my yard. We had dirt hauled in to level off some of the humps and bumps and cleaned up the extra oak leaves that cover the ground so gracefully. Got those projects done and now need to work on getting the garden worked and ready for the upcoming planting season.
This past weekend I also visited with a young person about his college education. He was frustrated with the school term as he thought he needed to be home fishing. I told him of a story of a 2nd cousin of mine (Erik Jabs) who wanted to quit school and go to work for John Deere in Casselton. He was not attending class and just had no need for school. After several conversations he finally stayed in school and even became a tutor for me as I was in school also. Erik did very well (top 3% of any class he took) and was a great help for me. Upon graduating with honors and I talked him into getting his masters, where he met his new bride. He is now living in Washington D.C and doing great.
Spring Planting
season!!!!!!!!!!
Maximum grain yields are the goal of every producer in today’s farming
world. Maximum yields start with
quick emergence along with uniform stands. Maximum yields also start with proper fertilization.
To reach all of these goals proper attention needs to be placed on the
seedbed.
The best planting depth is about 1.5 inches, which allows for quick emergence and also would keep the seed in the warmer section of the soil. Soil temperatures can not be stressed enough, whether in the grain field or in the garden. Quick emergence always starts with proper soil temperatures, which leads us into another topic for next week. No-till seems to be the trend for this spring so soil temperatures are very important.
Soil temperatures vary for crops so for a guideline check the chart below:
Crop
Temp.
Crop
Temp.
Wheat
40
Durum
40
Barley
40
Oats
40
Canola
40
Sunflower 45
Flax
48
Corn
50
Soybeans 50
Dry Beans 52
Planting your garden
seeds!!!!!
Starting your annuals from seed is usually your option.
Uncommon annuals are hard to find at our local nurseries, so the need to
plant your annual seed. By starting
your seeds early in the spring season will also give you a head start on the
growing season and should give you a longer season of those wonderful flowers. The best way to start your annuals is in a flat tray,
transplanting them at an approximate height of 2 inches or two true leaves into
larger single cell flats. When
watering your plants never use stream water as this could remove the fine seeds
from the soil and the seed could be lost for this years growing season.
Always water with a sprinkler type water delivery system.
Cover the flats with plastic as this will help warm the soil faster for
quicker emergence. Once the seeds
have germinated remove the plastic to allow the new plants room to grow.
“Another tip for your growing season and may your flowers grow toward
the sun”.
Calendar
Dates!!!!!!
April
8
Gardening Saturday (Cando)
April 12
Horticulture Class (Trees & Shrubs)
April 13
Experience Agriculture
April 14
Experience Agriculture
April 19
Horticulture Class (Annuals & Perennials)
April 23
4-H Project Days
April 27
Livestock Ethics Video (Armory)
April 30
First Annual Equine Spring Fling
May 3
“Extreme Makeover”
524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake ND 58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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