Ramsey County

Howdy!!!!
Well, here we are busy into the harvest season.  The farmers are all out busy harvesting their crops and the gardeners are busy harvesting the vegetable produce.  I was fortunate that my daughter had brought Deb and I some sweetcorn the other day and had for supper last night and it sure brought back fond memories of the farming years.  During the harvest season you could always count on BLT sandwiches along with fresh corn, cucumbers and tomatoes for at least one meal a day.  When I look back at the feast we would have, its’ no wonder I look like I do.  The best part of the fall feast is the freshness and the health aspect of eating those vegetables.  My harvest snack in the afternoon would be a large handful of fresh dug carrots.  The fall season was just so great. 

With that some fall thoughts on our garden.  As we prepare for next garden season we need to take some precautions to help eliminate any diseases that may be around for the next growing season.  Diseases such as tomato blight can be somewhat be eliminated by rotating your vegetables and by taking some planting tips.  But first off we need to get our garden worked this fall.  Remove all of the garden refuse into a safe place, let it dry out and either burn or place into the dumpster.  We should all do a soil sample in our garden to see what we are needing for nutrients and replace them this fall as we till up our garden.  There are many good fertilizers for our use at all the local nurseries, (25-4-4) or (18-24-6).  Apply 4 pounds per 1000 square feet 25-4-4 or 6 pounds of 18-24-6.  Over applying can not only burn your lawn immediately but can also set it back to the point of killing it.

Weed Control in your lawns!!!! 
Weeds can be controlled with the best results when they are actively growing usually in spring or after Labor Day in the fall. Dandelions and some of the other common lawn weeds can be controlled using 2,4-D amine. If weeds become a problem in a new lawn or reseeded lawn, you must wait until the grass is mature enough to be mowed at least 3 times before applying a weed spray.

Some of the harder to kill weeds such as knotweed, chickweed, black medic, clover, creeping bellflower and ground ivy (creeping charlie) do not yield to 2,4-D. A combination of 2,4-D and MCPP will do a better job of controlling these weeds. The addition of dicamba (Banvel) to this combination will improve their weed killing ability, but extra care must be taken when using dicamba around trees and shrubs. Products such as Confront, Brush-B-Gon or Weed-B-Gon for chickweed, clover and oxalis, which contain Tryclopyr as the active ingredient can also be effective. These various combinations of chemicals are available at most businesses which handle lawn and garden supplies.

Whether using 2,4-D alone or in combination with other weed killers, apply the spray on a still day when the temperature is below 85 degrees F. These conditions help reduce the spray drift and damage to other plants. Products which contain Tryclopyr are not as likely to drift and damage other plants.

Is quackgrass a problem in your lawn? Watering, a good fertilization program and mowing your lawn every five days will help the lawn grass compete with the quackgrass. Any chemical used to kill quackgrass will also kill your lawn grass. If quackgrass has taken over complete areas of your lawn, it can be controlled by spraying with Roundup. After using this chemical, a waiting period of 7-10 days must be observed before seeding lawn grass. Work the soil lightly before reseeding.

Calendar!!!!!!

            September 15              Row crop tour, Carrington research center, 4:30

            September 17              All City Fish Fry, Ruger park

            November 17              Farmers Night out, 6 PM

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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