A Note From Faye

Woodford HortUpdate

July/August 2018

Woodford County

184 Beasley Drive

Versailles, KY 40383-8992

(859) 873-4601

Fax: (859) 873-8936

Extension.ca.uky.edu

It’s time again for the Annual Woodford County Farm Tour!! This year marks our 53rd Anniversary and we will be visiting the Kentucky Castle and Eckert’s-Boyd Orchards. See more details under the upcoming events.

Mark your calendars! Saturday, September 29th is our annual Fall Gardening Workshop, hosted by the Woodford County Extension Master Gardeners. A list of topics can be found in the upcoming events section and registration will begin at the end of August.

Please ‘like’ the Woodford County Horticulture and Extension Master Gardener Facebook pages for tips and tricks and to keep up with our events/activities: https://www.facebook.com/woodfordCES/ and https://www.facebook.com/WoodfordCountyMasterGardeners/.

Your gardening tips, comments and questions are always appreciated. Please email or call anytime. Happy Gardening!

Tomato Leaf-Spot Diseases

This time of year, two common leaf-spot diseases appear on tomato plants. Septoria leaf spot and early blight are both characterized by brown spots on the leaves. Septoria leaf spot usually appears earlier in the season than early blight and produces small dark spots. Spots made by early blight are much larger and often have a distorted “target” pattern of concentric circles. Heavily infected leaves eventually turn yellow and drop. Older leaves are more susceptible than younger ones, so these diseases often start at the bottom of the plant and work up. Mulching, caging, or staking keeps plants off the ground, making them less vulnerable. Better air circulation allows foliage to dry quicker than in plants allowed to sprawl. Mulching also helps prevent water from splashing and carrying disease spores to the plant. In situations where these diseases have been a problem in the past, rotation is a good strategy. It is too late for that now, but keep it in mind for next year. Actually, rotation is a good idea even if you have not had problems in the past. But many gardens are too small to make it practical. If you have room, rotate the location of the tomatoes each year to an area that has not had tomatoes

or related crops (peppers, potatoes, eggplant) for several years. If rotation is not feasible, fungicides are often helpful. Be sure to cover both upper and lower leaf surfaces, and reapply fungicide if rainfall removes it. Plants usually become susceptible when the tomato fruit is about the size of a walnut. You can use fixed copper, which is sold under many brand names: Bonide copper spray or dust, bonide liquid copper, or hi-yield copper fungide. Fixed Copper is an organically approved spray. Chlorothalonil is another option for fruiting plants because it has a 0-day waiting period, meaning that fruit can be harvested once the spray is dry. It is not an organic product. Chlorothalonil can be found in numerous products including Fertilome Broad-Spectrum Landscape and Garden Fungicide, Ortho Garden Disease Control, GardenTech Daconil and others. Be sure to start protecting plants when the disease is first seen. It is virtually impossible to stop it on heavily infected plants.

Clematis Wilt: What It Is, and How to Treat and Prevent It

Source: Dave’s Garden

Bottom of Form It's heartbreaking. Your clematis vine is growing vigorously and bursting with plump buds, then seemingly overnight some or all of the plant collapses. Flowers, buds, leaves and stems first droop, then blacken and shrivel. It's called "clematis wilt" and while it may be difficult to eradicate, there are things you can do to control and prevent it. If you had a problem with clematis wilt this summer, autumn is the time to prevent its return.

What It Is The British call it “clematis wilt”, though some American gardening books refer to it as “clematis leaf and stem spot”. I prefer to call it “wilt” because it’s very descriptive of the problem! Fortunately the fungus does not attack the root system, so with care your clematis can return to health. Clematis wilt is a fungal disease formerly called Ascochyta clematidina, now known as Phoma clematidina. It spreads by spores and is helped along by damp or humid weather. The fungus cuts off the plant’s circulatory system so no water can move through its veins, thus causing the wilt symptoms. The fungus can enter the plant through weakened or damaged stems, or can splash onto stems during watering or heavy rain. Plants that are tangled or that stay wet are even more prone to the fungus. Normally wilt appears in the early to mid-summer when the clematis is growing quickly. On an older plant, the woody portion near the ground is often the first place you will notice wilt. The dramatically beautiful larger-flowered varieties are, sadly, the most prone to the fungus. Species clematis and the smaller-flowered varieties, such as C. montana, C. macropetala, C. alpina and C. viticella are more resistant to wilt.

How To Treat It At the first sign of wilt, cut the affected stems as close to the ground as possible. Be careful not to injure the healthy stems, especially those near the bottom. Remove any fallen leaves. Needless to say, you shouldn’t put these cuttings on your compost. Keep the roots watered,

even after cutting out dead foliage. The fungus can overwinter in the dead foliage, so no matter which type of clematis you have, it is recommended that you remove all remaining growth in the fall. Dipping pruners into a weak bleach solution after each cut will prevent spread of the fungus to other plants. Following good sanitation procedures such as these will remove much of the infectious fungal spores and minimize any future problems. Denise Corkery, senior writer at Chicago Botanic Gardens, does not recommend chemical controls such as fungicides be used as treatment for clematis wilt. How to Prevent It It may be impossible to completely prevent clematis wilt. But as with any garden plant, providing the best culture possible will keep your clematis healthy and less susceptible to disease. 1. Site your clematis properly. In the wild, clematis vines scramble over other plants and rocks as they reach for the sun, while their roots remain cool and shaded. You can simulate this natural environment by shading the base of the vine with other plants, a mulch and/or a flat stone. Just make sure not to mulch directly around the stem. 2. Plant deep. Don’t be afraid to plant two sets of leaves under the soil. This will ensure that your clematis grows plenty of underground buds, so even if you must cut affected stems to the ground, the plant will be able to regenerate itself. 3. Provide the right culture. Clematis like a well-drained, evenly moist soil. If your soil is sandy, amend it with peat moss or compost; if clay soil, add compost before planting. Clematis are big feeders, so use an organic fertilizer to keep the soil fertile and rich. In early summer when the plant is full of leaves and buds, keep the soil watered regularly, but not to the point that it is soggy. 4. Furnish support. Clematis stems are brittle and can be damaged by wind. You can help prevent injury by ensuring that your clematis is strongly secured to its support and has plenty of places to attach itself. Train new growth up to the support, manually attaching stems if needed.

New Resource: Solanaceous Crops Scouting Guide Website

By Kim Leonberger, Plant Pathology Extension Associate and Emily Pfeufer, Extension Plant Pathologist

The publication An IPM Scouting Guide for Common Pests of Solanaceous Crops in Kentucky was first introduced in 2011 as an online PDF/paper version. In order to improve access to this important scouting guide, the Veggie Scout website was developed. The Solanaceous Scouting guide is a part of the Veggie Scout website and is now available for grower, agent, and homeowner use. The website can be easily accessed from any phone, tablet, iPad, or computer. This website provides users with the same information available in the scouting guide publication, but in a mobile-friendly format. The Solanaceous Scouting Guide home page (Figure 1) allows visitors to select a topic. Next, users can select from a menu of various diseases, pests, or abiotic problems to obtain more information and view images (Figure 2).

Woodford County Farmer’s Market

Don’t Forget To Stop By The Woodford County Farmers Market! Check out the New Locations on Wednesday and Saturday!

Monday Market in Midway: Open Mondays from 3 pm. to 6 pm. Market sets up in the parking lot of United Bank/Darlin’ Jeans in downtown Midway, KY. Saturday Market on Marsailles Road: Open Saturdays from 8:30 am. to Noon. The downtown Versailles Saturday Farmers Market will be moving to Marsailles Road in the UHaul (old Kroger) parking lot next to the flower shop, starting on Saturday, July 21st. Wednesday Market at the Kentucky Castle: Open Wednesdays 3 pm. to 6 pm. Market sets up under the big white tent on the courtyard of the Kentucky Castle. The Castle provides live music, a cash bar, and prepared foods each week.

Figure 2: Users can select a specific disease or pest to obtain more information. (Photo: Kim Leonberger, UK)

Figure 1: Solanaceous Scouting Guide website home page. (Photo: Kim Leonberger, UK)

Free Soil Testing Free soil test vouchers are available at the Woodford County Conservation Office to be redeemed

when soil samples are submitted through the Woodford County Extension Service. Up to 20 free

soil tests are available per farm or homeowner. This program runs through June 30, 2018, or until

the funds are depleted.

Magnolia Scale

The magnolia scale, about 1/2 inch in diameter, is a very large soft scale that feeds on magnolias. Mature females, present in July and August, are pink-orange to brown bumps, often with a white waxy powder. This insect spends the winter on older twigs in an immature or nymphal stage that is dark gray with a reddish brown ridge along the middle of the back. There is one generation of this insect with crawlers active in July and August.

Magnolia scales are sap feeders that excrete large volumes of a sugar-rich liquid waste called "honeydew". Foliage and branches may be shiny with these deposits or blackened by the growth of sooty mold fungus. Honeydew also can attracts many flies, bees, and other insects. Heavily infested trees can suffer branch dieback or even be killed by this insect.

Scale control can be challenging and may need to be repeated over several seasons. Proper timing of insecticide applications is a major key to success. Applications must target newly hatched scale crawlers. They are very susceptible to control measures while moving over plant surfaces to find a feeding spot. Once settled, they begin to secrete a waxy covering that shields them from sprays.

Alternatives for Crawler Control • Cultural control Scales tend to thrive on stressed plants. Following a recommended fertility program and watering regime will promote plant health. However, over-fertilization favors scale buildup. If practical, improve plant sites to reduce stress and promote growth. Severely prune back heavily infested branches and protect new growth with insecticide applications.

• Insecticidal Sprays *Horticultural oils kill by suffocation or after penetrating over-wintering stages of the insect. Consequently, they may not be effective where several layers of scale coverings have accumulated. *Dormant oils are typically applied during February or March but may not be very effective against armored scales. Highly refined supreme, superior, or summer oils can be used on many trees and shrubs during the growing season. Read the product label for guidelines on plant sensitivity and temperature restriction before buying and using these products. *Insecticidal soaps are long chain fatty acids that kill susceptible insects through direct contact. Like

horticultural oils, they require thorough coverage. Soaps leave no residue so repeated applications may be needed for some pests. These products may burn the foliage of sensitive plants, such as Japanese maple, so check the label for information about the plant species that you intend to treat.

A variety of natural and synthetic insecticides are labeled for use as sprays to control scale crawlers on landscape trees and shrubs. While the residual life of these products is generally longer than oils and soaps, timing, coverage, and precautions on damage to some plant species are very similar to those for oils and soaps.

• Systemic insecticides Imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Garden Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate) is applied as a drench around the root zone of infested plants. This water soluble insecticide is taken up by the roots and transported throughout the plant where it is ingested by sap feeding insects. This provides a means of scale control without reliance on sprays. However, it may need to be applied several weeks before crawlers are active for best results.

Evaluating Control The success or failure of control efforts may not be readily apparent but here are some things to check. *Dead soft scales often fall off of the plant. Live scales should produce a liquid when mashed, dead scales will be dry and not "bleed" when crushed. *New foliage of infested plants should have a healthier appearance once the scale burden has been removed. Buds should break a little earlier than when the plant was infested and expanded leaves should have normal color and turgor. *Sooty mold and shiny leaves should gradually disappear from plants that were infested with soft scales.

Natural Enemies Scale insects can be attacked by a variety of lady beetles, predatory mites, and small parasitic wasps. Lady beetle adults and larvae can be seen but mites and parasitic wasps are very difficult to see. You can conserve natural enemies by using insecticidal soaps and oils which have limited impact on beneficial species in comparison to other control alternatives.

CAUTION! Pesticide recommendations in this publication are registered for use in Kentucky, USA ONLY! The use of some products may not be legal in your state or country. Please check with your local county agent or regulatory official before using any pesticide mentioned in this publication. Of course, ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS FOR SAFE USE OF ANY PESTICIDE!

July/August Quick Tips

Dividing Iris

· Prune evergreen shrubs now through late August. · Mound soil around potato plants to improve quality. · Mow grass at three inches for a healthier lawn. Leave clippings on lawn for a natural source of fertilizer. · Use chemical controls as a last resort. Patrol plants regularly for insects and hand pick before populations explode. If you must resort to chemicals avoid spraying during the heat of the day and ALWAYS read and follow label directions. · Remove flower buds from culinary herbs to keep them growing and productive. · Continue a fruit tree spray program to keep diseases and insects under control. · Keep mower blades sharpened. Clean cuts make for less disease problems and easier mowing for you. · Mulch plants for the summer. It will conserve moisture in hot weather and prevent weeds from growing. · Keep gardens and beds well weeded. Weeds compete for light and nutrients, reducing yields. By preventing weeds from setting seed you will lessen weed problems in future years. · Start planning your fall vegetable plantings now. Many cool season crops like lettuce, peas, and cole crops will be finished from the spring planting and can be planted again in late July and August for a fall crop. Contact me at 873-4601 for more information or to pick up a copy of our U.K. publication “Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky”.

Bearded irises are well adapted to Kentucky and multiply quickly. After several years, the centers of the clumps tend to lose vigor, and flowering occurs toward the out-side. Dividing iris every three to five years will help rejuvenate the planting and increase flowering.

Iris may be divided from late July through August, but late July through early August is ideal. Because iris clumps are fairly shallow, it is easy to dig up the entire clump. The root system of the plant consists of thick rhizomes and smaller feeder roots. Use a sharp knife to cut the rhizomes apart so each division consists of a fan of leaves and a section of rhizome. The best divisions are made from a double fan that consists of two small rhizomes attached to a larger one, which forms a Y-shaped division. Each of these small rhizomes has a fan of leaves. The rhizomes that do not split produce single fans. The double fans are preferred because they produce more flowers the first year after planting. Single fans take a year to build up strength.

Rhizomes that show signs of damage due to iris borers or soft rot may be discarded, but you may want to physically remove borers from rhizomes and replant if the damage is not severe. It is possible to treat mild cases of soft rot by scraping out the affected tissue, allowing it to dry in the sun and dipping it in a 10 percent solution of household bleach. Make the bleach solution by mixing one-part bleach with nine parts water. Rinse the treated rhi-zomes with water and allow them to dry before replanting.

Cut the leaves back by two-thirds before replanting. Prepare the soil by removing weeds and fertilizing. Ferti-lize according to soil test recommendations or by applying a complete fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10, at the rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet. Mix the fertilizer into the soil to a depth of 6 inches. Be wary of using a complete fertilizer in areas that have been fertilized heavily in the past. A growing number of soil tests show high levels of phosphorus. In such cases, use a fertilizer that has a much higher first number (nitrogen) than second (phosphorus).

New to Our Rental Tool Kit

Summertime Recipe

Other Rental Equipment Available at the Woodford County Extension Office Grain Moisture Meter

Liquid pH Meter

Sprayer Calibrator

Grain Test Weight Meter

Hay Probes

Soil Probes

Please contact the Extension Office, 873-4601, for availability

Electrical Conductivity (EC) Meter

Walk-behind BCS Tractor - Attachments include: 3ft. Plastic Layer with Drip Tape Applicator, Single Rotary Plow and 30 inch Tiller

Raised Bed Plastic Mulch Layer - Model 2400 lays 4ft. wide plastic and adjustable 3 inch to 5 inch bed height (requires 30-hp and 4-wheel drive)

Motorized Honey Extractor Rental Includes: Motorized Extractor and Stand—Extracts (6) 6 ¼ inch Frames Bottling bucket kit Electric knife Plastic uncapping tub Capping Scratcher A $50 deposit will be collected at time of pick up and will be returned at time of return. Extractor equip-ment cannot be kept for longer than 48 hours and must be thoroughly cleaned prior to returning. If equip-ment is not properly cleaned when returned, you will forfeit your deposit.

Managing Japanese Beetles - Options for Homeowners

Source: Lee Townsend, UK Extension Entomologist Exclusion Highly valued plants, such as roses, can be protected by covering them with cheese-cloth or other fine netting during the peak of beetle activity. Hand Removal Keeping Japanese beetle numbers low forestalls the arrival of more beetles and subse-quent rapidly increasing damage. Reducing the number of feeding beetles reduces the release of aggregation chemicals that attract other beetles in the area. Japanese Beetle Traps Research conducted at the University of Kentucky showed that the Japanese beetle traps attract many more beetles than are actually caught. Consequently, susceptible plants along the flight path of the beetles near the traps are likely to suffer much more damage than locations where traps are not used. In most landscape situations, use of Japanese beetle traps probably will do more harm than good. If you experiment with traps, be sure to place them well away from gardens and landscape plants. Insecticides Insecticides containing carbaryl or pyrethroids can provide relatively long term protection of plant foliage. However, these insecticides are highly toxic to pollinators and must not be used on flowering plants or where spray drift can carry droplets to blooming plants. Other insecticides labeled for Japanese beetle control in the home landscape include: BeetleJUS! And BeetleGON are Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae) products labeled as foliar sprays for use on ornamentals and vegetables to control Japanese beetles and other beetle pest species. BeelteJUS! must not be applied within 300 feet of any habitats of threatened or endangered Lepidoptera (i.e., moths or butterflies) or Coleoptera (i.e., beetles). This produce does not have a bee warning on the label. Pyola Insect Spray contains pyrethrins and canola oil. It is labeled for use on a range of fruit and nut trees, flowers, vegetables, landscape ornamentals. and shade trees. This product is highly toxic to bees ex-posed to direct treatment on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops or weeds while bees are actively visiting the treatment area. PyGanic (available as a 1.4% or 5% EC) contains pyrethrins. It also is highly toxic to bees and has the same environmental warnings as Pyola.

St. John’s Wort

St. John’s wort is a beautiful pollinator-attracting plant for any garden in need of a showy display of yellow flowers from late spring through summer. St. John’s wort is part of the Hypericaceae family and is a perennial that likes wet areas. It performs best in partially shaded locations but can tolerate full sun. This bush has an upright habit that can reach a height of 5 feet when planted in its ideal loca-tion of moist soil and partial sun. Pollinators are attracted to this plant because of its 25 to 100 large showy flowers per stem that contain many stamens. The showy flowers and nectar source attract leaf cutter bees, bumble bees, beetles, and flies. With its ability to be propagated by seed, divisions, or cuttings, St. John’s wort is an excellent addition to a pollinator restoration habitat.

Upcoming Events

Monday, July 23rd 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Woodford County Farm Tour Stops/session include: The Kentucky Castle – Farm to Table Garden, Truffle Production, Honey Bess, Castle and Courtyard Tour, and Future Plans. Eckert’s-Boyd Orchard – Blackberry Trellising, Strawberry Plasticulture Production, Peach Production, Spotted Wing Drosophila Studies, Farm Overview/Future Plans. Thursday, July 26th, 6 p.m. EDT until dark, UK Horticulture Twilight Tour Where: 4320 Emmert Farm Lane, Lexington Cost: Free and open to the public Concurrent tours, which will be repeated two times until dark, will start at the research center parking lot. Stops on the vegetable tour will include high tunnel ground cherry and squash production, Uba Tuba pepper breeding, a bacterial spot resistant bell pepper variety trial, cover crops, tomato and squash production using soil amendments, tomato breeding for mite resistance, sweet sorghum, and hop production. Topics covered on the sustainable agriculture tour will include acquired resistance for sustainable agriculture, controlling cucumber beetles in muskmelons with meso tunnels and ground cover treatments, organic hemp production, trap crops for stink bugs, heirloom corn, moveable high tunnels, high tunnel tomatoes, and UK’s Sustainable Ag CSA. The fruit tour will include matted row strawberry and haskap variety trials, apple bagging and bitter rot in apples, hard cider apple cultivars, spotted wing drosophila in blackberries, grape production, and Kentucky wine. Friday, August 24th 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Woodford County Farm to Table Dinner Tickets go on sale July 16th. They will be available for purchase in our office or online through Eventbrite (follow our Facebook page to find the URL). The event will be held at The Barn at Duckworth Farm located on Shannon Run Road in Woodford County and will include a four-course, farm sourced meal crafted by Chef Ouita Michel. Proceeds from the 2018 Farm to Fork event will benefit the Woodford County Farmers Market. Saturday, August 25th 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Versailles Twilight Festival, Main St. Downtown Versailles, KY Local Food, Arts, Crafts, Demonstrations and Entertainment. The Woodford County Master Gardeners will have a children’s activity booth in the kid’s zone at the festival! Saturday, September 29th, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Annual Fall Gardening Workshop, Woodford County Extension Office Mark your calendars for the Fall Gardening Workshop hosted by the Woodford County Extension Master Gardeners! This years’ topics include Growing Bountiful Berries, Heirloom Vegetables, Shade Gardening, Growing a Feast for the 3 B’s – Birds, Butterflies, and Bees, a hands-on hypertufa making workshop, and Cut Flowers for the Home Garden. Also, Ironweed Nursery will be here selling native plants during lunch! More details and registration I nformation coming soon!

Happy Gardening! Faye Kuosman, County Extension Agent for Horticulture faye.tewksbury@uky.edu

View this newsletter and find a variety of other information and upcoming events on

our county website.

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