Fall is creeping up on us very quickly. The cool mornings and bright blue skies are some of the best things about living in the foothills of North Carolina. The flowers and blooming plants seem to be rejuvenated and full of color for one last fling before winter. Along with these bright fall colors many of us also experience our yearly battle with hay fever. It is hard to appreciate the beauty of fall leaves and mums when you are looking at them through itchy, watery eyes with a tissue in your hand, awaiting the next sneeze so you can dab at your already irritated nose.
Yes, for those of us who suffer with hay fever, the fall is prime time for another bout and we do not tend to look kindly on the culprits. What are the causes for hay fever? We all know that pollen causes the problem, but what kind of pollen?
As we drive down the road we tend to shake our fists at the bright displays of golden rod that grow in abundance. But, the poor, misunderstood golden rod is not the problem. It's pollen is too heavy to be carried by wind. The real problem is ragweed, the pollen most responsible for late summer and fall hay fever in North America.
It is much easier to blame large, bright colored flowers such as roses, but in reality the pollen from most of these blooms is large and heavy just like golden rod pollen. Low growing weeds, grasses and many trees have small, light, dry pollens that are much better suited for dispersal by the wind. These are the pollens that get us!
There are some things we can do to keep symptoms at a minimum. Do not hang laundry outside to dry because pollen collects on fabric. Keep bedroom windows closed at night. Hire someone to do the lawn work during the early part of fall and avoid pollens by staying inside during peak pollen hours - early morning and late afternoon. Stay inside on windy days and keep the car windows rolled up.
We will make it through the fall pollen season and we can enjoy this lovely season in spite of our hay fever. Most of us who are regular recipients have learned how to cope. Now, go out and apologize to the nearest golden rod!
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Parents, teachers (K-12), child care providers and educators:
4-H has vast resources of research based curriculum to assist in engaging youth during learning.
Please contact Nicki at: nicki_carpenter@ncsu.edu, if you are interested in learning how 4-H can provide educational enrichment. 
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Stockpiling Forages
Livestock producers can take advantage of late summer and early fall growing conditions to obtain high quality pasture for late fall and early winter grazing. This practice is called stockpiling.
The best grasses for stockpiling are cool-season grasses as they will retain good quality and remain palatable into winter. Orchardgrass, bluegrass and tall fescue are good grasses to stockpile under our fall conditions. Warm season grasses like common Bermuda and even crabgrass can also be utilized for fall and winter grazing, but their growth curve is tailing off during fall, so they need a longer time of rest to provide winter grazing.
Late July, August and early September is the time to begin stockpiling for fall and winter use. The first step is removing cattle from the pasture, then apply the necessary fertilizer and allow the grass to accumulate growth until November or December. Be sure to reduce summer growth to 3 to 4 inches by grazing or clipping before fertilization, to insure your stockpile production comes from new grass growth. Use a soil test to determine if you need to add phosphorous, potassium or lime, as these are best added in the fall. To achieve a good stockpile growth, top-dress at a rate of 40 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre on bluegrass and orchardgrass, and 40 to 100 pounds on tall fescue before August 15. Research indicates that producers can increase dry matter production by 20 and 25 pounds per acre for each pound of nitrogen applied.
The source of nitrogen used is important. Ammonium nitrate is the most efficient fertilizer to use for stockpiling, because it is not subject to volatilization or leaching into the atmosphere. However, ammonium nitrate is becoming scarce, and it may be cost prohibitive. Research has shown that urea is about 79 to 89 percent as effective as ammonium nitrate, but urea can be just as effective if you use a urease inhibitor.
To maximize stockpiled forage use, be sure to graze the grass-clover pastures shortly after the first frost. Pure grass stands will retain their palatability and quality much longer into the winter so graze these last. Also, be sure to maintain a high stocking rate to prevent waste as a result of trampling. In this time of high input costs, stockpiling cool-season grasses can extend the grazing season, reduce winter hay feeding, and provide a good return of high quality forage for each pound of nitrogen applied while providing your cowherd with an ideal place for wintering and calving.
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As the growing season winds down, the lawn can use a couple of last applications of fertilizer to insure good overwinter success. Around Labor Day an application of slow release lawn food or winterizer is advisable. This encourages turfgrass to put down deep roots that will give better cold hardiness to the lawn. Fertilizer rates on the label should be closely followed.
Another application of 10-10-10 or 17-17-17 should be applied around Thanksgiving. This is a quick release fertilizer rather than a slow release fertilizer. A quick acting fertilizer will give the lawn one last feeding before it goes dormant for the winter. This fertilizer application will supply plant needs until spring growth starts.
As leaves start to drop from the trees, it is important to keep them raked off of the lawn. Fall leaves get wet and heavy and can ruin a good stand of turfgrass. Rake often to keep the leaves from building up on the lawn.
Good lawn maintenance is the key to a healthy lawn next spring. What you do now will make a huge difference in the spring.
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ASPIRE Series will be offered Oct. 1, 2020 to March 4, 2021
Many colleges require scores from the ACT or SAT tests as a part of the admissions process. Your ACT score is a key component of your college applications.The ACT is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by ACT, Inc. The purpose of the ACT test is to measure a high school student's readiness for college, and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants. College admissions officers will review standardized test scores alongside your high school GPA, the classes you took in high school, letters of recommendation from teachers or mentors, extracurricular activities, admissions interviews, and personal essays. How important ACT scores are in the college application process varies from school to school. Overall, the higher you score on the ACT and/or SAT, the more options for attending and paying for college will be available to you.ASPIRE is an educational series to improve your scores that includes instruction, demonstration, testing strategies and practice exams.
Watch for more information and registration details, feel free to contact Nicki for more information at nicki_carpenter@ncsu.edu.
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Virtual Tomato Field Day
This year, typical tomato field day activities, such as plot tours, in-field presentations, displays, taste-tests, etc., could not take place. Instead, the project leaders for the various tomato-related programs, as well as food-safety training coordinators with N.C. Cooperative Extension and N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, have produced videos describing the work that they are involved in this year.
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Eating like those who live in the Mediterranean region has been shown to promote health and decrease the risk of many chronic diseases. Are you interested in eating the Mediterranean way, but not sure where to start?
Join us for FREE Online Med Instead of Meds class - learn without ever leaving home!
Classes will meet via Zoom 12 noon - 1pm on Thursdays from September 3 - October 8.
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Body Condition Scoring
With the summer coming to an end and fall and winter fast approaching, livestock producers usually take on winter with a great deal of anxiety. With feed costs high, nutritional balance is critical. By learning to score livestock by body condition, producers can make logical decisions on their feeding programs.
Body condition scores are simply a visual appraisal of the amount of fat covering on the animal. By looking at the fat deposition over the brisket, shoulder, ribs, spine, tailhead, hipbones and pin bones, and assigning each animal a score, producers can evaluate their nutritional program. Use a scale of 1-9, with 1 being emaciated and 9 being obese. Opinions can differ on whether an animal is a 4 or 5, however, the important thing to remember is that body condition scores divide the herd or flock into 3 groups, animals that are too thin or too fat, and those just right. If the majority of your animals fall into the just right category, 5-6, then their nutrition is sufficient, and the thin and obese animals don't fit the environment they are in. Adjust the feed based on what your animals are showing you. Keep in mind that some groups of livestock are the exception. Bred females within 75 days of parturition should always be in the just right category, and weanling animals will almost always be on the thin side, while animals during breeding season should be gaining in body condition, so grouping animals helps to maximize production. It is beneficial for producers to have animals around 5-6 body condition score going into winter. These animals will lose some condition through the winter but will emerge in good condition to calve and breed back the following year without special care. Animals that enter the winter feeding period at less than a 5, will lose too much body condition and will become excessively thin by the following spring, and are typically slow to rebreed. These animals should be supplemented with grain or high quality pasture to achieve a higher body condition score by fall.
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4-H Volunteers: Lighting the Way
September 24-26, 2020
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4 Steps to Food Safety
Did you know that 1 in 6 Americans get sick each year due food poisoning and 128,000 people end up in the hospital every year? The following 4 simple steps to Food Safety can help prevent you from becoming a victim of food poisoning. CLEAN, SEPARATE, COOK, and CHILL, let's do a short overview of each of these steps.
Read More...
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September Discovery: Tuesday September 1, 6pm
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NC State Extension is committed to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, political beliefs, family and marital status, sex, age, veteran status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability.
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