Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / March 17, 1983, edition 1 / Page 12
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Agriculture *To cover or not to cover j | A natural cover may not be the cheapest option for farmers r 1 --T ? By W.R. JESTER, III County Extension Chairman Many farmers have been asking fbout cover-crops for "set aside lucres". Here is some information 1 (hat should help you. 2 First, although natural vegetation J if allowed, I would encourage you to Trtint a cover. Some growers indicate ; tjhat a natural cover is the cheapest option. Is it really that cheap? ; If a grower chooses to allow weeds ; to grow and seed out, he is increasing ? his cost of weed control sometime in 'the future. Multiple mowings or diskings reduces the seeding out problems, but the cost of fuel and labor should be considered. Growers who decide on a cover need to consider the fertility and pH ?of the land before planting. I would istill recommend a soil test for this k purpose. Legume* ae (airly sensitive to pH, requiring a pH between S.< and 10. Some grasses such as fescue, tend to be leu sensitive to lower pH levels. This needs to be considered when deciding on whst to plant as a cover. You need to decide whether to plant a legume or a grass cover. Legume covers can provide con sidersble benefit in the form of nitrogen carryover, if the land is rotated to corn, sorghum or cotton. Grasses are probable the best choice on land being rotated to peanuts since disease and insect problems may carry over from any legume cover that is planted to the peanut crop. Grazing is permitted by the program from October thru April. If one is cosidering a winter cover and grazing is in the program, a species should be selected that will produce the most growth during this period. First choice would probably be rye in pure stand or in a crimson clover mixture. Fifty to one hundred pounds of nitrogen will be needed in this case. If a winter cover Is desired sad do grazing is seeded and the land Is to be planted In corn the next spring, then crimson clover or hairy vetch would be good choices. Both of these would provide nitrogen to the following crop. Hsiry vetch would provide up to W pounds per acre of nitrogen to a corn crop. Crimson clover would provide about 60 pounds. Let's deal with some specific choices, first with summer covers and then with winter covers. Summer covers could include either of the following: sorghum sudan, pearl millet, annual lespedeza, pigeon pea, or tall fescue. The sorghum sudans, pearl millet and fescue will need at least SO pounds of nitrogen per acre to provide a stand. Fescue, depending on moisture, could be planted as late aa March 30. The sorghum sudans and pearl millet could be seeded as late as August 1 (or cover, so planting la not a problem. Pigeon pea would make good cover but the seed is hard to find. Keel Peanut Co. of Greenville is one source that I know about. The ger mination of these seeds is low (about 50 percent). They will give them to you if you will pick them up. Annual lespedeza makes excellent cover and will produce 60 to 70 pounds per acre of nitrogen. Kobe would be the variety of choice. This cover would be the most expensive to establish of any we will discuss here. Winter covers would be planted this fall and could consist of either ryegrass, crimson clover, hairy vetch, tall fescue, aubterrean clover or red clover. The fescue cover would last several years if there is a program next year. The same would apply for red clover. I will finish up by listing an average price of seed in cents per pound for the cover crop mentioned and the seeding rate per acre for each. This information is as follows: Red Clover 1.10, 10 lbs.; Crimson Clover .55, IS lbs.; Austrian Winter Peas .25. 25 lbs.; Hairy Vetch .55, 20 lbs. ; Ryegrass .30, 25 lbs. ; Lespedeza .70, 30 lba.; Sorghum-Sudan .35, 35 lbs. and Millets .30-.00, 20 lbs. Contact us at the Perquimans County Office if you need information on seeding methods and varieties. Phone 426-5428. Spring comes in Sunday \ j It's time to prune butterfly bushes and vitex, hybrid roses *Happy St. Patrick's Day. r~ 'Spring begins at 11:39 P.M. on the ?"20th. | ?Prune butterfly bushes, vitex. \ 'Plant cannas outside. Try the new dwarf ones in containers. \ 'Pencil in planting dates on your J gardening calendar. This is par ; ticularly helpful for reminding {ourselves of succession plantings, I such as gladiolas. First plantings ; may begin now. Make a note on the ; calendar every 10 days to 2 weeks to [go out and repeat plantings until 'July. > * While galdiolas corras may be J retained in the ground for several ] years, good gardeners dig them up r?fter foliage has turned yellow. They discard the large thin ones, and store others in a porous bag. I know some good gardeners who are also lazy; they do none of the above and everything seems to work out anyway. ?Plant Swiss chard. ?Bare-rooted ornamentals and treese shipped from nurseries should be soaked in water 24 hours before planting. ?Prune hybrid roses when buds begin to swell. Check for cold damage and remove questionable canes. Leave 4 to 8 canes on each bush about 12 inches in height. Climbing roses bloom on year-old canes. Don't prune until after blooming. ?Mark daffodils you prefer. After foliage has died down you'U know which ones you want to divide. New Trees it Shrubs Bigger 4 Better And how! There are some wonderful of ferings I want to share with All us southun' folks love our magnolias. Gosler Farm Nurseries, 1200-FG Weaver Road. Springfield, Oregon 97477 ($1 catalog) offer 2 from the Washington National Arboretum. 'Galaxy' bears showy large red purple blooms in late spring. 'Nimbus' is semi-evergreen, bearing very, very aromatic 8-petal ivory white flowers. The bark is interesting smooth gray texture. Wayside Gardens offers the dogwood 'Gold Star' of the kousa family. I saw a picture of 'Strawberry Parfait,' its new crabapple. It has very dark red buds in May that open to pink single flowers. It is recommended for a street tree, as it is highly resistant to mildew, fungus, and apple scab. Gardeners on the coast could easily incorporate this tree in pine and oak groves because the limbs are wind firm and leaves are scorch resistant. Sunsweet Berry and Fruit Nur sery, Box D, Summer, Ga., didn't have anything absolutely brand new, but they have bred some persimmons especially fine for this area. So, for variation on an old theme, you may want to try 'Tani-Nashi' and 'Eureka,' both self-pollinating and deliciously prolific. One of my recent orders to Wayside Gardens include the wiegelia 'Eva Supreme,' which was written up in Flower and Garden Magazine. This one is compact with crimson red flowers that will grow in full sun. Wayside is offering Robin Hill azaleas also. These are small like Satzuki azaleas, but are easier to grow and are longer blooming. Monrovia has developed 'Tickled Pink' azaleas for warm climates. It's so pretty it may be worth pampering in a protected spot. Greer's 'Creamy Chiffon' rhododendron sounds wonderful in the description:"creamy yellow flowers in profusion above rounded deep green leaves..." While cool early spring days are ideal for planting trees and bushes, let's remember that nature's bounty of fruits and berries are far from maturing-so we need to continue helping the birds, right? Duncraft suggests that since temperatures are no pretty well over 32 degrees, birds do not really need the highly-caloric "Frost Formula." Oh, no. Now it's time for lo-cal "Warm Weather Treat," a hybrid formula guaranteed to prepare fat fluffies for summer get-togethers. You can just imagine what this will mean to little girl birds who want to start slimming down now for forays to the neighborhood watering hole. It even changes the melodies men songbirds chirp. No more "When I'm calling you, Whoo, whoo, whoo, Whoo, whoo, whoo..." Spring songs sound more like "Come to me. my we chickadee, Fly up and be my petite towhee; A pipit sleek and slim as you Restores youth's hues To this faded cockadoo..." Conservation District hosts recent no-till meeting ;i By TONY SHORT J District Conservationist A meeting on no-till farming was ?|ield recently at the Center Hill ^Community Building. This meeting was sponsored by the Albemarle Conservation District, Dupont Chemical Corporation and Chevron Chemical Company. The meeting was (or both Chowan and Perquimans producers. One of the speakers for the meeting Arbor Foundation offers free trees to members rue National Arbor Day Foun dation is giving 10 free trees to people /vho become Foundation members ^during March. } The free trees are part of the foundation's effort to promote tree planting throughout America. J A Colorado Blue Spruce, Red ;Maple, American Redbud, Black JWalnut, Norway Spruce, Red Oak, <White Flowering Dogwood, European Mountain Ash, Flowering Crab Apple and Butternut tree will be ^given to members joining during 'March. The 6-12 inch trees will be ?shipped this spring postage paid with ^enclosed planting instructions. * These trees were selected because ithey provide a wide range of i benefits: flowers, fruit and nuts, as well as shade and beauty, according to the Foundation. The National Arbor Day Foun dation, a nonprofit organization, is working to improve the quality of life throughout the country by en couraging tree planting. The Foundation will give the 10 free trees to members contributing $10 during March. To become a member of the Foundation and to receive the free trees, a $10 membership contribution should be sent to TEN TREES, National Arbor Day Foundation, Arbor Lodge 100, Nebraska City, NE 68410, by March 31. Perquimans farmers win * U982 state corn contest 'The National Corn Growers Association has named GTIcT En terprise of Hertford a second place winner in N.C.'s annual Corn growers Contest. ? GTfcT operated by Gary fhitehurst, Tilden White hurst, Jr. |nd Tilden Whitehurst, Sr., won fecond place in the Class AA Non frrigated Corn Yield Category with a P>.M bushel per acre yield. J The N.C. state chapter of the Rational Corn Growers Association conducted this annual competition. In 1M2 state Corn Growers association chaptes sponsored contests in 46 states. Competition categories were: Irrigated, Class AA Non-Irrigated, Class A Non-Irrigated and No-Till. Two corn growers in California, Ernest and Leslie Dixon, both of Thorton, topped all U.S. corn Growers with yields of 319.52 and 309.37 bushel per acre. -TIMBER TIPS Appearing in this space each month, beginning next week, will be useful information for landowner*. The material will pertain chiefly to timberland, however, many statements will apply to both timberland and farmland. While subject* will not be covered in great depth, many batk questions will be answered. You, as a landowner, may wish to save these bits and pieces for future reference. MOMRTIfS FOR SALEi 130 Ac. Form with 1250' on Albemorle Sound $115,001 50 Ac Cutover Woodland. Chowan Co jiEMMu 40 Ac. fornHond. Chowan Co 060,000 25 Ac. Woodland (tome timber) Gates Co :::::::?5n/* 38 Ac. Woodland (Cruise Available) Chowan Co NEGOTMMi 1 TONY WEBS, FORESTRY CONSULTANT 4 BROKER IH. 2, BOX *4, EDEMTON. NC ? PHONE 919-482-0558 SURVEYING/ APPRAISALS /SALES/MANAGEMENT UC FORESTER NO 197 ? UC. BROKER MO. 46454 was Wayne Nixon, a graduate student at N.C. State University. Wayne has done research on burning wheatstraw verses leaving it for double cropped soybeans. In con junction with that he has done work with applying Nitrogen to double cropped soybeans. One of his important findings is that moisture retention is much better in unburn ed straw. The ground temperatures are cooler under the mulch and thus more moisture is available in the soil. Wayne is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nixon of Hertford. Dr. John Anderson of the N.C. Extension Service have an update on no-till equipment. He noted that all no-till planters must have sufficient weight to properly put the seed in the ground. Spray equipment must be calibated accurately because proper application of chemicals is critical for good no-till results. Anderson said that no-till is cer tainly not for every field. He stated that fields with infestations of johnson grass should be avoided until the weed in eradicated. Harvey Roberts, a farmer from Currituck County, also spoke at the meeting. Robert* has been no-tilling since 1974. Be and his father plant ? both no-till soybeans and no-till corn. He stressed that good herbicide application was necessary for good results. His success has come gradually. Each year he said that he learns more and more about no-till farming. When Roberts plants his wheat, the field is bedded up into rows. This gives him exact planting location for his soybeans and for his corn which will be planted the following year. Earl White, a supervisor with the Albemarle Conservaton District, conducted the meeting. He stated that on the sandy land that he manages, wind erosion was virtually eliminated last spring by using no till. The meeting was coordinated by the Chowan and Perquimans Ex tension Services and the Soil Con servation Service. Walkers Construction Specializing In remodel ing, and repairs. 25 run of pfcasint people. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED HUE ESTIMATES John Walker 297-2507 Lawn aid jvdcn <w*roi of yutxaohldiwidotherliwfls. 8 ox. bottle. """ ?ej. $5.59 ^$335 4 MM Modi My Mm Durable btodipoMttrytenc R*n foi fqi.^KTunt covcr\ rtrat sMttn, muk?i tna mort. 3-ft.x VX>-rt. roi. **,4i5 J2" to bnadcMt tf* H0t (mount ol ftrttacr. U#*vw?i** but stun* pintle hopper rwUKk. #?-?3 ?"-$26" WATER HEATER SALES & SERVICE FURNACES CLEANED A SERVICED Let Us Replace Or Repair Those Leaky Faucets CALL: LLOYD R. "FLUTCH" DAIL : " ARTIFICER " 4 ONE CALL DOCS IT Ml 4M.4Tt4 Rou,e 3- *?* 109 i04-i/32 Hartford, NC ? The g*Mtving economy of Goodyaar radial construction ? Resilient polyester rod body helps cushion road shock ? Reinforced with double belts ol HauUlilt I I |ii n r, 1!^ I smooTn-fKjing noergiass ? 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The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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March 17, 1983, edition 1
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