agriculture
Area gardeners can yield money savins produce
I
?First quarter of the moon
come? on August third.
BEYOND THE
WEEDS
Jean Winalww
?Camellia susanquas have set
buds for fall. Unruly branches
may be trimmed back, but avoid
pruning any thing else.
?Cease feeding amaryllis, hold
back water, and let the bulb rest
I until early winter.
' 'Prune candytuft.
?Root English ivy.
?Thin ajuga away from bases
of evergreens. This beautiful
sprint-flowering ground cover
grows rapidly and should be kept
in bounds. In the case of shallow
rooted asaleaa, ajuga will
compete for moiature. Uae an
organic mulch inatead.
?Find an inconapicuoua apace
in the perennial border for
casting aeeda of galladiaa,
calendulas and snapdragons.
?Give evergreens their laat
fertilizing, if you think they need
it. These planta send out shoots
slowly that must "harden off"
before the advent of cold weather
or the tips will die from
exposure.
?Du Pont has introduced a new
permeable landscape fabric that,
they claim, promotes healthier
plants and reduces routine
maintenance. Du Pont
Landscape fabric lets water pass
through to plant roots while
controlling weed growth. Water
does not flow off, thus
minimizing erosion of gravel or
mulch. Chemically inert, the
material does not have to be
removed to treat plants with
liquid herbicide, fertilizers, and
insecticides.
?Question from Elizabeth City:
Why did my pickles turn dark?
Experts at the N.C. Extension
Service say (1) you may be using
water with too many minerals;
(2) your spices are too finely
ground; (3) you used iodized
salt; (4) you may have
overcooked the produce; and (5)
you processed the pickles in iron
or metal pots.
?Prepare a bed in the garden
for some more fall vegetables.
By August IS you can sow
(amount per person per year):
Kale? "Green Curled Scotch,"
"Siberian," "Vates"? V4 ounce
Head Lettuce? "Great
Lakes," "Ithaca"? 15 plants
Radishes? "Chery Belle,"
"Easter Egg"? V4 package
Turnips? "Purple Top With
White Globe," "Just Right"? Vi
ounce
?Most household plants are
taking a break in the back yard.
Treat them to a liquid fertilizer
or your very own cow manure
tea.
Check roots for crowding.
Plants that have outgrown their
containers should be repotted
with a good commercial soil
mixture or a combination of
three parts loamy soil, two parts
moss, and one part coarse sand.
Add one cup superphosphate or
bone meal to each bushel of soil.
?Tired okra plants will perk up
if you cut the top off and feed
with a weak fish emulsion.
?There, there, I know you're
hot. Auntie Jean understands
hoein' and swetin' in sultry heat
ain't the fun of swinging in a
hammock drinking mint
flavored iced tea. But look, you
are richer by far than that lounge
lizard over there under the tree.
Horticulturists at N.C. State say
a 25 by SO foot garden site in this
area can yield 938 pounds of
veggies, which grosses almost
$650. Take away from that figure
approximate cost of fertilizer,
14-19; lime, $1.56; plants, $18;
seeds $11.98 and insecticides,
$11.96, expenses of $54.68. That
leaves a net value of $589.74.
Vegetabuly speaking, that could
break down to 88 pounds of
tomatoes, 10 pounds okra, 12
pounds lima beans, 68 pounds
cucumbers, seven pounds
cauliflower, 1.5 pounds brussels
sprouts, and 56 pounds of
zucchini. That's three-fourths
pound of food for each square
foot of garden space.
Wait up. You're not that
impressed? You headed for the
hammock? Hey, that's my iced
tea. My hammock, for that
matter. Shut up and leave you
alone, you say? O.K., O.K.
Thanks for the 1589 71
Newsletter reminds farmers to cover unused ground
(Editor's note: The following
article is excerpted from the
Perquimans County Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation
Service newsletter, prepared by
Thomas L. Riddick, County
Executive Director.
Reminder on use of land taken
out of production under the
* acreage reduction program.
There must be adequate cover
on the land all year to prevent
soil erosion. The following
practices may be carried out to
control weeds and grasses.
?The land may be mowed at
anytime.
?The land can be lightly disked
to control weed and grasses only
if the slope of the land is two
approval before disking.
?Chemicals may be used to
control weeds and grasses at
anytime as long as the land is not
disked or plowed and left bare.
?Grazing is not permitted
during the period of April 1
through September 30.
Crop reports on summer seed
crops
Farm operators are reminded
that summer seed crops (milo)
should have been reported by
August 1, 1984 in order to get
history credit for determining
future bases.
Proven yields
Producers who wish to prove
their wheat yield are reminded
that production records must be
submitted to us by November 1,
1984. Proven yields are based on
a five year period, 1980 through
1984. Acceptable production
evidence may be actual weight
or sales documents which must
show commodity, weight, date,
producer, farm name or number,
moisture reading, buyer, weight
tickets must be initialed by the
weigher. Wheat stored on the
farm must be measured.
ACP sign-up on fall conservation
practices
Sign-up for cost-share
assistance on Winter Cover Crop
or other fall conservation
practices will run through
Thursday, September 20 or until
funds are exhausted. Request for
cost-sharing must be filed and
approved before the work is
started.
Grain bin for sale
We are offering for sale by
sealed bid a Butler Grain Bin, 27'
diameter with a storage capacity
of 9,000 bushels, 24" 5-HP single
phase fan and a PTO driven 8'
57" uger. The right to accept or
reject any bid is reeserved for
information call us. Bid deadline
July 31, 1984.
Plumbing, Heating, A.C.
Electrical Contracting
Waterheaters, Sales-Service,
Sharpening Service
f arming noted important industry
By JOHN SLEDGE
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
Farming is still the most
important industry in the United
States. Although less than three
million Americans actually till
the soil, another 20 million are
employed in jobs created by
agriculture.
? Farming is big business, worth
|144 billion to our economy last
year. One farmer now produces
enough food to feed 78 others,
including two dozen in other
countries.
People in other courtries are
major customers of many of our
products, such as soybeans,
tobacco, rice, cotton, wheat and
many more products. In fact,
one-fifth of all agricultural goods
entering world trade originate in
the U.S. Last year we exported
$35 billion worth of agricultural
commodities and imported about
$15 billion, resulting in a $20
billion ag surplus to help cushion
our nation's staggering debt
Jtiecent rains have
produced erosion
By TONY SHORT
USDA Soil Conservation
Service
This part of the state has little
noticeable erosion, but recent
rains fhave turned up some
trouble spots. These spots are
almost always where water
drops from one level to another,
like on a hoe drain that spills
over into a ditch. This spillover,
whether on a ditch or on a field
edge, creates washouts. Some of
these spots can get really ugly.
However, there are ways to solve
these erosion spots.
The best way to correct the
problem is to put in a pipe. The
pipe absorbs the water's energy
down the slope. The highway
department uses these on their
road construction. Farmers can
use them too. The new plastic
pipe is a good product. It is light
and easy to handle, unlike
concrete or metal pipe. Some
people are now using these for
culverts at farm road crossings.
The size used depends on the
amount of water that flows
through the pipe. The more
water the larger the pipe needed.
Most drain outlets could be about
10 to 12 inches big, but for larger
drainage areas that wash from
fields, the 18 inch size is usually
?eeded.
Many farmers are now trying
?this method of preventing
washouts. Placing old bricks,
concrete or rocks in a washout
lias a short life. The water
eventually washes the material
away. It does not stop the
?eroaion.
Tarkington & Sons
Plumbing
If you need a plumber
BAD, You need him
GOOD.
ALL PLUMBING
REPAIRS
Call 221-4435
r-J?ntoo N.C.
Where an erosion problem
exists, cost-sharing is available
for pipe installation.
For more information call the
Soil Conservation Service Office.
load. Every $1 billion of farm
commodities exported creates
20,000 jobs.
Countries that buy at least $1
billion in farm goods are: Japan,
the Netherlands, Canada,
Mexico, South Korea, West
Germany, Taiwan and Spain.
Our most valuable exports are
tobacco, wheat, soybeans, corn
and cotton.
In addition to creating jobs
necessary to take a harvested
crop to the customer's table,
farmers help the general
economy through their
purchases. Farmers use 6.5
million tons of steel, for example,
requiring the efforts of 40,000
workers. They buy products
containing 360 million pounds of
rubber, enough to put tires on
seven million automobiles.
In fact, farmers will spend
about $140 billion to produce our
food and fiber this year.
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