Agriculture
Tips for organic gardening
Severely prune butterfly bushes
(Buddleia) and Chaste-trees (Vitez).
Plant cannas outside.
Pencil in planting dates on your
gardening calendar. This is partic
ularly helpful for reminding our
selves of succession plantings, such
as gladiolus.
In fact, make your first planting of
glads now, and repeat every 10 days
to two weeks until July.
Remember to soak bare-rooted or
namentals in water for 24 hours be
fore planting.
Mark the daffodils you prefer as
they bloom. After the foliage dies
down, you will know which ones your
want to divide.
Think before you prune forsythias.
No little round balls, please. A natu
rally weeping plant is spectacular in
bloom and fits comfortably into the
landscape while in its green stage.
Since forsythia and other spring
flowering plants set their flowering
buds in the late summer and early
fall, make sure they receive ad
equate moisture at that time.
Organic Gardening says following
a few simple guidelines when choos
ing bedding plants will insure great
results. Avoid plants that are tall and
spindly. Buy plants with dark green
leaves and stems. Reject any with
lower leaves missing, an indication
of insufficient nutrition. Reject any
plants in dry soil, as artificial medi
ums are hard to rewet, and the plants
may have already been damaged by
water stress.
Another tip from OG: save rain
wrappers that package your news pa
nope anH nlopo fhom An nnlpc in thp
garden. Breezes ripple the paper,
frightening off birds.
Discourage rabbits in the garden
by sprinkling dry sulfur around the
outer edges.
Gardeners interested in providing
food and shelter for visiting wildlife
will be interested in a habitat created
near Washington, D.C. by the Na
tional Wildlife Federation and the
Planting Council. Located at 8825
Lees burg Pike, Vienna, VA., the hab
itat makes a great side trip on visits
to the nation's capital. Included are
four nature trails, and many increas
ingly popular vistas for nature pho
tographers. Open from dawn to dusk
year round, the addmission is free.
Cool and Delicious
Build a grape arbor over a hot,
sunny deck and convert it into a cool
summer retreat, says Elizabeth Per
domo in Organic Magazine.
Among the muscadine varieties
suggested for vigorous growth are
'Triumph,' 'Cowert,' 'Dixie,' and
'Nesbi.' Plant the vines at the cor
ners of the arbor, or around the pe
rimeter of a free form area.
One vine covers about 25 feet, and
can be planted as close as four feet
anart
Muscadines can live for ISO years,
so build the arbor to last Use rot-re
sistant cedar, cypress, or pressure
treated 4x4's. String the top with 13
wire to form one-foot squares.
Tidy ?p the Rose Bed
Stop! Don't touch that climber!
Climbing roses flower on one-year
old canes. Wait until they have fin
ished blooming to prune. But they do
need a good balanced feeding.
Hybrid tea roses, however, are an
other matter? the time is now.
Thoroughly rake debris and winter
covering from the base of the plant.
Cut away any dead or diseased
shoots. Cut back any crossed live
canes, since they will rub together
and wound the bark, bringing about
possible invasion by pests and dis
eases. Redirect the stem's growth by
cutting to an outside bud? one that is
point away from the plant. The other,
less desirable cane should be cut
down well below where it crossed its
neighbor. Cut at a 45- to 65-degree an
gle slanting into the center of the
shrub. Leave four to six canes on
each plant.
Prune all branches back to at least
half their lengths. No need to pur
chase expensive wound dressings.
Just apply a thin film of grafting wax
or paraffin if the roses are in an area
subjected to moisture-robbing winds.
Apply a balanced fertilizer, follow
ing manufacturer's directions. Lay
down whatever mulch you prefer?
pine needles are very satisfactory in
this area.
Now stand back. You're in for a
blommin' treat.
District homemakers meeting scheduled
By PAIGE UNDERWOOD
Home Economics Ext. Agent
"Changing Times" will be the
theme of the Northeastern District
Extension Homemakers annual
meeting to be held on Wednesday,
April 22 in Windsor, NC.
Over 400 EHA members from sev
enteen counties are expected to at
tend the meeting. Mr. William P.
Harrell of Colerain, North Carolina,
inventor of the game "The Constitu
tion," will speak on "Understanding
the Constitution."
A tour of Historic Hope House and
King Bazemore House will be con
ducted in the afternoon.
Extension Homemaker Council
members in each county will be sell
ing tickets for the district project to
be drawn that day. Prizes will be 1)
Wooden blanket chest with casters,
2) magazine rack, 3) footstool, all
made by the Coul bourn Lumber
Company.
Reservations for the meeting must
be made by Friday, April 10, 1987.
Contact your County Extension Of
fice for registration information.
Information on fish farming in N.C.
Americans are eating fish like
never before, and some farmers
around the country are responding to
that demand by taking a hard look at
fish farming. Ask producers in the
south and they'll tell you it's really
nothing new.
In North Carolina, for example
aquacultural enterprises range from
the historical commercial fishing op
erations in coastal and oceanic wa
ters to the production of rainbow
trout in Western North Carolina
mountain streams.
Webster's Dictionary defines agri
culture as "the science or art of culti
vating the soil, producing crops, and
raising livestock." Fish fanners, or
aquaculturists have long contended
they too produce a crop, and should
be recognized and regulated as doing
so.
On the national level many regula
tions affecting the production of fish
and seafood are enforced by the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the
Department of Interior. Fish farm
ers think that should be the Depart
ment of Agriculture's job. Hiis split
has also occurred in many states.
Rules and regulations are being
made by fish and game departments
that in many cases do not look prob
lems from the standpoint of a pro
ducer.
Concerns of the fish farmer are
starting to be heard. The USDA now
has an Office of Aquaculture. The
1965 Farm Bill allows the establish
ment of four regional aquaculture
centers to coordinate research. They
are steps in the right direction for an
industry that will likely soon contrib
ute a billion dollars a year to the U.S.
economy.
Home extension calendar
April 7? Spring Achievement
Day? Perquimans County Extension
Office? 10:00 a.m.-l:00. Lunch by
School Food Service, Mrs. La Claire
Anderson. Must call to pre- register
for lunch by March 27.
Battenburg Lace Ornament
Workshop ? Tuesday, March 31?
9:00-1:00 p.m.. Instructor? Mrs. He
len Timms? Small Cost? Class Limit
10. Please call 426-7697.
April 22? Northeastern District
Extension Homemakers Annual Ac
tivity Day? Southwestern Elemen
tary School, Windsor, N.C. Hospital
ity, 9:30 a.m. Meeting at 10:00 a.m.
Program? "Changing Times", Cost:
$1.25. Registration, $4.75. Lunch,
$6.00 Total ( Optional? 3 : 00-Tour of
Hope House and King Baiemore
House. This can be determined by
each car load and driver) . Late regis
tration after April IS is $12.M.
Starting flower seeds indoors this year
Both new and experienced garden
ers should check seed packets for
germination and growing conditions,
say staff members at the N.C. Botan
ical Garden at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
These conditions can vary widely.
Some seeds require a darkened
room, while others need bright lights
and bottom heating. Others should be
covered by a growing medium, while
very fine seeds often need to lie on
the surface of the medium.
If starting two types of seeds in
doors in one flat, both types should
have the same requirements and
should be labeled. Some baby plants
are not recognizable, and no one
wants to transplant tiny snapdragons
into the garden {dot meant for sweet
peppers.
To start seeds indoors, check the
germination period usually given on
the seed packet in a phrase like
"start indoors four weeks before the
final frost." In Piedmont North Caro
lina, the average date for the final
frost is April 30, so a count back
should be made before sowing starts.
The requirements for seed-starting
containers are simple? anything
from an empty egg carton to a clean
plastic or wood flat, or peat pots that
are later planted with their contents
in the outdoor plot can be used.
To germinate successfully, a seed
needs adequate moisture for seed
swelling and sprouting. The moisture
must be even throughout the con
tainer to prevent the tiny plants from
drying. More constant humidity can
be achieved by covering the con
tainer with clear plastic wrap. As
soon as the seedlings emerge, how
ever, holes are poked in the plastic
for ventilation and to lessen the possi
bility of overheating.
Many seeds like a heated medium,
which can be created with heated
coils under the containers, or by plac
ing the containers on an appliance
that gives off heat, like the top of
some refrigerators. Moat seeds need
light, obtained from a sunny window,
fluorescent lights or even a table
lamp. This light is what makes the
seedlings develop after they have
sprouted.
Using commercial seed-starting
mix as a planting medium is sim
plest. The best mixes are combina
tions of sphagnum peat moss, ver
miculite and nutrients. Adding other
components like soil, which are not
sterile, is unwise since tiny seeds and
developing plants depend upon a dis
ease-free environoment.
4-H workshop
By JU ANITA T. BAILEY
Home Economic* Ext. Ageat
Perquimans County Extension
Service and Albemarle EMC will be
hokttng a 4-H Electric workshop on
Saturday, April 4, 1907 from 9:00 a.m.
to 13:00 noon at the Albemarle EMC
Office. At this workshop youth will
learn how electricity worts, to save
electricity and how to construct an
extension cord. You must be 10 yean
old to register because everyone will
be making an extension cord during
the workshop. Bring a bag lunch, 9.50
for a drink and $1.00 to help cover the
cost of workshop materials. Call 436
7887 to register. (Pre-registration Is
Required! ) See you at the workshop.
Summer
Shorts, Jumpsuits
At ?
Quality Clothing
426-7979
Democratic convention set
The Perquimans County Demo
cratic Convention will be heki on Sat
urday, April 4, at 1:00 p.m., County
Chairman Lwto ii? mid today.
The Convention will be held at the
Pert) ui man* County Coarthouae,
London said.
At the tap of the Convention'*
agenda will ha the eiectfcM of a new
County Democratic Chairman and
County Executive Committee AIM,
County's members on the State I
ocratic Executive Committee will
also be chseen.
"The Comity ConventloM are Im
portant lor all Denaocrats la North
Carolina," Chairman London i
"With Democra)
chooalnt Party
to the future, we will bare a i
in 1M.'
Above Neil Young a senior at Perquimans High School makes room for a shrub. Young and
other Ag III students from the High School recently did some landscaping work at the county
extension office. Young is a senior at the High School. -1
Rural area kids choose reading ;
GREENVILLE? Teenagers nowa
days may not be reading "War and
Peace" and other timeless literary
classics, but they are reading for
pleasure? at least in rural eastern
North Carolina? says an East Caro
lina University library educator.
Dr. Constance Mellon, an assistant
professor in the ECU Department of
Library and Information Studies,
says most of the 362 respondents in a
recent survey of ninth graders defi
nitely choose reading as a leisure
time activity. Some of these adoles
cents are actually buying reading
materials with their own pocket
money.
The popular choices of reading
material for males in her survey
tended to be such magazines as "Hot
Rod," "Field and Stream" and
"Sports Illustrated," along with bio
graphies of sports figures, "war
books" and comic books. Female stu
dents were likely to select romance
novels, mysteries and magazines:
"Seventeen," "Jet,", "Ebony,"
"Teen and "Young Miss."
"One of the most compelling finds
of this study is that teenagers, at
least rural teenagers, Are reading,"
Dr. Mellon commented. Students
also indicate a willingness to read
something of their on choosing, she
said, as opposed to material assigned
to them.
Dr. Mellon undertook the survey in
collaboration with two ECU graduate
students? Carroll Harrell, media
specialist at Perquimans High
School, and Annette Privette, an En
glish teacher at Bunn High School in
Franklin County. The three devel
oped a questionable which was com
pleted by ninth grade students of all
academic levels at Perquimans and
Brinn high schools.
The two schools are "well-matched
in all but one aspect," Dr. Mellon
noted; while Perquimans is located
in a sparsely populated coastal art*,
Bunn High is less than 35 miles fx-om
Raleigh? one of the state's largest
cities.
Both high schools are centrally lo
cated in the areas they serve, more
than 90 percent of the student enroll
ment in both schools is classified ''ru
ral" and both have about equal racial
distribution of black and white with
?B??tn*M and R??id?f>tio)
Steam Cleaning for
carpat and uphoUtcry
Staam Cleaning I
carpat and uphol*
338-2244
ity Carpet Care
virtually no other ethnic group rep
resented.
Although rural teens often depend
on buses for transportation to and
from school and lack "easy access to
public libraries and stores which sell
reading material," they probably
have more leisure time in which to
read, than urban students who can
more readily while away hours with
the amusements and distractions in
cities, Dr. Mellon said.
Still, she concedes that most teens
today? even rural teens? can be eas
ily distracted from reading as a lei
sure activity.
"There can be no doubt that this is
a media generation, seemingly un
comfortable with silence," she said.
TV, portable radios and tape player;,
video games and inexpensive home
computer software offer spare time
activities for modern youngsters, ste
acknowledged. "With such sophisti
cated entertainment only a knob
away, can the printed word com
pete?" she asked.
"It can, and does, according to the
ECU survey of rural teens. To the
surprise of Dr. Mellon and her collate
orators, more than 80 percent of the
responding teens say they do read in
their spare time, even if it's by de
fault because they can't find any
thing more "fun" to do. *
?
See these values
today. Offer ends
May 2, 1987.
? Lightweight, one-piece camera and
video recorder ? Records onto stan
dard VHS tape ? One year parts and
labor limited warranty ? AC/RF adap
ter. rechargeable battery included