Emerald Ash Borer -- Know It & Abhor It

Abhor is such a strong word....but we will all really, really, really not like this critter very much in the near future. I just came from presenting a program to our local Rotary Club on the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). It's relevant enough that I'll update you on its movement.

Kentucky has 11 counties infested with the EAB.

So far, Pulaski County is not an OFFICIALLY infested county. But think about it....we get a few Ohio visitors each year. These visitors may bring infested firewood with them. Ohio has had this pest for a couple of years already.

Or maybe a shipment of ash trees for a landscaping business or nursery comes in already infested. That's all it takes for these insects to get started.

During late April or early May, EABs will emerge and begin doing what insects do best -- eating, mating, and flying. Maybe all of them at once!

We need help in tracking this insect, so I simply ask you keep your eyes open. If you see any of the symptoms (found on the website links above), please call me at 606-679-6361.

Home Vegetable Gardening

This time of year, many people in Pulaski County are thinking of their gardens. For some, growing their own vegetables has been a lifelong tradition. To others in the county, it may be a new thing. Or maybe you used to help tend a garden but have been removed from it for some time.

If you want to learn about growing vegetables at home, come to a class at the Pulaski County Extension office on April 15 at 5pm. We hope to share a bunch of information that will help you be a better gardener.

You can always go to our website and check out our other events as well.

Hope to see you at the home vegetable gardening class!

Sprung!

Yep, it's sprung here at the Extension office. We've got daffodils galore, the yellow really stands out well. You can see them a mile away.


Then we've got our Harry Lauder's Walking Stick whose catkins are dangling in the breeze.


And then I noticed a little purplish mound making its way up through the leaves. It's our perennial Agastache or hyssop.

Great stuff. Good to be alive in the spring.

Shiitakes -- Fresh From a Cube!

In advance of our Mushroom Inoculation class next week, I ordered a Tabletop Farm from Field and Forest.

My idea was to have actual live, growing mushrooms at the workshop for everyone to see. Well, the durn thing is already fruiting, even though I thought it might take 7 to 10 days to ramp up to production. Here's what it looks like:

I put it in a cooler area, hoping to slow it down some. It's a full week til the workshop. Yow.

Tasty Fungi

We all know what mushrooms are. We've seen them. And probably eaten some. But have you ever purposefully inoculated a log with spores of the fungi you like to eat? Well, if you haven't then you need to come to a class on How To Grow Mushrooms on Logs. It's on February 23 at 1pm and repeated at 6pm.

If you'd like to come, please call the office at 679-6361 and pre-register. By pre-registering, you are reserving a log for yourself. I'd ask that you bring a drill and a 5/16" and/or 7/16" drill bit. If you don't have these tools, we'll have some, but it'll take you longer since the equipment may be shared among participants.

We're going to grow shiitake mushrooms on the logs we inoculate. We're going to have a lot of fun -- and hopefully learn a lot in the process.

Beginning Beekeeping Session Cancelled

We've had to cancel the first session of the Beginning Beekeeping Course tonight. The speaker was coming from north of us where they are having much more problems with the weather.

We still plan on holding the entire course -- it will just be off a week. Those that have signed up, be sure to come to the first session next Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm.

Cold Outside (and stay that way!)

Over the past 3 days, I've seen the temperature at 4F and 5F on Saturday and this morning, respectively. We've got 3 outside cats who amaze me at their toughness. We built them a cathouse out of leftover insulating panels. We also make sure they have a fluffy old comforter inside their cathouse. In the mornings when I feed them, they saunter out of their house and feel warm to the touch.

Cats amaze me at how they handle the cold. And birds (we feed a bunch of them). But my plants do too. And they aren't provided anything to protect them. I took some shots of the ice that enveloped the bark and buds of some of my trees and shrubs over the weekend.

Here's my yellowood (Cladrastis kentuckea) bud encased in ice.
The bark of my young catalpa is frost-covered too.

January has been great (cold, I know, but great) since we haven't had any warm-ups. If we get some abnormally warm days, trees and shrubs can be tricked into growing. Remember April 2007?

As much as I hate to say it, I kinda hope it stays cold through February.