October 20, 2008 09:52 am
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Life in your vegetable garden can be prolonged as work starts to get the garden ready for next year.
Most attention is on tomatoes that can be picked until the day before the first expected killing frost (that’s your guess). Green tomatoes can be individually wrapped in paper and stored at 60-65 degrees so they ripen slowly over several weeks, said Patrick Byers, University of Missouri horticulture specialist.
Another option is to dig up entire plants and hang them in a sheltered location where tomatoes will continue to ripen.
Carrots and turnips can be left in the ground until a killing frost or left in the ground and covered with straw mulch, which enables harvesting until the ground freezes solid.
Jacob Weber, Kansas State University Extension horticulturist, said it is time to bury or compost garden debris. Rural residents can add a burning option. Composting will take a year or two before its soil is ready to put back to the garden.
It is also time to dig and transplant iris.
Late October is time to apply fertilizer to trees and shrubs that respond to nitrogen, he said.
Questions answered at county extension centers:
Q: Is the smart weed found in farm fields invading lawns?
A: It has been confirmed in at least one yard in the area and can be controlled by pulling it up or using a herbicide.
Q: Why did the tomato I picked early and allowed to ripen have sprouting seeds in the fruit?
A: Seeds are mature when a tomato begins to turn color. Most have germination inhibitors in the gel that is around the seed in a tomato. Some tomatoes can lack the inhibitors and seeds can sprout.
Q: Can I dry grain in a bin using only a fan without heat?
A: It can be done in a dry fall and when grain does not have high moisture levels. When the humidity is below 70 percent, you can dry grain.
Q: Where and when will there be a meeting to help producers survive higher production costs for cow-calf operations?
A: It will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Charlie’s Fried Chicken, 1527 N. Main St., in Miami. Registration is due by 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 by calling the Ottawa County Extension Center, (918) 542-1688.
Telephone numbers of area county extension centers:
Barton (417) 682-3579
Cherokee (620) 429-3849
Crawford (620) 724-8233
Jasper (417) 358-2158
Lawrence (417) 466-3102
McDonald (417) 223-4775
Newton (417) 455-9500
Ottawa (918) 542-1688
Vernon (417) 448-2560
Address correspondence to Mike Surbrugg, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail msurbrugg@joplinglobe.com.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
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