Celebrate dairy on June 23
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

June 14 - 10 a.m., Pastur walk, David Hufcut, 2490 St. Thomas-Edenville Road, Chambersburg

June 19 - 10 a.m., Mini Garden Tour - Wildlife and Meadows Gardens in Horticultureal Center, 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg

June 23 - 7 p.m., 40th Franklin County Dairy Princess Pageant, Kauffman Community Center, Reservations $10 per person, Call Patty Hege at 375-2811 or 729-6306.

June 21 and 28 - 6 to 8:30 p.m., Growing Herbs Workshops - Franklin County Extension Office, Call 263-9226.

July 17 - 10 a.m., Garden Tour at Garden at Falling Spring Nursing Home.

Aug. 1 - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Farm and Safety Day Camp, Chambersburg Road & Gun Club, Call Extension office at 263-9226 for information and registration.

Aug. 14 - 10 a.m., Cut Flower Trials and Flower Arranging Demonstration, Horticulture Garden.

Aug. 22 - Noon, Tomato Tasting Day, Horticulture Center on Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, open to public. Call 263- 9226.

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DAIRY PROMOTION

CELEBRATION

A celebration of the 40th year of dairy promotion in Franklin County will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 23 at the Kauffman Community Center. The public is invited to make reservations to attend.

In addition to the anniversary festivities, the 40th Dairy Princess to serve the county will be crowned by 2006-2007 Franklin County Dairy Princess, Sarah Signore. Sarah will hold a reception at 6:30 p.m. prior to the dinner.

Special festivities are being planned for the event, including appearances by past dairy princesses. Afamily-style meal of turkey and ham will be served. Reservations at $10 per person can be made by calling Patti Hege at 375- 2811 or 729- 6306, or by e-mailing gamme@earthlink.net. The deadline to make reservations is Friday, June 15.

HORTICULTURE CENTER

OPEN HOUSE

The Penn State Cooperative Extension's Master Gardeners are inviting you to visit our gardens at the Horticulture Center on June 19th at 10:00 AM. The gardens are located on Franklin Farm Lane, next to the old barn, across from the Falling Spring Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

We will show and explain to you our Herb Garden, Perennial Flower Garden, and our Community Vegetable Garden.

We will also show you our Cut Flower Trial Garden, our High Tunnel and the Greenhouse, which is under construction. These are used by our Commercial Horticulture Educator to work with the commercial industry to demonstrate the value of new plant material.

Finally, we will tour our Wildlife & Meadow Gardens, where we have a wide variety of plants that can be used to attract wildlife, birds and butterflies. It is still in the early stages of growth, but you can see what you can use in your yard.

The tour will be led by one of our Master Gardeners who is very knowledgeable about our facilities and can answer your questions. The tour will be held rain or shine.

ARE YOU ANUT

GROWER?

It is surprising how many calls we get from people who grow nut trees in their backyard. Unfortunately, it is hard to find much good research information to help us answer some of the questions growers have. However there is a Pennsylvania Nut Growers Association that is active in helping members and others interested in nut growing.

On June 23 at 9:30 AM, there is a grafting demonstration being held at Lester Martin's home at 19698 Swailes Road in Willow Hill. Lester has been a lifelong grower of nut trees and is an exhibitor at Farm Show. He is active in the Nut Grower Association and is holding this demonstration and workshop for the public at no charge. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. For more information, call the Martins at (717) 349- 7114.

FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM

AND HOME SAFETY DAY

The Franklin County Farm and Home Safety Day will be held on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at the Chambersburg Rod and Gun Club.

This is a fun and effective way to teach youth about safety through hands-on demonstrations. Youth will learn practical information on the following topics at different stations: Disability Awareness, Storm/Lightening Safety, Basic First Aid, ATV Rollover Safety Demo, Animal Safety, Firearm & Knife Safety, Hidden Hazards, Tobacco Prevention, PTO/Corn Picker Demo, Electric Safety, Hand Washing/Keeping Healthy, Smoke House/Fire Truck and MedEvac Rescue Helicopter Demo.

The hours are 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, for ages seven and up and the cost is $4.00 per person. For information or registration, please call the Franklin County Extension office at (717) 263-9226.

CONTROL PURSLANE NOW

If you have a garden, you may have had a weed that grows quickly and has very fleshy stems that lay on the ground. The stems are red with oval leaves. This is common purslane. It is starting to germinate now and it will grow very quickly. It produces seeds from very small yellow flowers that most people will not notice.

Purslane can be controlled now with cultivation. If you see it, pull it out, hoe it out or rake it out. If you can't do those options, then use a broadleaf weed killer if it is away from desirable plants. You can also use a product with glyphosate. This is found in many products and was originally Roundup.

Purslane is an annual so it starts from seed and as the plant grows, it produces more seed for next year. This is why it is important to control it when it is very young and small, so you can keep seed from being produced.

STRING TRIMMER

SAFETY

Astring trimmer is a great tool to help you keep your yard looking good, but like any power tool, they need to be used properly. The first step you should follow when you start using a sting trimmer is to read the owners manual to be fully aware of your equipment.

You should wear safety glasses or goggles and gloves. Wear long pants and good work shoes. A string trimmer can send small objects into your feet and legs with tremendous speed.

The cutting part of a string trimmer is the end of the plastic string. It is made to cut grass and weeds when they are young and soft rather than when they are mature. Cut a little at a time. Be careful trimming around trees. While they may look sturdy, a string tip is traveling at a tremendous speed and if it strikes bark, it can cause damage to the tree. If you hit the tree often, you can do serious damage to even a large mature tree. You should keep a ring of mulch around the tree so you don't need to get close to the tree with the trimmer.

If you need to trim tall grass, start at top of the grass and take off a few inches at a time and gradually work your way to the ground. Never use a string trimmer with the head of the trimmer above your waist. This is a dangerous and can lead to injury. Using a sting trimmer properly can help you have an attractive yard.