No giant mostquitoes in county
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

Tuesdays through Nov. 13 - 7 to 9:30 p.m., Principles of Landscape Design Classes, Franklin County Master Gardners, Franklin County Human Service Building, Call 263- 9226 for information.

Oct. 12 - 10 a.m., Fulton County Annual Corn Plot Day, Russell McLucas Farm.

Oct. 13 - 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fall Bus Trip, Bartram's Gardens and Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, Call 263-9226 for information.

Nov. 13 - 6 p.m., Commodity Queens Reception; 6:45 p.m., Farm-City Banquet, Kauffman Community Center. Call 263-9226 for tickets.

Nov. 13 and 14 - 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Composting Workshops and Frree Backyard Compost Bins, Franklin County Extension, Call 263-9226.

* * * * *

BACKYARD COMPOSING

WORKSHOPS

& FREE BINS

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Penn State Cooperative Extension are teaming up to offer composting workshops and free back yard composting bins to Franklin County residents. Each person who pre-registers for a workshop and attends will receive a free composting bin, as long as supplies last, and with the limitation that only one bin will be given per household.

The workshops will be held at the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office which is located at 181 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg on Tuesday, November 13th and Wednesday, November 14th. The morning workshops on November 13th and November 14th will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and the evening workshops will be from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. To attend the workshops and receive a free composting bin, you must preregister by calling your Penn State Cooperative Extension Office at (717) 263-9226.

The workshops are being sponsored by PADEP, the

Franklin County Recy- cling Program, and Penn State Cooperative Exten- sion. The work-

shops are

handi- capped accessible. If you need specific accommodations, please contact your Penn State Cooperative Extension Office at 263-9226 in advance.

WEST BRANCH OF THE

ANTIETAM CREEK

STREAM ASSESSMENT

On Wednesday Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., at the Quarterly meeting of the Antietam Watershed Association (AWA) at the Washington Township Municipal Building on South Welty Road, Waynesboro, Mark Meltzer, of Rettew, Inc., will give a presentation on the stream assessment of the West Branch of the Antietam Creek conducted as part of the AWA 319 Grant from the EPA and administered through the PA DEP. The East Branch was done in 2005. As a result of the assessment, additional grants to assist farmers in the watershed implement conservation & watershed protection practices may become available. Farmers are encouraged to attend this meeting.

GARDEN COVER CROP

Cover crops are important for gardeners to consider because they prevent erosion and add organic matter to the soil, and capture nutrients left in the soil so they are not lost over winter.

At this time of the year, probably the easiest cover crop to sow is winter wheat. It will germinate and grow this fall and provide protection for the soil over the winter. Next spring it will resume growth, which can then be turned under next spring when you get ready to plant. The roots of the cover crop also add organic matter to the soils as they decay.

To plant a cover crop, you need to loosen the soil by light tilling or raking. Prepare a smooth surface with raking. Winter wheat should be sown at the rate of a pound of seed to 500 square feet or two pounds per 1000 square feet of garden. Local agricultural seed dealers may have loose seed that they could sell you since most gardeners would not need much to plant their whole garden. Spread the seed evenly over the area and cover it by raking. So the seed is at least a half inch deep. If it stays dry, you may want to water the area to get your wheat up and growing before we get into cold weather. Another crop you could use now is to plant rye. Seed should also be available at farm stores. It is very cold hardy and will produce good growth this fall. If you use rye, keep in mind that it will grow very rapidly next spring and may produce more top growth than you want.

GIANT MOSQUITOES -

NOT

Those things you may have seen flying around your lawn are not really large mosquitoes, but are likely crane flies. They look like giant mosquitoes and they will fly up from your lawn as you walk across it. These are the adults of the crane fly and they are completely harmless. They are only going to live for a few days, mate, lay eggs and die. The larvae of the crane fly feeds on decaying plant material like thatch and grass clippings.

According to Josh Fair, who is the West Nile Coordinator in Lancaster, you can tell it is a mosquito if it easily will fit into the diameter of a dime. If it is larger, then it is not a mosquito. Crane Flies are abundant in the spring and in the fall. Crane Flies are going to disappear when we have our first frost, so no control is necessary.

HARD PUFFBALLS

Everyone knows what a puffball is. We have seen them in yards and gardens and as a kid we have kicked them to see the cloud of spores fly out. But did you know that there is a puffball that can lift up an area of your driveway or make bumps in your lawn. Each year we hear from someone who has a puffball lift up part of their driveway. The culprit is a hard puffball. They are also called earth balls. The generic name is Scleroderma. Unlike true puffballs which are soft inside, this mushroom is always hard. It is a poisonous mushroom, so do not eat them. It will cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating and chills.

Earth balls are like any other fungi. They are growing on decaying organic material in the soil. If you have a problem with them, the only way to control them is dig out the ball which is mostly spores and dispose it in the trash. Once the organic material has completely broken down, fungi will not have anything to live on any more.