Have your well water tested
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

April 10, 17 and 24 - Beginning Beekeeper's Shortcourse, Franklin County Cooperative Extension office, call (717) 263-9226.

April 10 - "What is the Future for Pennsylvania Forests?", 7 p.m., Dr. James Finley, Penn State, Professor of Forestry, will speak on forest regeneration and regeneration, sponsored by Cumberland Woodland Owners Assn., Human Services Building, 425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg.

April 15 - Goat and Sheep Producer Meeting, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Franklin County Extension Office, Rm. 3, call (717) 263-9226.

April 18 - Cover Crop Field Day Walk, 10 a.m. to noon, Joe and Dennis Musser Farm, along Dream Hwy, Newburg. For information, call (717) 240-6230.

April 21 - Franklin County Animal Response Meeting, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Franklin County Extension Basement meeting rooms.

May 3 - Container Gardening by the Franklin County Master Gardeners, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., preregister by calling the Extension office at (717) 263-9226.

May 5 to 9 - Water Testing, Franklin County Cooperative Extension office. Stop in to purchase kit and bring back 8 a.m. to noon May 13.

May 12 and 14 - Backyard Composting workshops and Free Bins, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Franklin County Cooperative Extension office. Call (717) 263-9226.

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PENN STATE EXTENSION

WATER TESTING

PROGRAM

Penn State Cooperative Extension - Franklin County is offering a water testing program during National Drinking Water Week. The program encourages private well owners to test their water at group rates. The results of previous testing show that about one of every three well owners will discover the presence of coliform bacteria in their well water. About one of every six wells will have nitrates above the limit for drinking water. Something can be done about these problems - if you know you have them.

Two groups of tests will be provided. Group 1 provides the most essential tests and includes coliform bacteria, E. Coli, and nitrate. Penn State recommends running these tests annually. The price is $38. Group 2 is recommended for first time testing and every three years thereafter. It includes coliform bacteria, E. Coli, nitrate, lead, pH, and total dissolved solids. The price for this group is $70. The tests will be run in a lab certified by DEP.

Coliform bacteria indicate the potential presence of disease causing organisms. They originate from soil, sewage, or manure. The presence of E. Coli confirms an origin in sewage or manure. Nitrate is of concern when infants under six months drink the water. Nitrates enter the groundwater from heavily fertilized areas - home lawns, farm fields, or septic systems. Lead at high levels in the blood affects nerves, kidneys, and the brain. Children absorb more of the lead in their diet than adults do. Lead in water comes primarily from solder joints in copper pipe.

pH measures the acidity of the water and is a measure of the tendency of water to corrode plumbing. Total Dissolved Solids is useful for keeping track of the overall quality of the water. It is related to hardness, taste, and corrosion tendencies.

Test kits can be purchased at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office from May 5 to May 9 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The sample must be collected and returned on May 13 between 8 a.m. and noon. There will be a follow up help session on June 5 at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact the Extension office at 191 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg or call 263-9226. The office is located just off Route 30 on Franklin Farm Lane, about twotenth miles east of I-81 exit 16.

BACKYARD COMPOSTING

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.

Backyard composting workshops will be held on Monday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 14 at the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office which is located at 181 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg. The morning workshops on May 12 and May 14 will be from 10 to 11 a.m. and the evening workshops on those days will be from 7 to 8 p.m. An evening workshop will also be held on Tuesday, May 13 at Tayamentasachta Center for Environmental Studies, Greencastle, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tayamentasachta, ACenter for Environmental Studies, Greencastle- Antrim School District, is located at 500 Leitersburg Street, in Greencastle, PA.

To attend the workshops and receive a free composting bin, you must pre-register by calling your Penn State Cooperative Extension Office at (717) 263-9226.

The workshops are being sponsored by Tayamentasachta, PADEP, the Franklin County Recycling Program, and Penn State Cooperative Extension.

The workshops are handicapped accessible. If you need specific accommodations, please contact your Penn State Cooperative Extension Office at 263-9226 in advance.

WINTER ANNUALS IN

YOUR YARD

There is a group of plants that are called winter annuals. These plants will start from seed in the fall and grow until late fall and then go dormant over the winter. Now in the spring, they start to grow and produce flowers, then seeds, then they die by the time we get the warm weather.

One you may see the most often is henbit. This is a plant with a square stem & purple flowers with round toothed leaves. Another winter annual that looks almost the same is dead nettle. This also has the square stem, but the leaves are more triangular in shape with little lobbing in the leaf. Both of these can show up in lawns, gardens and especially in corn fields, so you have seen these bright pink and purple flowers in last year's corn fields.

The third plant you are likely to see in your yard, garden or lawn is chickweed. This is a finely stemmed weed that has mouseeared shaped leaves and white flowers and it grows over the ground.

If you have one of these weeds in your garden or flower beds, they are easy to hoe out or remove by hand. You want to avoid using any chemical control in these areas because some can leave a small residue that will cause other plants a problem when planted in this area. In your established lawn you can use broadleaf weed killers that are in combination in one container. Trimec, Weed-B-Gone are just two of many that can work in the fall, when the weeds are small. Now this spring you are better served to look at why you get the weeds. To germinate the seeds need light and to be on the soil surface. Why, is your turf thin? Are you mowing so your grass is at least two and one-half inches tall after you mow? Do you need to overseed a lawn that has thinned out over time? Look for cultural changes you can do to prevent these weeds this fall. For now keep mowing them off so very few seeds are produced and work on those things you need to improve.

Robert Kessler is an extension educator specializing in consumer horticulture and energy issues.