For those of you interested in pollinator conservation (and that should be anyone who likes to eat!), take a look at Cooperative Extension’s new website for the Chatham Mills “Pollinator Paradise” Demonstration Garden at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/chathammills.html

I added some new sections, most notably a “What’s in Bloom” list with photos of – you guessed it – all the plants currently blooming in the garden in Pittsboro. The website will continue to expand with lots more photos of all the plants plus other information. The garden is looking great and we are looking forward to having a good year with continued educational programming. The website includes a list of all the plants on site plus the nurseries where we purchased them.

We will be conducting monthly garden tours on the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 pm, starting May 19. No need to register…just show up!

Also, mark your calendars now for our 4th Annual National Pollinator Week Celebration to be held Saturday June 26! You can see photos of past celebrations on the website. We hope to see you there!

Whether you live near Pittsboro or find yourself passing through, come visit our pollinator paradise!

Debbie

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu
www.growingsmallfarms.org
twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms

Jean’s Berry Patch in Apex – call for opening date (any day now!)

Oakley Farm in Chapel Hill – open now!

Visit Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://www.ces..ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/pyofarms.html for details.

You can also find pre-picked local strawberries at our local farmers’ markets starting the week of April 26 (possibly sooner but it’s not a sure thing): http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/marketinfo.html

Debbie

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu
www.growingsmallfarms.org
twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms

As I continue to observe the elms, I see that it is something  entirely different from the dropping leaf skeletons going on.   A  different predator from the past two years.  The leaves are slowly  being completely consumed, not skeletonized.   And I also noticed that  under the elms is my Hamamelis tree, about 10 feet tall.  The tips of  about 10% of the leaves were rolled up like a carpet, and inside were  little green caterpillars (now no longer of this world) and a few  grown ones out and eating the leaves all up…. green inchworms.

And this morning I went down to see what is happening with my  chestnuts, which are growing quite tall but still all branches  reachable, except for the huge one which isn’t getting noticeable  damage way up there.  However, the others had FIVE different species  of caterpillars, chomping away.  RIP.   I don’t see any flowers on ANY  of the chestnuts, but maybe they will come out later, at least on the  big one.  And on the way back to my house, I heard that “mystery  rain”, and looked up and one limb of a tulip poplar was almost  denuded, looking just like the elm branches.  But there are a lot of  things dropping right now.  I guess they are tree “flowers” of many  kinds.  So all these little things falling onto the dry leaves make  these tiny sounds.

Thanks to all who have been writing to me, and to the Chatlist.   I really love these exchanges much more than the “trash the merchant”  and “my politician can beat up your politician” kinds of posts.
Kira

I don’t know if the crackling sound you hear is related to the cut Maple leaves you see all around.  However, at my house, LOTS of Maple twigs get cut by hungry squirrels.  I’ve watched them go to the very tips of Maple branches to get to the seeds that are growing out there, but in order to avoid even more outrageous acrobatics, they just clip the whole end of the branch and then retreat up-branch to pick off the seeds more comfortably.  They leave a carpet of cut maple leaves behind them.  However, I haven’t seen our maples suffer much.  They just seem to grow very slowly, and maybe we’ve discovered the reason why.

It’s often misleading to identify insects or other mysteries based on general descriptions.  But I recently had a call about a small caterpillar and black fecal pellets falling from a tree – oak I think.  And there are reports across the state about fall cankerworms, small inchworms that hatch in the spring and are fond of oak and maple but may also feed on ash, boxelder, black cherry, and elms.  For reasons entomologists do not understand, Charlotte has been a major center for this population since 1987, perhaps because of the large number of willow oaks that create a canopy for much of the city.

Anytime you have a lot of insects eating a lot of foliage, then they will create a lot of – umm – excrement, which will fall through the leaves below.  Perhaps this is the source of Lynn’s “mystery noise.”  From Kira’s report, it’s not clear to me if the leaves are being eaten or if they are falling off or both.  But if they are being eaten, it’s possible that this or some similar insect is feeding in the canopy overhead.

Fortunately, mature trees can usually tolerate defoliation and leaf out again.  They are so good at storing reserves of energy that it usually take them years to die.  Certainly repeated defoliation year after year can lead to a deteriorating tree.  On the other hand, most of us do not have the capacity to deal with insect pests in the canopies of large trees.

The good news is that these insects serve a significant role in the transfer of food up the food chain from plants (the source of all food) to higher animals.  In a significant book published in 2007 (Bringing Nature Home), author Douglas Tallamy makes a good case that insects feeding on native plants are a major source of food for higher animals such as birds.  Even seed eating birds need this high protein diet for raising young, something that many of them do about this time of year.  Without this type of food transfer, the world in which we live would be a much different place.   So if you ever wondered what value insects have, there is one.

alcooke

Kira;

Decline of elms, slippery or Chinese, is a common occurence.  Elms do not seem to live long in the Piedmont.  Root rot, trunk cankers, borers are more likely invaders.  The  variable oak leaf caterpillar, green striped maple worm, the elm leaf beetle and the gypsy moth have a taste for elm.  However, observations of this genus indicate a general weakness in NC.

I also suspect that extended droughts weaken the elm, more suited to northern forests, longer winters, and shorter droughts.  The tree is not part of the climax forest in our region and, thus, may have decided to bow out of competition with other genus early in the forest development process.

Dutch Elm Disease (Ophiostoma ulmi) is not a major factor here, as in the north.  In this disease, the Scolytus beetle is thought to carry the fungus.

Tom Glendinning

For the past two years I have seen all the leaves fall off  slippery elms on my property, as just dry brown skeletons, in mid- summer.   (Never before 2 summers ago.)  I noticed this week that  already three near my house already have leaves being eaten.   They  are so tall, I can’t really get a good look to see what is eating  them, and the biggest already appears dead.  Only a few leaves trying  to come out.

I’ve been seeing a few caterpillars about, but I don’t know if  they are the culprits.  My two bug books aren’t too clear, but could  it be the “Angel Wing Question Mark” moth?  It says they feed on elms,  but the drawing of the caterpillar isn’t quite on the mark with the  real thing.  Here is what these (who may or may not be the culprits)  look like:

1 1/2 – 2 inches long
one thin, light yellow, unbroken line down the center back
head black, matte (not shiny), and not prominent
not noticeably fuzzy, but fuzz over legs is light brown
sides look black or dark brown, but under magnifying glass are mottled
black, brown and darker yellow
short black legs and underbelly

These look different from the photo of tent caterpillars, and I don’t  see any “tents” anywhere.  It seems my elms are a hopeless cause, but  somehow there is always comfort in naming things, for some reason.   Any entomologists here?

Kira

We have noticed for a week or so a crackling kind of noise as we walk through the woods in the evening.  It really sounds a lot like a gentle rain on the leaves.  I then noticed, walking in the same area in the daytime, eaten leaves on the ground, and looking up, eaten leaves on the trees, but only maple trees.  LOTS of eaten, torn up leaves.  I looked hard and didn’t see any insect, worm, locust, etc.  Does anyone (Al Cooke?) know what this is?  And are we in for a forest devastation by some 7 year locust or something?

Taking the Fire out of Fire Ants

Cooperative Extension in Chatham County will offer a program on fire ant management on Thursday April 29.  The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Agriculture Building in downtown Pittsboro.  Participants are required to call 919.542.8202, to pre-register for limited seating.  A five dollar charge for the program will include a disc of materials

covered and light refreshments.

Extension Agents Al Cooke and Sam Groce will conduct the program.  Calls have been coming in from “all over the county” about how to control fire ants..  Many available products can be used to manage fire ants, but how those products are used is more important than product selection.

We will not promise that you can eliminate fire ants.  Our presentation will focus on understanding the life within a fire ant mound and using the ants’ habits to our advantage.  We will present strategies, including organic options, recognized as effective for dealing with fire ant mounds along with their advantages and disadvantages.  Spring is

an excellent time for treating fire ant mounds while ants are actively foraging.

As a livestock Agent, Sam Groce points out that there are very few products that can be used in pastures or forage crops.  This is both a safety issue and a legal issue.  It is a violation of Federal law to use pesticides in a location not specified on the label.

Two hours Pesticide Recertification credit has been approved for categories G, H, I, K, L, N, O, D, X.   The program is appropriate for both professionals and non-professionals.  Seating will be limited for the program.  Participants are required to call 919.542.8202 to pre-register as long as seating is available.

North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran’s status. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.  North Carolina

State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

Persons with disabilities and persons with limited English proficiency may request accommodations to participate by contacting Carolyn Langley, Interim County Extension Director at 919.542.8202 or carolyn_langley@ncsu.edu<

Hi Friends – I’m interested in keeping chickens in my backyard and live in a neighborhood where current covenants do not allow chicken keeping.  I’m interested in hearing your advice – the pros and the cons of chicken keeping in neighborhoods and the thoughtful revision of covenants.  We live on approx. 2 acre lots for the most part and there are about 28 lots in our Chatham Co. neighborhood.  Thanks in advance for your help!
Trish