Jan. 10 9:30 - 11:30 AM - "Get to Know our Birds" Workshop, Franklin County Master Gardeners, call (717) 263-9226.

Jan. 10-17 Pennsylvania Farm Show 2009, Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg. (www.farmshow.state.pa.us)

Robert Kessler, Penn State Cooperative Extension
Telephone: 717-263-9226

Now that you have winterized all your gardening tools, have you checked your snow removal tools? I am referring to your snow shovel and if you are lucky enough to have one, your snow thrower or snow plow. These tools have been unused since last year and should be checked before the snow is knee deep. About then, you won't know where your snow shovel is and the snow plow won't start.

If you have motorized snow removal, be sure it has a good battery, full of gas and it will start and run properly. If not, you have time to get it fixed. Check your snow thrower to be sure the chute turns freely and all the belts are in good shape.

Check out your snow shovel. How is the edge of the shovel? Does it have any damage? Is the handle in good condition? To prevent snow from sticking to the shovel, spray it with a spray lubricant, which will help the snow slide off when you use it.

Is your snow brush in the car where you can get it if you need it? How is the scraper blade? Since most are made from plastic, they are easily damaged. Sometimes they can be touched up with some sanding.

We have all gone for a can of peanuts just to find that when we open it the peanuts are "old." This can be a problem around the holidays because we can get nuts as gifts or we buy them for entertaining and when we don't eat them right away, they get stuck in a cupboard and forgotten. This doesn't have to happen. Nuts go bad because they contain fats and oils, which will get an off flavor or rancid taste. Plus they will lose water.

If you have leftover holiday nuts, put them in a tightly sealed container and put them in the freezer until you need them. If you don't have the freezer space, then put those in the refrigerator until you need them. This will help prevent that rancid taste.

You should be sure to use them up before next Christmas so you can free up space for next year's extra nuts.

The Franklin county Conservation District has announced their annual Tree Seedling Sale for 2009. They are offering bundles of 25 per species that are grown by a state certified nursery. If you can't use 25 yourself, go together with someone else.

Seedlings will be available in the middle of next April and are to be picked up at the Conservation District office on Franklin Farm Lane. We have order forms in our office or you can stop at their office, which is next door to our office. You need to order by March 6, 2009. The order form can also be found on their website www.franklinccd.org, but to print it you need legal size paper.

Species being offered this year include Douglas Fir, Concolor Fir, Fraser Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, Scotch Pine, Easter White Pine, Austrian Pine, Red Oak, White Oak, Red Maple and White Flowering Dogwood.

Winter usually means we will have to deal with ice and snow on our roads and walkways. Usually we think of salt as a material to help melt the ice. There are other products that you will see in stores to melt the ice that can be a good alternative and not be so harmful to your plants and animals.

If you have a dog or outside cats, then you want to be sure to use a product that is safe for animals. Pet stores usually have a product that does not contain any salts that can be harmful to animals if they lick it off their paws.

As we mentioned, most people think of salt when they need to melt ice. Salt is sodium chloride and it has been the least expensive material, but the cost of salt has risen lately. The concern with salt is it is very corrosive on metals, such as railings. It is also very hard on plant roots and foliage.

You will also find calcium chloride and potassium chloride. These can also damage plant roots and potassium chloride can damage plant leaves and needles.

All of these products can be used to melt ice in limited amounts without causing damage. The problems occur when you use an excessive amount and we don't have winter rains to dilute and wash away what is already there. Don't try to use these chemicals to do all the snow and ice removal, but after you have had the sidewalk cleared and the sun is not expected to be out anytime soon to clear the rest off for you. Too much of any of these can also damage concrete too.

Some people use fertilizer, especially urea to melt ice. While these do have some ice melting ability, their use can cause problems for the environment because they can quickly end up in the storm water and cause problems in the Chesapeake Bay and other waters. The nitrogen is very water soluble and will move off site very quickly. Plus they can harm plants and pets just like the other products mentioned.

If you want a "green" option to control ice, you can use sand, sawdust or one of the pet friendly materials.

Jan. 10-17 Pennsylvania Farm Show 2009, Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg. (www.farmshow.state.pa.us)



Robert Kessler, Penn State Cooperative Extension
Telephone: 717-263-9226

When a Christmas tree is cut, typically over half of its weight is water. With proper care, you can maintain the quality of your displayed trees. Below are a number of tips relating to the care of displayed trees prepared by Dr. Gary Chastagner and Dr. Eric Hinesley of the National Christmas Tree Association:

1. Once you get your tree home, place the tree in water as soon as possible. Most species can go 6-8 hours after cutting the trunk and still take up water. Don't bruise the cut surface or get it dirty.

2. If needed, trees can be temporarily stored for several days in a cool location. Place the freshly cut trunk in a bucket that is kept full of water.

3. To display the trees indoors, use a stand with an adequate water holding capacity for the tree. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. Devices are available that help maintain a constant water level in the stand.

4. Use a stand that fits your tree. Avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient in taking up water and should not be removed.

5. Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most effective way of maintaining their freshness and minimizing needle loss problems.

6. Make a fresh cut to remove a ¼" to 1" thick disk of wood from the base of the trunk before putting the tree in the stand. Make the cut perpendicular to the stem.

7. Don't cut the trunk at an angle, or into a v-shape, which makes it far more difficult to hold the tree in the stand and also reduces the amount of water available to the tree.

8. Keep displayed trees away from sources of heat (fireplaces, heaters, heat vents, and direct sunlight). Lowering the room temperature will slow the drying process, resulting in less water consumption each day.

9. The temperature of the water used to fill the stand is not important and does not affect water uptake.

10. Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree. With many stands, there can still be water in the stand even though the base of the tree is no longer submerged in water.

11. Drilling a hole in the base of the trunk does not improve water uptake.

12. Use of lights that produce low heat, such as miniature lights, will reduce drying of the tree.

13. Always inspect light sets prior to placing them on the tree. If worn, replace with a new set.

14. Do not overload electrical circuits.

15. Always turn off the lights when leaving the house or when going to bed.

16. Monitor the tree for freshness. After Christmas or if the tree is dry, remove it from the house.

17. Never burn any part of a Christmas tree in a wood stove or fireplace.

18. When you are finished with your tree, recycle it.

Dec. 1&3 10:00 AM - Noon - Fresh Holiday Door Wreath, Franklin County Master Gardeners, Ag Heritage Building, Call (717) 263-9226 to register.

Dec. 6 9:30 AM - Fresh Holiday Centerpiece, Franklin County Master Gardeners, Ag Heritage Building, call (717) 263-9226 to register.


Robert Kessler, Penn State Cooperative Extension
Telephone: 717-263-9226

People will come to our office to purchase a soil test kit because things don't grow well. Often the problem, especially on a new home's lot is not the fertility of the soil, but other issues.

It may be poor soil structure. Too often the soil gets compacted during construction because of heavy equipment. This makes it very difficult for roots to penetrate the soil. To correct this, you need to add organic matter to improve the soil structure.

Often the problem will be little or no top soil. Unfortunately the way houses get built is by pushing off all the top soil, then build the house and put a little top soil back. The roots of your new plants will not go from the good soil to the poorer soil. The only correction is to blend the two soils together so the plant mix is uniform.

A non soil problem might be the lack of sunshine. It is hard to grow most plants in areas that get limited sunlight. Most like six to eight hours of sunlight to grow well. If you have a property that you have owned a long time, you need to recognize your trees are much larger now than they were 25-30 years ago. These could be shading your yard too much. If this is the case you may need to select plants more tolerant of shade.

One problem that is not often thought of is the presence of a black walnut tree. Black walnuts have a chemical called jugalone, which is toxic to many plants. If there is a black walnut tree in your area keep your vegetable garden fifty to 75 feet from the tree, especially if you try to grow tomatoes, which are very sensitive to walnut.

If there are areas in your lawn that you didn't get seeded this fall, you can use a dormant seeding to patch those bare spots in your lawn. This works well for Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue seed.

Research has shown that the best time to spread your seed is in February. Seed spread at this time will stay dormant and then when conditions are right, the seed will germinate and quickly fill in those spots. We also know that the quality of the seed is important. If you can still find a garden center that has grass seed, you should purchase the quantity you will need and store it in a cool location until you are ready to spread the seed. You will need six to eight pounds of bluegrass or turf-type fall fescue seed per 1,000 square feet of lawn. If you are only doing bare spots in your lawn, you can use leftover seed to over seed the rest of your lawn.

Soil preparation is also very important. That can be done anytime the soil is dry enough to work. You can rake over the bare spots to loosen the soil in the bare spots. If needed you can use a little soil from the garden to add to the spots to give you a good seedbed. Then wait until the proper time this winter to seed.

There are a couple of ways you can get good seed to soil contact with a dormant seeding. The first is to apply the seed to snow, preferable about an inch of snow. As the snow melts the seed will come in good contact with the soil. The freezing and thawing action of late winter will help cover the seed.

The other way is to apply the seed to the bare areas and then rake the areas lightly to cover the seed and then roll the area for good seed to soil contact. We often have February days when this type of work could be done comfortably.

Once the seed is in place, you can wait for spring and the germination of your grass. One word of caution: Do not use crabgrass prevention in this area. The herbicide that prevents crabgrass will also prevent your grass seed from growing, so your work will have been wasted.

If you have had a big problem with crabgrass in the last couple of years and you wanted to get it under control next spring, you can use a product that contains Tubersan (siduron) as its active ingredient. This will not hurt your new grass seed.