B22—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 4,1984 ITHACA, NY Home gardeners who aren’t quite ready to end their gardening activities for the year or do without fresh, home-grown vegetables can expand the late growing season with some simple gardening techniques. “Most late crops won’t be as bountiful as those earlier in the season, of course, but with some care it is possible for gardeners to enjoy cool-weather vegetables as late as November and December,” says Roger A. Kline, a vegetable crop specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension. “The secret is to provide some protection for them.” Warm-weather crops can’t be kept growing once the weather turns cooler, but they can be protected from an early frost and therefore can produce vegetables through the early autumn. Kline recommends covering the plants with a blanket or other thick fabric to keep the frost off them and to help keep heat from the soil around the plants. Overhead irrigation can be used for protecting warm-weather crops such as tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers from frost. When a frost is predicted, the plants must be sprinkled continually with water, starting before dawn and continuing for two or three hours after dawn. As it freezes, the water rieases heat energy that protects the plants from frost. “Even if plants are not killed by frost, there will probably be some Mr. Dairyman If You Are Interested In Saving Energy Or If You Are Having A Cooling Problem, Please Call us For A No Obligation Demonstration The Mueller Accu-Therm™ Precooler ... uses wall water to precool your warm milk before It goat Into your milk cooler! In seconds 100 degree milk is cooled lo within 15 to 20 degrees of well water temperature Milk (lows between every other stainless steel heat exchanger plate while well water flows m the opposite direction on the other side of these plates cooling the milk Thoose Accu Therm for lowest cost precooling when well water is plentiful and water dispoi I s . HJjir -■ M JO "ml. Mulli Pan Arrangement WKt rll r 1 17 * I HiPerForm Cooler n wjy 1 Acco Therm | i Precooler PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER MOJONNIERP USED COOLERS AVAILABLE • 3,000 Gal. Mueller • 300 & 400 Gal. Mpjonnier • 300 Gal. Sunset • 400 Gal. Girton • 1,000 Gal. Zero • Various Types of Inexpensive Tanks! Gardening techniques can extend growing season tissue damage,” Kline says. “It may show up as darkened lesions or pitted surfaces after the crop has been harvested. Eventually, the colder days and lack of sun will prevent the plants from gaining any new growth.” Cool-weather crops such as lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and peas can be kept growing later than warm-weather crops. Ambitious gardeners can have home-grown salads even when there is snow on the ground, if they plan ahead, according to Kline who is in the department of vegetable crops in the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Late crops should be planted by the end of July until mid-August. Don’t seed them at the last minute; cool-weather crops should be well developed by the time the first frost hits. During shorter days and cooler weather, most crops require two or more additional weeks to develop than they do when growing during warmer weather. Carrots, leeks, and beets can be protected from frost by mulching them heavily to insulate them from cold and to retain soil heat. Let tuce, cabbage, parsley, and spinach can be kept growing under plastic tunnels that provide mini greenhouse environments for them. “Plastic won’t protect against a heavy frost, though,’’ Kline warns. “For insulation, they’ll need to be protected with a blanket or straw FOUR REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HA VE A MUELLER ACCU-THERM PRECOOLER /X\ ON YOUR FARM! 1 Reduces Energy Cost Wo* from (hr cow is about 100 degrees F Precooling milk by 20 degrees shortens the time the milk cooler refrigeration system must operate by one third Prerool ng warm milk by 30 degrees will cut your milk reft geralion system operation m half A Mueller Aci u Therm lowers your energy costs and reduces your operat or expenses 2 Flexibility The Accu Therm is available m wall mounted oi floor models to fit any milking operation or space restriction As your dairy operation grows Accu Therm can be easily adapted to increased volume by adding heal exchanger plates This 'S a simple job equinng only a hand wrench and a lew m notes and does no' reqi re moving the Accu Tnerm 3 Low Maintenance The Accu Therm Plate Heat Em rnnger s a t losed system and c#n be quickly and efficiently cleaned m place with the rest o* the milk ng system 4 Pays For Itself The money you save m reduced energy costs will soon repay your mveslmenl in a Mueller Accu Therm milk precooler For eiample with 60 degree F well water for cooling milk temperature is lowered by 20 degrees and energy requirements are reduced one third The typical S HP milk cooler condensing unit uses approximately 5 kilowatts pei hnur of electricity Pan RUFUS BRUBAKER REFRIGERATION 614 Penryn Rd. Manheim, PA 717-665-3525 Southern Northern Service Center Service Center R.D 3, Rt. 1, Box 466 Dry Wells Rd Palmyra. PA Quarryville, PA 7 f 7-469-2674 717-786-1617 RTS AVAILABLE mulch, too.” A grow-box, with wood sides and glass top, wil keep crops growing longer, if the sides are slightly buried and the top shuts tight to prevent heat loss. Peas, especially those that are tolerant of powdery mildew and root rot, make an excellent fall crop. Fall is also a good time to get a head start on next year’s growing season by testing the soil pH to see if lime is needed. Manures can be added and cover crops grown, but fertilizer shouldn’t be added until the spring. Try mounding the soil into hills 18 inches across and 8 inches high. In spring, these mounds will warm up and drain quicker, and be ready for planting two or more weeks ahead of the rest of the garden. For early spring salads, try sowing spinach seed in September. Mulching the young plants has not always produced favorable results; its benefit for spinach is questionable. The spinach will be ready to eat in April or May. Garlic, for example, develops larger bulbs when planted in fall and harvested in mid-summer, Kline says. Sewing expert offers fashion update NORRISTOWN - Marjorie Arch Burns, one of the nation’s leading authorities on Home Sewing and Fashion, will present a one-day seminar on Thursday, August 23, at Strawbridge & Clothier Unleash pasture’s milk potential with Pellet Power! If you want to find out how much milk pro duction potential a pasture really has try a fertility program of UNIPEL 20 10 10 pelleted fertilizer Its Pellet Power will get responses you'll like Protein content and total digestible nutnents of grass and hay will start to increase dramat ically You’ll produce more nutntious forage, graze more cattle and graze them longer Pastures will bounce back faster after grazing and cutting, too Quick acting and long-lasting forms of Nitro gen and Phosphorus chemically combine with available Potassium in each individual pellet for immediate and season-long feeding They fortify pastures with milk producing power Spnng, Summer and Fall Let’s discuss soon how UNIPEL 20 10 10 fertilizer can help your pasture to more milk producing profits P. I. ROHRER & PRO., INC. SMOKETOWN, PA I’M «. ORTHO CHEVRON *nd design UNIPfI Reg I) Fat (Ml <MV KM What could be more pleasant on a hot summer day than relaxing in the cooling shade of an arbor or a clump of trees surrounded by colorful flowers? This enticing image is just one of the reasons why more and more gardeners are finding shade gardens desirable. Before selecting young plants to color your shade garden, the ex perts at Bedding Plants, Inc., and educational group that provides information on flower and vegetable gardening, suggest that you take a moment to evaluate your growing conditions. While a large group of annuals will grow in a partially shaded area, only a few, will tolerate a relatively heavy shade. Plants may have to com Auditorium, Plymouth Meeting Mall. The seminar, sponsored by the Montgomery County Extension Service, will run from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost for the day is $l2 and registration is required. Lunch is not included in the fee. Burns has authored ten books on sewing and fitting and is con sidered by many to be the number one authority on sewing in America today. For further in formation, contact the Extension Office at 277-0574. 8 Ortho FERTILIZERS Helping the World Grow Better pete with the roots of the trees they will be grown under, and the soil may be very dry there also. For the greatest success, create a high, more open shade by pruning away some of the trees’ lower branches. If you have choice in flower bed location, select a spot that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. Where tree roots are a problem, seen especially under maple trees, you may want to consider slightly raised beds or gardening in flower pots plunged into the ground. When preparing the soil, add extra organic matter to overcome the dry soil problem by increasing water retention potential, and, for best results, be sure the shade garden is in reach of the garden hose. The intensely colored, easy to grow inpatiens is the flower most chosen for the shade garden. Both the fibrous and tuberous rooted begonias are also popular for shady conditions. What the coleus lacks in flower appeal it more than makes up with its multi-colored leaves in a variety of shapes, scallops and textures. Besides these three favorites, don’t overlook some of the other annuals that grow and flower in a partially shaded garden. These include monkey flower(mimulus), balsam, wishbone flower (torenia), browallia, lobelia, baby blue-eyes, nicotiana, salvia, ageratum and forget-me-not. % '&/ '' f ?^^rSr PH: 717-299-2571 r
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