812-Li
COVER THE GARDEN
WITH ‘GREEN’
From April fust up to Septem
ber 22, Biglerville in Adams
County has received 35.7 inches
of rainfall which is 15.7 inches
above normal. This excessive
rainfall has resulted in an abnor
mally large amount of grass
growth and ideal conditions for
starting a cover crop.
Even small gardens benefit
from the use of cover crops, or
“green manures.” Tilling, weed
ing, harvesting and foot traffic of
most home gardens tend to
destroy soil structure. Planting a
cover crop is an easy way to
restore soil tilth for next year’s
plant growth.
Cover crops are planted in vac
ant garden space and worked into
the soil. Success requires selecting
the right kind of cover crop and
correct timing of seeding.
Traditional cover crops include
annual ryegrass, winter rye, winter
wheat, oats, white clover, sweet
clover, hairy vetch, buckwheat
and others. Grasses are often
easier to grow. Legumes such as
clover germinate more slowly and
often require inoculation.
Small seeded types are more
difficult to establish than large
seeded types like oats and
buckwheat.
Start grasses in poorly drained
areas of the garden. Winter rye
and ryegrass produce a\ r dense
ilr*. Saturdi
October 12, 1
weeds. Oats or small seeded
legumes are not as competitive
with weeds. Availability of seed
and cost are other important
considerations.
Winter wheat, barley or rye
grain can be productively started
in early October and overwinter
successfully
Cover crops like annual rye
grass, oats and buckwheat do not
overwinter. Crops that die back in
the winter are the easiest to work
down when spring arrives. Peren
nial ryegrass and winter rye pro
duce a massive amount of top
growth in the spring and may be
difficult to till under the soil sur
face. However, perennial grasses
work best in wet areas. If this is
the case, before the leaves grow
too tall in the spring cut or mow
back once with mower or scythe.
Annual ryegrass should be con
sidered first for a garden cover
crop. It is a vigorous grower with
an extensive root system that
occupies the same root zone as the
garden plants. Winter rye is
another good choice that is best
for late planting.
To plant a cover crop, rake the
garden area smooth and remove
debris or large stones. Broadcast
the seed according to recom
mended rates. Lightly rake again
and water in the cover crop with
your hose set at a fine mist
Any questions regarding the
above article can be addressed to
Tom Becker, Penn State Cr
Pa. Grange Selects
Youth A b
NEW BLOOMFIELD Brian
Ebersole and Jennifer Campbell
live by the philosophy that if you
are going to be a Grange member,
then you should give all you’ve
got to the organization.
When they were junior mem
bers, both filled every officer posi
tional one time or another.
As members of the Youth De
partment, they serve on the Youth
Corp. Now, they have another en
try to add to their long list of
Grange service.
The Grange’s version of the
“dynamic duo” were recently
named the 1996-97 Youth Ambas
sadors at Youth Camp.
“I just wanted to get on court
with this being my first time,”
Campbell, the daughter of Wayne
and Debra Campbell of Perry Val
ley Grange, Perry County, said. “I
was shocked to hear my name.”
Ebersole, the son of Ray and
Martha Ebersole of Community
Grange, Perry County, said he
looks forward to attending as
many Grange functions as possi
ble as Youth Ambassador.
“It’s important for Granges to
utilize the Youth Ambassadors.”
Ebersole said. “The only way for
the Grange to grow is to talk about
the Grange and get this organiza
tion’s message out to the people.”'
In the coming year, they will
participate in Grange meetings,
the 1997 PA Farm Show, the
royalty trip to Harrisburg, state
session and the 1997 National
Grange convention in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
Campbell and Ebersole will do
all that despite juggling busy sche
dules as they attend college and
fulfill other Grange obligations.
Campbell, 18, will be a fresh
man at Clarion University this fall
and will major in elementary and
• Agricultural • Commercial • Residential
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We do box culverts and wing walls
to match your specifications
• Retaining Walls • Bunker Silos
• Manure Storage, Etc.
Youth Ambassadors Jen Campbell and Brian Campbell
will represent the Pennsylvania State Grange.
special education and minor in
library science.
Ebersole, 19, is a sophomore at
Ursinus College and is a political
science major.
Campbell and Ebersole believe
college is a good place to talk
about the Grange, but have re
servations about starting Grange
chapters on college campuses.
“It will be a good idea on cam
puses like Penn State where there
is a bigger student body than Ur
sinus,” Ebersole said. “But there
would be a lot of planning in
volved with that kind of project”
“When you think of fraternities,
you think of pledging and wha’
goes on at fraternities at colleges,"
Campbell said. “That might en
courage some but discourage
others from joining.”
They do, however, find it easy
to talk about an organization that
has given them so much in return.
“the more you do, the more
you get out of it,” Campbell said
about the Grange. “Those people
who only go to Subordinate
Grange meetings aren’t getting all
they can out of this organization.
There is so much going on that
you can always keep busy.”
“The lessons you learn in
Grange can be applied to everyday
life,” Ebersole said. “The know
ledge I’ve gained and the experi
ences I’ve had through public
speaking competitions, Youth
events and other activities are tre
mendous.”
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