Gardening Problems
Symptoms such as yellowing
leaves and slow growth on plants
could be attributed to several
problems, including lack of
water, overwatering or nutrient
deficiencies. High soluble salt
levels in the soil, due to too much
fertilizer, will also cause leaves to
turn yellow.
Plant analysis should be done
to find the problem. If it’s a nu
trient deficiency problem, adding
that nutrient to the soil around
the plant should solve the dilem
ma.
If your plants lack nitrogen,
older leaves will turn yellow, die
and drop off. New leaves may be
smaller than normal and the
plant will grow slowly. Fruit
bearing plants may develop
many blooms but no fruit. Leaves
will usually mature early.
Phosphorous deficiencies are
evident when the leaves of your
plant turn unusually dull or
grayish-green. The leaves may
grow close together on shorter
stems, and veins, petioles
(leafstalks) and lower leaf sur
faces may be a reddish-purple
color. The blooms on fruit-pro
ducing plants will be fewer than
normal, and fruits will be scarce
and small.
Can Bedbugs Really Bite
You’ve heard the phrase,
“Good night, sleep tight, don’t
let the bed bugs bite!”
Did you know that there really
are bed bugs and they just might
nibble on your toes while you’re
sleeping?
Bed bugs are small, oval
shaped, reddish-brown insects
that feed on the blood of hu
mans, rabbits, birds and other
warm-blooded animals. They are
about a Vi-inch to %-inch long
and they appear to have a flimsy,
crinkly surface.
When bed bugs bite, they
cause a small, swollen, white welt
to appear on the skin. And the
bite is often itchy. You can recog
nize bed bug bites because there
may be small drops of blood on
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If the leaves of your plants
turn yellow between the veins,
this may be a sign of an iron defi
ciency. The older leaves of the
plant will remain green and so
will the veins, but the newer
leaves will turn yellow.
If you notice leaves that are
crinkled or curling, they may
need more potassium. Older
leaves will turn yellow and
scorching will progress from the
edge of the leaves to the center.
The growth pattern will produce
short, bushy branches and stems.
“Little leaf’ is another name
for zinc deficiency. The leaves on
the plants will be yellow and
small. They may be misshapen or
strange in color. The shoots and
twigs will be dwarfed and may
die off.
Caution is key when applying
fertilizers containing micronu
trients. Too much of a good thing
can also be harmful to your
plants.
When you notice your plants’
distress signals, examine the situ
ation. If you can rule out insuffi
cient water supply and overwa
tering, have the soil tested. The
soil test lab will provide you with
soil nutrient levels the inform
ation you need to solve the prob
lem.
the sheets and a musty smell that
may resemble fresh red raspber
ries.
Bed bugs are normally found
in floor cracks, bed springs,
under carpets, or inside stuffed
chairs. But don’t worry, you can
prevent these pesky bugs from
making a meal out of you by
keeping your room neat and
tidy-something you should do
anyway! Frequently vacuum the
carpet in your bedroom and
launder your sheets and blankets
on a regular basis. Dust furniture
and items displayed in and
around your room. By keeping
your space clean, you can keep
the bed bugs away, night after
night!
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Ida’s
Notebook
The end of August means
back to school for our grandchil
dren. Two will go to college and
two will start kindergarten. The
other 10 are in-between those
ages. I started school after Labor
Day, but now some children start
in the middle of August.
In fact, birthday parties were
held in order to miss school days.
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) If it looks like someone
rototilled a circle on your lawn
last night, don’t assume you
have a strange neighbor.
It may be the neighborhood
skunk, said a wildlife biologist in
Penn State’s College of Agricul
tural Sciences.
“Skunks often come into
yards to root around for grubs,”
said Gary San Julian, professor
of wildlife resources. “They also
get under houses, decks and
sheds. We all know the problem
with skunks if they get scared
or you harass them, they spray a
very disagreeable odor, which is
extremely difficult to remove.”
Skunk damage is easily differ
entiated from that of dogs and
squirrels because skunks tend to
tear up patches in the grass as
they search for grubs. Skunks
also have tracks with five toes
although the fifth may be hard to
see. Skunk droppings are one or
two inches long, 'A- to '/’-inch
wide and often contain parts of
insects, skunks’ preferred food.
“A skunky odor alone doesn’t
mean a skunk’s still in the vicini
ty. A dog, cat or other animal
may have been sprayed. Depend
ing on wind direction, experts
say, skunks can spray up to six,
12 or 18 feet.
The best way to deal with a
pesky skunk is to live-trap and
move it. No pesticides are regis
tered for use with skunks, and
you need to be extremely careful
when using fumigants.
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Ida Risser
s
-
3ib
This month there will be five
birthdays among our grandchil
dren. Many of them have spent
time with us this summer.
My husband and 1 were re
cently invited to spend a day at
an amusement park. Besides
being quite expensive, the shows
were entirely too loud for my
taste. Most of the attendees were
Skunk Problems?
' Chicken entrails, sardines,
peanut butter or fishy cat food
all make good bait. Cover the
trap with canvas or dark plastic
to make it dark inside. This
probably makes the skunk feel
more secure, and it can’t see
what’s going on. Once you’ve
trapped the skunk, slowly, quiet
ly move the trap at least 10 miles
to a suitable habitat where it
won’t harass another landowner.
Set the trap down gently and
open the door.
You probably won’t get
sprayed while trapping, because
the skunk won’t have enough
room inside the trap to lift its
tail.
People in Pennsylvania need a
trapping license to hunt or trap
skunks, unless they are damag
ing property. Call your local
game commission employee or
wildlife conservation officer and
tell them what you want to do.
If you don’t want to get that
intimate with a skunk, San Ju
lian suggests calling a wildlife
damage control specialist. Your
county Penn State Cooperative
Extension office keeps lists of
specialists registered with the
game commission.
To prevent skunks from mak
ing dens under houses, sheds or
decks, seal potential entries.
Sprinkle flour in front of the
holes and watch for footprints
leaving the area to make sure the
skunk is out from under the
house. Skunks aren’t much
larger than a small cat and can
slip through 3- or 4-inch spaces.
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at the
127th Great Grangers Interstate Fair
AUGUST 24th-27th
Featuring: Massey Harris, Ferguson Tractors &
Equipment
48th PA STATE PLOWING CONTEST
Antique Tractor Pulls Garden Tractor Pulls
Flea and Craft Markets Old & New Equipment Displays
Horse Plowing Contest State Plowing Contest
Daily Parades Great Food Petting Zoo Pony Rides
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 19, 2000-811
young people who enjoyed the
many rides. Believe it or not, 1
was glad to come home to the
weeds in the garden and flower
beds.
We have just picked five bush
el of peaches off of one little tree.
What fo do with so many? We
gave a lot to neighbors and rela
tives. But, even so, I canned
peaches for several days.
Another thing that I can every
other day is pickles. The five
hills that 1 planted are bearing
almost too many and so I've
been sharing them with folks
who take walks along our road.
It is a dead end road and so it is
ideal for hiking.
My husband has gone to Penn
State Ag Progress Days near
State College with a friend and
so I stay home and run what
seems like a food processing
plant. At least 1 am hoping that
we can enjoy the results of our
labor this winter.
Skunks are dormant for about
one month during the coldest
part of the winter. They breed
from late February to late
March. You’re most likely to run
into skunks right before the sun
comes up and at dusk. If you get
sprayed, burn, bury or get rid of
your clothes.”
Although tomato juice works
fairly well, the following new so
lution washes away “eau de
skunk” and other odors. In an
open container, mix 1 quart 3
percent hydrogen peroxide, 'A
cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon
liquid soap.
Spray it several times on walls,
structures, your dog or yourself,
then wash it out. Don’t store this
solution use it all up. Hydro
gen peroxide and baking soda
mixed together produce a gas
that can explode in a container.
If left alone, San Julian says
that skunks are peaceful and
play an important role in the
ecosystem by controlling insects
and rodents. They’re also fun to
watch.
But beware; like foxes, rac
coons and bats, skunks can carry
rabies. “Rabies has reached epi
demic proportions in the North
east in the past 20 years,” San
Julian says. “Because skunks are
nocturnal, they usually stay out
of sight during the day. If you
see a skunk acting strangely in
the daytime, or acting aggressi
vely and coming towards you,
stay away from it. Call your local
wildlife conservation officer.