Barren County

Horticulture Newsletter

Garden Gazette Issue #7 July 2020

In this Issue:

Turf Disease and

Your Lawn

pg. 1-2

Squash Pests

pg. 2-4

Growing Great

Cut Flowers

pg. 4

Agent Greeting

pg. 5

Upcoming Events

pg. 5

Featured Recipe:

Pepper Sauce

Zoodles with

Chicken

pg. 6

B Continued...

Every summer, it seems, our fescue lawns suffer with a

multitude of ugly brown areas. Often, the areas start small,

multiply, and by the end of the summer, have taken over the

entire lawn. Most often, the brown areas are associated with

some type of fungus that caused disease.

Several diseases affect

our fescue lawns but one

in particular is typically

quite prevalent every

year. Rhizoctonia blight

(or Brown Patch for short)

is a common infectious

disease of turf and can be

very destructive on fescue

and perennial

ryegrass. Areas affected

by brown patch are

initially circular,

varying in size from 1-5 feet. If you look early in the

morning, fine strands of grayish cobwebby fungal growth

(mycelium) can be seen at the margin of the circular

areas. As the disease progresses, circular patches coalesce

and form irregular shaped patches.

The individual blades of grass show detailed symptoms. They

will have olive green lesions that dry quickly during the

day and turn tan with a darker brown border; eventually

taking over the entire blade of grass.

Brown Patch is caused by Rhizoctonia, a very common soil

born fungus. Rhizoctonia survive the winter as tiny brown

sclerotia in the soil and thatch layer of the lawn. When

environmental conditions are right, they germinate and

start producing the mycelium that attack the plant.

Typically, Rhizoctonia mycelium will not cause much

damage on healthy turf but when the plant is stressed, it

Turf Disease and Your Lawn

Rhizoctonia damping-off, blight and rot

Rhizoctonia solani – Ward Upham, Kansas State Uni-

versity, Bugwood.org

C

can quickly

become a

problem. Fescue is a cool

season grass and does not perform

well in high temperatures and high

humidity. Rhizoctonia, however,

loves high temps and high humidity.

To manage brown patch, we need to

make sure we give the turf the best

defenses first. Make sure when selecting

turf varieties, you look for built in

resistance to brown patch. There are

many varieties of turf type tall fescue

out there and many of them offer some

degree of resistance. Ky 31 is not a good

choice for most home lawns because when

mowed regularly, Ky31 have little if any

resistance.

Application of nitrogen fertilizer in the

spring and summer favors development of

brown patch by producing lush, succulent

growth that is extremely vulnerable to

brown patch. Reduce fertilizer

applications in the spring and

summer. Instead, apply nitrogen in the

fall and early winter.

We all like super green, thick, lush

grass but the thicker your lawn is, the

less air movement you have in between

the blades. Less air movement equates to

more moisture for longer periods of

time. Rhizoctonia loves that

environment and quickly spreads

throughout your lawn. Make sure to

adhere to proper seeding rates when

establishing or renovating your lawn.

Other factors increase disease severity

by creating a humid environment

favorable to Rhizoctonia. Watering in

late afternoon or evening creates a very

moist environment that lasts all night;

plenty of time for the fungus to

attack. Poor soil drainage, mowing when

wet, and dull mower blades all contribute

and enhance disease severity.

In established lawns, fungicide sprays

are not recommended to control brown

patch because the aforementioned

cultural practices typically keep brown

patch under control. Even if an outbreak

occurs, crowns and roots of established

plants will survive and recover as soon

as temperatures cool down in September.

For newly planted lawns, often a

fungicide is recommended. During the

summer, following a spring seeding, the

immature plants can be easily killed by

brown patch and a fungicide application

will likely prevent plant death. There

are several fungicides available locally

both in granular form or liquid

concentrate. Make sure to follow the

label and apply all pest products

properly for best control and to protect

the environment.

If you have suspected disease in your

lawn, make sure you properly identify the

disease first and then look at your

cultural practices. Most of the time, we

can strengthen the plant to withstand

the stress of the summer heat and

humidity. Submitted by Andrew Rideout, Agent for

Horticulture, Henderson Co. Cooperative Extension

Service

I know some of you out there are having

squash and zucchini problems this year

and you aren’t alone. A week ago, I

noticed my first and most prolific

zucchini plant starting to yellow

and wilt. I checked the stem to see if

there were any squash borers and

sure enough there were a couple of

cracks in the stem and some saw dust

like stem bits hanging out beside the

cracks. Hoping to save the plant

I stuck a sharp wire into the

holes hoping

to kill the

Squash Pests

D

borers and covered it with soil (like the

U.K. entomologists say). Saturday the

plant was just about gone, so I pulled it

up, dissected the stem and found 7 one-

inch long borers about as big around as

a pencil munching away! I have to admit

I took great pleasure avenging my

beloved zucchini plants death.

Squash bugs obviously kill their host by

eating the inside of the stem and they

can be darn near impossible to control

after they are inside (unless you don’t

mind killing the plant). To control

borers you need to apply an insecticide

to the stems before the borers are

present. As they try to burrow into the

stem they eat the insecticide and die.

Squash borer moths are active for about

a month and a half, so you will need to

spray weekly from June through July.

Sprays should be directed to the stems

especially at the base. Insecticides such

as sevin, methoxychlor, rotenone,

pyrethrum, and malathion are labeled

for squash borers. Be sure to spray the

stems early in the morning or late in

the evening when the blooms aren’t open.

You don’t want to get insecticides into

the blooms and kill the hard working

pollinating bees. Physical barriers of

aluminum foil or old panty hose around

squash stems can also help control the

borers keeping them from having access

to the stems.

At the end of the season be sure to

clean all squash, zucchini, pumpkin, etc.

vines out of the garden and discard

them far away or burn them. These

provide overwinter cover for the

moths and if you can kill them

before the season starts you are

going to have much better luck.

Another squash insect was also

present along with dozens of

bronze eggs

stuck on the

leaves. The

squash bug

starts out a

light gray color

and changes to dark grayish charcoal

as it matures. Several baby squash

bugs fell off the plant while I

dissected the stem; they received the

same fate as the borers.

Squash bugs

suck plant sap

and can kill

plants as

their

population

increases. I

try to squash

the squash bug

eggs as I see

them but they

are really

hard and are

connected to the leaves tightly. The

easiest way to get them is to tear that

piece of leaf off and destroy it. The

disease squash bugs vector causes the

most damage to cucurbits, actually much

more than their feeding. As squash bugs

feed on plants they inject a substance

that causes it to wilt much like

bacterial wilt would do.

Squash bugs take up to six weeks to

reach adulthood and only lay eggs once

during a season but they lay eggs over a

long period of time meaning control is

difficult. Also, squash bugs hide when

disturbed so hand picking isn’t really

an option. As with squash borers

insecticide applications work best. Sevin

is labeled for squash bugs as is

rotenone but they both work better

against the young ones.

One very effective way to reduce the

number of squash bugs is to keep the

plants covered with tobacco canvas

(remay) until they start to bloom. This

will give you several weeks of

production before the squash bugs even

Squash Bug Eggs, Anasa tristis, Gerald

Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly

San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org

find your plants! If you have several

praying mantises in your garden give

them a ride over to the squash, I have

witnessed them feeding on squash bugs

which makes a pretty big meal for them.

Also, you will take great pleasure in

watching them eat your pests!

Again, like with squash borers sanitation

this year will help you next year. At the

end of the season destroy all plant

debris or at the very least get it far

away from your garden. Submitted by Dennis Morgeson, Agent for

Horticulture, Washington Co. Cooperative Extension

A fresh cut bouquet of flowers can

brighten any room and elicit happiness

for any who see it. But as wonderful as

these arrangements are, they are even

more rewarding when you grow your own!

While this may seem like a daunting task

to those without much of a green thumb,

there are plenty of flowers which grow

well in our climate and can be very

forgiving to new growers. Some of my

personal favorites are zinnias, cosmos,

and celosia (also known as cock’s comb).

These three varieties are available in

endless amounts of colors and zinnias

and cosmos are known to bloom all summer

long.

The best way to get started growing cut

flowers is to browse online or flip

through seed catalogs and pick out the

colors and varieties you would like to

try your hand at growing. I have

found that over the last few years

more and more seed catalogs are

beginning to include flowers, with

some even having their own catalog

solely dedicated to cut flowers.

Generally, cut flower seeds

are best to

start at the

same time as

most of our

vegetable crops (4 to 6 weeks

before the last frost). This way you

are able to start harvesting your

first cuts by middle to late June. Both

zinnias and cosmos are great flowers

for producing blooms all summer

long and into fall right up until

frost. The trick to keeping your flowers

blooming is to keep harvesting and

cutting back the spent blooms. This

promotes more branching and further bud

and flower development.

Zinnias and

cosmos can both

be planted as

bedding plants,

so be sure to

select seeds for

long stemmed

varieties when

growing for cut flowers. With this in

mind, you may want to consider staking

some of these flowers. Old tobacco sticks

or tomato stakes work well for staking.

You may even want to consider using the

Florida weave (a series of stakes and

twine) just as you would do for tomato

trellising. If you are planting several

taller varieties into a home landscape

as opposed to mixing them with your

vegetable garden, as I generally do, you

may find it nice to plant some smaller

annuals in front of your cut flowers or

mix them into your perennial beds to

provide some height variation.

In addition to these annuals, many of our

perennials as well as our tubers and

bulb plants make for great cuts as well.

Some of my favorites from these

categories include hydrangeas, peonies,

dahlias, gladiolus, black eyed susans, and

coreopsis. What can you find in your

garden and flower beds to bring inside

and brighten your day? Submitted by Tracey Parrison former UK Agent

Growing Great

Cut Flowers

E

As we move into the month

of July more and more

things are opening back

up. The University of

Kentucky has moved into

Phase 2 of our reopening

plan. We are still

functioning at 50% in

office staff with the

other 50% working remote.

We are allowed to have meetings up to 50

if social distancing in the facility is

possible. Each meeting will need a

sponsoring agent as there are strict

guidelines for using the space safely as

well as sanitation afterwards. If you

have questions please call (270) 651-3818

to discuss it with the appropriate agent.

We are still asking clients to let us

know before they make a trip to the

office, if possible, due to the schedule we

are working to meet UK guidelines. We

encourage you to utilize email if it is

critical for a speedy response.

As for upcoming activities we are still

providing monthly brown bag activities

for the family. Watch our Facebook page

for immediate updates.

The Horticulture Webinar Wednesday’s

are continuing through July and August.

Check out the image below for July’s

topics. If you need assistance joining

feel free to call the office and we can

walk you through it.

We also want to thank everyone for the

patience and kindness through this

abnormal time. Each of us is learning to

adapt in the best way we can. It is too

easy to get upset and be harsh but much

harder to stay calm and understanding.

It has not gone unnoticed and it truly

means a lot to our agents and staff.

We hope you are having a joyful summer!

Agent Greeting

Upcoming Events

F

Our July Cooking with the Calendar will be held virtually at 10 AM on July 14th! We will be cooking,

“Summer Garden Pie.” We hope to see you will join us! Check out Facebook or call us to learn how to join the

virtual class.

Pepper Sauce Zoodles

with Chicken

Directions:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves

1 1/4 teaspoons paprika, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 fresh Roma tomatoes, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper

4 zucchini, cut into noodles with a

spiralizer

Ingredients:

1. Dice chicken breasts and season with 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

2. In a large pan, sauté chicken in 1 tablespoon olive oil until chicken is no longer

pink in the center and the juices run clear.

3. Remove chicken to a bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, add 1/2 tablespoon

olive oil, onions, and red and green peppers.

4. Cook on medium­ high heat until the peppers and onions are tender.

5. Add tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, black pepper, and 1

teaspoon salt.

6. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, stirring often.

7. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large pan. Heat to medium-high and sauté zucchini

noodles 3 to 5 minutes.

8. Top zucchini noodles with chicken breasts and pepper sauce. Fluff mixture with a

fork.

Nutritional Analysis:

170 calories, 8 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium,

11 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g sugars, 0 g added sugars, 16 g protein

G

Seasonal Tips: Now is the time to plan and plant a fall garden. Most plants with shorter growing

seasons can be grown in the fall and often produce better results. Allow a little more

time to mature than the seed package says as cooler nights will slow growth somewhat.

Remove spent blooms from flowering annuals and perennials to promote more bloom.

Cucumbers have a very short "vine-storage time." Under warm, humid conditions, the

fruits on the vine may remain in prime condition less than one day. So pick early and

often.