Extension

Day Camp Ideas

Dr. Shelley Mitchell, Extension Youth Specialist

 

Time for summer fun! If you have a day camp for 4-H or Junior Master Gardener, or you just need an activity to fill in some time at other events or even to keep the kids busy at home, here are some inexpensive and child-approved activities (the ones with asterisks are favorites). In addition, some games to help cool children off are listed below.

 

**Termite NASCAR. Termites communicate using pheromones that just happen to be perfectly mimicked by Papermate ballpoint pens (only this brand). Use Papermate pens to draw trails for the termites to follow. Termites placed on paper follow fresh ballpoint pen trails around curves, along squiggly paths, etc. Termites can be found outdoors on rotting wood, or from university entomology departments. Sometimes exterminators have a colony to show people what they look like (or they could save some for you!). Use a small paintbrush to handle the termites. They are very fragile.

 

Bean Seed Fun. Discover the identities of the different beans in 15-bean soup mix; use these websites – The Bean Institute and US Dry Bean Council – to help identify the beans in the mix. Glue the beans to cardboard to make mosaics.

 

Make Rain Gauges. Make rain gauges from clear plastic bottles—cut the tops off of bottled water or 2-liter bottles and use a ruler and a Sharpie to mark inch (or smaller) increments, starting from the bottom of the bottle. You can tape a stick or dowel rod to the outside to keep the rain gauge from falling over and anchor it into the ground.

 

Botanical Wood Prints. Using potatoes and cheap metal knives and spoons, carve half of a potato into a positive or negative impression (simple is best—stars, hearts, etc.) and then let students use the potato ‘stamps’ to make block prints using tempera paint and paper.

 

**Rainbow Chips (from LifeLab “back pocket” activities). Collect paint chips from home improvement stores, Walmart, etc. Give each camper (or pair of campers) one or two color chips and have them walk around the garden and look for plants or objects that have colors that match the color of their chips.

 

**Flower Petal Bookmarks (from LifeLab’s “back pocket” activities). Give each camper about 6” of painter’s tape to take with them into the garden. Allow them to collect petals or leaves of whatever colors appeal to them. By taking the tape into the garden, kids will not over-collect. When the tape is full, they are done collecting. Make sure to just have one layer of petals on the tape, not whole flower heads or succulent leaves. Stick the painter’s tape onto 2” wide strips of watercolor paper (about 8” long) so that the petals are sandwiched between the tape and paper. Use a rubber mallet to hammer the tape---make sure to get every part of the tape hammered well. When you are done, peel the tape off and look at the colorful art! Punch a hole at one end of the paper and thread yarn through. Now you have a bookmark!

 

Games to Help the Children Cool Off on a Hot Day

Leaking Relay – Drill holes in coffee cans or small buckets. Players fill containers with water and carry them above their heads to an empty bucket. They dump the remaining contents into the bucket and run back to start.

 

Cold Potato – The group stands in a circle and tosses a water balloon across the circle. A player is out if they drop the balloon.

 

Soap Shrink – Divide into 2 or 3 player teams. Give each a bar of soap (hotel or travel size samples work well) and a bucket of water. Teams wash hands to shrink the soap. If the bar breaks, they are disqualified. Call time after five minutes. The smallest bar wins.

 

Obstacle Course – Set up an up, over, around and through obstacle course that players must complete carrying a cup of water. Dump cup contents in bucket at end of course.

 

Ice Cube Melt – Melt in hands. Fastest to melt ice cube wins.

 

Feet Freeze – Using a bucket or pool with ice cubes, players retrieve marbles with their toes and drop in buckets.

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Back Yard Composting!

David Hillock, Consumer Horticulturist

 

In Oklahoma, yard trimmings and grass clippings can make up 15 to 25 percent of a community’s waste. The costs of collecting and transporting yard waste and the subsequent landfill tipping fees may be a considerable portion of a community’s waste management budget. These costs may be reduced if communities encouraged and practiced backyard yard waste composting.

 

Yard wastes, especially grass clippings, are usually high in nutrient content. When yard waste is composted, bacteria use air and water to break down plant materials into nutrient-rich compost. These nutrients can be beneficial to soils, plants, and trees in the yard when applied as a mulch or a soil amendment.

 

Compost systems can be simple and slow as a heap or pile, which is turned occasionally during the year. A more structured and complex system requires containers, more turning, and produces finished compost in a few months. In compost piles, water is added to green and brown vegetation layers.

 

As decomposed plant material, compost is an excellent soil amendment. Compost can loosen clay soils, help sandy soil retain moisture and nutrients, and retain soil moisture when used as a mulch. Beneficial bacteria and organisms in compost assist plants in absorbing nutrients. Thus, natural materials are recycled in a home yard environment.

 

What is Compost?

Compost is a natural dark brown humus-rich material formed from the decomposition or breakdown of organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, vegetation, vegetable food scraps, and twigs. Bacteria, worms, fungi, and insects need water and air to use these organic materials as food and decompose them.

 

What is the Procedure to Make Compost?

Organic materials are placed in alternating green and brown layers in a container, bin, or pile. Alternating green and brown layers of material help assure the correct amount of carbon and nitrogen. With water and air, bacteria and insects use the materials as a food and energy source. The bacteria need water to live and grow. This process generates heat from 140 to 160 degrees F. Aeration is done by turning the container or pile of material. The more turning, the more air the bacteria have available, and the faster the process works. When the temperature decreases, the process is complete.

 

How is a Compost Bin Made?

Bins may be made in various sizes and with a variety of materials. The following easy steps describe compost pile construction:

 

1. Construct a confining perimeter with 3’ to 5’ diameter and 4’ high. Materials may be concrete blocks, wire mesh, boards, old pallets, other fencing material, barrel, or garbage can with holes for air.
2. Layer green (wet) and brown (dry) vegetable matter (1 part green to 3 parts brown).
3. Wet thoroughly, then sprinkle with water periodically.
4. Turn every week to speed the decomposition process.

 

How Long Does it Take Compost to Form?

The time of completion will vary according to the type and amount of materials used, the climate, the size and type of bin or pile used, and the amount of aeration or turning of the pile. With the correct carbon to nitrogen ratio, water, and air, compost should be ready to use in 4-6 months. If the pile is turned more frequently, the compost should be ready more quickly. The smaller the individual pieces of material in the pile, the more surface area the microorganisms have to work on and the faster the materials will decompose. Shredding or chipping branches decreases the decomposition time.

 

When is the Compost “Done?”

Compost is ready when the temperature of the pile falls to ambient levels, the material is dark, crumbles easily, pieces are small and there is no odor.

 

How Can the Process be Sped Up?

Mixing frequently provides more air for the bacteria. Keep the material moist by soaking about once a week. Break the materials into smaller pieces.

 

What Can be Composted?

• Most yard waste such as grass clippings, leaves, twigs, excess vegetation
• Non- fat containing food scraps
• Twigs or chipped branches
• Coffee grounds, tea leaves

 

What Cannot be Composted?

• Large branches
• Fatty foods and grease, meats, dairy products, fish
• Bones
• Synthetic products such as plastics
• Diseased plants
• Weeds and vegetables that produce abundant seeds
• Pet or human waste

 

Why Make Compost?

• Recycle natural materials
• Reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer used
• Reduce amounts of material going to landfills
• Reduce landfill tipping fees for individuals or communities
• Prolong landfill life

 

What Can Compost be Used For?

• Improve soil structure and texture
• Increase water-holding capacity of sandy soil
• Loosen clay soil and improve drainage
• Add nutrients to improve soil fertility
• Aid erosion control
• Potting soil
• Mulch around shrubs to retain moisture

 

Compost Bin Styles

1. Garbage can or barrel – with holes in bottom and in rows about 4-6 inches around sides.
2. Commercial – many varieties usually about the size of a 30-gallon garbage can, found at home supply stores.
3. Three bin turning units are made so that the compostable material can be easily transported from one bin to another, thus reducing the time to produce compost. They can be made from a variety of materials – concrete blocks, wood with wire sides, all wood, etc.
4. Holding units (for easy passive composting) can be made from many materials, require no turning and are thus slower to produce compost – wood pallets, concrete blocks, posts and chicken (or other type) wire, posts and snow fence, etc.

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Drip Irrigation System Great for Container Gardening

David Hillock, Consumer Horticulturist

 

One of the great things about gardening is anyone can do it. Gardening doesn’t require a great expanse of land. In fact, those with very little space can still have a successful gardening experience. Container gardening is a great way to grow some flowers, or even vegetables. It’s fun, easy, and rewarding.

 

However, keeping the containers properly watered throughout the sweltering Oklahoma summer can be a bit of a challenge. During the hottest parts of the summer, they often dry out before you get home from work. When you go on vacation, you must find someone to water them for you.

 

A simple solution to this dilemma is to use an inexpensive drip irrigation system and automatic control valve. These irrigation systems can be bought at many home improvement stores, garden centers, and nurseries. Kits are available from some manufacturers that contain everything needed to install a drip system to your outdoor faucet, including tubing, stakes with adjustable emitters, backflow prevention device, t-connectors, and fasteners to secure the tubing. Purchase an automatic control valve that’s programmable, which allows you to set the water to come on and off as needed and run as long as needed. This type of system also helps conserve water since the water is directed into the containers and there’s little to no waste from overspray, which can happen with traditional sprinklers.

 

In addition to the drip irrigation kit, purchase a Y valve to hook up to the faucet. This allows you to attach the controller for the drip system, as well as a garden hose for other purposes.

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Don’t Bag It!

David Hillock, Consumer Horticulturist

 

Now that the grass is growing like gangbusters, especially if you have been generous with fertilizer and water, there is plenty of mowing to do. One way to save time and effort is don’t catch the clippings.

 

Turfgrass clippings contain valuable nutrients, much of which you just applied, and will help the turf if recycled back into the soil. In fact, it may even reduce the amount of total fertilizer needed for the season.

 

Using a mulching mower or one with a mulching blade works best as they are designed to chop the grass clippings up into small pieces that easily decompose and return to the soil. However, you do not need a mulching mower or blade. A standard mower will work if you cut the turf frequently enough. If you choose to catch your grass clippings, at least toss them into the compost pile or use them as a mulch in the landscape if they haven’t recently been treated with herbicides. Avoid bagging them up and placing them at the curb to be hauled away as this puts an unnecessary strain on the local dumps and could cost you more money in the long run with increased waste handling fees.

 

Mow at the Right Height

Too frequently we see lawns that have been mowed as close as possible to give the grass that putting green appearance. Though it is nice and neat looking, it may not be the healthiest thing for your turfgrass. But raising cutting heights beyond optimum can bring on its own set of problems. Each species has an optimum cutting height for different seasons and circumstances such as shade.

 

The warm-season turfgrasses are cut slightly higher in the fall to provide insulation for low temperatures. When they are growing during the summer, they are cut lower to promote lateral spread and a “tight” turf. Cutting turfgrasses below their recommended height will discourage deep rooting. Cutting too low may cause the turf to be thin, because it is less able to withstand heavy traffic and environmental stresses such as low soil moisture and extreme temperatures. Cutting newer hybrid bermudagrasses above their recommended height may produce a stemmy turf, characterized by leaves being produced near the end of upright stems. This kind of turf is prone to scalping. Turfgrasses grown under shady conditions should always be maintained at a slightly higher cut to increase leaf area to compensate for lower light levels.

 

*Some exceptions will occasionally apply!

 

*Some exceptions will occasionally apply!

 

Brown Patch Disease of Cool Season Grasses

Brown patch is a disease that commonly shows up on cool season turfgrasses, especially Tall Fescue, but can occasionally appear on hybrid bermudagrass and zoysiagrass. Brown patch disease appears as brown patches up to three feet in diameter. First leaves take on a dark color, then wilt and turn brown. 

 

Brown patch usually occurs in hot, humid weather when night temperatures are above 60^o F and foliage remains wet for prolonged periods. Poor soil drainage, lack of air movement, cloudy weather, heavy dew, overwatering and watering in late afternoon favor prolonged leaf wetness and increased disease severity. The application of high rates of nitrogen and or deficiencies of phosphorus and potassium, especially when weather conditions are favorable for brown patch, can increase disease severity. Excessive thatch, mowing when wet, and leaf fraying by dull mower blades can also enhance the severity of brown patch.

 

Control. Control starts with good management practices. Though there are varieties of turf-type Tall Fescue that are considered resistant to brown patch, even resistant varieties succumb when growing conditions are less than ideal for growth of strong plants (as described above) and environmental conditions are highly favorable for disease development. 

 

When environmental conditions favor disease, avoid application of excessive rates of nitrogen. Fertilizer should be applied judiciously, and adequate amounts of phosphorus and potassium are essential to ensure the highest possible levels of plant resistance. In general, cool-season turfgrasses should not receive more than one pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet at any one time. Use very low rates or avoid applying nitrogen in late spring or summer to cool-season turfgrasses. In a typical home lawn situation, the last application of fertilizer in the spring should be applied no later than early May. Ensure adequate amounts of phosphorus and potassium by applying these nutrients based on soil test results.

 

Reduce prolonged leaf wetness by watering infrequently to a depth of 6 to 8 inches and at a time when the foliage is likely to dry quickly. Avoid watering in the late afternoon and evening and allow for better air movement by removing unwanted vegetation and selectively pruning trees and shrubs. Removal of morning dew reduces prolonged leaf wetness and exudates that favor disease development. This can be accomplished by dragging a hose across the turfgrass or by running the irrigation system for a short time. Good surface and soil drainage must be present to reduce disease incidence.

 

Make sure mower blades are sharp to reduce the amount of wounded turfgrass in which the fungus can enter the plant. Collect and promptly dispose of clippings on infected areas or when conditions favor disease development. Avoid mowing turfgrass when wet, and do not mow too low so that the turfgrass will be better able to resist the disease.

 

Applications of effective fungicides, when the first disease symptoms appear, will give good control of brown patch on highly maintained turfgrass. A preventative fungicide program should be considered in areas where the above conditions are difficult to control or change and when conditions are favorable for disease development.

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Weed Control in Vegetable Gardens

David Hillock, Consumer Horticulturist

 

Weeds rob vegetables of valuable water, light, and nutrients. Weeds often harbor insects, diseases, and nematodes that can damage vegetables and greatly reduce yields.

 

Mulching, hoeing, and hand-weeding are methods that can be used to control most of the weeds in the garden and to eliminate the problems of applying an herbicide and the possibility of herbicide injury to the garden crop. Good soil preparation, adequate control of weeds before planting, and planting crops when the soil is warm enough to get them up rapidly are all good practices that will help maintain a minimum amount of labor for weed control. Many Oklahoma gardeners in rural areas have ample space for gardening. If this is the case, be sure to leave enough space between rows to allow room for cultivating equipment.

 

Cultivation and hoeing should be done when weeds are small because weeds compete with crops for light, water, and nutrients. Also, when weeds are large, they are much more difficult to remove without damaging the crops. Cultivation and hoeing should be done shallowly so that injury to the root system of the crop plants will not occur. Hand-weeding in the crop row is usually necessary.

 

Other cultural methods for weed control include:

• Crop selection – pick a crop and growing season where the plant will emerge rapidly, shade the soil, and prevent weed seed germination.
• Close spacing of vegetable crops can inhibit weed growth when the leaves overlap at maturity. In a raised bed, keep this in mind for spacing plants.
• Mulches of either organic (clean straw or hay, paper) or synthetic (plastic) will shade the soil surface, controlling most annual weed species.
• Sanitation of the garden at the end of the season is critical. Remove and destroy remaining weeds and their seed heads.
• Cover crops are ideal to shade out weeds, even Bermuda grass. Bermuda grass can be shaded and discouraged by the dense canopy of a cover crop such as sudangrass, sorghum or buckwheat. Establishing a cover crop regimen early can help with the success of shading out competitive weeds. Winter cover crops can prevent soil erosion, runoff and cool-season weed establishment, while adding valuable organic matter.

 

Weeds may also be controlled with herbicides. However, chemical weed control in the home garden is difficult because of the diversity of the crops grown in the garden. It is hard to find an herbicide that is selective enough to remove a specific weed without the potential or probability that it will also kill or damage some of the crops in the garden. With several types of plants located close together in a small area, some may be seriously damaged by any herbicide that you might select. However, there are a few formulations available which make them safer and easier to use. Grass killers can often be used to control grassy weeds among broadleaf vegetables. Some preemergence herbicides can be used successfully in the garden when transplants are used or after seeds sown have emerged and matured. Visit your local garden center or county extension office for information on current herbicide products.

 

The best weed control in the home garden is a sharp hoe and good mulch.