Happenings October 2024

October 2024

Come on down to Open House on the Farm!

by Rachael Paradise, Operations Coordinator

Brewster, NY – Enjoy the fall splendor and spend the day at Tilly Foster Farm, Saturday, Oct. 5, during our "Open House on the Farm."

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the farm will be bustling with activity and fun for visitors of all ages. Children can play games, go on pony rides, try archery, visit Tilly Foster’s farm animals and paint their own pumpkins. Adults can learn about harvesting honey and what beekeeping entails or get advice about their plants and gardens from our CCE Putnam Master Gardeners. There will be information about CCE Putnam-offered programs such as 4-H, energy, nutrition and food systems and more.

“Open House on the Farm" is a wonderful example of what CCE and 4-H bring to our community and families,” said Brandy Keenan, CCE Putnam 4-H Educator. “It should be a wonderful day of exploration and fun that will hopefully spark new interests as well as a deeper understanding of what CCE does.”

Back, by popular demand, will be the Alpaca to Afghan fiber spinning demonstrations where event-goers can watch the process of turning alpaca fiber into hand-spun yarn and into hand-crafted items like hats, blankets and sweaters. There’s even a chance to try a hand at carding fiber, hand-spinning and experimenting with yarn crafts.

For those looking for a little nosh and entertainment, enjoy locally made apple cider doughnuts, fresh-grilled corn and apple cider while listening to live music. Check out Tilly’s Farm Stand to purchase pumpkins, flowers and vegetables grown on the farm. Don’t forget to walk the grounds and enjoy Collaborative Concepts’ fall sculpture exhibit.

Tilly Foster Farm is at 100 Route 312 in Brewster.

This event is FREE but pre-registration is strongly recommended. Register HERE.

We are also looking for volunteers to help out at the event.

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4-H: Placing at the State Fair and National 4-H Week

by Brandy Keenan, 4-H Educator

Tall Oaks Horse Club Places at State Fair

This year three 4-H members from the Tall Oaks Horse Club participated in Hippology and Horse Judging at the New York State Fair. Paired with members from Orange County the team placed third!

The NYS 4-H Hippology contest provides an opportunity for youth participating in 4-H to demonstrate their knowledge of equine science and management. A contest consists of four phases: Examination, Stations, Horse Judging and Team Problems.

The Examination phase includes a multiple-choice written exam, and a slide exam with questions on projected photos of horses, and horse related objects. The Station phase consists of a series of interactive or reactive 10-question matching stations asking for the identification of horse related objects or pictures. In the judging phase, youth are asked to place at least four conformation or performance classes and give oral reasons on the placing of those classes. Finally, Team Problems asks the team to give a presentation applying their knowledge to real-world situations.

Beyond Ready: Celebrating 4-H Week

National 4-H Week 2024 is Oct. 7 through 12 with the theme "Beyond Ready!" Building a ready generation in a world of change, 4-H equips youth with skills for the future while meeting them where they are today. Becoming Beyond Ready encompasses opportunities and experiences, connections and discovery, shaping youth into their true and authentic selves. 

Remember when you were a kid? It was all about discovering your passions and having fun; playing with your friends; and finding your spark. You learned to embrace who you are and how to make a difference. These moments haven’t changed, but the world has. And it feels like it’s coming at us faster than it ever did before. That’s where 4-H steps in. For over 120 years, 4-H has helped young people find their path. Grow their skills and ignite their spark. With research-backed programs, caring adult leaders and a commitment to excellence, 4-H is preparing the next generation of young people for tomorrow. Six million youth are already learning, creating, connecting and going beyond the expected. Help us reach 10 million youth, excited to take on the world. Youth that are Beyond Ready. Ready to lead. Ready to serve. Ready to innovate. Ready to conquer. Are you ready to invest in this next generation? Donate today and visit 4H.org to learn more.

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Growing Garlic Isn’t Just for Vampire Hunters

by Becca Ligrani

It’s October. Your vegetable garden is put to bed for winter, and you look towards spring when you can dig into the earth again. But October is an exciting time for the garlic grower because now is the time for you to do your final sowing of the year and plant cloves for next year’s harvest. Each clove you put in the ground will grow into a bulb. If you’ve never grown garlic, consider trying this relaxing and rewarding fall gardening project. You are sowing a seed of hope for a bountiful harvest nearly eight months later—because we all need something to look forward to.

When you buy garlic at the grocery store, you really are only given one option. But did you know that there are dozens of varieties? Garlic is broken up into two main categories: softneck and hardneck. In our area, hardnecks tend to do better and will store longer. A few varieties we have had success with in our CCE gardens are Music, German Red and Chesnock. You can buy seed garlic from local online suppliers and larger companies alike. Buy it soon before it sells out! Companies generally will ship it in late September. How much should you buy? One pound of cloves will plant about a 20-foot row, depending on the variety and your spacing.

Now, onto the how-to. Garlic plants like well-draining soil in a sunny location. After you’ve pulled your spent summer vegetables out of the garden, remove any weeds and rake the soil over to create a smooth planting surface. To prepare the cloves for planting, break each clove off the bulb, but be careful not to damage them. Injuries make a clove more susceptible to pathogens in the soil. You can leave the papery sheath on the cloves and put them in the ground 2-3 inches deep. Make sure the pointy end is up—this is where the shoots will emerge—and the roots grow downwards out of the flat end. Ideally, space cloves in 6-inch increments in rows that are 12 inches apart. Water the soil and then cover with straw or leaf mulch. Plant your garlic at least 2-3 weeks before the ground freezes to give it a little time to settle in and grow the roots that will anchor it through winter.

Now you’re all set until spring. When the soil begins to warm, rake back the mulch to help the garlic poke up faster. Once the stalks have poked up through the soil, you can return the mulch. Keep your bed weed-free, and with that small amount of effort you’ll have delicious garlic “scapes” to harvest in May, and beautiful bulbs to pull in June or July. Garlic bulbs are ready to harvest when the tops have browned and begun to flop over. Once the garlic is harvested, you’ll have some free garden bed space, so plan what to put in its place ahead of time. Maybe some beans or beets?

Photo credit: Adrian Midgley CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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The Stealthy Shenanigans of the Camouflaged Looper

by Erika West, Master Gardener Volunteer

From blazing star to goldenrod to aster, this trickster changes costume from one flower to the next

Fall is here—maple trees are taking on shades of red and orange, amsonia hubrichtii is turning a golden hue and the ever-important fall asters are blooming in shades of blue, purple and pink.

In dining rooms and craft rooms across the county, our crafty neighbors (maybe it’s you!) are getting out their snips and sewing machines to bring little goblins, witches and Pooh Bears to life for Halloween.

It may seem like a uniquely human act to don a costume, but, in fact, it is not. One of the tiniest members of our ecosystem is a master at the art of costume! Allow me to introduce you to the camouflaged looper.

The camouflaged looper, Synchlora aerata, known in its adult stage as the wavy-lined emerald moth, is a tiny inchworm that feeds on and camouflages itself with flower parts. As the looper visits a flower to eat, it chews off petals, ray flowers and, sometimes, entire flowers, and affixes them to its back to create a floral disguise. The looper’s gelatinous spit helps flower parts maintain turgor and adhere to spiky, raised spines on its back. If a flower part does wilt or fall off, it is quickly replaced. Even more amazingly, the looper changes its costume entirely as it moves from one flower species to another, thus ensuring it always blends in with the flower on which it is feeding. This adaptation allows the camouflaged looper to eat from an extensive list of plants while avoiding detection by predators. Which brings us back to asters ...

For your best shot at seeing this disguise virtuoso in your own garden, plant asters. The camouflaged looper overwinters as larva and, like so many other beneficial insects, will need late-blooming members of the Asteraceae family to build up its reserves for winter. It has been observed feeding on over a dozen plants in the Asteraceae family, including blazing star, goldenrod, aster, rudbeckia, coreopsis, fleabane and boneset.

If you want to see the looper after it has made its final costume change to wavy-lined emerald moth, keep an eye out from June to August—particularly at night. A nocturnal flier, the wavy-lined emerald is as elusive in wing as in its caterpillar stage. Like other nocturnal moths, it is attracted to light and may be found clustered around lit entryways. While this may make the moth easier to spot, too much artificial light is disruptive to insect processes and increases vulnerability to predators. You can learn more about the importance of dark skies at our upcoming presentation at Cold Spring Farmer’s Market on Oct. 12.

If you’re in need of a costume idea this year, let the camouflaged looper inspire you! Wouldn’t he make a fantastic—and educational—costume?

References:

https://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1...
https://blog.nature.org/2023/05/08/the-camouflaged-looper-this-inchworm-makes-its-own-flower-costume/https://prairieecologist.com/tag/camouflaged-loope...
https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/wav...
https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/geo...
https://loudounwildlife.org/2013/07/wavy-lined-eme...
https://bugguide.net/node/view/27013
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/126204-Synchlora-...
https://extension.sdstate.edu/night-blooming-flowe...

Photo credit: Judy Gallagher/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

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The Importance of Cover Crops

by Sandy Vanno, Master Gardener Volunteer, CCE Warren County
adapted by Ruby Koch-Fienberg, Ag and Food Systems Coordinator, CCE Putnam County

Cover crops have been in use for longer than you might have imagined. Ancient Romans knew the value of cover crops. A former legionary turned farmer, Lucius Columella realized how important legumes such as lupine, black medic and vetch were to productive estates. He wished landowners, no matter how large or small, paid close attention to their soil. Even one of our nation’s founding fathers, George Washington, was an early advocate for cover crops and extended rotations. In 1786, he wrote a letter looking for not just barley seed, but clover as well, to be used as a cover crop. "...I wish to divide my seed-time and am desirous of sowing clover and other grasses with barley in preference to other grain, I would gladly take fifty bushels ..."(University of Michigan Extension)

Farmers around the world grow cover crops to protect the soil and increase crop yields; it adds fertility to the soil without chemical fertilizers. It can be left on the surface as mulch or tilled while it is still green into the soil, becoming green manure. Farmers have used this technique for centuries. Green manures are crops that are grown not to be eaten by you, but to be turned into the soil and consumed by earthworms, insects and microbes.

Cover crops are an excellent tool for home vegetable gardeners as well, regardless of garden size, and provide many benefits:
• soil erosion – the roots stabilize the root zone or surface of the soil, reducing the risk of erosion from wind and rain; the leaves and stems of the cover crop also decrease soil erosion by reducing the impact of rain and potential runoff.
• soil compaction – the root systems can be used to combat both shallow and deep compaction.
• soil organic matter – cover crop residues increase soil organic matter, providing numerous benefits to the soil and successive crops; increasing organic matter improves soil structure, soil water holding capacity and infiltration, and soil aggregate stability; decaying plant material contributes nutrients back to the soil to be used by future crops.
• weed suppression – cover crops can provide an incremental benefit of weed control by out-competing weeds for light, water and nutrients.
• disease and pest management – according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension, many articles have been published recently about cover crops being another tool for use in disease and pest management; particular members of the brassica family, certain mustards and rapeseed varieties help control soil-borne pathogens such as root-knot nematodes and verticillium wilt.
• low maintenance – cover crops require very little maintenance, and additional nutrients are seldom needed to support them since cover crops scavenge nutrients already present in the soil and may even “fix” additional nitrogen from the atmosphere.

In October, it’s already a little too late for most cover crop options. It’s still possible to plant rye, but the later you plant it the smaller the plant will be. To compensate, increase the rate to 250 lb/acre. To be better prepared for next year, check out  covercrop.org, a great resource from Cornell Agritech, which includes a Cover Crop Decision Tool to find a cover crop to suit your needs!

References:
http://covercrop.org/ “CCE Cover Crop Guide for NY Growers”
University of Minnesota Extension; “Using Cover Crops: A History of Green Manure”
Virginia Cooperative Extension; “Cover Crops”
University of Maryland Extension; “Protect and Improve Your Soil with Cover Crops”
CALS Cornell “Green Manure/School of Integrative Plant Science”

Photo credit: Jenn Thomas-Murphy

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Breast Cancer: Empowering Through Awareness

by Juani Christian and Tamara Warren, Alabama A&M and Auburn University Extension

Cancer does not discriminate based on social status, race or age. It affects people from all walks of life. According to the Mayo Clinic, however, after skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. The National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. While men also suffer from breast cancer, it is far more common among women and is now the fifth leading cause of death among women around the world. In fact, chances are great that you know at least one person that has been impacted by breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During this time of the year, there are workshops and other events held to raise awareness about this disease and for research to find a cure.

Who is at risk for breast cancer?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the following top risk factors when it comes to breast cancer.

• Breast cancer increases with age, particularly among women over 50.
• Some women have genetic mutations that make them more susceptible to breast cancer.
• Menstrual cycles before the age of 12 and starting menopause after the age of 55 put you at greater risk.
• Dense breasts make it harder for mammograms to detect cancerous tumors.
• A personal and family history of breast or ovarian cancer increases the chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Women who have undergone radiation therapy to the chest or breast before the age of 30 are at greater risk of getting breast cancer as they age.
• Women who took the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy are at greater risk. DES is a synthetic form of the female hormone estrogen. In addition, women whose mothers took the drug are also at greater risk for breast cancer.

Ways to Reduce Risks:
Breast cancer survivors know the importance of early detection and annual screenings that can save their lives. For example, monthly self-examinations, annual mammograms and leading a healthy lifestyle can help to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Also, talk to your physician about taking hormones during menopause as well as the risks when taking oral contraceptives. In addition, breast cancer has been linked to excessive alcohol use, smoking, exposure to cancer-causing chemicals and changes in hormones when working late-night shifts.

For more information on breast cancer: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features... http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/mammo... http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features...

Resource: https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/health-nutrition...

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Celebrate Filipino American History Month

Easy Pancit Noodles

from SNAP-Ed, submitted by Josephine Quiocho, Nutrition Educator

Filipino pancit is a delicious noodle and veggie stir-fry that is quick, easy, and pleases a crowd. Make it with chicken, cabbage, bell pepper, and carrots for a traditional version, or swap in your family’s favorite veggies and proteins.

Ingredients:

Last updated October 4, 2024