CROSS TIMBERS HORTICULTURE

A newsletter for Texas Agricultural Extension District 8 and parts of 3, 4 and 7!
Nancy Roe, Extension Horticulture Specialist

WHAT TO PLANT IN JUNE (modify for your location if necessary)

VEGETABLES
Squash bugs are a major pest of most of the cucurbits. Sevin and Thiodan are the recommended chemicals, but are much more effective while the insects are small. Homeowners who are willing to check their plants almost every day can minimize populations by killing the orange egg masses on the backs of the leaves.
For cucumber beetles, try the new formulation of carbaryl called Adios (BASF). It is a bait that uses a very low rate of carbaryl. We used it here last year and found it to be very effective. I don't think it is available in a homeowner size.

FRUIT
There is a lot of interest in growing blackberries now. They are fairly easy to grow, come into production earlier than most fruit crops, and have a good market. As with other vegetables and fruit, harvesting at the right stage can be important to flavor and storage quality. Some recent research done by a team led Dr. Penny Perkins at the USDA station at Lane, OK. deals with harvesting some of the newer varieties. They harvested fruit from Cheyenne, Choctaw, Shawnee, and Navaho at three ripeness stages: mottled (50% black, 2 days from dull black), shiny black (1 day from dull black), and dull black. They measured weight, soluble solids (Note: soluble solids in fruit are mainly sugars, so this is often a good measure of sweetness.), skin and fruit firmness, and decay and leakage after storage for 7 days. The researchers concluded that Cheyenne, Choctaw, and Shawnee should be harvested for fresh market at shiny black stage because quality differences between that stage and dull black are negligible, but shiny black will keep better. Dull black Navaho fruit would be best for fresh market, and shiny or dull Navaho would be best for shipping when compared with these varieties.

PECANS
We had varying reports of casebearer. Hopefully, growers who found them have sprayed by now because most have entered the nuts.

HOME LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS
For those who started a regular lawn fertilization schedule in April, it is time to fertilize again. We recommend a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio fertilizer.
We're beginning to get our annual parade of tomatoes and other plants damaged by broadleaf herbicides. Homeowners should use these herbicides as a last resort-lawns should be fertilized, watered, mowed regularly, and treated with pre-emergents, if necessary, for at least a year. Then, if there are still bothersome broadleaf weeds, they can be dug up or spot-treated with a broadleaf weed killer. These herbicides should NEVER be used in a hose-end sprayer.

ORGANICS
Some work from Western Kentucky University showed the benefits of compost to seed emergence. Bush snap beans were sown and covered with either 1" of the native silt loam soil, 1" of a leaf compost, or 1" of the soil and 1" of the compost. In 2 separate experiments, emergence was always higher in the treatments with compost, compared to soil only. However, in only one experiment was the difference enough to result in yield differences. The factor that made the difference seemed to be water-the experiment planted during a dry period was the one in which compost increased yields. This is a similar effect to what we saw in our cantaloupe/compost trials here last year. For growers who do not irrigate, additions of compost or other organic matter may mean measurable yield differences during dry periods. The authors of this article also commented that there were fewer weeds in the plots mulched with leaf compost, and those that did grow were easier to pull.

STEPHENVILLE REC HORTICULTURE NEWS
If you're at the center, look at our CEMAP plants out front of the southwest door. These are being tested for possible introduction to the nursery industry. My summer intern, Kay Kersh is in charge of them now, so they should get better care than when I was doing it!
We finally got the asparagus and blackberry tests planted. Both are doing surprisingly well. We are using Ram drip tubing, a heavier, pressure-compensating tubing. It will be under mulches in parts of these tests.

NEWS FOR YOU AND YOUR COMMERCIAL GROWERS
I have a new video that you and/or your growers may borrow. It is called "Vegetable Farmers and their Weed Control Machines" (catchy title, huh?). It is a tape of interviews with 9 farmers in Vermont and Massachusetts at their farms. They talk about and demonstrate the weed control equipment that they use-everything from sweeps and basket weeders to flame weeders. It is long (75 minutes), but I found it so interesting and well made that it was not boring. It was made with a grant from the USDA SARE program, so the main purpose for making it was to help other growers.