OSU Extension: Victory Garden Seeds available at local office
It’s time once again to get your hands dirty and start growing! The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and Ohio State University Extension offices are kicking off the third year of the Ohio Victory Gardens program. Seed sample kits with lettuce, carrots and sunflowers will be available for free to the public to get people planting.
Seeds packets are now available for pick up at OSU Extension in Fairfield County. Just stop by the Fairfield County Agriculture Center located at 831 College Avenue in Lancaster to pick up your seed packet. Each packet contains a sample packet of lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and sunflower seeds. OSU Extension in Fairfield County is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Be sure to pick up a Free OSU Garden calendar when picking up your seeds and maybe even consider purchasing a Soil thermometer. Soil thermometers are great tools to keep in your garden toolbox to get your garden off to a good start each year. Vegetable seeds will have a better germination rate if you know the soil temperature. As an example, most of the cool season vegetable crops like lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, beets and carrots can germinate at a 40-degree soil temperature. Those tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins prefer soil temperatures in the really do best when the soil temperature is closer to 70 degrees soil temperature range. The cost of the soil thermometer is $10 with all proceeds benefiting the Fairfield County Master Gardener Program. OSU Extension in Fairfield County is located in the Fairfield County Ag Center at 831 College Avenue, Suite D, Lancaster, Ohio.
Start your growing season off right. Check soil temperatures before opening your first packet of seeds to plant in your garden.
Source: Connie Smith, Program Assistant, Master Gardener Coordinator-Fairfield County
Ohio Forest Pests: Field Guide Is Now Online
The Ohio Forest Pests: A Field Guide, a resource that was printed and has been distributed at targeted programs, is now available online.
Ohio’s forests face numerous challenges to their health, ecological benefits and future existence. The hope is that this identification guide will assist foresters, woodland owners and other natural resource professionals to identify forest pests in the field. This field guide is not comprehensive but attempts to provide identification resources for the insects and diseases most likely to be encountered in Ohio woodlands. Also noted are potential species that may be problematic for our forests. These species may not be present currently; however, they should remain foremost in our minds so that we are diligent in preventing their incursion.
You can view and/or download this publication at: https://easternforestpests.com/
Source: OSU Buckeye Yard and Garden Line
Don’t Let a Lapse in Biosecurity Ruin Your Fair
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been detected in dairy cattle, a goat and humans! Frequently over recent months you may have heard of the current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic poultry, H5N1. This disease has been occurring since 2022 and has been reported in 48 states, affecting nearly 100 million domestic birds.
On March 20, 2024 the Minnesota Board of Animal Health reported that a juvenile goat on a Minnesota farm tested positive for HPAI. This marked the first U.S. case of the virus in a domestic ruminant.
The following week on Monday, March 25, 2024 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement confirming the identification of HPAI in dairy cattle located in Texas and Kansas. Shortly after, the USDA confirmed the detection of HPAI in a total of seven dairy herds in Texas, two in Kansas, one in Michigan, one in New Mexico, one in Idaho, and one in Northern Ohio. On April 1, the CDC reported one person in Texas who had been in contact with affected cattle tested positive for HPAI. The next week North Carolina became the seventh state to officially confirm the presence of HPAI in a dairy herd.
These findings are significant because while the spring and fall migrations of wild birds are definitely a higher risk HPAI transmission period for poultry, it highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species. While it’s rare that the HPAI virus spills over to mammals, including humans, and the risk remains very low for human illness it’s important to employ biosecurity practices that reduce the risk of introducing any disease, including HPAI, to animals and humans alike. To accomplish that, be diligent with biosecurity by:
Upon receiving new animals or when you return from a show or other contact with other animals, isolate your show animals to avoid the possibility of infecting other animals on your farm.
Watch your animals closely for at least two weeks after any outside exposure to observe any signs of developing disease. Diseases are more easily treated if caught early
If you don’t have your own truck or trailer to haul your animals, make sure that the equipment used to haul your animals is clean and recently disinfected.
Avoid sharing of grooming equipment and feed and water containers with friends or neighbors. If you do, clean and disinfect it when it is returned.
Discourage farm, fair or exhibition visitors from petting or feeding your animals. People going from animal-to-animal can spread disease as they go.
Much like you did during the COVID-19 pandemic, practice good personal hygiene. Animals can be a source of germs that can cause problems in people. Not only is HPAI a concern but additional examples are ringworm, certain E. coli, salmonella, cryptosporidia and some types of staph and strep that can cause skin or wound infections in people. Likewise, we can be a method of transmission of disease between animals. Wash with soap and water after handling your animals and put on clean clothes. Keep your boots and shoes clean and don’t carry barn muck into the house.
References:Biosecurity for Youth Livestock Exhibitors, https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/vme-7Avian Influenza Detected in Dairy Cattle, https://u.osu.edu/beef/2024/04/03/avian-influenza-detected-in-dairy-cattle/Source: Stan Smith, PA, OSU Extension, Fairfield County
Upcoming events
Using and storing fresh herbs: Noon to 1 p.m. April 29 at the Fairfield County District Library, 219 North Broad St., 3rd Floor. To register: https://fcdlibrary.libnet.info/event/10234758
Join Shannon Carter, of OSU Extension – Fairfield County to learn more about cooking with herbs can be a quick and simple way to add interesting flavors to foods without adding salt, sugar, or fat. Join OSU Extension Educator, Shannon Carter, to learn tips on using, storing and preserving fresh herbs.
Grill Smart June 27 - Two Grill Smart sessions scheduled: Hosted at the Fairfield County Ag Center, 831 College Avenue, you may choose the 10:30 a.m. session or the second one that begins at 4 p.m. Participation at each session is limited to 16 participants that will work in groups of four. Cost is $30 per person and covers the cost of the meat, seasonings and grilling equipment. Call 740-653-5419 or visit https://go.osu.edu/fclocal to register.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Victory Garden seeds available at OSU Extension-Fairfield County
